Some time ago, I did some phone work for a certain political campaign, I was called "baby killer" by religious zealots who obviously could not think for themselves, going so far as to make up insults that were not only unoriginal but didn't even apply to the subject at hand.
This did not offend me in the least, it did however bring my attention to just how stupid we've become. We are a nation of memes, We are not people, we are photocopies of people.
The funny thing is, I wasn't making calls on behalf of any abortion clinic, in fact, it was a political mission. The calls had nothing to do with abortion. Their responses did nothing to advance their cause, it served only to point out what a dangerous nation of zombies we are.
We live in a time when Adolf Hitler could easily become president, a time when all someone has to do is stand up, point their finger at some group of people (in the US climate it's "immigrants" but it doesn't matter)
We don't like to think for ourselves, we'd rather just go along with whatever it is we're told to think. Churches, CNN, movies, parents, elders, authorities and religions. Morals allow us to "point the finger" at others for mistakes. Morals allow us to avoid thinking, morals are... for morons.
Hitler had no power. He was just a man, no more powerful than you or I. It was the people who supported him, the people who followed him, the people.. who carried out his orders. It is the people who give leaders any alleged power they have.
We don't want to think that maybe, just maybe, we were responsible for the holocaust, it was we who were responsible for the trail of tears, it is us who are responsible for starving children and slave labor taking place in under developed nations (we support this by our decision to buy goodies at places like walmart.) No, we'd rather abdicate our responsibility onto the shoulders of others.
Then, when people are killed or exploited, we talk about what a villain Hitler was, what a terrible company Nike is or how awful oil companies are. How convenient for us to concentrate all this onto the head of one entity, how easy it is to avoid thinking for ourselves (and consequently, swallowing the fact that it is us who are responsible for the shape the world is in)
Sounds pretty bleak eh? Well.. yea. everything in our modern world that we created is obviously our doing, no? Now you might say "Speak for yourself, I didn't do it" and, as an individual, that may be the case, but when I say "we" I refer to the entire human race. Unless you're reading this from your flying saucer, that includes you.
First step in patching this world is to stop blaming others for the shape it's in, then, stop blaming ourselves.
You see, when I say we are responsible for the holocaust, I mean that in the sense of taking charge of it. By claiming responsibility (and not blame!) you can begin to correct the problems. You can decide to use retailers that are inline with the world you would create, you can decide to walk whenever possible instead of supporting oil companies.
You can decide, for yourself which parts of the world could be better and make choices according to the world you want to create.
Only until we stop and realize it is we who made this mess can we decide to clean it up or for that matter, decide, fully aware, to allow our world to deteriorate.
This is an acceptable choice, so long as we are aware of what we're doing. If you are of the view that global warming is perfectly acceptable, go ahead and drive an SUV. Just be aware of your choices. Doesn't mean you have to allow others to make them for you, if anything, I'm claiming you should stop allowing others to think (and consequently produce the choices you would make as a result of someone elses thoughts) for you.
No, this is far beyond blame, this is standing up, saying "Ok, well, that was fun, what else is there?" and deciding what kind of world you would like to create.
I'm not going to tell you (here anyway) what kind of world that ought to be I'm only here to remind you and incidentally, myself that it is we who are creating it.