SYNTHESIS

(06,22,2022) Synthesis, the combining of elements into a unified entity, commonly results in producing something stronger and better. A unified nation is very strong. A world of unified nations, ergo a unified world, working toward the same goals, is even stronger. There would be almost nothing that could not be accomplished. But, to achieve such a goal, we must begin with the small stuff. For example, let us try living together, say as family members, without getting on each other’s nerves. Give a person space, listen to what they are saying and, forgetting your own problems for a moment, listen to theirs. Basically, we all have the same wants and needs. Unfortunately, they often differ from those of the politicians who have been elected to take care of those needs. That is where the breakdown in communication starts its big nosedive. With so much of the world teetering on the edge, these days, it is incumbent upon all of us to start being more considerate toward each other. One should try talking or even just smiling to your neighbour or even a person who is a complete stranger, on the street or in your local store. For my entire life, I have practiced this philosophy, though I shouldn’t say practice because the reflex just seemed to come to me naturally. But, I have always received a positive response. For nearly seventy years, a smile automatically comes to my face whenever I meet someone old or new. This normally evokes a smile in return. As a rule, people like to talk and they appreciate it when you respond, in kind, sticking to the topic which they had initiated. Now, if two perfect strangers, in a supermarket, can strike up a congenial conversation, why can’t we expand on that, and get everybody talking to one another, instead of attacking each other? The former is much more positive and more productive than the latter. But, fear of the unknown can make some people lash out. Fear can turn to blame which culminates in hatred! Fear and hatred are two of the most common reasons for the gun attacks which we read about, in the United States, almost every week. But, we have hate crimes in Canada, as well. Innocent women and their children are being publicly cursed and spit upon. Think of the damage done, especially to that innocent child who cannot comprehend why another human being, a stranger, hates them so much. Not long ago, a woman was pushed, deliberately, from a subway platform onto the tracks of an oncoming train. More recently, a man poured gasoline onto a woman, who was seated on a public bus, and set her on fire. She is still in critical condition, in the hospital. Both incidents occurred in Toronto, Ontario, ground zero for an epidemic, pandemic, cyber attack or any other crisis in Canada, manmade or otherwise. What possesses a person to perform such evil horrific acts? Oddly, these crimes were committed by strangers to the victims. Was it because they didn’t like the way the other person was dressed? Or, perhaps, it was the colour of their skin, the way they talked or their seemingly obvious religious background, that set off the attacker. In some cases, it is simply one or even all of the above. To say what prompts one person to rationally arrive at the conclusion that they must attack another, would be almost impossible even for a psychiatrist, for these actions are typically irrational. Usually, the act is a knee-jerk reaction automatically summoned as a result of countless hours, days or years of being subjected to the ugly diatribe of racist parents who raise their children to hate anyone who is not like them. Other times, a person is brainwashed by some subversive group of people. Often, hatred grows and festers when a person is suffering and requires someone to blame for their woes. Today, we have politicians who, for the sake of their personal agenda, provoke animosity between people of the same background, save for the fact that they voted for a different party. Politicians, at the highest echelon in the government, have adopted and are promoting the ‘us and them’ syndrome. They declare that, if you are not with them, you are the enemy. It seems to me that world leaders are supposed to be setting an example for their people. By keeping open the lines of communication, two entities can empathize with and come to understand each other. Compassion leads to compromise and everyone acquiring what they truly require. There is a dangerous game that many politicians are playing today. In order to garner votes for themselves, they pit voters against each other. They lay blame and point fingers, while accusing and even perpetuating lies and innuendo of the worst kind. Over the course of decades, politics have gone from statements like ,”What can I do for you and your country?” to, “What has the other guy done to you and your country?” Then, the lies begin. How can an American political party justify splitting up their country and making a complete mockery of their own constitution, just for the sake of maintaining their seat in government? The former Republican party of America has ‘sold its soul to the devil’ regardless of what might be the consequences. A year and a half after the insurrection on Capitol Hill, the former president, the P.O.T.A.S. (President of the American Supremacists) is still touting ‘the big lie’ and threatens to carry it into the next election. The unfathomable thing about this, is that many of his most ardent followers still believe him. And, the most sickening aspect of this scenario, is that the Republican party, his former administration, is still perpetuating the lie, while privately dismissing it as nonsense. Their agenda is to keep stoking the flames of mistrust and animosity, with the hope of regaining power. It is no longer about truth and justice, or the good of the American people, for they clearly do not give a damn about any of that. Fear and hatred has become their tools. ‘Divide and conquer’ has become their mantra. ‘Hate your neighbour if he is not one of us!’ is the slogan that the Republican party promotes. In countries, such as Russia, China and North Korea, all of which claim to be democratic republics, although their leaders have now become self-proclaimed rulers for life, their presidents (or emperors) repeat lies on state television, the propaganda network, about the other countries who they proclaim to be the enemy. They do this to justify their planned attacks on those countries which they claim have done them an injustice. The people of these authoritarian ruled countries are aware that they are being ‘fed a load of manure’ by the propaganda news stations, and so, they seek the truth through alternative means. However, in the United States, the situation tends to vary. Although there is a propaganda news network, FOX News, which acted as the state news for the P.O.T.A.S. and his former administration, thereby increasing the divisiveness in the country, there are also reliable honest news networks who only deliver the truth. The problem is that supporters of the P.O.T.A.S. refuse to listen to the honest networks who are presently exposing every crime that the P.O.T.A.S. had committed during his term in office, which includes the ‘big lie’ that instigated the insurrection. When questioned, supporters of the P.O.T.A.S. say that they don’t listen to any network but FOX News because, they claim, all the other news stations work for the enemy and therefore are only interested in trashing the former president. These type of people still believe the former president’s lie about one nation, or group of people, being responsible for the COVID-19 virus, thereby creating more hatred, although, truly, nobody in particular is to blame for the pandemic. These people have developed self-inflicted blinders that create tunnel vision wherein they only see (and hear) their glorious leader. How can one debate, rationally, with those others who are behaving so irrationally and who refuse, for even a moment, to open their eyes to reality? Their blind loyalty to the P.O.T.A.S., and hatred toward anyone who is not, is like a disease that cannot be stamped out. Fear of anyone not exactly like them, has developed into hatred that is growing like a cancer. Collectively, and synthetically, we must form an immune system that is capable of fighting off this type of cancer. We can do so by cultivating a positive attitude, proven to be effective on the most malefic!