Many people believe that bureaucracies are filled with minions, addled by boring and repetitive tasks, simply filling in time, and living mundane and pitiful lives. In this view, bureaucracy, or government, is, therefore, a nonsensical blight on mankind and must be reduced, if not stopped altogether, though this is probably impossible. The anarchist, (1) Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921) is an interesting man to read in this area. If we adopt this view, then we must realize that its sycophants are unelected but wield enormous power. How do we begin to control these dangerous and ever-growing, national hydras? Firstly, we must refuse to accept pointless and nonsensical rules. My passport is Canadian but is issued in Taipei. I cannot use this document in my native country for certain undertakings, such as the endorsement of my sons’ passports. Why? It was not issued in North America: the thesis being, supposedly, that all other governments have the potential of being corrupt. Obviously, this is based on the American fear of worldwide terrorism and the agenda of the military-industrial complex (The Trump election will only reinforce this stereotype and further strengthen the image that Canada is a vassal state): it is, of course, totally absurd!

I have a personal story. Once, just after the end of communism in the early 1990s, I traveled, with my friends and family, from Poland to Lithuania and then took a short trek to Belarus. We needed to get a visa to travel to this country prior to our departure. Our little group thus proceeded to the Belarusian embassy in Warsaw: but, alas, not so simple. Their foreign corps and I suppose the entire diplomatic service, (2) was so fraught with corruption that they would not take cash: period – only direct deposit to a government account! We had to, rather bizarrely; leave our passports and voyage to a designated bank in the center of the city. Now, at this time, Poland had just emerged from communism. Its secret police were uneasy with their new liberal masters (One often forgets that the security services are also one big bureaucracy. They serve any paymaster. At the end of World War Two, for example, the allied powers left the German security services in place to ensure societal stability. One of the most intriguing examples of this period is that of Reinhard Gehelen (1902-1979). During World War Two, he served as head of German military intelligence, the Abwehr, on the Eastern [Russian] front. At the end of the war, he offered his knowledge of Russian geopolitical intentions in exchange for his freedom and that of his important colleagues. He subsequently became president of the German Intelligence Service and served in this capacity until 1968. His war-time past was, miraculously, forgotten). It is to be noted that the official visit of Bill Clinton was occurring at the same time as our sojourn to Poland. You can image the Kafkaesque (3) absurdity. We traveled to this given financial institution totally devoid of any “papers.” Fortunately, we had no complications, paid the money and returned to the government edifice, receipt in hand. The classic piece of irony to all this is that the visas were so new that the border guards in Belarus questioned their validity.

I often point out to my students that they are empowered to change the world. You do not have to be a wage slave. The subsequent reply is that I, as a small microscopic person, can do nothing. This, of course, is just not true: Gandhi being an example that readily comes to mind. It all begins with one. This means that the simple realization of the changing forces of our society will help us with our personal decisions. We all know that there is a new civilization emerging. We, however, are not quite sure what this means or what will occur. On a much more positive side: if one is flexible, the future will be exciting and spiritually fruitful. Young people, in spite of my earlier comments, are increasing realizing that they actually have power. The Buddha discusses desire. If you have little need, you have little desire. This potentially means that a slowing of our consumer-driven avarice is possible. The documentary on small houses is an interesting beginning:  We The Tiny House People. The future undoubtedly will be intriguing, to say the least. The great motivator and life coach, Jim Rohn (1930-2009) leaves us with a thought: Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you. (Parts of this article were first published in March 2012)     

A closing thought: We believe that life is not short, it is actually very long. You have time to experiment when you are young (or old) to find your correct career path. You do not need to be enfeebled by any decision: it can change. A large part of wage slavery is the belief that, “Now that I have started down a certain path, I must stay with it until I die”: no you don’t! Change is possible at every turn. But, you do have to act: as Osho (4) says, (to paraphrase) “There is no hero, there is no coward: there is only action.”  

 

To sum up: This week, we spoke about change. I related a personal story about dealing with bureaucracy. All of us have had similar experiences. We discussed the idea that, if you do not want to be a wage slave, you must be willing to change to find your ideal career.

 

A small joke: Why is it when we go to a dentist, he shows us an enormous needle and says, “This won’t hurt!”

 

This week, please ask yourself, “Am I willing to change?”

 

Every day look for something magical and beautiful.

Quote: Traditional viewpoints are weights that we need not carry. Our future knapsack should be light and filled with spontaneous potentiality.

 

Footnotes:

1)    Anarchism

2)    Corruption continues to be a problem in Belarus: Belarus Corruption Wars . This particular issue is an interesting reference point

3)    Franz Kafka (1883–1924) was a German-language writer of absurdist novels and short stories, regarded by critics as one of the most influential authors of the 20^th century. Kafka heavily influenced Existentialism: this movement squarely places personal responsibility on the self.

4)    OSHO talks