Extremism

Thursday, September 21, 2006

It's inescapable! Extremists to the right of us...extremists to the left of us. We find those who declaim against extremism and those who plead its necessity. There are those who maintain the "correctness" of THEIR particular extremism while decrying someone else's version. And, of course, we have the myriad of pundits who feel is is within their bailiwick to analyse and evaluate what all these folks are REALLY saying, what THEY purport to be the "truth".

We are overwhelmed by the breadth and depth of these diatribes. We desperately need a breath of fresh air, a dose of reality, and a return to common sense. How can we accomplish this? We must take the dual paths of inward searching and outward communication. Such is the path of the Golden Rule and the Golden Mean. Were we to pursue the attitude which attempts to understand another's perspective, were we to refrain from asserting such maxims as "my way is the only way"...or...My God's way is the only way"...we would begin to grasp a means through this quagmire.

Common sense should be the key regarding any assertion that there is only one path and it is mine. The diversity of the world precludes any such monolithic claims. There are, conceivably, as many paths as there are individuals. Yes, it is true, the sense of community may create a path that many may pursue together, but as soon as the scent of elitism enters the air, the value of sharing that path is negated. Is it not obvious that elitism can NOT be a very spiritual asset?

The Golden Rule encourages us towards empathy. It's message is one of tolerance. Extremists who maintain that they, and only they, hold the keys to understanding the Great Spirit's intent are delusional. This includes all groups, sects or denominations which espouse this distorted rhetoric...be they Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Wicca, Buddhist, Taoist, Shinto, Coptic, Hindu...whatever. And, historically, none have been innocent of such abuses at one time or another. Is it so difficult to accept the possibility that ALL religions and spiritual paths SHARE in the spiritual experience? May we not accept the validity of another's faith just as we accept the validity of ours?

One of the impediments in such a mutualistic pursuit is the existence, or creation, of spiritual texts and the interpretations therein. It is the interpretation of these texts that provide the grist for the intolerance mill. As soon as the assertion is made that this or that text is the truth, the only truth, as spoken by GOD...that's where the trouble begins. Yes, certainly, sacred texts may derive from a divine inspiration, of sorts, but when a religious group maintains a strict and constructionist understanding of spiritual texts, they use these as ammunition, as it were, in their mssion to promulgate and proselytize. They adamantly maintain the truth of these texts, that they contain the ONLY truths, to the exclusion of everything else. These texts are often held to be true even in the light of scientific and logical evidence which proves their doubtful authority. Unfortunately, many religious groups have lost the ability to understand allegory and metaphor. They fail to recognize that their texts point to A way, but do not point to THE way.

The Golden Mean is the tool we use to discriminate between extremes. It is the measure that accounts for divergent opinions and resolves them into a cogent and reasonable path that is neither exclusionary nor elitist. It asks us to pursue the middle path and to eschew ALL extremes. This does not imply a homogeneity as one might presume. It accepts diversity as reality but encourages the rational belief that in a world of infinite possiblites, it would be unsound to proclaim that only one faith derived from GOD's truth and that the rest were aberrations.

It is only when we appeal to each other's humanity that we can surpass the divisiveness and sectarianism that spawn extremism. Only when we understand the literary techniques of allegory and metaphor can we avoid the pitfalls of religious authoritarianism. Our progress as a society and as a world can only be accomplished when we have cultivated compassion not driven by ulterior motives but truly altruistic in nature. Our possibilites are equally as unlimited as the world's possibilities. It takes vision, however, to see past sectarianism and embrace the diversity that is so obviuously evident. It takes looking within and the desire to communicate without.

trickster108