Human mind is quick to lay judgment and find external parties to blame. There always needs to be someone or something to take the guilt of any undesired action or circumstance. It does not even matter whether the actual claim has anything to do with the reality. The purpose is to move on and get over with the matter, as fast as possible—even false identification is more important than any uncertainty or ambiguity of the possible cause. The source of all the discomfort seems to be always anywhere but in the mind of the observant.
This works similarly in the collective level. Abstract words such as nation, community, political party, nationality, profession, or whatever imaginable descriptive term that combines several individuals by some common nominator(s) are used to simplify and polarise, categorise and divide. The idea is to unify and make individual units alike that can be counted like beans in a basket: they can be added or subtracted, multiplied or divided, even replaced if necessary. This ‘collective’ becomes a breathing unit that is responsible for its ‘actions’ and hence can be blamed for its outcomes. Collective punishments are justified in this manner.
Despite of the multitude of abstractions in use they do nothing in themselves. No country wages a war against any other country. No government confiscates private wealth. Similarly no political party gets anyone elected. The words we are commonly using have a life of their own. They are no more treated as pointers or descriptive terms that make communication of the underlying issues easier and more efficient but nothing more. Today the abstractions are more important than the individuals that are referred to by these terms. Abstractions are a way to camouflage and disassociate what is really meant by using the terminology.
Words do not hurt anyone. Nobody takes a mad man seriously no matter what comes out of his mouth. It is always the receiver, the listener, who interprets and makes the value judgement whether to react and how, if at all. Words become important and significant when they are taken seriously and considered to mean something. Still, we regard words as something very precise and accurate when in the most of the cases they are not. Even tangible objects cannot be communicated without ambiguity or a large margin of error—more words are required just to describe better the item in question in order to make sure that it is understood as intended by the sender.
Abstract ideas are even worse. Often they cannot be described in a way that is acceptable, understandable, or even comprehended by the listeners at all. It is simply assumed that everybody knows what the term means and it is perceived in a manner the sender intends it. Ideas are based on assumptions and certain beliefs, and they are typically built on top of a mental construct that is mostly not self-evident.
Someone using an abstract term does not necessarily mean that she has any idea what she is talking about. Often it is impossible to find even a handful of individuals who share the same definition of an idea or abstract concept. Nevertheless, they are used like precision tools that are razor sharp and exactly to the point. And they are taken seriously.
Still, abstractions are just a tool we use for something that has been deteriorating for a long time. The fundamental question is not so much what’s wrong with others but what’s wrong with us. “We” is always someone else’s “others” so altogether there is no one else to blame but us, the humans. Labels do not change the reality no matter how nice or bad words we use, neither they change the actions taken—they are still with the persons who carry them out and cannot be undone. Words and perceptions can be spun and distorted but they do not change the truth—it stays even when no one is ready to acknowledge it. Ultimately words are irrelevant and only the actions remain.
We have lost the substance, the actions, and are only interested of the words. This is reflected all around in every sector of our society. We use a concept called money but our central banks do not even provide a definition for something they have a sole monopoly. In the past there needed to be more than words in pieces of paper that were created at a whim of the producer—the paper itself was not of value like a valet coupon. Now we are happy to use colourful papers that are just that, mere words backed by nothing but the public’s trust on them and a threat of violence to protect the cartel. There is no more private property—only various degrees of control. Our legal system is a joke that does not protect each individual equally and fairly in front of the law. Justice is something that has lost its meaning. Laws are written and interpreted by those who are in power and dependent on or benefit from the system. Law enforcement favours the large interests and mainly protects the government from the people. Objectivity and fairness cannot be mentioned in the same sentence with equality when laws are written to benefit some persons at the expense of others.
The emperor has no clothes in so many fields that we don’t even recognise the ludicrousness of the situation anymore. It has become the status quo and accepted new normality. This deterioration happens gradually, over many decades and centuries. Without fundamental questions and strong individuals still believing in the power of their own mind and reasoning the downfall turns into a freefall that can be very shocking when the inevitable truth starts to loom behind the decorative words. The crash is harder the later the reality is acknowledged. Movement of time is no proof for advancement of any society. Higher sophistication in stupidity and brutality do not change their very basic nature even though they may be tolerated better thanks to over-extended exposure to them. Is there anything more arrogant than those who claim to be civilised?
We have lost our ethics and moral. They are not seen in our actions—we merely talk about them. Or should we define our ethics by our actions? Words are useless but our actions never lie. We support financially and by our every day actions killing, murdering, stealing, violence, and coercion. These activities are not just directed towards other species but most of all exercised against other human beings. They are always conducted by someone, an individual person, never by any abstraction or collective concept. Still, in most of the cases we don’t consider anything wrong or hypocritical in these actions and thus they are tolerated or even encouraged. Killing, murdering, stealing, violence, and coercion against individuals are acceptable when the scheme is large enough, for the greater good, or specially approved by an abstract body.
You are not allowed to steal from your neighbour except when using a taxman or legislation. Murdering people is wrong except when you have a strong economical interest or other justifiable cause backed by your government. Coercion is not acceptable unless you are a bureaucrat. In that case you are not responsible of your very actions as a human being—you turn into a mechanical robot without consciousness and moral. The list is almost endless and we all are part of these activities against each other.
This madness does not stop until we recognise and acknowledge each other as human beings. Currently we are waging war against everyone else financially, psychologically, socially, and physically. We use various tools and means for our bidding but it does not matter how much we spin the words the reality does not change—only individuals do the acts. Nothing will change unless we change ourselves. Our society and world is only the reflection of human consciousness and ethics. Any society that does not respect individuals and lay their foundation on individual freedom, respect, responsibility, and equality is doomed to fail in the long run. Only strong independent individuals can support each other and thus form a society. There is no society without persons. Externally imposed morality, rules, controls, and restrictions are doomed to achieve their purpose unless it is to suppress and subdue individuals as obedient servants that act like sheep ruled by a small elite. So far we have found many volunteers for both roles as victims and masters. The play will not change unless the individual actors start to act differently and stop blaming each other for the lousy script they have written themselves. There is nothing wrong with the world but maybe little something with our values?