Liberals Love; Conservatives Fear

I’d like to talk with you a little bit about love and fear, and about liberal and conservative principles. Many have recognized that there are only two basic aspects of life: love and fear. That is one of the core principles of A Course in Miracles, and of writers such as Jerry Jampolsky. In my book, Peace and Forgiveness (which is not a religious, but a metaphysical book), I state that there is only love and fear, and that all emotions are either love based or fear based. Peace, joy, gratitude, friendliness, acceptance, etc. are all loved based. Love is oneness, or you might think of it as the perception of oneness; but, really, everything is one and interdependent. Love is the energy of life, it is all there is. Love is the Universe.
Fear is simply the perception of separation. The feeling that we, or you, are separate from the energy, from the Universe, and from love. Of course, we are all the energy; at our core, at the level of soul, we are the energy, so we are love. Perceptions of separateness, that is, fear, give rise to fear based acts and emotions, such as anger, hate, racism, war, rape, discrimination, and everything that are is not love based is fear based. It’s just the way it is.
Let’s talk about these concepts in terms of political ideology. Basically, liberal values, more generally espoused by Democrats in the United States, are love based, and, conversely, conservative principles, typically trumpeted by Republicans, are fear based. It doesn’t mean that either is right or wrong; there is no right or wrong from the perspective of the Universe, from the level of the energy that is the all encompassing love. But it’s important, very important, to recognize what people’s beliefs actually are.
So, let’s look a few quick examples; war, taxes and the role of government, health care, religion, and abortion.
You would never fight or kill if you were not afraid of the other person, or person. This is always true. Why would you punch someone or shoot them if you weren’t afraid in some way? You may be afraid that they will take something away from you or just afraid that you will be less happy or feel less about yourself; that your self esteem will be damaged. Certainly, fighting and killing and murder are not loved based. A good example of collective fear leading to war is obviously Iraq. Some saw Saddam Hussein as a threat; what is a threat? Of course, when one is afraid of what someone will do, that’s fear based. While both Democrats and Republicans were caught up in the fear at the time, I believe it is also fair to say that those in favor of the war, those still supporting the war, are conservatives and Republicans. Liberals certainly want to stop the war. Liberals are not sure what will happen after that, but they want to stop the war. Conservatives see the war as an us versus them exercise, and thus by perceiving separateness act out of fear. Liberals see more of the oneness and interdependence and sameness of all people. In other words, love.
Think about taxes now. What are taxes? I would say contributions that we make theoretically to help us all be able to live better, happier, healthier, and peaceful lives. If you say government is mostly there just to provide for security, which I believe conservatives are more likely to claim, then you are focusing on the fear side. What is a desire for security if not wanting to be safe from attacks by other humans? Well certainly also wanting to be safe from floods, and bears, and disease, but national security is all about erecting defenses because of fear of other people. Liberals tend to see government more as the embodiment of us all, and that government’s role is to help us all in as many ways as government can; education, health care, infrastructure, housing, etc. All for one and one for all; in other words, oneness.
Regardless of the primacy of the population’s need for government, however, there is no question that taxes are to contribute to the health and welfare of the citizenry, in other words, to contribute to our own collective wellbeing. If your belief is that it is your money, and government has no right to your money, and you condemn any proposals for social improvements that involve raising taxes, then that perceives the separateness, rather than the oneness. (I will say as an aside that money and the financial system of the world operated by humans are essentially fear based in the first place, but that’s another discussion.) Conservatives and Republicans are more likely to fight taxes than liberals and Democrats, who believe we must all pay our fair share, and the more affluent must simply pay more, because we are all in it together.
Next, health care. As I just indicated, believing that we must provide health care for all Americans (and, indeed, everyone on the planet, which would truly be universal health care coverage) is love based, and contending otherwise simply is not. Again, liberals and Democrats tend to be in favor of such universal health coverage - ensuring adequate preventative and sick care for everyone, even those who can’t pay - and conservatives and Republicans are not. Nuff said on that, I believe.
Religion. Believe it or not, though religions presumably should be love based institutions and do have many precepts that ostensibly teach love, the essence of most religions is fear. When one perceives his or her god as an entity outside and different, that is a perception of separateness. When one sees good and evil as the nature of some people versus others, that is similarly fear based separation, again. Many Christians believe that humans can not get to god - get to be with god forever - except through a mythical Jesus Christ, and also believe they are not worthy, good, or divine compared to god. And, if you break religious rules, then you go to hell, to be separate forever. This belief simply underscores an enormous perception of separation, i.e., fear. Believing that we are actually all divine, worthy, and equivalent is to understand oneness. Once more, it seems to me that conservatives and Republicans tend to be more god-fearing, if you will, than liberals and Democrats.

