posted July 25, 2004 04:15 AM              

The full question was this:
MOST PEOPLE, RIGHTLY OR WRONGLY, EQUATE DEMOCRACY WITH THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE THEIR POLITICIANS, YET YOU SEEM TO ENVISAGE A COUNTRY WHICH IS BOTH DEMOCRATIC AND POLLUTION-FREE, BECAUSE YOU SEE POLITICIANS AS POLLUTION. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

(This is only a small part of the answer. If this interests you and you would like to read more - the rest is here: http://www.otoons.com/politics/global_warming.htm )

Just the very existence of nations, countries dividing humanity into stupid parts, is the whole game of the politician. And this I call pollution. It is poison to humanity. That's why you don't see really authentically alive people in the world. You are asking, "People generally understand democracy to mean the freedom to choose politicians." Do you see the idiotic understanding of the people? It is choosing between poisons. The bottles contain the same poison -- on one is written "Democratic," on another is written "Republican." Politicians have been befooling you. They have managed the whole strategy in such a way that you never become aware what is happening. You choose one kind of poison for five years; for those five years you have to suffer that poison. After five years you are fed up with this kind of poison. You change to another bottle -- Republican, Liberal, Democratic, Communist, Socialist. They are all available in all shapes and sizes, whatsoever suits you. But you will fall in the same ditch. Maybe there are minor differences between poisons, but poison is poison. I do not see democracy as the freedom to choose between the politicians.

To me, democracy means there are no longer any politicians around. You individually choose somebody you feel is the right person; there are no political parties. In a real democracy, political parties cannot exist; there is no reason why they should exist. People are intelligent enough to choose on their own. The politician need not go and convince the people, "I am the right person and the other is wrong." And the other is also doing the same, and the poor people in their utter confusion somehow choose somebody. I have never voted in my life, for the simple reason that all those politicians and political parties are basically the same. They want to exploit you, oppress you. And it is a good strategy that after five years when you get fed up with one party, you can choose another. People's memory is not very strong. So for five years it is the Republican party sucking you, doing everything that is wrong, deceiving you and the whole world. After five years, it is the Democratic party doing the same thing behind a different label. And when for five years the Democratic party is ruling, you get fed up with them, and you forget completely that those Republicans had done the same before. Five years is enough time for people to forget. And you go on moving between two parties. There may be more parties in other countries, but basically two parties are in a deep conspiracy against the people: "Five years we exploit them, then we will give you five years to exploit them. And again we will come back."
...........................................................................................................

But what is the difference? -- you are going to be exploited. The exploiters go on changing, but the exploitation remains the same. What does it matter? One party exploits you forever, or two parties make a pact and in rotation they exploit you? But your exploitation is the same. My concept of democracy is people deciding on their own, without any political propaganda from anybody. Choose the candidates you like. In fact, the candidate approaching the people and asking, "Please choose me," is ugly, disgusting. If he is of any worth, people should reach him and ask him, "Please take this responsibility for us. We want you to be in the parliament." Then a different quality of people will be coming into the assemblies and the parliament, people who will not have any political leadership of the party, its program. They will be free individuals acting out of their intelligence. They can choose the president, the prime minister -- anybody. And they will be deciding on every issue according to themselves. People have given them immense respect by sending them to the government; they cannot be exploiters. A real democracy will choose the wise people. They are all around. But remember, a man of wisdom is not going to beg you for a vote. He is not going to kiss your children and shake hands with you. He is not going to act on the television screen so that he appears to be the way you would like your president to be.

The wise man is not interested -- in fact, he will not be inclined to be dragged into this mess. You will have to persuade him. The whole scene changes -- not the politician persuading you, but you persuading someone to represent you. More fresh blood will be coming into the government. And secondly, democracy can exist only if the countries are dissolved. With so many countries preparing to fight with each other continuously, of course you choose the most cunning politician you can, because he will be safer. You want him to be smarter, more cunning than the Soviet premier. The same is the situation in every country. The wise people remain out of politics. It is so dirty, stinkingly dirty. And it will remain dirty till nations dissolve and we have one world where there is no question of any war, no question of preparing for war.

You can divide history in two parts: one, when people are really fighting, killing, burning people -- innocent people who have not done anything wrong to you. In fact, you don't know whom you are killing. Or the second part of history, when you are preparing for the next war. Of course, a little time is needed between two wars, and if the wars are going to be world wars, then at least ten or fifteen years' gap is needed. Now we are on the verge of a third world war. Albert Einstein was asked once, "Can you say something about the third world war?" He said, "No, but I can say something about the fourth world war." The questioner was simply surprised. He said, "If you cannot say anything about the third, what can you say about the fourth?" He said, "The fourth is not going to happen." The third world war is going to finish all living beings: men, birds, animals, trees -- anything that is alive it is going to be destroyed completely. And your politicians are preparing for it. The world needs to be free from politicians, only then can it be free from pollution. What is the need for nations? Why can't we have the right to move freely around the earth? This is our earth! Now I have been here for four years, and I am still a tourist. It seems I am going to die as a tourist. The government agencies who are responsible for deciding are in a difficulty. If they say no to me, I am going to fight the courts up to the Supreme Court. That will give me enough time -- almost twenty years. So they are afraid to say no. Yes, of course, they cannot say. So they are in a dilemma, just waiting for some miracle to happen.

posted July 25, 2004 08:04 AM              

When all children everywhere are taught to look upon one another as brothers and sisters, THEN we truly will begin to live the dream of Global Unity. Until then, we have our beliefs and our politics to keep us "warm"...and otherwise occupied.

Thanks 26,

posted July 25, 2004 05:06 PM              

The crux of the matter is in the second of the three parts you put in bold type. It reminds me very much of something else I read -- I think it was Emerson or Thoreau -- that said we should only put in office people who are reluctant to take the job, and then under conditions that would make hime ven more reluctant. No, wait! I remember! It was Frank Herbert!

Hopefully I'll find time to check out this Osho person in more depth.

posted July 26, 2004 02:26 AM              

Yes, I love the way Osho expresses his ideas also. I read them and all I can say is "Wow, he is completly right on."

I just looked up this Frank Herbert. Very interesting stuff. I really liked this quote on one of the sites I came across:

quote:

---

Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.
--from The Sayings of Muad'Dib by the Princess Irulan

---

Awesome.
I take it Muad'Dib is from one of his books?
I have never been into Sci-Fi, but he seems like an interesting man. The one other quote on the site was just as good.

quote:

---

Government is a shared myth. When the myth dies, the government dies.
--Leo Atreides II

---

You may have noticed from my other posts that I love a good quote. These two are superb.

I really do hope you find the time to look into Osho's teachings. Just from the little I know about you, I think you would get alot out of him. I think it would be right up your alley. In particular his book entitled "Love, Freedom and Aloneness", it's my favorite. I'm telling you, get this book. I posted something in FreeForAll with links to his site.

BTW, I am feeling much better. Thanks for asking. How sweet!!!

I'm off to read what you posted in "Civil Disobedience", it seemed interesting.

Take care!

26

posted July 26, 2004 02:18 PM              

Youre a fan of Frnk Herbert too, Daf? Intersting.
I also wanted to ask you, if you read Osho. If not, you should. I hear hear a similar tune in your words, wthin the stuff he writes.