Blog #41--Heaven On Earth? I Think Not!
My mother worked more than 20 years teaching English to junior high school students. She was an excellent teacher because she cared about her students and gave of herself unconditionally, but she also became an enemy of the basketball coach. That wasn’t her plan, but she was in a no-win scenario because most people put their selfish personal interests ahead of morality issues, rules followed by others, and the needs of their students.
This coach, who became famous for his many successes, came to my mom and ordered her to change his best player’s grades so he would be eligible to play in the big game. Intimidation, bullying and personal attacks couldn’t change my mom’s decisions. She realized a pampered, spoiled student, athlete or not, can do great harm to himself because he doesn’t learn anything and expects the same treatment from everyone. In addition, other team members may resent the special treatment one or two of their teammates receive. Sure, they all want to win, but would the coach stand up equally strongly for the last person on the bench? Probably not. All some coaches care about is winning at all costs.
This was not a unique situation, even for the 1960s-1970s. Most likely, the first class of the first school ever created had at least one parent who demanded a better grade for his or her children than they had earned or deserved. After all, many parents and school board members put their children on pedestals and act like they can do no wrong. Any attempt to teach them differently usually results in personal attacks against the teacher. The children learn to do what they want and let their parents cover it up so they can continue their selfishness. They then go through the rest of their lives blaming their teachers for not insisting they learn something.
We are only beginning to discover how magnified this behavior has become for high schools, prep schools, junior colleges, universities, AAU programs and the like, but massive cheating by many schools has continued since at least the early 1900s (one conference in the Midwest actually encouraged cheating in their bylaws—absolutely true and provable). Coaches and sports administrators have found plenty of loopholes in the rule books of their organizations, and they push that envelope as far as it can go without getting caught (and then some).
A few are caught and usually punished severely as tools for scaring the rest to comply with rules that are sometimes confusing and usually tempered by subjective and imbalanced decision-making. It doesn’t work. After all, the top programs make tons of money for their national and conference affiliations, schools, coaches (and athletes), and no one wants to stop the gravy train just to punish the special ones which are too big to fail.
In recent times, we have heard true stories of schools that create long-term plans to get athletes accepted into their schools and then provide unearned grades sufficient to stay eligible. There are also plenty of stories how unscrupulous coaches, overzealous alumni, and street agents expecting a cut of the action serve as conduits to get extra money into the hands of the athletes, parents and coaches.
And that is in addition to the potentially massive shoe company contracts signed in secret with top high school athletes in return for sending them to schools they support, an amount that has been rumored for several years to be in the range of $125,000 to $260,000 each. That figure may be higher now. Private corporations are exempt from national laws, so the NCAA can do nothing about these tricks of the trade. During March Madness for basketball, the real competition is between the shoe companies. The winner gives its sponsoring shoe company a gigantic return on its “investments.”
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to attack sports. I was a sports journalist for nine years, and I was also a college basketball manager four years. The last thing I would want is the destruction of something that is a great opportunity for superstar athletes and great escapism for fans who tolerate their menial jobs so they can get home and watch their favorite teams on television. Cleaning it up is highly doubtful. But I am using it today as a small example of a much larger problem that ultimately affects every citizen on Earth.
For instance, I would love to have someone show me a government, military, media or political party that is trustworthy because of its proven, consistent honesty and its preference for helping people know the truth while encouraging their own subordinates to feel good about themselves and their organizations. However, recent research showed that at least two national reporters, proven to be multiple liars, are still trusted. A comedian who has somewhere in the vicinity of 40 women accusing him of sexual abuse is still so loved, a fellow comedian refused to become his image for a short comedy skit.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard a military leader, regardless of the country, provide complete truth without adding disinformation or hiding vital information. And yet, most people are so insecure and desirous of protection they’d rather pretend their military is there to save their lives regardless how many times they prove untrustworthy. And the vicious cycle continues unabated.
Some people say Earth is a form of Heaven. They even say they’d rather have a few struggles on Earth than sit on a cloud playing a harp for eternity. That’s not much fun after the first few seconds, and then there is nothing left but be bored, or so they imagine. Nothing could be further from the truth; I understand after death we continue to help the literally billions of souls paralyzed by their religious confusion. But the former is a common thread among many citizens.
Others work hard to create Heaven on Earth. They don’t really know what Heaven is, and they couldn’t define it properly even if they had been there and have a working knowledge. After all, true spiritually is KNOWING, not hoping or having faith in something. No words can convey truth, which needs no explanation.
We use words to slow down what we KNOW instantaneously, ostensibly to teach those who have not touched Universal Truth. Memorizing what others claim is the truth limits our potential to become more of who we really are. Memorizing simply copies others’ limits. It is only when we KNOW and are compatible with the rarified vibrations of a loving, eternal existence can we even come close to understanding Heaven. Being there is far more important than hoping to be there or trying to define it in 3-dimensional terms.
Can we create Heaven on Earth? Maybe someday, when our entire solar system has raised its vibration sufficiently to join those who have evolved to that realm previously. But I have no expectation that will happen in my lifetime. We are too busy trying to get our way at the expense of others. So when someone tells me we either have or should have Heaven on Earth, I can’t help but feel sorry for them. It simply isn’t true; the lie almost always wins. IMHO
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