As our last example, let’s look at abortion. I don’t truly believe that anyone is really for abortion. But liberals and Democrats tend to view a person’s right to choose to have an abortion (usually early in a pregnancy) as predominate over the right of the unborn. I am one who actually believes Roe v. Wade was a very good and accurate judicial holding based on Supreme Court precedent, which is based on an analysis of an individual’s rights against compelling needs of the state. When the latter are not proportionately compelling versus the individual’s rights, then the individual’s rights prevail. I am going to surprise you now and say that I believe being pro-choice - the more likely position of liberals and Democrats - is fear based, and that being against abortion is love based.

Certainly, as humans, we all ought to be able to figure out how to take care of any children that are not, shall we say, planned for. To destroy incipient life is simply not love based. To be afraid of the consequences of having children, to the point of killing them, is fear based. This time, liberals and Democrats act out of fear, and conservatives and Republicans act of out of love; of course, for many, they also act out of allegiance to god’s rules (which actually are made up by men) and also do not approve of sex education because of a silly fear of sex. I do believe that the most loved based approach is to teach our children about this most common and elemental aspect of humanity, and to protect against unwanted pregnancies, but also not to allow abortion to the extent possible.

So, as you can see, liberals and Democrats tend to hold beliefs generally more from a love perspective, and conservatives and Republicans usually more form a fear perspective. This is not always the case, as I have also indicated in my example about abortion. It also is true that most issues have elements of both love and fear based thought, as clearly with abortion.

I say this all only to demonstrate what is actually behind much of the thoughts and positions people have. I don’t believe one position is ultimately right or wrong, because the facts can change the outcome, and I just don’t think there is any right or wrong ultimately in the universe. I mean, some positions seem right to me, and some wrong, but that is just my perspective, not from the perspectiveless universe. But it is very important to understand whether thoughts, acts, and emotions are fear based or loved based. I always try to choose love.

The Sun of God

May 2007

Many Christians don’t really understand the history of their religion. They don’t know anything about the horrors of the centuries long inquisition, how the popes countenanced torture of non-Christians, or really any of the truth of the origins of Christianity. The truth is this; there were many christs before Jesus, with many of the same mythological features. They were pagan gods, like Zeus, Apollo, or Neptune. That is what Jesus is, too, a pagan god, or false god if you will.

This will come to a shock to those who have had an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus, or Mary perhaps, all their lives. There is no historical reference to a Jesus other than in the Bible. But there are many stories of mythical god-men, including Osiris/Horus in Egypt, Dionysus in Greece, Attis in Asia, Adonis in Syria, Bacchus in Italy, Krishna in India, Mithras in Persia, and even Buddha. They had many similar characteristics: born of a virgin on December 25, turned water into wine and performed other miracles, crucified or killed, descended into hell, rose from the dead, etc. If you don’t believe it, just do your own research; there are lots of scholarly books out there, including The Jesus Mysteries by Freke and Gandy and The Christ Conspiracy by Acharya S.

But what really pulls it all together is the knowledge that the pagan religions and the origins of Christianity were based in astrology. Yes, that’s right, astrology. The ancients watched the skies and were deeply influenced by the sun, moon, and stars. God was the sun; that makes sense, because the sun is the most obvious giver of life that we can observe. In the Bible, stars are called sons of god, thus, as Acharya says, “the son of god is the sun of god.” To the ancients, the sun annually goes southward until December 21, the winter solstice, when it “dies” and seems not to move for three days, and then “rises again,” This was celebrated on December 25^th. Further:

The sun of god was born of a virgin, which refers to the new or virgin moon;

The sun is at its zenith at noon, and is then “most high;”

The sun’s birth is attended by three kings, the three stars on Orion’s belt;

The sun enters each sign of the zodiac at 30 degrees, i.e, at the “age” of 30;

The sun’s followers are the 12 signs of the zodiac, the 12 “disciples;”

The sun “changes water into wine,” by creating rain, which grows the grapes for wine;

The sun “walks on water” referring to its reflection;

The sun wears a corona, “crown of thorns,” or halo; and

The sun is the “light of the world.”

Humans have been believing in these sorts of myths for eons. That’s OK, because there is spiritual value in the stories. But when beliefs in mythical figures affect the way humans interact, and lead to killing and war as they have over the centuries, then it is finally time to say that the emperor has no clothes and it is time to find a new faith. When most of the people on earth believe that the creator of the universe wrote a book, as Sam Harris says, then it is time to evaluate our beliefs.

