Memo-gate Scandal of Pakistan

Memo-gate Scandal (2011):

Since few days, another controversy arose in Pakistan when the Army Chief Gen Kayani held an emergency meeting with the President Zardari and the Prime Minister Gilani asking them to sack their envoy in the United States Mr Husain Haqqani.

The issue was that a memorandum was leaked by one Mansoor Ijaz, an America based Pakistani businessman, who told the Financial Times that he had been asked to deliver the message by Husain Haqqani. Mr Ijaz explicitly told that:

‘Husain Haqqani, whom I have known for over 10 years, asked me to assist him in privately delivering his message to Admiral Mike Mullen. Phone and email contacts between me and Mr Haqqani in May are available with me as we finalized draft of the memorandum and awaited the boss's approval. The boss was obviously the President Zardari, I believed'.

The memo was taken as an indirect request from President Zardari to Admiral Mike Mullen for conveying a ‘strong, urgent and direct message to Gen Kayani' demanding the two Generals to shun the ideas of sending PPP home. The memo was allegedly delivered to Mullen a week after the Osama's raid of 2^nd May 2011 and was reportedly sponsored by President Zardari who at that time feared a military takeover in Pakistan. The memo contained that:

‘Pakistan may become a sanctuary for Osama's legacy and potentially the platform for far more rapid spread of al Qaeda's brand of fanaticism and terror.'

That an opportunity also exists for civilians to gain upper hand over the army and intelligence directorates due to their complicity in the Osama bin Laden matter.

That in the event of Washington's message to Gen Kayani, the new national security team is prepared to do the following:

• An independent inquiry into the Bin Laden's stay will be ordered
• The inquiry will be independent and accountable
• The new team will implement the policy of either handing over those left in al Qaeda leadership or other affiliated groups on Pakistan soil. The team also gives the US military "green light" to conduct necessary operations to capture or kill them on Pakistani soil.
• The new national security team is prepared, with full backing of the Pakistani government, to develop an acceptable framework of discipline for the nuclear program.
• The new team will eliminate Section S of the ISI allegedly charged with maintaining relations to the Taliban and Haqqani network
• Government of Pakistan will cooperate with new national security team and Indian government to bring perpetrators of Pakistani origin to account for Mumbai attacks 2008, whether outside or inside the government, including its intelligence agencies.

Mr Haqqani, however, claimed that allegations made by Mansoor Ijaz were baseless but at the same time offered to resign over the scandal.

Hours after Mr Haqqani offered to resign, the representative of Mike Mullen, Captain John Carbie, while talking to an American journal ‘Foreign Policy', told that Mike Mullen recalled his memory and had investigated from the concerned people and confirmed that he had provided a copy of the secret memo but he had not concentrated on that memo considering it as not trust-able. It was taken as another insult of Pakistan as US officials had not considered a letter from Pakistan worth attention.

South Asian News Agency (SANA)'s report of 18^th November 2011, referring to the former US Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Admiral Mike Mullen, also confirmed that he had received a secret memo from Pakistani born businessmen Mansoor Ejaz. Previously the Admiral had denied remembering the receiving of any such letter.

UK's Financial Times of 10^th October 2011 had already observed that:

‘.... Ijaz wrote that a senior Pakistani diplomat telephoned him in May, soon after Bin Laden's death, urging him to deliver a message to the White House bypassing Pakistan's military and intelligence chiefs. The president feared a military takeover was imminent and needed an American fist on his army chief's desk to end any misguided notions of a coup and fast. 

'A memo was delivered to Mullen on May 10, offering that a "new national security team" would end relations between Pakistani intelligence and Afghan militants, namely the Taliban and its Haqqani faction.'

The above details apparently made sure that President Zardari had yelled before Obama administration and the people of Pakistan were kept in dark. PPP's Fauzia Wahab said President Zardari had written no secret letter and raising such an issue was to damage unity of the country; adding that ‘Mansoor Ijaz is neither a diplomat nor part of Pakistani foreign ministry or the government. The issue of letter is nothing but a plot aiming at destruction of our unity'.

In this context an information given by one Wajid Ali Syed published in ‘The News International' dated 19^th November 2011 should be kept in mind while referring to Mansoor Ijaz's phone records of calls made to and received, allegedly, from Husain Haqqani and his US contact between 9-10^th May 2011, when the controversial memo was prepared and sent. Mansoor Ijaz told that:

I presented my original telephone company records to the senior Pakistani official whom I met to verify and validate the evidence in my possession. I asked him (the official) to independently verify and check that the numbers of the individuals concerned were in fact their telephone numbers. I further asked him to put the calls in sequence with both e-mail and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) messages that had been sent to the ambassador and my US contact so that he could develop a comprehensive picture of the entire set of events.

The data was transferred to his (the official's) secure e-mail address directly from my computer, and he verified in front of me that the original telephone bills and original e-mail and BBM traffic were authentic and forensically unaltered.'

The US businessman Mansoor Ijaz had also recalled a Blackberry Message conversation in which Mr Haqqani had stated that: ‘you can keep saying you delivered a message and show BBM conversations to prove it... Basically, you don't get it.'

Mr Haqqani, however, contended again that the said phone calls and BBM record was fake, whereas on 11^th November 2011, he had lastly communicated with Mansoor Ijaz saying that: ‘I have just changed BBs...I may never trust you or your judgment again...'

