MAGS CONTINUES TO DECONSTRUCT RELIGIONISM... AND TAKES ON GOVERNMENT OF, FOR, AND BY BIG BUSINESS

I don’t know much about Middle East politics. It has been a constant frustration to communicate with anyone on either side of the fence, those who have a dog in this race. From the outside it looks to me like there is a lot of blame to go around.

Here are some things I do know about. I know about jealousy and fear. I know about anger. I know about loss, and I know about greed. And, toss in there that I know a lot about religious attitudes of exclusion and self-righteousness. Does that about cover it?

This is not an attempt to over-simplify this struggle, but it IS a struggle in which human beings are involved, and-- I’m sorry-- no matter who you are, and no matter how special you think your circumstances are, there remains a certain range of possibilities for motivation.

Let us look at the puzzle pieces in the Middle East. If we can start there, maybe the components can be broken down into understandable parts. I do not pretend to be talking to politicians here, they will do what they wish to do according to their own motivations most of which will not be to promote peace and safety.

We have two very large commodities in the Middle East, one is oil, and the other is religion. Converging in the Middle East are the big three religions, the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religions. Involved in those religions are winner take all beliefs and expectations. The commodity of oil is self explanatory. We all know the importance of oil to the US and to other nations [in fact to almost all nations except Brazil, which was independent-minded enough to get out from uder oil dependence].

Let us remove from this equation, Oil Execs and World political leaders. Take away the oil men in the White House and State Dept. Take away the Saudi Royals, all the rest. Let us take away the religious leaders around the world who are fanning the flames of jealousy and hatred.

What are we left with?

In the Middle East we are left with people who are scarred from losses due to generations of war, folks suffering from justifiable anger and rage.

Who are the big winners of the current struggles?

Oil company’s fortunes are at risk due to instability, but over all, at this juncture, it looks to me like they are poised to make even more windfall profits just as they have from every natural disaster and political disaster of the last several years, Katrina and Iraq just being two of the most recent and most spectacular.

Arms dealers are seldom discussed in the news. I wonder why that is? I guess we are to conclude that all the arms in these wars are mysteriously distributed by terrorists. Ok, where did they get them?

Now, follow me here. If the big guns of governments were taken out of the equation, and the religious extremist leaders were as well, how many people would be lining up to perform a suicide bombing or street fighting? Consider this-- without recompense being offered by powerful religious organizations and powerful governments the people would pretty much look to solve the problems and get on with their lives. Seriously.

Now, you are rolling your eyes, I know it. You are saying to yourself, there she goes again. I know factoring out these entities is absurd, that the real world does not do this, but this is a mental exercise, the one I am using to sort through the basics on this problem since I do not have the time to read volumes on the history of this struggle. Some things just have to be known by their essence, or at least grasped in that way.

Now, you say, everyone knows people more or less just want to mind their own business, just solve their day to day problems, watch their children and grandchildren grow up and engage in pleasant past times. It has not always been so. In the history of our species we have had to struggle for survival against the elements of nature. This is no longer true, and if it is true, then it is artificial. What I mean is that people struggle because they are abandoned to that struggle. It is no longer necessary. Modern economies and technologies can fix almost all of that.

So, what I am saying is that more than any other time in history, we struggle against ourselves, but ourselves in the form of our religious leaders and the robber barons of economies which we have been sold as good ideas. Think Enron (I know there are tons of examples, but I am on a roll here, you are on your own).

We have been trained not to question the sacred, the sacred religious tenets and the sacred government, and the sacred economy of capitalism. Consider this. Religious fervor and patriotism have the same function. They control people. They make sure the people will abandon self-interests in favor of larger goals, goals that may or may not serve them, usually the latter. But, they serve someone.

Who benefits? Just a short list: big business, egomaniacal religious leaders [more often than not, their own branch of Big Business], and egomaniacal government officials [almost always completely owned subisidiaries of Big Business]. I know, it is a very short list, but it will suffice.

Guns and bombs are not created in a vacuum. They are manufactured. And, they are not just put outside the factory door, someone sells them. Someone markets them.

Now, let us turn our attention to religion. To question is to commit sacrilege. More and more religion in all countries is used to garner support for the local power brokers. It is twisted and easily so, since its precepts are taken to their nth degree beyond the point of diminishing returns.

I do not care if you are Shia or Sunni, Pentacostal or Catholic, Hasidic or Reform. Religion is not only big business, but it is a control mechanism. There is nothing like it to manipulate a people into
jealousy, anger, and righteous indignation. There is nothing like it to promote extreme exclusive and
irrational acts. It is faith baby, and faith is all about unseen and unverifiable “realities.”

To be honest the US has made this jingoistic Patriotism another article of faith. They have managed to tie both into a nice package, I think similar to Israel. One can no longer question the country without being accused of taking on the faith. I think it is safe to say that Islam is similar in many respects. To condemn acts of terrorism is to condemn Palestine or whatever nation and Islamists as a whole.

Oil and any energy really, is the stuff of which modern life is made. If you have it, you own the world. The Middle East has it, and God help South America, but that is a different story. I don’t own it. You don’t own it. We have little say in the matter except for the miniscule gallons we pump into our vehicles, especially if we are Americans.

What I am getting at is that when we add these ingredients, oil and religion with a dash of big business and demagoguery we get a big mess. We get heat that the stewing pot of the Middle East has been cooking in for generations. We have our fingers in that pie… or our spoons in that broth, to keep the metaphor consistent.

The point I am making is, if we remove the self-interests of these big guys, we are left with people. And, we know how to help people. We really do. We have improved our understanding of counseling and mental health. We know how to build cities and hospitals and schools. We know how to train and educate PEOPLE. We can do that.

But, until we as a species call them as we see them. Until we are willing to put pressure on governments and religious leaders manipulated by governments or their own damaged egos there will be no peace. The elephant will still be in the living room.

Who will die? It is not likely that the religious leaders will suffer much. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson are not likely to be in the line of fire, but they are certainly guilty of setting many. And, the religious leaders (look I told you I do not know them) of the Middle East will be protected by their followers. Israel will be protected by a US President who is playing to the hard right Christian conservative base, and the US President will be protected by big business and big oil interests, not to mention the arms dealers.

It is a rather sick version of the old nursery song, The Farmer in the Dell.

I solve nothing here. I realize that. And, real people are still dying today, and everyday. Of course, they are not the people who own the oil or incite extremism, not for the most part. They are folks like me who are trying to enjoy life, enjoy their families and their children, and perhaps do something aesthetically enjoyable. What I have done though is to point out that the very people charged with fixing this are the very people who benefit from it. They will not suffer as the people suffer. Their motivations are financial and political.

Americans by and large are spectators, but for how long? The Islam religion and the Jewish religion and the Christian religion are not our problem. But, extremism and big business are. And, they are coming to a neighborhood near you, more likely than not. Just watch the rapture cuckoos emerge from the woods cheering Armageddon. We need to fix this. We know how. We just need to reject… all of us in all the countries….the wishes of our rulers. And, adhere to the wishes of real people. Bring the people to the conference tables. In droves bring them.

Peace as a commodity and leadership that is multilateral and diverse… I can dream, can’t I?

-Mags