By Lee Van Ham
From where, then, do democracy and authoritarianism get their authority? I’ve been asking myself this question as the voices of authoritarianism in the U.S. have gotten really loud and have become the official position of the Republican “party.”
I’m becoming more convinced with every week that passes that democracy, with its insistence on interdependency, has been the power at work in the millennia of evolution to bring forth the biodiverse creation we live in today. Authoritarianism, by contrast, has no such roots in the natural world. It is the product of human egos who refuse to believe we humans are all part of creation, not above it. Disconnected from their own deeper Self, and frightened by the greater consciousness that continually generates life throughout land and sea, egos seek control and dominance. They are much too insecure, fearful to put faith in decentralized, interdependent powers. They must choose their loyalists and run the show, insisting they are the ones most qualified to lead. Others cannot be trusted with the responsibilities of civilization.
And yet, Earth-based views of reality have been embraced for millennia by the Indigenous peoples across cultures and climates persists. Despite genocide and being seen as inferior and relics of the past, today, both Indigenous peoples and all who base their lives on the ways of creation are on the increase. Ego-driven choices continue to destroy life and creation while presuming superiority. Jubilee is just one expression of Indigenous ways. It emerged in the culture of the people in the Middle East who became known as the Hebrews, and embodies their spirituality. I continue to believe in this worldview, accepting it as the story to live by. However, we can mimic Earth, whether we call it Jubilee or something else, as the way of life.