My faith is in us; you and me. I believe that we all can learn love and that fear causes all hate, ware, anger, and everything else that separates human beings. I believe in true love, and also that humans can recognize the effects of the myths of the past and learn to live in peace.

If There Never Was A Jesus ....

March 2007

There Never Was a Jesus.

What if that were true? It is, of course. There never was a son of god who walked on water, cured the sick, or died and rose again. No virgin mother, either. If that’s heresy to you, could you please indulge me for a moment and just hypothetically assume it true?

So, then, what would you believe in?

If there were no saints, or sinners, heaven or hell, what would your life be about? What would the god of your prior beliefs want you to believe?

Would a god want you to think this life was miserable, and this earth he created simply the stage for some morality play to test us? Would a god want you to believe that he was going to reward some people with unending bliss, but consume others in perpetual fire? Would he even want you to determine how to act based on fear of that fire?

So you think that god would really countenance people killing other people or blowing themselves up in the hopes of living in a better place? Would that god want some humans to have more wealth than they could ever use and others to live with nothing, in abject poverty? Would he really care who you had sex with?

Would that god have been proud of his beings enslaving others of his creation? Would he think it grand that people living in different “nations” hated one another, or that some people felt superior to others based on the color of their skin or what they thought about him?

My answer to these questions is a resounding no. But a belief in false mythical images of god, or Jesus, Krishna, Allah, Buddha, often leads people to answer yes to these questions. The so called great religions of the world are truthfully more like idolatrous cults, with beliefs based on fear and separation from god.

Wouldn’t that god image really want people to love one another? Wouldn’t he want them to appreciate - truly appreciate - this earth? Wouldn’t he want us to absolutely enjoy each moment of the brief light of our existence on this planet? Wouldn’t he want us to rejoice in his handiwork, rather than worship him? Why would such a god have a psychological need to be worshipped in the first place? Wouldn’t he want us to believe that this heaven some seek is right here, right now?

It is time for the primitive fear based religious thought pervasive among humans to be washed away. It is now the moment in history when we collectively say, “Enough, how could we have been so silly?” We must change the perspective of the human race, in order to continue on the path of life. And it’s really all very simple; we just need to understand love. Oneness is love.

When we understand our unity with everything, then our world will change and be that perfect heaven we seek. We can go on from here facing the challenges of living with love for everyone. Our lives should presume love for all on the planet, not be asphyxiated in perpetual fear of other people or their ideas.

While others may place their faith in myths, false gods, or some sort of life after death, my ultimate faith is in love, here and now, and that we will come to understand it.

The Gift of Christmas

December 2006

If there never was a Jesus,

Where would that leave us?

Some scholars say, he never was,

A pagan myth, believed because

We hope so much for love and grace

And, upon our deaths, an eternal place.

Yet the spirit of Christmas is clear.

We’re with family, and friends most dear.

We feel love, and joy, and peace,

And from our day jobs, we get some release.

Most important, though, at least to me,

Is the spirit of Oneness, the truth that we

All are given this glorious life;

Warm home, loving children, a wonderful wife.

But also the birds that swoop through the sky,

The river that rushes, the clouds up so high,,

And the ability to know: we get what we give.

When we understand this, we begin to live.

And if we give love, I truly believe.

Then that is what we all will receive.

Inconvenient Truths

Spetember 2006

I recently saw Al Gore's movie 'An Inconvenient Truth.' It is one of the most important films ever. He explains clearly that human behavior is causing global warming, which if not arrested will result in a rise in sea levels of twenty feet or more and hundreds of millions of refugees around the world trying to escape the oceans.

He also very clearly says that we can halt global waming. If we all were conscious of it and understood the consequences of our collective actions, together we could change the projected outcome of the greatest threat to human life (which only somewhat ironically is caused by humans).

But people don't seem interested. They are more concerned with making sure they have nice cars and humongous homes, prestigious jobs and fancy clothes. In other words, they are more afraid to be subjected to a lifestyle they may not find comfortable or emotionally self-aggrandizing than they are of the consequences of their actions. The fear of not having enough money, or that our country would - heaven forbid - not lead the world in key economic indicators, is more acute than having one's home be under the ocean.

Humans are essentially blinded by their limited perception of the world. They do not see our ultimate oneness with everything. They do not see how we are all literally connected, on the level of physics and on the global level Gore discusses. They see separation.

