Peace Through Truth

After skimming through the day’s headlines, I powered down the tablet and leaned into the sofa. I shook my head at the reports of war, violence, and propaganda across the world that I had just read. I know that humans have been engaging in these forms of misbehavior since proto-civilization. Through thousands upon thousands of years, we have not learned how to get along well with one another.

I’m a member of the peace and love crowd. I was even on a high school break in San Francisco during the “Summer of Love” in 1967. Although I wasn’t a full-fledged hippie, the philosophy of peace, love, and groovy music was a good fit. It was a time of mingling with idealistic people of all types. I somehow managed to engage with the crowd without partaking in the drugs.

I noticed that there was one form of toxic behavior that hippie culture couldn’t fully erase. That is the problem of propaganda. Too many members of the Peace and Love crowd couldn’t grasp the Judeo-Christian Commandment–Thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbor. Even as a non-Christian, I understood much of the reasoning behind this religious warning. There could never be peace of Earth if libel and slander remained in the world.

What is especially troubling is how many spiritual and religious groups not only condone libel and slander, but engage freely in such behavior. This moral imperative of the Judeo-Christian Deity is often swept under the heavenly rug. This problem exists across the world within many other wisdom traditions, too. We humans seem to love the moral vice of gossip and misrepresenting others.
The biggest problem with gossip and propaganda is the use of it to stir up ill-will against perceived enemies and scapegoats. In fact, gossip and propaganda thrive best when the Ninth Commandment is disregarded. Lies and disinformation lead to distrust, dislike, and hatred of a targeted person or group. I posit that if humans could end this vice, we would enjoy a vastly improved state of existence. Dare I say that we would enjoy a very peaceful world?

When we turn away from our moral compass, regardless of which religious or philosophical tradition one practices, we turn away from the Light and take a deep dive into the Darkness. We dress ourselves as spokespersons and adopt the charade of convincing foolish people they are wise. The leaders make speeches and produce dramas about the supposed shortcomings and evils of outliers. People place ourselves above others. It is our human eagerness to accept libel and slander that poisons our minds and dispositions.

It is this greater “sin” that impedes true Peace on Earth. With so much ill-will, toxic communication, chaos, and organized institutional violence in the world, now is the time to take up the cause of Peace and Love again. This time we need to authentically eliminate libel and slander. If we can do this, the world can become a better place for all of us.

Namaste
The Blue Jay of Happiness quotes football quarterback for the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, Derek Carr. “Making false claims about somebody before you know them, and about a group of guys, that has no business in our world. If we’re trying to promote peace and love, I don’t think that has any place.”