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Shahriar Shahriari |
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Message of the Month
July, 2002
"In God We Trust"
A few days ago, as I was driving, I heard the radio announcer talk about a poll in which 52% of Americans thought they would see the end of the world, or more accurately Armageddon, within their life times.
As I was pondering this, I realized that the bigger news was not so much the fact that those who were polled thought this way. The more important news was the fact that somebody thought of asking this question in the first place, and then the responsible people in the media thought it would be appropriate to conduct the survey and announce it over the airways.
If I were a conspiracy theorist, I could have blamed it on the self-serving media who were bought by the defense industrial complex, trying to instill fear in people.
But more sincerely, I think the media bosses believe that this sort of fear mongering actually sells, and is profitable. Thus, fired by greed, they are willing to sell fear.
Also in the wake of the recent exposure of financial corruption in some of the American conglomerates, we are witnessing how numerous people are losing their jobs and/or life's savings. Again, this is only fueled by the greed of the few who have manipulated the loopholes of the Free Enterprise legal system.
It is not surprising that the short-sellers are making more money on the stock markets than the investors. Whenever we see unchecked growth that dishonors other souls, we can be certain that the parasitic forces of destruction and decay are deployed to restore balance and honor to the system
Since I believe that the outer reflects the inner, and vice-versa, I have been given the wake-up call to look at my habits carefully - yet once again.
These events, in an exaggerated way, embody the worship of the God of Greed and sacrifice of others at the altar of the God of Fear. So the question is where am I succumbing to greed, and where do I sacrifice others out of my own fears?
Could it be that when I receive more change at the grocery store than I should, I think about pocketing it? Is it that I am willing to play politics at work and stab my colleagues in the back because of the fear of losing my job? Am I expediently finding shortcuts in delivering on my promises?
It is interesting to note that in a country that epitomizes Free Enterprise, the words "In God We Trust" are inscribed on every bank note and every denomination of the dollar. Yet we find ample examples - among others as well as ourselves - where we are tempted to sacrifice other souls at the altar of Fear and in the worship of the god of Greed.
The Iron Curtain collapsed from within because of dishonoring the individual souls that comprised those nations. Perhaps the unraveling of the Free Enterprise system is also imminent, unless we are willing to put aside our greed and overcome our fears, and truly live by the words "In God We trust".
© Shahriar Shahriari
Los Angeles, CA
July 2002
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