CEO-Plutocracy

I have used the term 'corporatocracy' to describe the current world government. Yes, world government. The world is being governed (badly) by corporations.

The Business Roundtable, for example, represents 160 US corporations through their CEOs, who as a group lobby and push around the US government at all levels. There are similar organizations and institutes in every industrialized nation. This amounts to a plutocratic group who govern through veiled bribery and campaign contributions.

The US sees its most blatant putsch by the CEO-Plutocracy to date in the $700 billion demand placed before Congress. Amazingly, Congress has said a temporary 'No', but this is temporary. This minimal show of resistance is spurred now by genuine fear that there will be a popular uprising in the voting booths this November, when a general election takes place.

The reality is this: Those in corporate power know that the planet is polluted, overpopulated and under-resourced. They will do whatever it takes to see that they and their offspring survive in the opulence to which they are accustomed and feel entitled. End of story. It's that simple, ladies and gentlemen.

Practice will become more essential for those who are not part of the CEO-Plutocracy. That is, for 90+% of the human species. To survive in a world controlled from the top is difficult. Look to stories from Victorian England for a primer. To evolve will become more and more challenging. To refrain from self-defensive or forced military violence will become nearly impossible. War will be used to keep the poor occupied, distracted and limited in numbers, as much as possible without alerting them to the real reasons for their systematic enslavement and destruction.

Practice living without aspirations to be part of the CEO-Plutocracy. It is a closed system and it is a corrupt, evil system. Live to be compassionate. Live to be whole in mind, body and spirit. Live without material obsessions or addictions. This practice will put your truth and your essence out of the reach of those who would dominate you or destroy your essential being.

Shill

Today Tony Snow died. Like his predecessor, Scott McClellan, Mr. Snow became the salesman for a corrupt fascist regime, which has waged illegal war, killed hundreds of thousands of helpless civilians for oil, spied on its own citizens to maintain control and lied daily about the nation's health and economy. I am sure these men see what they did as only a job. I am sure Nazi propagandists saw themselves the same way.

Every individual bears the responsibility for the jobs he/she performs, despite any rationalization he/she may make to the contrary to live with a troubled conscience. Life presents daily opportunities and demands to make right choices for the good of one's personal evolution and the evolution of the human species.

Do you throw that piece of paper or plastic out of your car window? Do you smoke that cigarette? Do you buy that sugar-infused coffee? Do you push your way through a line? Do you disturb your neighbors with loud and obnoxious behavior? Do you support a dictator? Do you hide your real beliefs to be liked?

The corruption of humanity occurs in small doses with minor daily decisions to do what is not the righteous thing to do. Sentimentality, peer pressure, religion, prejudice, all these factors are constant inhibitions to doing the right thing. Overcoming these habits is called practice. Practice also begins small and grows large with daily persistence.

Evil

Evil is not a vague, abstract, simple moralistic concept. Evil is violence. Evil is mindless hatred. Evil is the decision in any moment to deliberately harm another being. On May 27, Russian police and skinheads chose to be evil by violently attacking peaceful gay/lesbian Russians who were attempting to hold a gay-pride march in Moscow. Marchers were ruthlessly beaten and arrested. The current Pope, a former Nazi supporter, has been in Poland all week. He has been promoting the continuation of his predecessor's evil in that country, where the government has also oppressed free expression by gay/lesbian people in the city of Krakow. Evil is the perversion of laws and democracy to propagate war and the massacre of poor desperate youngsters who seek security by selling their lives to the military establishment. Evil is pretending to be compassionate toward illegal immigrants when, in fact, they are being exploited as the cheapest possible labor by a wealthy and greedy society. Evil is not an abstract concept at all. My practice entails struggling with evil in my life from moment to moment.

Fatigue

Those of you who have health cannot comprehend the effects of fatigue as a chronic condition. I am happy for you in this. Use your energy well and wisely. I have had baseline fatigue for eleven years due to a chronic debilitating disease. I am not immobilized or noticeably impeded. I have tried very hard to compensate for my fatigue by adhering to a regular program of structure and activity. I have also prodded myself to remain engaged in general commerce of day-to-day life in a capitalist society. I am self-sufficient, and I occasionally can lend what little surplus energy I have to the causes of others. This is all part of my practice, of course. Fatigue can only be mastered by continued effort. Just as evil, in a non-religious sense, can only be mastered by choosing the right path. Gravity, like evil, simply is. Resisting gravity is part of what it means to be alive. Resisting evil is part of what it means to practice.