Equality Through Conformity? PART ONE

At the weekend, after much preparation and planning, phone calls and scribbled out ideas, the two of us jumped on the train to Manchester Piccadilly and set of for what we thought would simply be a day of protest - nothing more, nothing less. We expected to be shouting about the cause we set off to shout about - nothing more nothing less. Maybe a few chaps with placards, maybe a bit of light public disturbance - nothing more nothing less.

How wrong we were.

The helium balloons on which our chosen message was printed were handed out at such speed to crowds of men, women and children who clamored and begged for them like we'd never have expected. Not for the message on the balloon, admittedly. Turns out people like balloons, who knew? But the important thing was that our balloons and therefore our message was all over Piccadilly Square and was dispersing around the city as people took them away with them. So that was the first half hour of our 'protest' done. And we had nothing left apart from little slips of paper with the message on, which were given out all day.

The real stuff started to happen when the various groups who had come to the square to share their message all got together and started to move as one. If anyone has ever experienced a come-up, it felt like that...

The feeling that something very, very good is about to happen.

And it did.

I needn't go too deep into the details of the day and what exactly happened; there's Youtube for that (just look for We Are Change Manchester 2/7/11).

But I can barely convey the immense feelings of love and joy and the colourful, vibrant expressions of freedom as the peaceful vibrations echoed around the city. It wasn't just the hugs or the sharing or the equality and value of each individual which struck me. Something went much deeper, something in my core which whispered reassuringly that this was right and this was good. As the Topshop barriers came rolling down to protect the store from a large congregation of people who would never dream of hurting or stealing from anyone, it was palpable that this had evolved from a protest (nothing more, nothing less) to an incredible demonstration of the fact that we are humans and we are free - nothing more, nothing less. It was an announcement of our presence - a movement of thinking, feeling, loving entities sharing their humanity with each other. It was beautiful. Disillusioned ex-soldiers rubbed shoulders with passionate questioners and religious speakers in the greatest display of mutual respect that I have ever seen. If you had something to say, you grabbed a megaphone and you said it.

Certain aspects of the day raised questions in my mind about our actions and our beliefs. These are questions regarding reality and truth or rather - imagination and dogma. I hope to tackle this in the second installment of my post. I will, in the style of a Mr. Danny Shine, present these questions to you and allow you to look deep into yourself to find the answers. Because it's healthy to question. Questions make life worth living, nothing more, nothing less.

Tangent

And so today I sat the second philosophy paper, considerably more prepared for it than the first one. It went well. The question was on Merold Westphal's text about Hume, Kant and Hegel and the fact that religion was being talked about far more than God itself in philosophical discussion.

I managed to talk about the 'opiate of the people' view on the Hindu caste system - the fact that people are born into their caste (or class, pretty much) and they must do the duty that they were born to do without question, or else suffer the consequences - an accumulation of bad karma which will follow them on into the next life. This, of course, leaves the Brahmins (priests) at the top of the tree to remain there comfortably as they were born to be there. Fair?

I also talked about the implications of separating religious practice from the concept of God itself, thus making all religious practice futile and irrelevant. What a wonderful concept... think of the wars, the HOLY WARS, which would never have happened. Think of the bombs which would have never been dropped, the children never being torn from the arms of their mothers, people forced to either fight or die... all for something written in a badly translated ancient book! People being happy, free, with the right and the fearlessness to be able to make up their own minds and allow others to do the same.

I do not hate religious people. I disagree with them, but I do not hate them - I love them and everyone else and support their right to believe and do what they feel is right, just as I am doing.
What I hate is the fact that people are KILLED - their beautiful and potential flowing lives are STOLEN away from them....

Just because they read a different book.

Think... is that what your God would really want?

So from this day on to prove my point perhaps I should kill anyone who reads the Lord of the Rings instead of Harry Potter. It makes more sense anyway - I have seen Harry Potter, I know what he looks like. But I have never, ever seen the thing that these evil people call GOD.

थैंक्यू