I’m trying to understand, balancing the act between dancing daisies, smiles and hips, and the sharp knives of logic and materialism, which pretend that they cut through all expectations, as well as lamentations and complaints from which one cannot escape. Politics, history, religion, so many thoughts and opinions bursting inside of each one of us all the time. Added to the alternate waves of fear, violence, compassion, sacrifice, and tenderness that cohabit you and me and this endless stream of life and universe.

It is all beyond the flourishing of any particular ego, the eruption of a volcano or yet another massacre brought to hype, by the talking heads on the tv screen breaking news, now reaching us also and constantly, through the open channels of gossip and endless chatter of cell phones and other devices, influencing our biases, fears, opinions and excitements.

There is one salient thing that defines this present time of our being human, besides all our usual weaknesses and strengths, let’s call it… the age of the chat-demic. The capacity for instantaneous gossip mongering and advertising that connects our egos constantly to promote our most primal instincts, consumerism, gossip, backbiting, and selfishness. What was done by rulers of tribes, nations and empires in the past, remained per force of time and distance, in the periphery of the immediate human network affected then, and transformed into legend.

The Caligula’s madness and its impact on the Roman Empire never reached the Chinese, Indian or Mayan societies for example, or even the whole territorial space covered by Roman influence. But today through the “talking heads” of television sets, and the X -Tweets or similar instant dispersers of thought and opinion, the antics of a Trump are known instantaneously, creating both worldwide angst and applause, depending on your ego twist and the understanding you have of things like compassion, oneness of humanity, and interconnectedness of nature. Depending on your worldview.

That people, with a big ego, have such an instantaneous access platform to most of humanity is one of the characteristics of the chat-demic era.

History is replete with instances of rulers who brought misery upon their people with their cruelty, poor governance skills and lack of sense for reality; Caligula, Charles VI of France, Henry VI of England, Ivan V of Russia, and Joanna, Queen of Castile. These rulers and many unknown others have existed in the numberless tribes, nations and empires since the beginning of human civilization.

But now the chat-demic era, has brought the opportunity for buffoons to present their show instantaneously to millions upon millions, their acting capacity, to be seen and applauded by some as daring, unique and macho, and condemned by others as preposterous and crazy.

To be sure, politics in world history has never been sane or justifiable. From the Inquisition to the Crusades, to Attila the Hun, all chapters of history reveal the absurd and wantonly selfish organizational principles that have guided most of the time our politics. Not the teachings of the Budda, Zoroaster, Jesus etc. The rare exceptions like for example Gandhi and Mandela do not compare in magnitude.

People are talking for example (and I mean those irked by the present buffoonish and macho projections) about the Trump madness. It is true that sanity, compassion and selflessness are not guiding his approach. But then think about Vietnam, the invasion of the Bay of Pigs, the coup against Allende, the Iraq war and so many, many other, not necessarily sane initiatives, initiated by so many different administrations just in the US. Don’t forget please that Vietnam was owned by its close neighbor France and Hong Kong used to belong to the British Empire, a neighbor of China.

The history of the world has never been sane. At present we are becoming globally exposed to the madness and buffoonery instantaneously, giving an opportunity for all to say yay or nay in the opinion kingdom. To applaud or not, to buy the snake oil or not. Before, all the mischief was done privately by the powers that were and its close minions. Now with the chat-demic you allow the audience to participate and cheer the madness directly.

And believe me, we all have more than a little bit of this stuff within ourselves, with different predilections of course, but we do have it. Maybe the vast distribution mode is a way to bring it all out to the surface, so we can get into serious trouble, and the consequences make us feel a collective accountability, and lead us to rethink our current worldview. I hate to say it, but even if they don’t know it or call it another thing, all these movements to becoming great again, to take a stand in your principles of bigotry etc. are just people becoming woke to their basic selfish instincts and coming out of the closet. The so-called liberals did it, so why not the conservatives too.

And it is not just in the US and Europe that this surge of madness takes place. Look at China’s Tiananmen square, and Mexico’s Tlatelolco. Insane movements and purges have happened everywhere, Argentina, Cuba, Chile, Rwanda, Israel, etc. etc. That “ Terrible love of War” so clearly exposed by James Hillman, seems to be part of our nature.

