Sometimes society enters a phase where it seems that no one can see eye to eye. I believe that this occurs most often in societies where the mythos of the culture becomes a sacred text that cannot be deviated from. Those who want change are accused of sacrilege. Those who wish for things to stay the same are accused of harboring a plethora of phobias against anything and anyone they don’t understand.
Having lived in the Creators Realm for several years now, I would like to offer some observations on where I think problems arise and where a solution might be found.
First, I would like to address what I call Elites. These are people who believe that because of the money, power or position they possess they can dictate how everyone else lives.
Next, I would like to address those who form the greater part of every society—the everyday person. I believe it’s the everyday person that can be both the downfall of a civilization or the salvation.
Let me explain.
Humans are gregarious creatures. While much of what we do in our lives is accomplished in the smaller groupings of friends, family and community there are opportunities—in larger cities and countries—to form larger gatherings and movements.
Movements in society are natural. There are movements that try to rectify wrongs, then there are movements where people become possessed of the thought that they know all of the answers and that by sheer number they should dictate how everyone else lives.
This is where things go wrong, both among the Elites and amongst society at large. When we believe that we have all the answers, when we’re not curious about what others think or how they live, when we feel that the public space has to be the perfect place for our private selves we transgress a boundary that makes it hard to have a cohesive community.
This is why the bigger a community gets—the harder it is to govern everyone satisfactorily. The Creators Realm has the same issue. Decorum is enforced and, over time, it becomes more and more stringent until it reaches a breaking point where it finally has to change.
The more Decorum there is, the harder it is to change things when they need changing—without giving in to violence or hate.
Religion, countries, civic groups all have histories that become sacred over time. Movements of enlightenment occur when we realize that the sacred texts and founding documents we hold so dear are not given by an all knowing deity but cobbled together by people in search of the magic we so often beseech to guide us.
The Wanderlores, at their best, realize that rituals, histories and texts are sacred only as long as they fulfill their purpose of building community where lives can be lived in peace and things can get done without too much intrusion into private lives.
If any one side takes too many liberties, the community as a whole dissolves and the families involved go their own ways, forming new communities where they are better aligned.
The reason why this doesn’t happen very much in the Wanderlore community is because the public spaces are ruled by ethics that are sufficient enough to maintain order, but lax enough to leave space for a variety of views. It’s known that if you walk into a Wanderlore grove, there will be many clans, tribes and family groups sharing the same space, thus there’s enough decorum to make everyone feel safe, but it’s loose enough so everyone feels welcome.
Grace and tolerance is given by all involved. Some might consider this a squashing of individual rights, and in some ways it is.
Individuals can do whatever they want—when they are by themselves.
Family units provide less freedom amongst individual members.
Extended clans and communities offer less still.
I think you get my drift.
The bigger the group, the less individual freedom one really has when participating in that group. The bigger the group, the more understanding and tolerance has to be given.
This is why governance and government is so distasteful to most. Enlightened governance is rarely attained. Most of the time it is unbalanced and unfair—especially if it is expected to be everything to everyone.
This is where I go back to the individual. We have to start viewing things a different way. We can’t expect everyone else to fulfill our needs. We have to fill the holes we have in ourselves. We have to realize that people can be intolerant, rude, obnoxious, oblivious and downright opinionated.
We’re imperfect, even those who truly try to be aware. I won’t fall into the trap of saying that I’m more woke than someone else. That phrase puts certain people on pedestals while shaming everyone else.
We can’t get along with people if we always think we’re better or more enlightened than everyone else. We also can’t get along very well with people if we think that everything outside of our niche of being or belief is bad or of the devil.
The solution to this eternal friction is granting a neutral zone on the outside where we all can interact to get things done—think of it as a green space for our public lives. We don’t have to approve of things we disagree with, but I suggest instead of put downs and arguing all the time in our public park, we lead by example.
Show people a better way, if you feel a better way is needed. This tact takes more time. People are suspicious of new ideas. But, if someone does happen to have a change of heart, it will be a true conversion, not a false conversion by intimidation.
This is why we have to focus on the world we build within. We won’t be able to convert everyone. Nor should we try. We need variety to survive—evolution demands it.
This brings me back to the individual, I believe that if we connect to our magic, work on our talents, fill our hearts with things that truly make us happy—and not just things that distract us for a moment or two—we will have the grace to give to others in times of disagreement along with the armor we need to avoid taking offense when coming in contact with contrary views.
I’m not saying you have to put up with crap. What I am saying is that if we are sufficiently settled within our own inner worlds, the outer world at large can be managed a lot easier, without a lot of heavy handed decorum being forced upon everyone—including us.
The more we build the decorum within. The less the decorum will be forced upon us in the public square. The more green space we leave for each other, the more leeway we will all have to breathe and be ourselves.
—Jellybean Reds, Creator of Little Creatures
