THE WAR ON DRUGS, THE PURITAN ETHIC
AND THE HIGHEST PER CAPITA JAIL RATE ON THE PLANET
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I`ve re-written this article but can`t seem to find
the new and improved version, the more coherent one...
The point I was trying to make is that there
is a dangerous hangover from the puritan mindset. Part
of that mindset is an UNCONSCIOUS TENDENCY to debase
all things of the flesh. And this judgemental disdain towards
the flesh has much to do with the uncaring destruction of
the physical world around us
Excuse me as I repeat: THIS JUDGEMENTAL DISDAIN
TOWARDS THE FLESH HAS MUCH TO DO WITH THE
UNCARING DESTRUCTION OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD
AROUND US.
This unconscious hatred of the flesh is the motivating force
behind many of the idiotic judgements made by shallow Christian
elements.The puritan tradition is carried on thoughtlessly, a prejudice
repeated by rote.
Why is this important? This unconscious moralizing
WAR on the FLESH is the impetus behind a hateful disregard for
our physical environment.
If we pray to the spirit and despise the flesh, this
disdain ends up being applied to our environment, also.
I truly think this is a dangerous situation. I think
this unconscious prejudice might kill us all.
I shudder to think that a mind infused with this
unbalanced dualism - that such a mind might have access
to nuclear weapons - this is no joking matter!
In "THE LAND OF THE FREE" as we refer
to ourselves in Canada, we have the highest per capita
incarceration rate on this planet. And why is this?
It`s because of the high arrest rate caused by the "war
on drugs."
All of North America has this honour.
We share this highest per capita jail rate with the United States.
WHAT MADNESS IS THIS?
THIS MADNESS DERIVES FROM THE PURITAN ETHIC.
In old time errant Christianity we used to "lift up the spirit" and "debase the flesh". There are not two worlds: a higher world of the spirit and a lower world of the flesh.
Our magnificent Earth and the Universe we are born
into - it`s one Unity. Spirit cannot exist without the flesh. It`s
obvious: we are part of one fabric of being. It`s ridiculous to demean
one aspect of this fabric and sanctify another aspect.
The thinking goes, "Drugs are evil; they are part of the lesser world - the world of the flesh. And there is a mean-spirited and mostly
unconscious prejudice against the world of the flesh.
There is sickness in this dualistic thinking and the phony morality that derives from it. In fact there is no duality, rather there is an underlying unity of
of all things.
Dualities such as spirit vs flesh, object vs subject,
God vs man: thinking in terms of such phony distinctions ---
creates erroneous morality. Why base our thinking and actions
on divisions that don't exist?
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