Donald J. Trump (DJT) is exactly the right man who arrives on the scene at the right time. That the American people have raised a self-obsessed, impatient, fickle, and insecure bully to center stage indicates that the crisis is upon us. The crisis requires that we make a decision; we have to choose. We can change and advance or self-destruct. DJT makes it clear what the self-destruct option looks like.
Society evolves in cycles; it is not moving in a straight line. Cycles are integrated renewal processes. A complete human social cycle lasts approximately eighty years and goes through four distinct phases: growth, maturation, decline, and death. Each is a necessary phase; yes, dying is necessary to renew oneself.
America is dying. For fifty years we have been on a destructive path. We have embraced and celebrated this path and now we must accept it. That is the natural order of things. That we have put DJT front and center of our collective consciousness illuminates that destructive path.
Every crisis is an opportunity. We are in the final stage of our cycle. We cannot escape the cycle. The America we know, the fear-filled people we have become must die. If we don’t, if we resist, all we do is delay the inevitable, we will still die, but we will also postpone our rebirth and renewal.
As hard as it may sound, realize that death is not the end. Death is the requirement for a new beginning. Dying is letting go. We must let go of our current self-destructive ways so that we can start over on a new and better path.
Although we can resist, which is humanity’s preferred option, resistance is futile. We must let our broken culture die to allow ourselves and our society to be reborn again. The question is not: can we stop the death process? The better question is how can we move rapidly towards renewal and rise like a phoenix from the ashes?
Dying requires that we discard once and for all our ruling philosophy of ‘power does right’ supported by the divide and conquer tactic of ‘each for himself’. One power does the right philosophy always results in the many serving the few; exactly what we have here in America. We have concentrated wealth and power and have proven once more that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We, America, can do better, much better.
America’s death requires that we, the people, genuinely and meaningfully change as individuals. This is the crucible and crucible of the challenge. We must let go. We must stop holding on to hatred and fear. For society to change, we, you and I must change. The implementation of fundamental personal change will usher in systemic change in all areas of American life. By changing, we create a completely new society.
But change is difficult. As destructive and pain-filled as the road we are on, we humans loathe change. The only thing we like most about the way things are is a romantic notion of how things were. We are inclined to fight even incremental changes and cling to the way things are far beyond all usefulness. Throughout history, the impetus for genuine and fundamental change is typically many, many people who actually die. I suggest, for once, that we diverge from previous practice.
Now you can say, ‘Things are not so bad.’ And if you are in the top twenty percent of the American social order, in other words, you are rich and powerful, you are right. But take a step back and see the big picture. This world is not you, it is us, all of us. The choice we face is stark and real. Claiming that we don’t have to decide, denying that we are on a self-destructive path and that we don’t have to make a decision, is like denying that you need to breathe air. Go ahead and hold your breath, good luck with that. You can’t think any more that you don’t need air than you can disprove the obvious: we have to change.
I know it’s scary to change, but life is a change. We cannot keep holding on to our current ways; they are killing us. Although we hate to change, we realize that hatred is always the result of fear; we are inherently fearful. Fear is a natural obstacle in the way of our evolution. Only those who are willing and able to overcome fear will let go and move on. It takes courage to let go and make the transition. Courage is the order of the day.
DJT is the man in the mirror who shows us how unseemly we can be. DJT is here, right now, blissfully unaware that he’s here to help us make a better decision. We can cling to and empower our worst qualities and destroy ourselves, or we can overcome the fear and hatred that fear engenders, make a fundamental change, and renew our evolution.
The choice to change marks the beginning of a new phase of growth and prosperity for the United States; choosing to resist invites pain.
What will you choose?