So now the hype of Trumpism, the sound blast on ultra-nationalistic appeal, the menace of pet eating immigrants, the war against diversity, equality and inclusion, and the rest, is a well-played instrument of fear and agitation through the chat demic orchestra. Many like it, as it vibrates with their own frustrations or because they liked the antics, the closed fists, the scenario, the show, and they joined as an audience that cheers the show.

And the collective expression and participation in the shaping of society, is becoming muted by the mirrors of social networks, where people get the impression that they have exercised their participation, through adhesion or opinion, and feel that that’s enough, in a process, that somehow deep within they feel is beyond their control.

It is somehow strange, but many people are now substituting real experience in the field of life by participating in online substitutes. Zoom meetings rather than in person conferences, remote working, and so on. It takes out a significant part of the mystery, beauty and struggle (which is part of the charm) of life.

Recently seeing a friend, enthusiastic with one of these immersion vision gadgets, he showed me with great awe the tridimensional vision that you can get through them. And I wondered, but don’t we all have a tridimensional vision to experience the marvelous universe that surrounds us. And in addition, we also have a whole inner world of imagination without boundaries within us. What is the charm of gadgets emulating poorly what we already have all the time within us.

Ah, this thing of mind, so specific to time, opinion, and belief. It leaks so deep, mind. A fiend that steals time and seeds worry. I have one of these I mind-pads, with so many apps, it zaps everything in an instant and takes over. Making me believe, yes believe, one day in that, one day in this. Do you know what belief is? It is an escape from the heart. Yes, from feeling the magic stuff that mesmerizes, as the sun rises somewhere, every day.

Social media that was thought to have a democratizing potential has become a breeding ground for misinformation, polarization and snake oil sales. The instantaneous spread of information online, mostly unchecked and unverified, leads to the propagation of false narratives, conspiracy theories, and seems to amplify rather than diminish the most selfish parts of us.

The algorithmic nature of social media platforms contributes to the formation of echo chambers, where individuals are primarily exposed to information that reinforces their existing beliefs. This creates a feedback loop that amplifies ideological divides and hinders productive dialogue between different perspectives. The ease with which anyone can establish themselves as a "political influencer" makes it increasingly difficult for individuals to discern credible sources from biased or misleading ones. This erosion of shared reality poses a serious challenge to the foundations of social organization . Does online activism translate into real life or does the lack of in person action allows the worst of the influencers to carry their message and take over?

The problem goes deeper into the heart of things, however, so deep that future generations may look back and wonder why this generation didn’t wake up. The reason isn’t mysterious, actually. Modern society is based on a materialism worldview.

Technology, gadgets, and consumerism poses a fundamental approach to life as a materialistic endeavor with a focus on “each one to his own” mentality, where the spirit of man; inspiration, compassion, the sublime, the sacrifice for others, the love that transforms, is all relegated to the background.

Science at its height provokes the human mind to be humble and understand oneness, Albert Einstein one of the greatest scientific minds of the modern era stated “A human being is part of a whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest, a kind of optical illusion of his consciousness. This illusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few people who are closest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison, to enlarge our circle of compassion, to encompass all living creatures and all nature in their beauty.”

We pride ourselves on advancing beyond myth and superstition, the things that led to witch hunting, inquisition and holy wars, but today deeply immersed in the myth of materialism, we continue to disregard compassion that encompasses all living creatures and all nature. And in our present lynching mob rush, stimulated by the buffoons posing as leaders, promising more illusions to the credulous and naïve, we are risking the sustainable basis of the unified field that supports life. Failing to recognize in our tribal frenzy, that we are all in the same boat.

Our self-awareness as humans, our escape from the prison referred to by Einstein is our only hope. We must become aware of who we really are. Because people who are aware of who they really are and feel an inner need to love their neighbor as yourself, wouldn’t go to war, stockpile weapons, harbor racial prejudice, mistreat and abuse others, and ignore the environment.

Selfishness, multiplied by population, results in wars, exploitation, persecution and poverty. Selflessness, multiplied by population, brings about peace and plenty. All the modern fads that are stalking the world today, have to be judged on the criteria of selfishness or selflessness.

(Meher Baba)