This post was mistakenly deleted … re-post here.
With internet and global connectivity, we can hardly catch up to have enough understanding with all the developments that seems to all happen simultaneously. Based on universal values and general guidelines for the collectives, we can learn from each other, respect different cultures and spiritual inheritance, but ultimately there are just no one size fits all solutions. In an era of globalization, we tend to dismiss some obvious facts: we have different ideological proclivity derived from different historical background and culture upbringing as well as different political structure and religious/spiritual makeups, in addition to different geographic topography, language characteristic and living circumstances. To the extent of the benefits globalization brings, in the end, it makes each country very hard to implement rules and regulations that are fair to majority of its citizens. People of disadvantaged group tend to bear more of the blows of hardships caused by loss of defined governmental responsibility when the boundary of country line became blurring, especially in the area of taxation, finance and wealth redistribution.
Currently we have Planet Saturn ingresses into Pisces. Some articles discussed extensively the horrors of wars took placed in Europe in 1990s, but my mind tend to remember more about the 1960s. in United States, the most famous being Kennedy’s speech:
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.
It is rare to hear such inspirational voices these days. People tend to spend their energies in the law suits and fighting without much relevance. We do not understand how international sex trafficking of hundreds of young girls could have taken place in a country hailing for freedom and human rights. We can not fathom how the media cover day to day about GDP and economic data, but do not take time to reflect the ramifications of the criminal case of Jeffery Epstein – an American sex offender and financier. We wonder how state prosecutor can so easily let such an severe sex offender get away with Non-prosecution agreement while hiding agreement details from victims. We are amazed by so many highly educated legal professions would came to the defense of sex predators while turn their head away from those most needed for help. What is even shocking was the government, legal system, powerful media and public were silence with such criminal acts and loss of morality. We are traumatized by the testimony of government officials and social elites dark dealings in these acts. if it is not for the advances of communication tools, we may never have known What really happened on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island? Sure, Epstein was dead, but the damages and wounds to the soul of America has not yet taken care of. The tragedy is not only about the victims, but everyone of us including Epstein himself, may his soul repentance for the bad karma he created!
Times like this reminded us about the assassination of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy and the mysterious death of Thomas Merton. Their death is the death of American soul of conscience and righteousness. Since then, the last half century witnessed the separation of state and church turned United States into a country of world bully and politics of government irrelevance, rampancy of social Darwinism. The Midas touch of Capitalism did not turn the world into gold, but digital revolution had its mind fixed on money, nothing but money. But the Bible says, ” The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.” “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
In China, some similar themes had been development. Professor Zheng ShiQiang 曾仕强 who is especially well versed with I-Ching and used it extensively in his teaching, had predicted the pandemic from observation of the hexagram 鼎(1984-2043) 之 蛊(2014-2023). According tot he symbolism, is it not that one way to interpret it is: if we do not reform/purify, we will get pandemic/pollution. What has GDP to do with our happiness anyway? GDP can not answer the ultimate questions, isn’t it? 知命改运的真相：玄学的最大秘密竟是可以“治心”，而不是改命。 个人如此，国家亦复如此。
82歲楊繼繩漫談文革最大贏家 新華社資深記者獨到觀點 不幸的是，文革的最后胜利者还是官僚集团，他們掌握着文革责任的追究权、改革开放的主导权和成果分配权，至今這個結論沒有過時(老楊到處說 楊錦麟論時政) Sadly, while globalization had brought certain extent to prosperity, people had become more materialistic at the cost of spirituality. Corruption, exploitation and suppression had become more severe than ever. Is not COVID-19 a siren for the humanity to live a more somber life? What are the choices we made that really counts towards the ultimate peace and meaning?
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.