Just as Neo, the main character of The Matrix movie trilogy, we must make a choice to take either the blue pill which keeps us in unconscious and unquestioned servitude to someone else’s version of society, or take the red pill which will allow us to see society in the full light of consciousness how it oppresses human freedom and perpetuates conflict. As much as we use the term “society,” I believe it is important to comprehend the meanings of this word which will provide insight into our current conditions. In Webster’s dictionary, you will find two very different definitions.
The first definition states that society is all people, collectively, regarded as
constituting a community of related, interdependent individuals.
The second definition states that society is a group of persons regarded or regarding
itself as a dominant class, usually because of wealth, birth, education, etc.
I believe the first definition represents a harmonious and conscious ideal of society where people are free to express their individuality and participate in the collective efforts of humanity.
The second definition represents the version of society we have accepted.
Special thanks to
Changing The World Is As Simple and As Difficult As Changing Our Minds
Society operating from an unconscious definition
Social Structures: The Houses That None of Us Built
Social structures are the various institutions such as the legal, political, economic, educational and religious systems. The systems, in and of themselves, are not the problem – it is how mankind has used them to manipulate and oppress each other that remains our biggest obstacle to peace and freedom.
The following is an excerpt from an article that clearly illustrates the current dysfunction of social structures:
“These institutions set the context for individual and group behavior and are meant to provide the resources individuals need to survive. How people act and live is shaped in large part by the social structures in which they find themselves.
In some cases, however, a society's social institutions are characterized by exploitation, political exclusion, and unequal access to resources. These structural forces often create a system of winners and losers in which people become trapped in a particular social situation. Structural violence often results, in the form of power inequity, poverty, and the denial of basic human rights. Basic human needs go unmet, and groups suffer from inadequate access to resources and exclusion from institutional patterns of decision-making. Unjust structural forces and divisions also contribute to discrimination, lack of education, and inadequate employment opportunities.”
Source: Maiese, Michelle. "Social Structural Change." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy
Since the inception of the first civilization, people have given away their personal power and freedom willingly to leaders in whom they mistakenly place their trust. Those same leaders have marched us into countless wars, convinced us to enslave our fellow man, and murder each other for superficial differences. Instead of learning from these mistakes and using our collective power and freedom to evolve our thoughts and actions, we continue to let the smallest minority play upon our fears to push us into committing escalating atrocities against our brothers and sisters.
It’s time to wake up NOW. Social structures are not tangible and therefore, depend upon our “belief” in them to remain intact. Royalty, politicians, and business leaders are not better or smarter than you. They just happen to be the ones who make the rules simply because we “believe” they know what’s best for us. Money, gold, diamonds and the like have no inherent value other than what we “believe” they have.
In essence, we are allowing ourselves to be oppressed by our own “beliefs” that are a result of deliberate social conditioning. It really is that simple. Now for the hard part. The belief in current power structures must be replaced with belief in ourselves that we possess the wisdom, brilliance and determination to manifest mutual prosperity for EVERYONE through embracing human cooperation.
We have wisdom and knowledge far beyond that of our ancestors to create a society that reflects our evolution.
For their amazingly well-developed perspectives and concepts on social structures.
Special Thanks to:
