As a young man, I came across the Buddhist parable of the Lama arriving at a particular temple. He found the monks were feeding large numbers of rats. He also observed the crumbling foundation of the temple due to the gnawing rodents. When asked to explain, the monks stated the Buddhist principle that all life is sacred. “That is true,” replied the elder, “(paraphrase) but you are not bound to feed all life. You are mistaken in your application of this principle. You are literally feeding the destruction of your temple. Stop feeding, and most will go elsewhere. Those that do not can be removed kindly without anger or harm.”
The theme of “what we feed will grow” is taught in various traditions. The Cherokee people repeat the story about a grandfather telling his grandson of the fight between two wolves. One expresses negative traits like ego, anger, and envy, while the other has positive traits like joy, compassion, and peace. The grandson asks which one wins? The grandpa answers, “whichever one you feed.”
Even Donald Duck knew of this conflict. Walt Disney produced several animated cartoons where Donald had smaller versions of himself sitting on each shoulder whispering into separate ears, feeding him conflicting options. “Bad” Donald on one shoulder, tempting bad behavior, and “good” Donald sat on the other shoulder whispering goodness. Donald Duck often succumbed to his temper and laziness.
The Christian story of Lucifer, the fallen angel, tempting Christ in the desert, has led to some Christians referring to “our better angels.” The Tempter left after Jesus refused all of his offers. Then the good angels came to help Jesus. This implies we can be tempted by “fallen angels” if we do not act with (feed) our better attributes.
Using the Buddhist parable as a metaphor for our current state of affairs in America, one could ask what foundations of American life are the “rats” gnawing to destruction? Fear is a huge and abundant rodent. Fear is intentionally sown by a few and deeply felt by many. We all know the “fight, flee, or freeze” responses to fear, but a closer look at brain activity reveals deeper physiological impacts. The amygdala (which controls emotions and behavior) part of the brain takes over, causing the cognitive, rational brain to be impaired. Fear “feeds” an emotional response rather than a rational response. The natural purpose of fear is designed to keep us safe in the face of actual threats. The emotional response is also triggered by perceived threats.
A perceived threat is created when we are repeatedly told our children are at risk by who can use a bathroom and who can participate in sports teams. Our emotional response is strong in spite of the fact that real data does not support that narrative. Our fear-stimulated amygdala overrides the rational, statistical facts.
Hate is also chewing at our foundational American principles and laws. Modern brain imaging has identified a “hate circuit” in the brain. Unlike fear, hate is not considered an innate emotion but a learned response or sentiment developed over time, driven by fear, anger, and social conditioning. When viewing a hated person, this part of the brain defines them as “subhuman.” Native Americans were described by white colonizers as “savages” and “squaws” to justify violent removal from their traditional lands. Modern ICE agents use “domestic terrorist” and “Antifa” to describe American citizens legally expressing their First Amendment rights to justify kidnapping, brutality, and murder.
Rage is a snarling gnawer in America right now, but outrage might be our salvation. “Rage” is defined as “an inward, uncontrollable anger while “outrage” is typically a “directed, often justified, response to an event.” The rage directed at immigrants and citizens of color is boiling over in the streets of America in the form of unlawful detentions, brutalizations, and murder by anonymous individuals sanctioned by rogue officials, ignoring the rule of law. Our American outrage is expressed in a multitude of citizen demonstrations, ICE watch groups, compassionate food deliveries, humor, music, and prayer promoting humanity and the rule of law.
Fear, hate, and rage are being fed to our lesser selves in new ways. Social media and the internet, with their “dark web,” bypass the traditional verification of factual news and events. Listeners are tempted by promises of righteousness, power, racial purity, male domination, and economic rewards. These electronic pathways make stuff up (benefiting the creators) to establish perceived threats, triggering our fear response and diminishing our logical, fact-finding capacities. Modern algorithms feed more and more of whatever is eaten. Consumers then believe as true what is being promoted by these electronically generated falsehoods, rather than seeing for ourselves what is happening before our very eyes. AI makes discernment more difficult unless we are present to the actual events as living, thinking witnesses. This makes these courageous, compassionate, and creative responses by the “outraged” all the more important. If you were not at the event, believe someone who was. Be very skeptical of the spin by self-serving bureaucrats thousands of miles away from the actual facts on the ground.
In current events, we can see the literal destruction of society by fear, hate, and rage. Normal activities are suspended for children, adults, business, and church. By creating chaos, these three emotions convert the flexibility of the thinking mind and compassionate heart to the rigidity of hardened muscle and bone. The effect is to contract. Community, society, and economics are stifled. Many opportunities, hopes, and dreams are lost in that contraction.
Courage, compassion, and creativity expressed by the “outraged” citizens in Minnesota and around the country lift us up because these are expansive characteristics. Courage expands activity. Compassion expands awareness and concern for others. Creativity is exactly that—it creates new pathways and solutions. It promises a potentially better future for all. These attributes are clearly creating new types of networks and communities while attempting to preserve the existing ones. The nature of Minnesotans’ response to ICE tactics has expanded to citizens around the world, inspiring them to speak up for democracy and human rights.
As aware and active citizens, we don’t have to feed the rats trying to destroy the very foundations of our American democracy and way of life. We have to choose which characteristics we want in our leadership and starve out the ones bent on destruction. We should encourage Donald Duck to control his temper and get busy with his better self. As a purported Christian nation, we must let our better angels prevail for the betterment of all God’s Children.
