Compassion through social strife

[Bring4th_Austin]

 
What's now called "the US" was built on a determined lack of compassion for Indians, free Whites who consorted with Indians, enslaved Africans, free Whites who consorted with Africans and plenty of other groups.  So, why would this nation, under God, all of sudden become a paragon of compassion at this point in time?  Why are your expectations so high, BeforeAustin?

This has made me consider deeply where my anxiety and pain originate from, so thank you. I do suppose it is possible that they are borne from expectation. Is the release of all expectation a key to finding love in the moment? Logically, I would never expect this nation, or any nation (at this point on our planet), to become a paragon of compassion. Yet there is something available to us now that I don't think has been historically available throughout the genocides and travesties that laid the foundation for this nation. More experience and awareness offers a greater chance to grasp the catalyst for legitimate change. Perhaps we can at least hope for more compassion now, given that there has been more opportunity for us as individuals and a collective to reflect on our experiences throughout the ages.

One may thus surmise that, for the karmic load of blindness-to-suffering to abate, a great deal of karmic clearing and healing work will need to happen.  I wonder what that might look like?  I imagine it begins and ends in our own heart.

Last night, near me, a protest was announced to begin at a Federal building in downtown Oakland.  Two private security guards in front of that building were shot, one was wounded critically and the other killed.  I'm not sure how the resonance of the compassion I find in my heart (and that which I focalize for spirit beings around us) will solve anyone else's problems, but it's the best way I know to begin.

I also imagine that the work is within our own heart. Though I also see an argument for the idea that active outer work must be done to dismantle the social systems that perpetuate the blindness-to-suffering. I cannot claim to know if protesting and activism is truly effective towards this end. When I see footage of protests, the pain and anger of the protesters often seems obvious upon their faces. It is easy for me to feel compassion for them in that moment. I might not always agree with how such anger and pain is expressed, but I understand where it comes from, and I understand the desire and need to turn it towards an activist social movement.

It is harder for me to find compassion for the people on the other side of the protests - those law enforcement and military personal donning weapons and war gear who seem to be waiting for an opportunity to move upon the protesters. But if I dig under the emotion, I can understand too that these people are also human. Within them is a heart, and just like all of us, their life experience has led them, one circumstance after another, to put them in the situation they are in right now. Even when they instigate violence without provocation. It seems to me that if there are any individuals who could really help change the system and end this cycle of violence, they're in a prime position to do so. Why don't they? I don't know, but while I seek to hold them accountable, I also seek to find forgiveness in my heart - at least for the bit that is mine to forgive.