I have developed a reaction to news of war — in Ukraine, now in Gaza — or news of violence anywhere, hate crimes, bigotry and ridiculous political developments such as the one playing out among Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. My reaction, before engaging in the usual analysis to which a newspaper columnist is prone, is to see it all as a waste of precious time.
The planet is in trouble — climate change and extreme weather, population stresses on ecosystems, ocean pollution, the depletion of natural resources, threats to food production — and millions of Earthlings are still behaving as Earthlings did in the Dark Ages: Still feuding over land and religious beliefs. Still going to war instead of making peace. Still being violent and barbaric. Still enslaved to old prejudices. Still wasting time on petty politics. Still choosing the comfort of ignorance over the challenge of enlightenment. Still protecting the status quo or sounding retreat from progress instead challenging the way things have always been and embracing progress.
Not all of us fit those descriptions, for sure. But there’s a tide of ignorance, greed and prejudice that feeds violence and war, and millions of humans ignore the Big Clock even as the Big Clock continues to tick louder than ever.
I’m not being irrational or paranoid. I’m describing a profound frustration. When I see Hamas terrorists at work, I ask: What do you gain by the indiscriminate killing of Israelis? Do you not have children? Do you not want to leave them a better world? What on Earth are you doing with guns and rockets? Why continue to make war with Israel instead of peace?
I look at Putin on his throne in Russia and ask: Do you not see what is happening to the planet? Not only is your legacy now one of a murderous dictator who tried to destroy a country in order to claim it, but you’ve wasted precious time and put all of us, including Russians, at even greater risk. The Big Clock keeps ticking.
I know: This sounds like sophomoric grousing about evil-doers.
But, really, what thinking, peace preferring, planet-loving person has not had these thoughts?
And then comes the hard question: What can we do?
There’s nothing civilized people can do about those who want war but to fight them. Israel is stuck with that. Ukraine is stuck with that. Those of us who care about freedom and democracy need to support the fight against terror and murderous dictators. We’re all stuck with that.
Americans, particularly, need to turn back the rising tide of ignorance, prejudice, political nonsense and fascist tendencies that has damaged and might even destroy our constitutional democracy.
I’m up for those fights, and they are necessary.
But they should not be. We are two decades into the 21st Century.
All of us — from Baltimore to Jerusalem, from Alaska to Moscow, from the Mojave to the Sahara, Beijing to Bogota — should be fighting to save the planet for our children and grandchildren. I don’t know where that message comes from — the United Nations? — with any hope of influencing those who waste so much precious time. But the Big Clock is ticking louder than ever. It is drowned out by gunfire, exploding rockets and the nattering of politicians caught up in nonsense. I will never understand — and at this moment in history my bafflement is acute — why, instead of leaving a better world, so many people want to leave it as it is, or worse.
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Dan Rodricks 
Dan.
You have expressed, with this article, my exact sentiments. I am 66 years old with prostate cancer, not knowing how long I have on this earth.
I am practicing gratitude every day and completely peplexed with any type of murdering violance, both locally and internatonally.
I’ve concluded that the best thing I can do , is to be amiable, respectful and positively reinforcing to everyone I encounter each day.
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Thank you, sir.
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You are so right! I feel so hopeless and powerless. Makes me want to cry.
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Dan: Written by someone who has acutely observed our state, nation and world for a long time. The old saying is true, “With age comes wisdom.” .But, it is wasted on the young — especially the radicals. We will continue making the same mistakes. And, sometimes huge advances in thought and doing the right thing. My hope is the latter.
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Dan: you write wonderful articles! I loved this! We are in such trouble that it is scary! I don’t understand the evil that is everywhere! Thank you for caring and sharing.
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Hi Dan,
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div>I have tickets for your December show. Wahoo! Last year I waited too long and it sold out. Going with my neighbor for 2 pm show
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So glad, Shirley. Thanks.
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Thank you, Dan, for your thoughts. I share your angst, and the artwork breaks my heart.
Children should not have to have that thought in their heads: extra planet.
Being familiar with another culture’s music can open hearts and minds. This is Hispanic Culture month, and Columbia Pro Cantare is presenting a choral concert of all-Hispanic music at the Evangelical Lutheran Church on Route 144 in Ellicott City on October 21. The music is astonishingly special,(and challenging to sing) because of the unexpected harmonies and rhythms. Also, we’re singing in Spanish with plenty of percussion.
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Yes, the challenge of enlightenment! But how do we get there? Well, Dan, there is that wise saying: “Only a new seed will yield a new crop.” What are you offering that is new? I share your frustration – but even more so, I dare say, because (here comes my boldness) I have seen the Light. And it is light alone that will remove the darkness. What good is it to grope around in the dark?. Bring in the light and the solutions will be far easier to accomplish. And that light is not far off! “We have found a strange footprint on the shores of the unknown. We have devised profound theories, one after another, to account for its origins. At last, we have succeeded in reconstructing the creature that made the footprint. And lo! It is our own.” —
Sir Arthur Eddington, Space, Time, and Gravitation, 1920. So, it is deep within each and every person. Transcend and comprehend. Do you know the four principle states of mind (each with its own unique physiological signature)? They are waking, dreaming, sleeping and transcendental, pure inner wakefulness. If we are deprived of any of them we fail to develop fully, providing the ground for struggle and failure. But the number of people who regularly experience that fourth transcendental state are relatively few in the world (less than ten million have learned the Transcendental Meditation technique). But there is great hope for our world! It has been repeatedly demonstrated that merely a small fraction of a population practicing the simple, natural, effortless technique of Transcendental Meditation and its advanced program, in one location, radiate a positive, life-supporting effect for the entire surrounding population. 23 peer-reviewed scientific studies show that the square root of one percent of a population practicing the techniques in one place, creates the effect. Since 1979 I personally have participated in these large groups of 2,000; 3,000, 3,500, 4,000 and 7,800 in places such as Iowa; Washington, DC; Rhode Island; Amherst, Massachusetts; Philippines, and New Delhi, India. This coming December I will attend an assembly of 10,000 TM peace practitioners to create a global effect of peace. I will join the director of TM in Baltimore, Mike Mason, and other Marylanders there. Sounds too woo-woo for you? Read the serious scientific papers before you judge. Or listen to what respectable world leaders have to say about it: http://www.GUSP.org.
Peace.
Dr. Craig M. Berg
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Here is an example of a recent study described in Thrive Global by lead author Dr. Orme-Johnson on Jan 25, 2023: A Seventeen-Year Landmark Study Finds that Group Meditation Decreases U.S. National Stress. https://community.thriveglobal.com/a-seventeen-year-landmark-study-finds-that-group-meditation-decreases-u-s-national-stress/
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I feel as you do – alternate between despair, quiet rage, and fear. The ability of a small number of greedy, ignorant, power mad, and bigoted individuals to control the lives of billions infuriates me.
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