Well, regarding the seemingly superfluous rhetoric being thrown around these days by 'the powers that think they be', I offer these musings.
The avenues, and minds, of our fair capital are lined with the faces and figures of our Founding Fathers. How then, can it be a surprise to us that, while many of their dreams have manifested (could Alexander Hamilton possibly conceived of the power our National Bank would come to rear?) their greatest fears have, as well. Corruption of the checks and balances designed to ensure equality, etc. etc. etc, mostly the result of, not enough New Blood (Inherent in the concept of original democracy was the idea that any one of the populace, could govern)!
Years in Washington = years of (ideals) wearing thin.
It has, unfortunately, become a back scratching orgy that, well, we love to tune in to on CNN each day.
Yea, there is comfort in the fact that through destruction, comes rebirth, through death - transfiguration, and I daresay we'll see the fall of the current 'system' in our lifetimes.
BUT, a bit more poignant then my sophmoric rant which, honestly, isn't meant to be judgemental, these forces of good and evil are, of course, all part of the ONE GREAT ENERGY FIELD, and all have their purpose in our journey towards Universal Enlightenment. Now, this does not, for me, indicate passive abiding as the walls come tumbling down. We would be wise to continue the nurturing of our darling children through education and familiarizing them with how daily choices add up, doing this by, among other things, supporting sustainable agriculture, organic farming, holistic living, LOVING EACH OTHER THROUGH EVERY THOUGHT, WORD AND ACTION, and cultivating, through meditation especially, our mental focus, as the power of our minds can never be silenced or diminished, save what we ourselves surrender.
But it can be harnessed, and it is being harnessed, and through the Power of Positive (CREATIONISTIC-EXPANSIVE) thinking, My Dear Friends, we're going to get through this momentary dark age and on to the New, HIGHLY ENLIGHTENED PARADIGM our parents sung about and protested for (As have countless generations going back 4 thousand years, and more, I'm sure)!
YES!
Now, about Quakers. What I shall offer here IS BUT A NUTSHELL, and I encourage you to delve into this group's historical/foundational views, as they are highly relevant to those of us standing here today, feeling proportionately helpless, a sense the 'P.T.T.T.B' (once again, the powers that think they be), God Bless 'em, have been quite effective at instilling.
The joyous news is that we are not at all ineffective, completely opposite, in fact, it was deep in the throes of religious prosecution suffered by the Quakers, and others of alternative faiths, at the hand of the Anglican Church in England, that the first passive resistance movement really took place. The religious, social, and political upheaval of the English Civil War, during the mid-17th century, brought ridicule and suffering to those persons who did not believe war was the answer, to ANYTHING.
By refusing to participate in the violence, and looking to the teachings of Jesus, (which were now accessible through the newly translated English Bible), the Quaker movement was founded by George Fox (1624-1691), not, and I am quoting text here, "not intended as a new denomination, but rather a rediscovery of original Christianity without institutional limitations...The converts to this new view called themselves "Friends of Truth", considering themselves to be friends of Jesus...".
more...
"Quaker" was originally a nickname for those Children of Light or Friends of Truth, as they thought themselves, friends of Jesus. They were said to tremble or shake with religious zeal, and the nickname stuck. But in time, they became known simply as "Friends."
Quakerism began in England about 1650 in the aftermath of the Protestant reformation. It was a religious protest against the hollow formalism which, for many, marked the Established Church of that time. Seeking spiritual reality, these early Friends found that they could experience God directly in their lives without benefit of clergy or liturgy or steepled church."
" The founding document for Friend's Peace testimony was the following DECLARATION. given to King Charles II by Quakers in 1661:
Our principle is. and our practices have always been, to seek peace...and to follow after rightousness and the Knowledge of God, seeking good and welfare and doing that which tends to the peace of all...All bloody principles and practices, we do utterly deny, with any outward war and strife, and fightings with outward weapons, for any end or any pretense whatsoever, this is our testimony to the whole world...and we certainly do know, and do so testify to the whole world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us all into truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world."
1661 - George Fox
Quakers do not have a creed, but do believe in the
Freedom of Individual Conscience..."That no man, by virtue of any power or principality, hath power over the conscience of men is apparent, because the conscience of man is the seat and throne of God in him, of which God is the alone proper, and infallible judge, who by his power and Spirit can alone rectify the mistakes of conscience and therefore has reserved to himslef the power of punishing the errors as he seeth meet..."
-Robert Barclay, Quaker Theologian (1648-1690)
And as the earliest colonies were founded, Quakers in Rhode Island obtained the earliest legislation protecting individual freedom of conscience with the passage of the following Act on August 13. 1673:
"Be it therefore enacted...that no person, that is persuaded in his conscience that he cannot or ought not to train to fight, nor to war, nor kill any person, shall at any time be compelled againes his judgement and conscience to train, arm, or fight...nor shall he suffer any punishment, penalty, or imprisonment for refusing..."
And here are William Penn's words, which GREATLY INSPIRE ME, included in the 'First Frame of Government' ...Government seems to me a part of religion itself, a thing sacred in its institution and ends...And government is free to the people under it, whatever be the frame, where the laws rule and the people are a party to those laws; and more than this is tyranny, oligarchy, or confusion...AS GOVERNMENTS ARE MADE BY MEN, SO BY THEM ARE THEY RUINED TOO. Wherefore Governments rather depend upon men than men upon governments. Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad. If it be ill, they will cure it. BUT IF MEN BE BAD, LET THE GOVERNMENT BE EVER SO GOOD, THEY WILL ENDEAVOR TO WARP AND SPOIL IT TO THEIR TURN."
William Penn - 1682
Damn.
Hope this has sparked something, lent a tidbit of insight. Thank you for your curiosity, and for figuring you might find something worthwhile here to mull over. In an ever expanding Universe, we are always GROWING!
SO MUCH more to come...!