The driving force behind history consists of a) the minorities of suppressives who seek at all costs to suppress everyone else, and of b) everyone else who, by acting like loose cannons, allow themselves to be suppressed by these minorities.
(Suppression is defined here: Suppression)
(The loose cannon is defined here: Loose Cannon)
This, of course, assumes that history is the mere unfolding of the war of Evil against Good, and it is quite disheartening to think that history be nothing more than this - just as disheartening as vast is the space that Evil usurps from Good. To realise just how vast this space is, one need only consider how much Good there might be in the world were it not for Evil tormenting and undermining it.
We have been conditioned to believe that it is normal for things to come to an end, that sooner or later they are bound to start falling apart until they collapse.
As though endeavours and civilisations were meant to follow the same life cycle as living bodies, when in fact, if well managed, they shoud last indefinitely, maintaining their high standards, just as a bridge stretches out supported by its arches, one after the other.
So it is passed off to us as normal and inevitable that everything follows a parabolic curve, in which it first rises and then falls.
If you like, this state of affairs is also described in greater detail in the following quotation, the attribution of which is uncertain:
"Hard times make strong men; strong men make for easy times; easy times make weak men; weak men make for hard times."
Well, not only it is neither normal nor inevitable that everything follows that parabolic curve, not only it is neither normal nor inevitable that easy times make weak men, but both these phenomena also have specific causes: level of necessity, suppression and loose cannon.
Hard times raise the level of necessity: if you’re not hungry, you can afford to be fussy, but when you’re hungry, your survival instinct takes care of your whims. Hard times raise the level of necessity above the pressure of suppressives and the inclination to act loose cannons; this is what produces the rising part of the parabolic curve.
Then, in easy times, the level of necessity drops, and one lets their guard down. The level of necessity drops below the pressure of suppressives and the inclination to act loose cannons, and this produces the descending part of the parabolic curve. But that is not the cause; the cause lies elsewhere.
Why are we so foolish as to wait until the level of necessity kicks us into action before we stand up?
Why are we so ignorant and naive that we fail to recognise suppression and loose cannons behaviour for what they really are?
Because we’re already acting loose cannons. And that’s because we’ve already let ourselves be influenced by suppressives. And that’s because we haven’t yet recognised all this for what it is.
So, we’re caught in a vicious circle, and the way out begins with acknowledging our First Duty and Skill.
