It’s sometimes hard to get things done alone. The saying goes that if you want to get somewhere fast, go alone; and if you want to go far, go together. For assurance of survival and thriving, go together. For reality checking along the way…two heads are better than one.
Throughout history, humanity has looked to leaders to know what to do to achieve stability or change. A king or a revolutionary would give orders or instruct the people on best practices for best outcomes. From the best way to keep from losing one’s head to the best way to bring down a despot, leadership could be relied upon to do the best thinking…or that’s what was hoped.
In the twentieth century, we’ve lost leaders like Ida B. Wells, Gandhi, Einstein, Martin Luther King and Imamu Malik Shabazz. When evolutionary people like these die or are assassinated, the people who follow them founder, their struggle for improved lives derail. Divide and conquer comes into effect as the ‘head’ has been divided from the ‘body’.
If all people were taught how to be leaders, learned how to think as leaders, the evolution of the species could make more consistent progress. People, or humanity, have been divided from knowledge and education in many ways, and forever. Folk have never had much time to think given the pressures of every type of slavery in effect since the beginning of human society. If we simply had the time to think about our lives, our values, ethical questions, science, art, mathematics…if only we had the time to think. What we do find time to think about are the death squads, doing our jobs, and the basic requirements for living like shelter, food, sex, and safety.
Divide and conquer separates us from everything real. We’re divided from health, sanity, love, safety, earth, clean air, authentic relationships, reality and prosperity. We are divided from freedom, honor and our humanity. We have trouble thinking clearly then the death squad assassinates our leaders that do think clearly and provide us some direction.
The both/and of this situation is this: MLK and Malcolm X are the left and right hand of liberation. Thought, words and deeds are part of a liberation process… right minded thought, words and deeds. Right minded people produce right results. Education, the right education, is key to sustained, generational, pro-social results.
Sadiman, of the village of Dali in Java Indonesia, restored the Gendol Forest by himself by trading clove seeds for banyan trees then planting them to remediate burned land further damaged by the resulting droughts and floods. He has been planting banyan trees for 21 years. People thought he was crazy. Some folk vandalized his work but he continued planting to restore the water table. Sadiman’s 68 years old now and still at work. The land is restored, and the people of his village, his country and the world have the benefit of his activism and example. Sometimes, the only way to get things done is alone because folk need time and education to catch up to the trailblazers.
Sometimes, everyone must act, correct situations and evolve as we go. Sometimes we have to lift others as we climb. Unity is a necessity for some of our human evolution. The early union movements and the civil rights/human rights movements are examples of this. The progress won’t happen if we don’t do it together.
There is no one way to enact positive change. There are wrong ways and evil ways to be avoided to be sure. Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” There are 7.6billion people on this planet so I’m sure there are many variations of the right thing to do. Manifesting all the right solutions is possible.
