Choices
A knower of the Truth does what is called for, then stops.
He uses his strength but does not force things.
In the same way,
complete your task,
seek no reward,
make no claims,
Without faltering fully choose to do what you must do.
This is to live without forcing, to overcome without conquering.
From The Tao Te Ching, Chapter 30 – trans. Jonathan Star
As the national election cycle heats up, I am reminded of the time-honored parental strategy for keeping a child under control in the midst of a toy store. As the child’s eyes widen over the array of colorful toys spread before him, the parent intervenes with, “Look, Jimmy, here are some balloons. You can choose. Do you want a red one or a blue one? It’s your choice.”
Actually, Jimmy wants a toy truck and he states, “I want that truck.” But that option is not on the table and the parent smiles and returns to, “You can’t have a truck, but you get to choose which balloon you want. Go on, pick one.”
“I want the truck,” comes the reply.
“Well you can’t have the truck and if you don’t pick either of these balloons you won’t get anything at all!”
I suppose it’s an effective strategy for teaching a five-year-old certain limits, but you and I are not young children.
National elections could be made to more closely resemble democracy. Candidates could come from all walks of life and represent a wide range of party affiliations – Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, Socialist, Communist – each with equal access to media. Campaign finances could be reformed to insure that every candidate could spend only a set amount of money for all campaign expenses and that amount would be the same for every candidate, from Republican to Green. Media outlets could return to their original charter which required them to provide public information at no charge. Each candidate and party would receive the same amount of air time. Debates could include all issues with a format that would allow lengthy and considered answers rather than uncivil dogfights. If one candidate did not receive more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election could be held. Major parties might still dominate, but the concerns of all would be discussed on an even playing field.
However, culture has conspired to keep us young and under control. It’s not just in elections. Our choices of where and how to live, how to earn money, what to buy, how to entertain ourselves, and how to relate to other nations, are presented as choices as if to a child. “You can do this or this. You can have this or this, but there are no other choices, not if you want to be a good and productive citizen. Other choices are dangerous. Only malcontents, rebels, anarchists and terrorists want other choices.”
Goodness gracious, people may begin to choose simpler lifestyles, independent careers, and alternate family structures. They may step off of the rat race and live, to some degree, off the grid of consumerism. They may see past the billions spent on advertising worthless products and begin to spend less money but spend it on better purchases. This would be economically unacceptable so we, like the five-year-old, are presented with a manufactured illusion of choice everywhere we turn.
The good news is that we don’t have to believe this illusion. There are choices available to us far beyond what we are led to believe. We can have something other than A or B. There are choices C, D, E, F…. waiting for us everywhere we turn. These other choices require courage, patience, creativity, and confidence but choosing them will begin to set a new course for our lives and for our society.
Pay attention. Are the choices you make actually free choices? Or are they limited by the voices of conditioned thinking that are only interested in keeping things as they are, for the benefit of a few? I want the truck! A truck can carry all sorts of useful things without complaining. It can be a tool for building a new world. Balloons are full of air and can’t carry much of anything. Besides, if I buy them they’ll undoubtedly deflate or burst by the time I get them home.