Love is oneness, and fear is the perception of separation. Fear causes all war, attack, hate, anger, and everything else that is not love. That's an inconvenient truth, too. Because if one believes it's true, then one has to acknowledge that all his or her comfortable hates, angers, religous beliefs, and phobias are really fear based and primitive.

In the movie, Gore quotes Mark Twain:

“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”

If people continue to believe in angry judgmental gods, which is fear based because no one wants to go to hell, then our world will continue to experience collective terror (isn't the war on terror just about trying to kill and terrorize some other people?).

But people don't understand all this, anymore than they understand the climate crisis; I mean really understand the climate crisis. Once we do all understand these inconvenient truths, then we can have a new world, and the old divisive way of thinking will evaporate as if it were never there. And then we won't have global warming or war. If you don't believe that can be true, then it can't.

The Fear of Not Being Loved Causes People to Kill

July 2006

War wages in the Middle East. Human against human. People shake their heads and wonder why.

It’s easy really. The ultimate fear of not being loved causes humans to kill one another. Oh, there are lots of other ostensible reasons: hate, anger, national or tribal feuds (the same thing, really), religion, etc. But these all arise directly from the fundamental fear of not being loved, which can also be interpreted as not being able to have the peace of the Universe, or by some as not being with god in love.

Here is a case in point. On April 20, 1999, Columbine High School students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed a dozen of their classmates and one teacher, and then themselves. Everyone wondered why.

The sheriff in Jefferson County Colorado recently released documents taken from the boys’ homes that provide the answer.

“I hate you people for leaving me out of so many things,” Eric wrote. “You had my phone #, and I asked you and all, but no, no no don’t let that weird looking Eric kid come along …. I HATE PEOPLE and they better [bleeping] fear me.”

Eric’s hate for his classmates clearly was based on his perception that they didn’t like him. In words, he was afraid he wasn’t popular or wasn’t worthy. All of these feelings and emotions come down to one thing; he was afraid that he wasn’t loved. That is, he had a fear that he could not have love.

Love is oneness. Fear is the perception of separateness. Eric perceived that he was separate or different. So, his fear led him to hate. Listen now to what Dylan wrote:

“I know that I am different. As I look for love, i feel i can’t find it, ever.”

He was afraid – that is, he had a fear – that he could not have love, so he hated and killed. It really is that simple.

We should be able to understand the role that fear plays in our world and, once we recognize it, we should be able to let it go and appreciate the oneness that is all of creation. We should be able to see that we humans are all the same, living a glorious life on our perfect earth home. We can change our minds and our perceptions and see this. I’m sorry Eric and Dylan couldn’t see it; I’m sorry that those who fight and hate and kill can’t see it. I look forward to the day humans can see it, and then we’ll know peace.

True Christians Cannot Support War

April 2006

This was written on a beautiful Easter Sunday, when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. It is a wonderful day, with the thought that death can be conquered and that there is hope. Of course, it is not true that Jesus actually rose from the dead. The story is based on an old pagan myth. Yet so many people take an obviously untrue story and make it the centerpiece of their religious belief. That's why they call it faith, because no one could believe it otherwise.

Raised a Catholic, I understand faith and how people can believe things that make no sense whatsoever. The entire jihad against Americans and the west makes no sense, unless one understands that they see us as a threat, i.e., they fear us. The actions of the terrorists are based on fear, not love. (Of course, attacking Iraq made no sense and was also based on fear.) No god could ever countenance such actions. Idolatry lives on in so many ways.

But here I want to focus on the real center of religious faith. That is the belief in love. If one believes in Jesus and is a Christian, he or she knows the greatest commandment: love one another. Love your enemies as yourself. Turn the other cheek. Forgiveness is a crucial part of this love. Forgive them and you can love them, and see them - and all people - as blameless and lovable.

This is the true core concept in Christianity, and it is the key to peace in our lives and in our world. But if you believe in war, you don't really understand love.

Love one another does not mean kill one another. Absolutely not. It doesn't mean only love us, or some of us, but not them. For love is oneness and unity, and means seeing us all - and everything - as one. The perception of separateness is fear, and fear and love are not compatible. No one would make war or kill another person if they were not afraid, or had not judged someone to be different or separate from god.

So, it is puzzling. People who profess a Christian faith support killing other people in war. No one who supports any war, including the war in Iraq, can also be a true Christian. If a person truly knows and understands love, he or she cannot support war.

How have we come to a point where Christians profess love and act in war? It is a sad perversion of the true teachings of the religion. And in concert with the principle of love, we can only love them and forgive them, and see them as blameless; they know not what they do.

But if we attack them and judge them, we fall prey to the same fear and judgment, and demonstrate a lack of love, too.