Destination Truth

Or...at what price integrity?

In Arizona in the USA the local government have passed a law that makes it permissible for police to question anyone that looks vaguely Hispanic, and that people who do look vaguely or strongly Hispanic have to carry their papers with them to prove they are legal. Even worse, that it the policemen do not do this, anyone can sue the police for not doing their job to protect against illegal immigrants.

In my article on little atrocities I discuss how big atrocities like genocide start with little atrocities. The law in Arizona is a classic example of a little atrocity. The pathway to the dark side of humanity occurs one small step at a time. Each step taking us further from the destination truth.

Why is this an example of a little atrocity? Anytime we legally make it acceptable to require a part of a community to identify themselves to prove their innocence, we are building a rapid bridge to more extreme levels of racism, violence, disenfranchisement. Yes there is a problem with illegal immigrants who are making trouble through drug running and murder, yet to make all members of the same group suspect, is to reduce good people to the halls of suspicion, hate, fear, and simultaneously, set the stage for repercussions of violence unforeseen.

Most of the illegal immigrants are simply trying to escape poverty and crime and build a healthy life for themselves and their family. Just as the original white settlers did when they came to America. In their scarcity fear, have the American people forgotten the very roots of their recent history?

In Germany before the holocaust, Jews were made to declare their Jewishness by wearing armbands. This was the first little atrocity that made the next atrocity, slightly bigger than the first, easier to swallow. All the way, one atrocity at a time, to the gas chambers. Don’t let the movement away from destination truth happen in the US.

Still in the USA we have the oil spill disaster in the Gulf. There is a high probability that when this incident is over, which in the short term may be months, and in the long term with the environmental effects, may be decades; a review of what happened and why may reveal that the companies involved, specifically BP, as well as Haliburton, made serious short cuts in safety and standards. As with many large global companies, the temptation to move further from destination truth is insidious. All the big oil companies in the US receive tax paid subsidies to find new drilling opportunities. And yet their profit in the last years soared over a hundred percent. If BP did indeed cut corners on safety and standards, the penalties, both financially and from a brand perspective, should be of the highest nature.

The good thing about this incident is that it may stop the “drill baby drill” mentality of the Sarah Palins of the world. And hopefully it will accelerate our search to find an alternative that will break our addiction to fossil fuels. Of course, the big money that is against this argument of finding solutions to fossil fuels (essentially the wealth of the world is in the oil countries and companies) have such significant clout. They are the money behind the US senate, so it will take a very brave and very highly principled someone or three to break the stranglehold and move towards a destination truth....maybe an oil caused environmental disaster of epic proportions is what it will take. Tragic but true. We humans usually don’t take massive action unless propelled by extreme adversity.

In the UK we had Gordon Brown act pretentiously with a potential voter and then call her a bigot when he thought he was offline. He then spent the next 48 hours in damage control trying to unravel his faux pas. Our current model of politics seems to require that we smile through gritted teeth while sharpening the sword. Two faced. It must be exhausting to be a politician and live with perpetual lies, far, far away from any destination truth.

In Australia, we are recovering from our top rugby league team getting caught with its pants down, cheating the salary cap. While its likely that they are not the only ones to cheat, they have been caught and the penalty has been harsh. No matter how much they plead their innocence, at some level, some of the players must have known. At least one or two players must have been smart enough to question how such a stellar team was pulled together, legally, under the salary cap. By pretending their ignorance they play along with the stereotype of the rugby league player being a thug without any intelligence. Just imagine if someone had the courage to speak up and tell the truth. Politically incorrect..most probably. He would probably be viewed as a traitor to his fellow players forever more. Yet silence? What is the personal cost of silence? Never having the freedom again to look themselves directly in the eye and know they lived a life seeking a destination truth. Little lies fester inside over years, and ferment the seeds of disease. There is no freedom in that. (Please check out the personal integrity inventory if you really are up for ultimate personal freedom)

And our very own Australian Prime Minister, Mr Rudd, null and voiding his election promises with the nonchalance of someone removing specks of dust from his lapel. The politicians patronize/disrespect the public by implying that we actually believe them when they make their election promises. Why not just say....I have a list of election promises but don’t believe a word of what I say, because all that is important is we get into office.... I do actually believe that they want to get into office because they think they can do good things, but there is no doubt that power plays a big part. The love of power.

So we come back to integrity, or lack of it. And erring from the pathway that takes us to a destination truth. The ability for people to speak up and to speak out and say no when the line of integrity is crossed.

Integrity and destination truth takes courage, it takes commitment to values that transcend the self, it takes the ability to speak up, it takes action. It is the hardest path, the road less traveled.

Living towards ever increasing integrity is the highest freedom. It is the home of authenticity, where we do not have to try to be someone. It allows us to be energetically light. Free from the past.

It is no longer acceptable that a few in power can rape and pillage the rest of the world. We need a big game change.

Your voice is needed. Indeed, your voice is as critical as any ones. Yours, plus mine...we are change! Are you speaking up? If not why?

To Return from Destination Truth to Integrity is the Essence

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