Activism Then and Now

2007-3-25 04:30:00

My wife and I went to see the movie "Amazing Grace" yesterday. It was the story of William Wilberforce and his fellow activists who fought with Parliament to end slavery in the early 18th century.

It was a great movie with a good story, great actors, and very realistic sets. It had a spiritual theme without attempting to be preachy or to shove a political agenda down our throats.

As I watched it I felt soul energy pouring through me at several points in the show. It is strange, I thought to myself how this movie of activists 200 years ago touches the soul but listening to most activists today just leaves me flat. What is the difference?

As I reflected I noted several differences. Among them are:

Wilberforce and his group were not fighting an illusionary evil, but a real one. Modern activists, such as the "man made global warmers," are not fighting a real problem, but an illusionary one. Only when the true problem is identified and tackled can the soul energies manifest.
Wilberforce and his group were completely unselfish in their motive and their work. Many activists today (not all) have a selfish agenda that is not obvious, often even to themselves.
The end product of the activism of Wilberforce and his group resulted in more freedom and prosperity for all. If many modern activists got their way there would be more laws, less freedom and more scarcity. The ironic thing is that when modern activists get their way often their stated goal is diminished rather than enhanced.

Let us take the global warmers, for example. Most of them are against the two most carbon clean energy sources - hydro and nuclear energy. Many also support draconian measures that would hurt business, the economy and eventually lead to a stagnation of technology that could lead to clean energy breakthroughs. If they got their way we could wind up in a more polluted world 50 years from now than if we just allowed technology to evolve and supply us with the tools to improve the world.

Another thing that struck me was the contrast of how different the illusion was back then compared with today. It was different on the surface but had the same foundation causes, which are ignorance and selfishness.

To end the ignorance of slave trade Wilberforce did all he could to enlighten the populace with the true facts about the sufferings of slavery and then change the conditions so selfishness could be redirected.

As the movie began Wilberforce was fighting a beastly consensus. Almost all his peers in Parliament as well as the people themselves accepted the slave trade with little or no questioning or investigation. Most of the few who did see slavery was wrong were afraid to speak up. Only a handful took action -- and the few going against the many were the ones who created positive change.

Now we live in a different age. Never have there been so many who want to take part in activism and change the world. In the old days a person became an activist when he was awakened to an important cause and became involved -- often reluctantly.

In this age there are more people looking for a cause than there are obvious causes in which to participate. I minored in journalism back in the early Sixties and students entered the profession to write. Today surveys show they enter the profession "to make a difference."

And how can they make a difference? Not just by writing the truth of what is, but by injecting a slant in favor of their pet causes.

A great problem has arisen in our society today by the many who seek a cause. The trouble is that they do not want to embrace a cause that will be unpopular, get scathing criticism from the media, get them ostracized from their family and friends, make them unpopular, cause them to sacrifice, pain and tremendous effort, etc. Instead, many are looking for a cause that will make them popular, bring praise and not require that much effort.

Those looking for an easy cause may look around and pick a battle where the main wars have already been fought. The most obvious one of these is racism in the free world.

The great battles here were fought by Wilberforce, Lincoln and Martin Luther King and associates. While it is true there is some fine tuning to be accomplished in race relations in the United States and other free nations, the war is basically won.

Now if one decides today that his cause is to fight racism there is no danger to life or limb but the person will get a pat on the back and be encouraged to proceed.

If another declares he will fight global warming the whole world will be on his side.

The same goes for one who generically declares he will fight poverty or many of the other current evils declared by society.

When, however, one becomes an activist for the Brotherhood of Light things are different. They are not interested in fighting illusion or causes already won, but work in the difficult area of manifesting light where before there was darkness.

For over 20 years the public has lived in darkness about the global warming issue and finally some action is being taken by various disciples to manifest light on this issue. To do so some are risking their career, their income, their prestige and some their very lives. This is the risk typical of true activism where positive change is made.

If a person is interested in race, equality and fairness then there are parts of the world greatly in need of his services. Women in many Islamic and other nations are treated about as bad as the slaves used to be. Many have no rights and can be beaten or mutilated if they complain. In many cases they can be raped with impunity.

It seems that there are only a few women taking up this cause. I have seen a number of these interviewed and have greatly admired them for putting their lives on the line. Unfortunately, they seem to get little help from men in general or even western women. They also get little help from the cowering media who are afraid of offending Islamic extremists.

How about some activism in overthrowing some of the tyrants of the earth? This is almost non existent because it would be dangerous.

How about some activism for more human rights in China? People are silent on this and instead fight against the United States, a harmless target that is little threat to any dissenting voice.

How about some activism demanding free and equal speech on college campuses? Few realize the difficulties and even danger faced by those who speak on any controversial issue not endorsed by the media.

How about some activism demanding free speech politically correct or not? True some speech many be inflammatory, but people should be able to speak their mind without receiving death threats or losing their government jobs.

If the activists today wish to enter the history books with the glory of the activists of yesterday then they need to take some risk and go against the grain to manifest a greater light. Picking an easy fight that has general support will bring no glory. True it may make a person feel good to fight white supremacists today, but the battle against them has already been won and their numbers are too few to be a great threat.

An activist would be better off just fighting against smug people who think they have it all together. There are lots of people living in ivory towers who need a little shaking.

Global Warming Enlightenment:

"The computer models have twice the amount of greenhouse warming radiation going in them as is known to be happening. It shouldn't shock you that they predict more warming than is occurring."

(Taken from the British Documentary, "The Great Global Warming Swindle." Also see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f8v5du5_ag )