When it comes to our hopes for the future, we all want the same things, no matter what our philosophy. Whether we see the world through the lens of dualism, or materialism, or idealism, our goals are identical: security, opportunity, good health and prosperity, and the right to pursue happiness. We do, however, differ on the means to achieve these goals.

The New Age operates from the premise of unity and therefore takes a holistic view of all issues. We understand that because we are all connected to each other, our issues are inescapably interrelated. This is very different from Stage Two dualism, which takes a good guys/bad guys approach and treats whole swaths of humanity --  people of other countries, races, religions, or sexual orientation-- as unacceptable “other.” Dualism therefore tries to solve problems through banishment (deport illegal aliens, ignore gays) or punishment (attack contrary nations).

Stage Four idealism tells us that in trying to cut the other out, we only end up harming ourselves. Take, for example, the issue of public safety, and how to deter crime. The dualist demonizes and dehumanizes the criminal, and insists on punishment without  rehabilitation. Of course, if the punishment-only approach actually deterred crime, it might be worth taking the hard line. But as our booming prison industry shows, our focus on punishment leads to recidivism and actually creates more victims of crime.

Furthermore, because we end up housing these repeat offenders over and over, we drain public resources to support their long years in prison. In the end, we live with more crime, less public safety and public resources diverted away from education and other programs that are actually proven to prevent crime. Caught in dualism’s vicious cycle, nobody wins, we all lose -- except, of course, the prison industry.

Which brings us to materialism, the worldview that sees the highest profit as the highest good.  Idealism also supports capitalism and profit, which creates food and jobs and many wonderful opportunities for us all.  But materialism dangerously elevates profit above the good of the whole -- and in a system in which criminal punishment is increasingly privatized and creates profit, the more crime, the more profit. 

The materialistic worldview doesn’t ask capitalism to serve us; rather it insists that we serve capitalism. Our government and all our systems are geared to serve it, and anything that doesn’t contribute to profit is sacrificed, whether it be lower crime, or truth and art.  Or clean air.  Or the lives of our soldiers.

Idealism tells us that we must remember the whole.  We must not allow materialism and the profit motive to run amuck, gobbling up everything in its path until there is nothing left of the world but heaps of waste -- and humans hiding in caves from the onslaught of natural disasters whipped up by the reeling environment.  We must insist that capitalism serve our goals rather than determine them.  We must be willing to make a collective decision to manage and regulate capitalism to ensure the long-term health and survival of us all. 

Holding on to truth

My purpose here is not to rant about the perfidy of corporations, but to point out how the idealistic approach differs from others.  The problem is not corporations, but the inability of the men and women who run them to see the whole context.  There is nothing wrong with capitalism that a transformation in vision can’t fix.  However, neither the materialist nor the dualist will ever know there’s a better way to see, or a better way to operate, if they’re always digging in to defend their positions. 

A change of vision never comes by making one’s opponent “wrong.” We learned this long ago from great idealists like Thoreau and Gandhi and King, who understood that getting mad and knocking the system in an effort to force change is counterproductive. There are already plenty of people furiously waving their arms, yelling about our troubles and making lists of those people and institutions they deem responsible for them.  Negative thoughts and words only breeds more negativity. 

“You cannot dismantle the master’s house with the master’s tools,“ says an old proverb. In the end, confrontation only reinforces our feelings of alienation from each other.

Gandhi called his society-changing method satyagraha, or “holding on to truth.”  He also called it love-force, or soul-force.  Gandhi proved that the way to heal an unjust situation was not to eliminate or defeat your antagonist -- impossible anyway -- but to transform the vision of the antagonist through consistent, nonviolent refusal to accept what is not true. 

“There must be no impatience, no barbarity, no insolence, no undue pressure,” wrote Gandhi. “If we want to cultivate a true spirit of democracy, we cannot afford to be intolerant.  Intolerance betrays want of faith in one’s cause…. One’s opponent must be weaned from error by patience and sympathy.”

Inspired by Gandhi, King also exhorted us all to rely on the power of empathy and love in the creation of what he called a Beloved Community. “This type of love,” King wrote, “can transform opponents into friends.  This type of understanding goodwill will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age.  It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of men.”

“By their fruits you shall know them,” says the Bible verse.  In the New Age, we might also add, by their attitude you shall know them.  When we go out into the world to try to change the status quo, we must hold onto our truth without condemnation, anger or blame.  Each conflict, no matter how big or how small, presents us with the chance either to move forward in our evolution or move backwards.

Politics is philosophy in action, and without the action of politics, then philosophy becomes pointless. “Our job as human beings is to join vision with practicality, heaven and earth,” writes Lance Brunner in The Spiritual Activist.  “If we’re too stuck in earth, with all its details, then we have no vision.  If we’re fixated on heaven, and  have no way of working with practicalities, then we’re just dreamers.”

The New Age urges you to translate your dreams into practical action.  Step up and help shape political solutions to the pressing needs of your community, your state, your nation.  Join the Democratic party, lend your vision and your voice to its efforts. Vote, and encourage your friends and family to vote.  Donate to progressive candidates or join their campaign.  Communicate regularly with your elected representatives.  Support the efforts of organizations that are working on the political causes that important to you.

For more information on how you can get involved in the progressive politics of idealism, visit these sites:

Move On -- www.moveon.org

Progressive States -- www.progressivestates.org

Center For Policy Alternatives -- www.cfpa.org

U.S. Public Interest Research Groups -- www.pirg.org

Irregular States - http://www.irregularnews.com/states/

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