LOVE'S UNIVERSE -- 3

I wrote the following today in the Love's Universe Practice Circle:

Sophia wrote: "I have discovered that this is not work for the weak. I am in a continual fierce struggle with my ego — that self-important one looking for the easy way out, that master of disguises looking to trick and distract me at every turn."

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Well written and very powerful.

Israel literally means something like struggling with God. Jacob's name is changed to Israel after he wrestles with an agent of God all night. I believe we are in a struggle for our very existence as a human race and a lot of people are not aware of the dangers we are facing on this planet.

So, yes it is an individual struggle but, far more important, it is a collective struggle and we all need to find the courage to face the demons that are threatening all of us. John Shuck, an active Presbyterian blogger with a passion for peace and justice and sustainable abundance reviews a new book, All My Bones Shake by Robert Jensen.

Go to http://www.shuckandjive.org/2009/05/all-my-bones-shake-review.html

In one important chapter, Jensen says we need to overcome the four fundamentalisms. Let me offer John Shuck's summary of them here:

Religious fundamentalism. We know this one all too well. But it is only number four on the list of ascending dangers.

National fundamentalism. This he calls "pathological hyper-patriotism that tends to suppress internal dissent and leave many unable to hear criticism from outside." p. 109. America, the "city on the hill" practically-perfect-in-every-way blinds us to any form of self-critique. We have had a love affair with ourselves that has put the world at risk.

Economic fundamentalism. "The dominant assumption about corporate capitalism in the United States is not simply that it is the best among competing economic systems, but that it is the only sane and rational
way to organize an economy in the contemporary world." p. 112

Technological fundamentalism. The most dangerous of all. "Technological fundamentalists believe that the increasing use of evermore sophisticated high-energy, advanced technology is always a good thing and that any problems caused by the unintended consequences of such technology eventually can be remedied by more technology." p. 116

I believe these 4 fundamentalisms are all the collective face of "that master of disguises looking to trick and distract me at every turn."