The Jedi Way & Caveat Emptor Politics
author: latepass.blogspot.com
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"Armageddon's been in effect, go get a late pass." - Public Enemy
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The Jedi Way & Caveat Emptor Politics
Much of the provocation for making this entire blog has been the realization a realization that i've slowly come to. That being that the world is like a school yard full of bickering and warring children who will not listen to each other. On the surface, this seems like a simple enough realization; something that shouldn't have taken so long to arrive at. However, the reality is that we are often told just the opposite; that one side is right and the other is wrong; that in these often bloody and drawn out wars there are clear-cut "winners" and "losers."
So that's the premise which a lot of what i've written is built upon. Reconciliation, Hashlamah, will not come by pointing out the flaws of one and not the other; this will only embitter the one rebuked in front of the other. Instead it seems the world IS in fact very receptive to the sort of warped-diplomacy that you find here. That is: "You are all fucked up, so let's fix this broken-ass world."
In only three days of the this blog existing, i have received a ton of letters expressing support from BOTH the extreme left wing types AND the extreme right wing types, as well as BOTH sides of the Israel and `Arab World spat (yes, i did just reduce it to a "spat" in terms of its cosmic significance in the Grandeur Order of things). Both "sides" seem more easily able to accept their own flaws when you are also confronting their enemies simultaneous with their flaws.
If from nothing else, THIS is actually making me hope for the human species; in seeing how such a simple approach opens minds. In one of the previous blog entries, i made passing reference to Stephen King's "Needful Things." Now whether you are a monotheist, polytheist, atheist or whatever else might define your views, the example of "the Devil" was beautifully illustrated in that fictional work.
The book/movie is illustrative of the reality we - as a collective species - face; whether you believe in the "Satanic" nature within certain members of the human species pitting humankind against itself (for the imagined gain of such puppeteers), whether you believe in the "Devil" as a "spiritual force" or even as a literal, tangible figure (ala Kaiser Soze: "The greatest trick the Devil played on the world was making them believe that he didn't exist").
Think back to that book (or movie... "Needful Things," not "Usual Suspects").... The one thing that the Devil, in the story, did to succeed at pitting man against fellow man (or woman), is focus upon the unreasonableness of EACH side to the other. That is, today EVERYONE wants to seem to say that no one is wrong. i want to say that they are ALL wrong and ALL right in some ways. In fact it is more so the inability to see the "rightness" in others' perspectives that makes everyone so damn wrong in their own approaches.
Everyone seems to love the Star Wars storyline, but how many pay attention to the basic, time-enduring concept of "either you are with me or you are against me" being the epitome of the "Sith" path?
Notice something about that storyline: It wasn't a story of the "Light Side" versus the "Dark Side." In fact, in MANY ways, the Jedi did some pretty dark seeming shit: All of them killed people (in self-defense of course... nevertheless, not a pretty thing), Obi Wan instructed Anakin to use subterfuge to find out Palpatine's moves and intentions. Most of us would admit that when we think of "good" we don't think of killing and lying (of course, this is not directed at any terrorist types out there).
The point is that the path of the Jedi was the path of balance, the path of no side over the other. The side of doing what is right in any given circumstance. That is, to lie if the motive is selfish is wrong, "dark" side in nature. But to lie in order to save a life, ala Oscar Schindler, Rahab and the spies, or Obi Wan with regards to Palpatine, is good; balanced even though the act itself is dirty and something we'd rather not do.
Crap... there WAS a point there wasn't there?
Well, i'll wrap it up and keep this light. i could go on and on; as anyone who's read any of my books can attest to. But blogs are about bite-sized ideas right?
The point is compromise, understanding. How do you do that when both sides are being assholes to each other? Well, we saw how it worked out for Anakin:
Not what i have in mind for the personification of the future of this world... Maybe all you really need, when everyone is being an asshole, is a little Asshole DiplomacyTM; ala Late Pass Political Commentary.
Okay, i'm getting a little carried away with the Italics now (and with the shameless self-promotion). It get's crazy like that when you blog on a Saturday night...
 http://latepass.blogspot.com
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homepage: http://latepass.blogspot.com
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