Want To Argue? Let's Try Something Else Instead

Dear Reader,

It's obvious, isn't it? To my mind, there's a cure for pretty well all argumentation under the Sun, which I will reveal below - and, remarkably, it's not very difficult to fathom.

In the meantime, I find that the few TV programmes I watch - and they are very few, like the News and the BBC's Question Time (plus the odd documentary) - are littered with accusations and counter-accusations that are often not far short of farcical.

One of the regular topics of controversy is racism, and the recent 'Meghan' phenomenon has been used to trumpet this slogan. Not only does it appear in the media in general but we had the situation when Laurence Fox (on BBC's Question Time) was accused of being a privileged white man by a member of the audience, who turned out to be a lecturer on cultural issues including racism. Well, of course Fox is white, and he does come from a well-known acting family, but on the topic that the QT panel was discussing (which was on Meghan and Harry - as though there aren't more important issues to discuss!), he just happened to say that the accusation of racism against Meghan was over-blown. And his reasons why sounded reasonable to me, his main point being that whenever something happens to someone who is wholly or partly black or otherwise non-white, there is (these days) an immediate accusation of racism, regardless of whether that accusation has a sound foundation or not.

But the above is a relatively minor example of needless anger.

The primary universal argument that is needless is the Climate Change issue. To my mind, the issue about Climate Change is very nearly as clear as the nose on my face, but when we have the president of the USA calling it as being over-blown and a panic-mongering issue, then we do have a serious problem. The USA is still a mammoth economic force in the world, and yet its leadership seems to have lost its sense of real truth.

Without dwelling on the detail of Climate Change, let me come back to the "cure for pretty well all argumentation" that was alluded to at the beginning. The cure - surely! - is to focus on what matters - which is the sincere concern and attention to the really important things, such as care towards all beings (humans and the 8.4 million other species) regardless of who they are or what they do. Instead of being so concerned about economic growth and our personal property and its security (all of which ultimately help to lead to disunity), perhaps we should ask why certain things happen to thwart peace in this world.

In the case of urban crime, do we for one moment ask what caused the offender to do what he did? Perhaps there's something wrong in the way we, as a society, view matters; perhaps we allow ourselves to be led in terms of our values by those who govern the country, our MPs and the Government? Perhaps the country no longer teaches sound commonsense values and the meaning of life, relying instead on pure science, apart from local authorities being deprived of funds needed to help deal with urban issues.

These are serious community matters, but surely the real answer is relatively simple - so long as it is addressed with sincerity and great commitment, which - because of our own self-concerns, perpetuated by our political masters - is probably lacking.

Why is there such a drug problem, for example - and the usually-related knife crime? Instead of blaming those who use drugs, perhaps we should wonder what has happened to the set of community values we once held as a nation less than 70 years ago when we could definitely identify the existence of communities. Conditions were far from perfect then, but people were generally much happier with their lot and there was much more genuine concern about our neighbours. One could indeed detect the existence of Love between people. There, I have said it! Love is the keyword.

It may well sound as though I am preaching, but I am writing based on the mistakes I know I have made in my own life, and many mistakes at that - mainly as a result of faulty knowledge. So, surely, this piece of knowledge, and its application, is worth far more than the frequently inane advice from social scientists and the like? For example, it would seem that social scientists - as seen on this topic in an OU degree course - consider that we are now virtually a classless society in the UK. But applying some human understanding - through Love - tells us full well that certain pockets of the population are treated very differently, and which may well be helping to stir many ills in urban society. I felt that when working a sabbatical in community work in Brixton, London, several decades ago. That place was once a hot-bed of social unrest, but that unrest has changed its shape and has been shifted to other areas. Similarly, there has been a notable economic divide between north and south for many years, but emphatically in the last 40 years. Only now 'they' are saying something will be done about that.

Instead of argumentation, the inductive (not de-ductive) action of Love is the keyword to solutions, regardless of what problems exist. If we were to possess more of that - and being less concerned about the correctness of our individual (often biased) opinion - then the problems would not exist. We would certainly not be as acquisitive and be looking for answers 'out there' instead of within ourselves. Inwardly, you see, we are all the same - as children well know.

All we need to do when faced with a potential argument (or gossip) is to remember our true selves and ask, "What would Love do?".

There is no higher standard by which to live, and with that as one's shield, the solution to 'problems' is always there! Jesus - and all the Masters - knew that is the true Way. Indeed, it is the Way by which we achieve spiritual growth and, indeed, are able to remain aloof from depression. Love is our salvation. It is this Way that really matters, with Jesus reportedly saying that there are two spiritual commandments of importance: to Love God and to Love thy neighbour as thyself. Do religionists (of any persuasion) understand the real meaning of that statement, I wonder, rather than parrot-phrasing it?

For most of us, the true application of 'Love' really does require some internal transformation, and at this time I suggest we need to stop prevaricating about the issue if we truly want peace and contentment to reign. It is change within individuals that ultimately causes change within society - and it is said that it takes a mere 5% mass swing to get the ball rolling. 

If we were to follow through with the Way of Love, there would be no arguments about 'racism', and we would see Climate Change in a different light. Urban crime and the multitude of other disagreements would cease to clog up the law courts. Perhaps even divorce! Even the NHS would be in a better state, as people would look after others and themselves in a better way.

Positive change is coming to planet Earth anyway (though perhaps obscured at present) - but we need to be better prepared by first changing both our outlook and the way we live. That is a key issue, for only by understanding better who we really are (that in reality, we are spirit and not material), and by understanding the part that Love can play, can we be ready for 'the change'. 

Prayer is beneficial, no doubt, but how we pray, how we think and (accordingly) what we then do is all of greater benefit. Our actions should stem from who we really are, not from allowing the brain to independently decide as to who we are or what it perceives to be in our interests to do. 

The days of head over heart are over: the head has helped us get to the Moon, but it has also caused so much suffering by intellect striving for more to satiate its perception of what we need. The emphasis on usage of the mental faculty is altogether wrong: the brain is there only to formulate a way towards implementing what is needed according to the truth - to what really is - nothing else. The ancients knew that - and we now need to re-learn that principle if we really want peace to reign.

Thank you for reading this.