Messiahs of Hope and Change - Don't Hold Your Breath

The more people we wish to influence, the more we are required to be political, manipulative, dishonest; in a word, falsely godlike

With regard to how I might want to change or improve human experience, I can limit my intentions to myself only, in which case I would focus on taking responsibility for myself and my own character and actions. I would focus on self-improvement, becoming the kind of person I would like to see others become. And I would have great legitimate power in the endeavor, for individuals have innumerable resources available to them to use in the cause of personal growth -- both the hidden personal kind and the more relational and public kind.

Or I might choose to partner with one special person in a relationship: my mate, a son or daughter, a friend, or even a rival. In such a case I would still take responsibility for myself, but I would enter into an implied agreement -- either unilaterally or otherwise -- to give and receive assistance one-on-one. The legitimate power would be shared, perhaps 50-50, and while the depth of a few personal resources for change would decrease, the quantity of intimate resources would rise considerably. A new dynamic would arise, namely the potential for exercising illegitimate power via manipulation or deception, but this would likely be relatively easy to influence or control.

And so on through various stages up to that point t which so many people jump immediately, virtually ignoring all previous stages. Namely, "to change the world." Here the possibility of significant positive change is minimal, while the possibility of harmful dynamics is extremely high. The deception and manipulation become possible at every turn, the temptation to yield to them growing increasingly strong. Effort is expended at high levels, related to governments, widespread social and political organizations and actions, the effort to raise money, the exercise or desire to exercise power over many, etc.

It is probably impossible for one to remain at higher levels of such endeavors without manifesting corruption much more than true goodness, nobility, compassion -- or even usefulness. At this level, human goodness and love increasingly become merely rhetorical tools.

Many people enter politics or some other major public arena of social change with consciously noble intentions. One does not spend much time wielding such influence at such a high level without confronting, consciously or unconsciously, the fact that that they must either continue at such a position and diminish or dilute their original noble intentions (except in speeches), or they will change their position in life to something less ambitious, less public, less prestigious, less profitable.

This is why the best that humanity has to offer tend to be found among the common people, neither needing nor receiving notoriety, while the worst are judges and politicians, corporate executives, institutional religious leaders, and the like.

This is also why most widespread controversies become simplified into two sides holding up signs or spouting rhetoric on news commentary programs. Since it is merely rhetoric, requiring only one enemy to work its magic, and since it is perpetuated at high levels where contact with the complex and nuanced concerns of the real people are largely ignored, the controversies are loud and emotional and almost always completely futile when it comes to real positive change in society.

This is also why leaders at high levels are constantly implementing policies that are contrary to common sense. In the world behind their veil, what drives policy decisions is bribes, ambition, self-righteous blindness and the like.

And don't forget blackmail: a politician with something to hide is a slave to anyone who can expose what is hidden.

Beneath the public rhetoric and the demonization of what is falsely called "the other side," they either don't know or don't care what is necessary for a healthy culture. So for example, violent criminals are set free from prison over and over again, banks make obscene profits lending money at obscene interest rates even as the national economy sinks to critical levels of dysfunctionality, wars against relatively harmless nations are fought over relatively silly reasons, while completely justified wars with truly vicious and dangerous nations are avoided. And on and on.

In the meantime, fathers keep going to unsatisfying, tedious jobs because they care about supporting their families. Teachers continue to bring the best they have to offer to students even as they themselves are abused by incompetent, overpaid layers of administration. People continue to pay their taxes, obey traffic laws, and tolerate unruly neighbors, and are harassed by dozens of bureaucracies for reasons that are absurd when compared to the types of crimes that so often go unpunished.

But the common people simply can't let go of the idea that a truly good person can become king or queen of the mountain, exercise power, listen to fawning agenda driven "handlers" and "advisers," continuously "trade favors," and yet remain good. For those who cannot or will not find a level of satisfaction and personal power within the strict boundaries of harsh reality, there is little to do but hope for a messiah.

Unfortunately, a true messiah will rarely if ever run for high office, build a long career as a CEO, or sit at the top of a bureaucracy. A true messiah can, must and will... be eliminated, one way or another, by the power status quo. True messiahs get fired, get imprisoned unfairly, get hounded into obscurity by lies and deception, are silenced by threats, or if they remain persistent and the status quo is powerful enough, are murdered.

Meanwhile, the best of humanity concerns itself with doing its job, raising its family, paying its bills, getting a good night's sleep, and maintain some minimal level of physical and mental health. Almost without exception, the messiahs among them die without following their calling.