One
of the things that made this country different from any other country was that
from its beginnings, it was conceived as a nation founded on the Rule of Law. Those who came did not
find a monarchy or theocracy controlled by a church. They found a nation ruled
by law, but the power of their old memes was still very influential. (A MEME is
a piece of information that exists in human minds; this includes beliefs &
doctrines.)
As
I survey the pathetic political and social landscape of our country, I see
people with some questionable and strange "memes" allowing those
memes to control their behaviors -- cruelty, inequality, hatred, ignorance,
bigotry and most of all, “Violence” seems to rule the land! Both Laws and
Values are being increasingly ignored – at least that’s the way it looks to me
(how does it look to you).
If
America becomes the place where without “Equality
Under the Law,” or without citizens who hold a common set of accepted
values, what will it look like? The “Land
of the Free and Home of the Brave” will become the “Land of Utter Chaos and the Home of the Completely Confused.”
Over
99% of our Genes are identical, that is a big part of what makes us all the
same kind of human. But, we are also social beings, who need one another
physically, psychologically and emotionally to survive. We are also tied to
each other spiritually. The things that make us different and interfere with peace
come from the differences in our "Memes"
not our “Genes.”
Let
me give a personal example. After I arrived in Texas, I was asked to advise a
local school board about teaching Creationism
in its Science curriculum. I asked
them this question, “Which Version of Creationism are you planning
on teaching -- the Babylonian version,
the Egyptian version, the Greek version, the Native American version, or the
Jewish one? They just stared at me.
Creation
accounts are “memes," (beliefs - things in minds), not science! Certain
people with religious authority have always been afraid of letting their
members hear the FACTS, because FACTS undermine “their” memes (doctrines). And,
you have probably heard about the old dreaded slippery slope they are all
afraid of – if the faithful start questioning the “official memes,” the next
thing they might question is their institution’s authority, and who knows which
authority they question next! Meme-based institutions – especially Religious, Political or Economic – stand on their Authority
Claims and don’t like to be questioned. Science stands on the Facts and
welcomes questions.
America
was created on memes that promised Life,
Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness. The Founding Generation had been under
the yoke of Authority concentrated in the hands of the elite few – kings, popes, bishops, priests, protestant
ministers, heads of corporations, and central bankers. If the members of
the Founding Generation reappeared
today, they would clearly recognize their old adversaries are trying to take
over again. What we are seeing today is , does not reflect their ideas of the “American Community.” What we are seeing
is even contradictory to the basic idea of "Community" itself. Life under the control of “Unquestioned Authority”
becomes more divisive, hurtful, hateful and counter-productive. It Tears Our Genes Apart! It creates a huge mass of angry, raging and
violent individuals!
The
ONLY alternative is, a society whose
decisions are based upon a laws created by people with Shared Values-Based Relationships and who hold a Shared Standard of Behavior – one that puts Life First! Decisions that Protect
Life, Preserve Life, Make Life More Functional, and Increases the Quality of
Life – For ALL PEOPLE.
This
is what TOV is all about! TOV is not a quick ritual that promises
an Instant Utopia or a No Pain Messianic Future for all Approved Believers – that simply isn’t probable where humans are
concerned. Humans make choices and throughout history some chose to do acts
of TOV (Good) and others chose to do
acts of RA (Evil). What I am saying
is that with Shared Values-Based
Relationships and the TOV Standard
to guide our Choices and Behaviors, members of this generation would
be much better equipped to solve and resolve common problems by decisions that
would consider the common good of all.
Don't
be upset! I'm not taking away anyone’s precious memes! I am reminding you. Reconciling FACTs with Memes is
something grown up adults are fully capable of doing. When the FACTS prove to be correct, which they
always do -- Memes that disagree can and
should be changed. What responsible
adult would want to cling to Memes (beliefs) that are not only wrong, but
false! Everybody has his or her personal BS (Belief System), but even though one’s old BS feels very comfortable, hanging on to it when it is clearly
wrong is simply a Bad BS.
Don't
let Your Memes Tear Apart Our Genes.
Learn about TOV! Use it to transform yourself, transform your community, your
country, your society, your part of the world.
Do
TOV, Choose Life, & Update Your BS!
Rabbi
Jeffrey Leynor
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