Making Violence Obsolete

Anastasia's Commentary on the Spirit of Egyptian Revolution

Egyptian peace activists, protesting in a nonviolent fashion, have created a worldwide, tsunami-like upheaval.

Planet earth can never be the same again.

Momentous times such as this situation often make me think of Cinderella’s stepsisters trying to put their outsized feet into that little glass slipper. The task cannot be accomplished.

Now – on the heels of recent events in Egypt -- neither can our minds slip back into the old consciousness. That is -- not without a massive denial of the facts before us.

A paradigm shift has occurred; a change in consciousness has been prompted.

Egyptian activists have, not only succeeded at their initial revolutionary efforts to establish a democratic territory by non-violent means, they have shown the world that elegant solutions to once-stuck limitations can be found.

Whether their vehicle has been the internet, cell phones or simply mass collaboration, they stand, forever, as historical role models of thinking outside the box.

A paradigm is a framework of thought; “a scheme for understanding and explaining certain aspects of reality.” (See The Aquarian Conspiracy by Marilyn Ferguson.)

The notion that only an intensified military effort can put an end to Islamic terrorism is a paradigm that supports widespread military spending, among other counter-peace-building strategies.

A related paradigm tells us that the successful overturning of Al Qaeda is dependent on the positioning of new, political leadership, backed by the power and force of such as the United States.

As recent events show us, there is, at least, one other paradigm of import to consider;

overthrowing Islamic terrorist factions might just be managed, in part, from the bottom up rather than the top down by a groundswell of powerfully dedicated, strategically savvy individuals effectively banding together.

Thus, we might be wise to remember the words of Margaret Mead:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

We can take that paradigm, even a step further, especially in this day of the internet.

Consider this:

It is even okay for a large group of thoughtful, committed citizens to change the world.

If we can get that, perhaps, we can, then, go a step beyond that one.

Imagine that each and everyone of us, already carries within us the ingredients to someday – generations from now –

"make violence obsolete"

when we discover other ways of thinking outside the box.