History is our
greatest teacher…it will patiently repeat itself until we learn the lesson it
intends to teach us…
…until that day we
will find ourselves walking the circular path that takes us back to this place
where we again have the choice to choose our direction…
The crossroad a place referenced, one way or another,
throughout literature. It is the place
of choice for an individual or for a society.
It is that point in time when two opposing factions are vying for
control and the individual or society must opt for one or the other.
This is not a new situation and was contemplated by Socrates
and many that followed. Philosophy and
its pursuit of continually advancing wisdom and social intelligence or anarchy
and terrorism, again, stand at crossroad of humanity.
I was fortunate to have attended a very progressive public high
school, that had in its curriculum a philosophy course. It was taught by a dedicated instructor that
to this day remains my most influential instructor. This class and the instructor set my path in
life and my first college degree was in Philosophy and I have continued for the
next 45 years a student and teacher of philosophy.
One cannot be immersed in historical philosophy, and
personally committed to the philosopher’s life for an extended period of time
without their creating their own. Mine
has been labeled “Quantum Obligation.”
Although it is extensive and rhetorical, the “bottom-line” is that we are
obligated, as human beings, to leave every moment, (quanta), better, for our
having been allowed to be a part of it.
This leads to the purpose of this brief article. At the risk of sounding like Socrates, we are
at the crossroad and our choice is to abdicate to social degradation and its
use of fear and dissention or the pursuit of living in the philosophical
pursuit and subsequent advancement of actions and behaviors that improve the
world around us…or at least the part of our world that matters.
We have allowed terrorism to wedge into our lives. Not just the blatant terrorism of sects of
society that seek the degradation of society through fear and suffering, but
also through individual terroristic behaviors, such as, social dissent, individual
aggressive behaviors, threats, gangs, organized crime, and so on.
This choice is real and not unlike the threats
(choice)afforded many societies in our past.
Sadly, we find ourselves, again, at this crossroad. This begs the question, “if this is history
repeating itself, what lesson does it intend to teach humanity?”
The answer may simply be “societal commitment.” For short periods of time, individual
societies held the pursuit of philosophy and the benefits of open discourse as
the preferred mode of operation. Each
time the society advances to a point of lethargy and apathy. Societies then allow social degradation, a
foothold and ultimately destroy the advancements afforded through its
philosophical pursuits.
How does society stop walking this vicious circle?
It may be as simple as an ineffaceable commitment to
renewing its pursuit of philosophical advancement with a simultaneous
resistance to the tools and ploys of terrorism, hoodlumism, and gang
mentality. Individuals and society must
see that its tolerance of any behavior not in a philosophical stream is the subtle drug
that diverts them to the path that leads them back to the crossroads. We must act accordingly and strive to avert repeating history’s lesson.
