Destroyers of Inner Peace

Photo credits: NPR

     As I have been contemplating and writing essays about peace, I came to the disturbing realization that our social systems are actually destroyers of inner peace.  In fact, I would have to call them the antithesis of inner peace.   While our natural world is our source of peace,  social systems attempt to indoctrinate us with the belief that peace comes from participating in their high stress systems which keep us worried about tomorrow and focused on often unattainable goals.  Some of these systems, religion being the principal offender, would have us believe that nature, the source of true peace, is an enemy to be overcome.  

     This is especially true of the Abrahamic religions in what is called 'the western world'. Even though they constantly fight among themselves telling their followers that the others are evil, they are related. Both Christianity and Islam grew out of Judaism. I confine my remarks to these religions because they are the ones with which I am quite familiar.  

     It doesn't take long to realize that none of the three religions creates or even supports inner peace. Oh, they all talk about it, and their greetings and liturgies are full of the supplication for peace, but there is really no support or encouragement. Their concept of peace seems more closely aligned with "social peace" which is the lack of public conflict and violence but has nothing to do with individual needs and generally achieved by doing what you're told and not rocking the proverbial boat. Peace is always something 'out there' which is only available to the faithful follower who gives up independent thought and does what their religious leaders tell them, even if it is evil and goes against what their holy books say.  Once you have fulfilled all of the expectation then you might experience peace.  Usually you don't and are told that that is because you didn't believe strongly enough or pray hard enough. I don't know where this peace is supposed to originate since these religions never have you focused on the present. You are always worried about the future. Everything you do is focused on obtaining a future prize.  Since we have clearly observed that peace is a part of our nature and experienced only in the present, because the past is gone and the future does not exist, we must be extremely skeptical of a religion that tells its followers not to worry because there will be peace in their future if they do as they are told.

Only 1.8% of the population voted for George Washington

     Governments are the second social system that destroys inner peace. Government could care less if we have inner peace. That just isn't what governments do. I can't help but think of the exchange in the 1992 movie "Sneakers" between Whistler (David Stdrathairn) and government boss, Abbott (James Earl Jones). Whistler said "I want peace on earth goodwill toward men", to which Abbott replied, "We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing." (i) Governments want social peace in the form of no one complaining, no one noticing their faults and behaviors, and no one rocking their boat. Be quiet, do your job and pay your taxes. Government creates tremendous stress by its very existence. I have always called it a necessary evil.  I believe that one cannot find a government at any point in history that was/is not run by an elite group.  It is, at best, the Animal Farm (ii) scenario; all animals are equal but pigs are more equal.  The French Revolution was meant to create a republic of the people, but those common people; "citizens", as the French revolutionaries called them; who led the revolt soon became the new elite and corruption followed. Government creates stress because we witness how often power corrupts. My father, a professor of history who specialized in US Constitution, had the saying "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."  More and more politicians are demonstrating their belief that they are above the law of the land.  The GOP has made it clear that government of, by and for the people is gone. Now we work for big corporations and the wealthiest 1% thanks to Citizens United. (iii) This really isn't anything new.  If you carefully study the development of the United States Constitution, you will soon realize that it was never intended to be governed by 'common people'.  The founding fathers set up the US government to be run by men with land and wealth. Only 1.8% of the US population actually got to vote for George Washington. (iv) That really isn't Lincoln's idea of government of, for and by the people. Government is antithetical to inner peace.    

     Capitalism is in bed with the politicians and religion. (v) This is nothing new and has been extremely common in western world history. It is a matter of control. Capitalism purposely creates dissatisfaction. If you are happy with your car,  refrigerator,  TV or computer then you won't buy a new one. Capitalism is an unstable, unsustainable system that depends upon constant mass consumption. They don't want you happy. Can an unhappy, dissatisfied person know peace? Capitalism wants you to believe that constant and excessive consumption makes you happy. Peace doesn't even enter the equation. 

    I don't have any theory on where it began, but humans in much of the world feel the need for revenge and someone to hate. Social systems make use of this and even promote it. Look at how Donald Trump and his GOP play the rednecks of this country "like a cheap fiddle." He encourages anger, hatred, violence, and revenge, and then sets up target groups - immigrants, liberals, native Americans and anyone who disagrees with him. You cannot hate and seethe with anger and know peace. Think of how often you have had a conflict or even simple disagreement with someone and hours, days, months or even years later you are still  a no-win game of "if I had only said." You are living in the past. Peace is not past. Peace is now.  However, social systems such as religion, government and capitalism blatantly keep people angry or upset about the past and fearful or stressed about the future, never giving one a chance to experience peace. 

     Inner peace is arguably the most sought after human experience.  I have never heard, nor would I ever expect to hear, anyone say that they did not desire inner peace. Could you, dear reader, look me in the eye and say that you don't care about experiencing inner peace - being at peace with and within yourself? I believe that it is very clear, very obvious, that our social systems, always run by an elite few,  don't really want us experiencing and enjoying inner peace.  If we did, we might find that we don't need them and they would lose control. 

“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” —Dalai Lama

FOOTNOTES. 

(i)   From the 1992 movie "Sneakers"  https://www.moviequotes.com/s-movie/sneakers/
(ii)  Orwell, George. (1945). Animal Farm. London. Secker and Warburg.
(iii)  Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission, 2010, a 5-4 Supreme Court decision that allows corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited funds on an election.  https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/citizens-united-explained
(iv)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_the_United_States_presidential_elections
(v)  Most people actually agree that government; currently the Republican Party; and large corporations have combined forces to control, manage and run our country,  I wonder how many people realize that the merger of corporate and government power is the actual definition of fascism given by the Father of Fascism, Benito Mussolini. Actually Mussolini wanted to call fascism "corporatism".  By the strictest definition, we currently have a fascist government.