We only control ourselves.
Diverging from meaning, and looking at control, again, yes, again is an interesting study.
There will always be victims, and perpetrators, however in the course of our pampered meaningless American lives we generally are not faced with such vagaries. So taking this to luxurious philosophical discourse I am talking about manipulation and control of our decisions.
We make all of our decisions, no matter how contrived or rationalized, no matter what external forces may affect us. This is also literally true, physically and biologically in terms of the origins of physical action only occurring within each of us, but we’ll leave out true violence and persecution for the moment.
I am always struck by the alacrity for blaming in this country, or in this modernized meaningless western life style. Excuses. Everyone makes excuses. No decision seems to be made based on inner desire or motivation but rather is blamed on circumstance beyond our control.
The truth underneath everything is my relentless mantra, that our actions reveal values, values motivated into action, and that a choice has occurred underpinning the motivation for the action. Blah, blah, blah. Not recognizing this truth and making excuses is tantamount to preaching tolerance and non-violence while murdering innocent living beings. That is an extreme used here only as a metaphor. Like a government persecuting other autonomous nations through death and violence in the name of freedom or some other wonderful value or concept purporting to honor and value life.
Peeling away the layers of external forces and turning inward to ourselves, frees us from the abdication of responsibility and the bearing of a burden of guilt for other’s actions, while in fact making letting it all go possible.
Let go of having control over anyone other than yourself, deeply considering one’s choices, always asking yourself for advice, being completely true to yourself, standing up for your values, relentlessly, is true freedom, and responsibility.
And don’t think this applies to the helpless in the sense that those in need, still need help and possibly cannot, literally, take action. Like small children. Take great care of your children and all children, teach them the same responsibility for themselves, and maybe someday we will have an enlightened society that can watch the earth cease to support life as we value it, together in harmony.