Dragonslaying lessons?

So, this appears, is our world. A world where mutilating our children and feeding them poison is "normal" and guarding and nurturing them as nature designed us to is "dangerous" "risky" and sure to damage them. A world where childless women scream at the top of their lungs at Mothers for "abusing" their children because they are breastfeeding them "too long". A too long that apparently includes anything past a few weeks of age. A world where women are so indoctrinated about the fundamental importance of "being nice" that they are ready to light the match to any woman who crosses the line that they deem to be the edge of "nice". A world where crazed "patriots" are ready to shout down, intimidate and even shoot innocent human beings who believe poverty should not be a death sentence. Leadership and Democracy, rationality and evidence, all are rejected in this world. It's a world where "It's my opinion" is believed to excuse the most hateful behaviour.

"I can think whatever I want, it's right because it's MY opinion and YOU can't stop me!!"
and this should excuse pronouncements that Mothers should be punished for the "disgusting" "gross" "crazy" "abusive" sin of simply breastfeeding their children. "MY GOD! that baby has TEETH, you've gone TOO FAR!!".

it should excuse calls to again shoot a gentle statesman, a leader of a country that has had too many leaders shot and killed for simply trying to lead their people to Peace. "How dare you CONTROL me by allowing every citizen to see a doctor even if they are *gasp* POOR!!"

it should excuse public pronouncements that all Mothers should be locked in their homes until their children are weaned because the very sight of a child being nurtured is a crime against "decent" society that should be punishable by years of solitary confinement."DEAR GOD! What is WRONG with you! I don't want to look at THAT. Have some respect, some discretion, some DECENCY!! My children are permanently damaged by the very sight of you!! Give that baby a bottle or go hide in a corner where you belong, DISGUSTING."

it should excuse leaving tiny babies alone in imprisoning devices for hours, screaming desperately for help until they vomit or die because they can't breathe, all to avoid the truly horrifying possibility that they might DEPEND on their family.

it should excuse chopping pieces off our children despite mountains of proof that it does nothing but harm them. "He has to look like his father!" Because of course, if his Father had an Auschwitz tattoo, we would insist that he have one too.

it should excuse leaving young mothers alone with their babies when they've never even been in the same room with one before, lying to them when they ask for help, and blaming them when they can't make a go of it or start to feel the effects of being forced to do a job that takes a VILLAGE, alone.

Our world. A world where "It's always been done this way" is a good enough reason until it's pointed out that it has NOT always been done this way, at which point the excuse becomes, "well, it's the new more advanced way, and the old ways were wrong and primitive". God forbid you point out that current "advances" show otherwise. God forbid you should feel strongly about wanting mothers and children to be educated and supported in how to follow the lead of their own bodies and biology. Should feel strongly that mothers are not monsters, waiting to harm their children, are not an unending market source to be duped and drained of the few resources accorded them, or blamed for their lack of value as consumers because they have chosen to give love as time rather than products.

It's a world where opinions are so strongly valued, but any opinions that are different from the ones held by the willfully ignorant are "crazy" "extreme" "fanatical" and "scary". Where an intelligent thoughtful person cannot allow themselves the luxury of humour, for fear the rejectors of rationality will decry the form the humour takes. For fear that those who don't "get it" will raise a call to arms against any who commit the sin of making a joke they don't understand. Or really making a joke at all when they should rather be spending their time making everyone harmed by the greater enemy "feel better" about it. Would an addictions counsellor be required to tell the people still living in the crack house that "It's okay" you did the best you can, don't feel guilty? Would that same addictions counsellor be attacked for standing in front of the crack house telling everyone headed towards the front door, "Don't go in there, it's POISON" because they might make all the former addicts "feel bad" about the fact that they went in there in the past?

In this world, YES. apparently they would.

In this world, it is assumed that if you are passionate, you cannot be gentle. It is assumed that if you are emotional, you cannot be right, HOWEVER, if you are rational, you also cannot be right. The paradoxes are unending! It's a world in flux, so perhaps paradox is natural. After all, we made this world, so we CAN unmake, or remake it, and the clash of forces leaves much chaos in it's wake. All the creation myths speak of the chaos that lies at the beginning of new worlds. And a NEW world is beyond certainty what we NEED. The questions at play right now are so fundamental, so cosmological that we cannot answer them without changing EVERYTHING. And really, isn't that the heart of the matter? Isn't that where the violence, the hate and the idiocy comes from? Fear of change. The unconscious, as an entity and also personified as individuals, must fight awareness to maintain it's own existence. Hence the fight against ANYTHING that helps develop awareness. Rational thought, consciously considered emotion, sacrifice towards the enlightenment and development of another, all these things lead to greater awareness. Awareness is the enemy of unconscious fear, the enemy of entropy, the enemy of the status quo. After all, what else is greed but the ultimate self-defense? And what else can be seen as the central drive underlying our world except greed?

So, if greed is fear, and it's enemy is awareness, then isn't the essence of the process required to change worlds simply acting to make the fearful aware of their fear? Yes, YES it is. So, we must walk right into the maw of the beast and tell it that it IS a beast. Two things can happen. The first is that the beast will deny us. It is a mind-boggling spectacle to watch a beast proclaiming that it is not a beast by acting beastly. Mind-boggling! But here is the hard part. The beast will try to make you blind to it's own beastliness by making YOU into a beast. Because, after all, we are ALL BEASTS. It's not a "somebody else" thing. One of the wise peaceful leaders that was shot said "We have nothing to fear, except fear itself" and he was right. It's kinda like fighting zombies, everyone who gets caught is transformed. And the freshly transformed turn on the others with a greater ferocity than any other. And it is the very boggling of the mind that allows that transformation to occur. The only way to fight the boggling, paradoxically, is to admit that you're boggled, and laugh. It REALLY pisses the beast off when you do this. While laughing you have to do the HARDEST thing, you must turn your laughter into compassion and at the moment of greatest anger, try to HEAL the beast. At this point, EITHER of you can be transformed. You can become the beast, or the beast can be released. It is very hard to predict the outcome. Awareness of the process occurring is the only way to armour yourself against it. If you are aware that the beast can bite you, you may be able to absorb the venom. If you have successfully transformed your own beast, you have a chance. If you haven't, you'll need a miracle.

But, it can happen. You can walk into the jaws, say peacefully "You are a beast". Say also, "I was a beast too. You no longer have to be a beast, this is how you may change" and actually have it work. I have seen it. It is the greates moment of light and joy imaginable. This is the second thing that may occur, the first is nothing. The beast remains. This is unfortunately more common. But the ONLY way to reclaim the beast is to confront it. You start with yourself, (and always remain there as well, transformation backwards is a constant danger). But a tact that keeps the beast in hiding will transform nothing.

The true warriors, the dragonslayers, the ones who free the kingdom, the ones who give us a NEW world, are the ones who seek the beast. First within, constantly within, and then compassionately, passionately, past fear, perhaps past sense, without.

If you don't like this world, our world, it is the only way forward. I wish you strong armour.