Looking at some of the "Zeitgeist - the Movie" forums on the internet, the film has certainly generated some heated discussions, not something I wish to linger upon here. However, what is of interest to me is the sheer volume of people that have viewed the movie and resonate with the basic message: government involvement in the 9-11 tragedy, government conspiracy to control its citizens, etc., etc. For the detractors of the film, it has given them much fodder perhaps to further marginalize the "misguided whackos on the fringe of society."
It's so much easier to believe in an outside enemy, to believe that there are outside forces that wish to destroy us. This may very well be true, we're not garnering a lot of goodwill points around the world. But cultural centrism makes it anathema to even consider that our own people, our own government would perpetrate such evil upon its own family. After all, we are "One nation under God." We are Americans, flagbearers of Democracy! We have come a long ways since the days of slavery, a long ways since the days of annihilating our First Nation brothers and sisters from the lands we stole from them, a long ways since we incarcerated our American brothers and sisters of Japanese descent during World War II, a long ways since dropping 2 atomic bombs on cities in Japan killing 200,000+ civilians.... Of course I'm being facetious. It's not that I do not trust government per se, it's that I do not trust massive amounts of power in the hands of any organized religion or government; and I understand all too well the devastating affects of the misuse of power and belief systems by both church and state. History amply bares this out.
OK, let's say that the idea of a massive conspiracy being perpetrated on the people of our country for purposes of control and manipulation are just too ludicrous to give second thought to. Maybe the government is incapable of managing such a cohesive illusion on that large of a scale. I can buy that. It's just that the mind wants to place blame somewhere. It will always seek causation. Who is the enemy? Who did this to us? Al Quaeda? Our government? The "shadow government" run by the "suits and spooks"? Again I'm being facetious, but two things stand out in my mind. First, that whole groups of people have been targeted for genocide through conspiracy is not debatable. It has happened. Second, we know the power of individuals and small groups to control the minds and beliefs of vast populations. Just look at the spectrum of religions and political systems in the world and some of the things that are believed in! Now, I'm stepping on lots of toes here, but the point is that people can be made to believe in so many different things, in such a wide variety of cultural, political and religious dogma that boggles the mind when you look at the sheer range of what people believe in. Looking at it in this way, it doesn't take a grand conspiracy or even a well thought out plan to get large groups of people to hate each other, and to perhaps even wipe each other out. The use of fear has devastating outcomes that makes it look like "There must have been a master plan behind it all!"
Fear has a signature stamp that seems primordially familiar; it hearkens to what is worst in mankind, and it smells of war and hate. Fear is the Great Conspiracy, forcing all who listen to its belching voice to dance like puppets entwined in their own strings: "Kill or be Killed. Conquer or be conquered!" Fear gathers around itself those of similar mindset and creates an "other" to condemn and hate, and the "other" is born through the union of hate and fear.
And yet we misread fear, following its drumbeat into impossible corners of our minds where we fight for the small turf of our limited beliefs that leaves no room for others. When left unchecked, fear ultimately implodes upon itself destroying its host mind and infecting those in close proximity.
Fear magnifies and exaggerates, creating phantoms and reflections of what we do not wish to see in every corner of our minds and in every face that looks different from our own...until we can no longer see the "Conspiracy of Love" that is also all around us, in the faces of untold millions that do good in the world. Fear conspires to shut down every heart that it infects whereas Love ultimately frees all hearts burdened with the shackles of sorrow. Fear and Love come together and yet Fear is not the evil twin. It comes only as a message to be taken heed of, a simple call to look within to embrace the gifts that it brings. Love is the energy of Fear transformed by Wisdom.
Fear cannot be fought in the sense of destroying it no more than darkness can be driven away by beating it with a stick. Fear can only be experienced, listened to and then respected for the messages that it brings.
Zeitgeist the Movie may have arguable inconsistencies, but it is natural and perhaps even healthy that so many people resonate with its message. We are really not all that far removed from the atrocities mentioned earlier. However, just as vast numbers of people can be controlled and swayed by fear, the influence of Love is no less powerful. For those who believe that "as flawed as humans and governmental systems might be, it's all we have," I would say this: we have so much more! The willingness of individuals to look squarely at their fears, and to acknowledge and take responsibility for their actions and beliefs is a huge step in breaking down walls that now separate us. Whereas governments might be weighed down by bureaucracy and inertia, I believe it takes only a few individuals throughout the world to step into the field of their own fears, to release the knots of personal and cultural beliefs that bind them, and then walk among others--not in condemnation--but as true brothers/sisters of the Great Spirit Energy that brings Love/Fear, to show that Fear comes not to destroy, but to also reveal the Great Love that is part of the same energy. Through that resonance of Being, which energetically touches the hearts of others in proximity, just a few individuals can change the face of Nations!
What happens to a monk who takes flight from the monastery? Find out at http://www.manakastudios.com
http://accessingyourhigherself.wordpress.com
