A Thought
" So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth."
– Baha'U'Llah, Founder of Baháʼí Faith
Back in 2015, when the networks were first giving significant attention to the defendent's speeches, I remember my older son noting that the guy was aping the style of Hitler. I think he called it an off-beat cadence with certain lines intended to communicate ggressive hatred. Thus, I was not surprised to hear the word "vermin" spewing from the anal fistula on his face.
I was glad to hear my president call the defendent out on this. (Link below) This was not a simple campaign line. No president in my lifetime has ever made a reference to his opponent using the tactics of Hitler. That just does not happen. And so it is something that I find goes beyond politics.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-campaign-says-trump-echoed-hitler-with-use-word-vermin-2023-11-13/
When President Biden gave this warning, it is important to take it seriously. In fact, with the highest level of seriousness. I've seen a variety of responses on this forum, to both what the defendent said, and what President Biden then said. I've thought about it for a few days, before putting my thoughts in order. I will start with the opposition.
I've read some people sincerely asking how anyone could support the defendent -- especially at this late date? Other posts express fear of the possibility of the defendent being elected to the presidency next year. Numerous good people -- on this forum and elsewhere -- have expressed their belief that his regaining office would spell the end of the democratic experience in the United States of America. Because I do understand exactly why people are drawn to his destructive cult, and fully appreciate what his election would mean, I am convinced that it would be far worse than most imagine.
An understanding of individual and group psychology, along with an appreciation for Faulkner's line in "Requiem for a Nun" -- ""The past is never dead. It's not even past." -- creates a good foundation. Add Rumi's lines, which I tend to repeat here every so often -- about the chain of cause and effect -- and one can see one of the three potential paths our society is going to opt for. And that choice can be selected as much, and perhaps more, by the unconscious and sub-conscious parts of the brain that are the result of human evolution.
I remember Rubin talking about white nationalism, and quoting Malcolm on the history of America oppressing non-white human beings, both in this country and around the earth. No, that past is not dead. We see it rising in parts of this country today. I think of Rubin's teachings on the bibical story of the Tower of Babel, on it's highest esoteric and truest meaning, not the misconception that falls upon lower levels of understanding. I've shared that in the past on this forum. As a devote atheist, Rubin had amazing insight into the great religions, and their highest teachings. In the late 1970s, from solitary confinement when he thought he would die in prison, he wrote the most beautiful letters to me on these subjects.
Now I want to focus briefly on the human nature of the defendent and his flock. He spews venom, literally, and the cult is energized by it. It is the language that they understand, as that is the nature of hatred -- found only in human beings, including in groups. It is as caustic as sulfuric acid. It eats away from all the Good qualities in groups and individuals
There was a significant spill of sulfuric acid last week in the plant my son works in. But that is only part of the reason that I mention it. The other reason is related to the use of the word "brimstone" in the bible, the archaic word for sulfur. Now, many people are familiar with the "rotten egg" odor of hydrogen sulfide in water. Fewer are familiar with how a decomposing corpse smells similar, but far worse, than a glass of sulfur water. That is why we find the references in scripture oncluding Psalms, Ezekiel, and Revolations ..... it speaks to the walking brain-dead and soul-dead. (Note: by "soul," I mean that spark of energy from the universe that allows us to experience the divine miracle of life on Earth, during the eternal Now.)
To remedy a spill of sulfuric acid, one should not attempt to use another type of acid. Rather, you must use an agent to neutralise it. Only that provides for a safe clean up. I understand the discomfort that Good People experience today. Also, emotional reactions including anger, hate, and fear. But as Rubin came to understand while in confinement, our salvation comes in neutralising these emotions. That includes as individuals and groups. That does not translate into advocating being sitting ducks or victims of the living dead of the defendent's cult. Just the opposite: it is the way to remove the threat they pose. It is the path to the top of the human mountain that Martin Luther King spoke of. And it starts with each one of us as individuals, then forming groups, until unity lights the way -- recognizing that "unity" does not imply nor demand that we all have the same opinions on every issue. For it is the divisions that we are witness to today, between Good People, that poses the greatest threat.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Now what is the neutralizing agent that can clean up this mess and remove the stench of the Slobfather and his goons.
Fabulous OP. 
It's most helpful.
I just posted a crescent moon on Facebook and in the Photo Group. Come on over and smile!
Thank you for sharing your insights and wisdom. Also, hat tip for the Bahai quote, as it is also one of my favorites.
This is one of the most concise readings to come onto my path in a long while that makes me want to read it again, and again, and process.
And, of course, a huge K&R
while I certainly understand and appreciate the conflicts amongst Good People you mention here, I couldn't help but think of terrorist groups, like Hamas, ISIS and even the violence within MAGA and white nationalist groups.
How to neutralize the hatred they spew? It struck me that perhaps the only way to truly neutralize the hatred at the core of their beliefs and actions is for those who share SOME of their beliefs to show the good and another way forward.
The hatred such groups as ISIS feel toward the west can perhaps only or most effectively be neutralized by fellow Muslims more loudly preaching the love of Islam and how their actions are NOT sanctioned in the Qur'an and to refocus on the love and compassion within their teachings.
That would be true of all religions, of course.
The hatred some white people have toward people of color shouldn't be expected to be neutralized by POC continuing the work of trying to be seen as equally human and deserving of respect by other humans. That's the job of white people, especially those who have changed their views from hate to love and acceptance, not mere tolerance.
And so on and so forth. It feels like a monumental, perhaps hopeless task, one I've tried to do throughout my life, to no avail, so I then chose shunning.
Your words make me want to re-evaluate and begin anew.
