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Library of Congress CCN 67-10417 CHAPTER 07 |
We abdicate our rights to teach our children the sacred
internal freedom of how to think and feel. We bestow this right upon
all of these others of our species, all of these "experts."
When we abdicate our own right, we abdicate that same right for our
children. It is dangerous and foolish to do this. The great modem dilemmas, wars, and potential wars,
are the consequences of this invited encroachment into the wellsprings
of one's own being. A world of individuals inwardly free may be the
freest and the safest kind of world. The spiritual and the bodily betterment
of all men need the fabulous resources of this planet. Can the motivation
of man m the mass be devoted to these ends rather than war? In the modem
world the industrial organization of man is like a huge organism. The
"metabolism" of this orgamTsm ts devoted to maintaining the
structure of the interrelated parts. Like the cells and the tissues
nn one's own body which are each specialized for its own function, so
in this kind of "organism" individual persons must be so speciahzed.
This specialization is carried even into our internal life where it
is quite inappropriate and not needed. Are there not other ways of mamtaining all of us? Are
thcre not other ways of teaching us of our own internal universes, our
own internal states of consciousness without these cxtcrnal necessities
of control? I asked seeking answerD. I, like all persons I know, depend
on the given social structure as it is. I plead frankly and candidly
for new paths to inner freedom; but I plead for these paths within
the structure of the modem society as it is best created to
date. I bclieve that at least im the United States today one can
have inner freedom consonant with one's functions in the modem societv. How does this relate to the dolphins? They may have
more of this precious commodity of inner freedom than we do. Therefore
they may he able to help us. Let us try to communicate with the dolphins and see if they do have irmer freedom. In the search, we may or may not find this freedom for man. However, I am sure that we will find new mental vistas, if and only if we are open to them and do not try to impose our kinds of conscionsness on the dolphins. |