Mr Zardari summoned Mr Haqqani, Pakistan's Ambassador in Washington, to Islamabad to solve the enigma and move toward some solution. However, Mr Haqqani in an interview with a US journal refused the sending of memo to any and wrote a letter to President Zardari in this regard in which he offered his resignation. Mr Haqqani was blamed to play a key role in the letter's issue; afterwards he reached Islamabad on 19th November 2011.

The contents of the said letter comprised of material against the army chief and ISI which echoed in the National Assembly as President Zardari was made target of severe criticism by opposition. Mansoor Ijaz had claimed that President Zardari had sought Washington's help for removing the army chief and the ISI boss and had assured the Obama administration that he would cut all ties to militant groups if it assisted him to do so. The issue of the letter not only turned into a hot topic in the parliament and political circles but also created rift between the government and army.

In fact, Husain Haqqani has once again proved that he is an American loyalist and does not have love or respect for Pakistan. He had earlier inserted anti-military clauses in the Kerry Lugar Bill. Even the media-men considered him a traitor of Pakistan by his deeds and actions; thus demanded to be publicly hanged to give a strong lesson to all those conspiring against Pakistan.

The above memo, if true, certainly told one thing that Pakistani politicians always sought aid from the US to help them out when they feared of losing their power. Benazir Bhutto did so, Nawaz Sharif did so, Musharraf did it and then Zaradri was sailing in the same boat. It would never change until Pakistani people revolutionize themselves to show respect for rule of law.

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court (SC) on 19^th November 2011 requesting it to constitute a judicial commission to investigate the authenticity of the said secret memo raising questions against Pakistani armed forces. The petition was filed in the SC Lahore registry by one Hashim Shaukat Khan (President of the Watan Party) and Barrister Zafar Ullah Khan.

The petition said that ‘Mansoor Ijaz is a dodgy person, a US national who acted as an agent for Americans, and that the memo seems like an attempt to create differences between various institutions of Pakistan trying to label them as corrupt and unreliable. Thus it becomes necessary to investigate the issue as it targets the Pakistan army and may lead to further tensions in the civil-military relationship in the country.'

The Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik had, however, admitted that Husain Haqqani was involved in communication via text messages with an American national but there was no written letter, neither from presidency nor from any government organization. Haqqani is a close aide of President Zardari, no doubt. Mr Malik told that:

‘This is communication through SMS (text messages) by two individuals. One is an American national and second is our ambassador. The evidence available was an exchange of SMS messages and Blackberry messages and we have to see that who initiated these. It is clear that it [the matter] is open for investigation'.

Over an uncalled but such a harmful deliberation from Rehman Malik, a media spokesman had rightly observed that ‘the GOP and Mr Haqqani do not need enemies if such friends are available to them.'

The opposition leader Nawaz Sharif demanded an independent commission to investigate the issue roaring that why that is the government should be subjected to benefit of doubt despite mounting evidence against it but the army is subjected to the worst suspicions simply on the basis of a NYT article or a statement by an American official? You do realize the memo has been confirmed and declared authentic by Mullen's own office; so why the double standards? Selling out the whole country and asking for foreign interference worth for the sake of democracy?

[Nawaz Sharif, was not inclined to recall his own times of 1999 when on Kargill issue he himself had flown overnight to the United States to request President Bill Clinton for direct interference in Pakistan affairs; urging to snub the then Army Chief Gen Musharraf who had played around allegedly without his consent as prime minister.]

One may recall a statement of US Attorney General and some legislators when it was said that Pakistanis [normally may] sell their souls for money and power. It was another instance of selling one's soul to stay in power. What credibility does Pakistan's political leadership possess? It was sad that PPP politicians talked big about solving critical issues but failed to solve simple mysteries despite being in power for nearly four years; murder of Benazir Bhutto, NICL scam, Haj scam, energy crisis, Railways, Steel Mills and PIA affairs, what not to mention.

A script from one Ali Siddiqui was available on internet dated 19^th Nov 2011 that:

‘An eccentric philosophy professor gave a one-question final exam after a semester dealing with a broad array of topics.'

The class was already seated and ready to go when the professor picked up his chair, plopped it on top of his desk and wrote on the board:
"Using everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not exist."

Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were filled in furious fashion. Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour attempting to refute the existence of the chair.

One member of the class however, was up and finished in less than a minute!

Weeks later when the grades were posted, the rest of the group wondered how he could have gotten an "A" when he had barely written anything at all.

His answer consisted of two words:   ‘What chair, Sir?'

The same approach was adopted by PPP when asked by the reporters in a recent Press Conference about the rampant corruption in Pakistan. PPP spokesman replied in one voice; what corruption?

Now Husain Haqqani would say: which memo?

Coming back and referring to the masses in Balochistan and in Khyber PK provinces, the successive governments have done nothing. Yes, they have helped in increasing the polarisation among institutions, from armed forces to the courts, created more wealth for them own by desecrating Pakistan's name through their greed for the sake of staying in Power; shame on both the political leaderships.

In short, the PPP government seems to be failed in delivering the expected results. May be the people and establishment want that they should quit now but the case in sight may not be the proper way to send them home. Let us stick to truthful principles and not to playing old tricks of Ghulam Ishaque Khan. At present, the questions are:

• Why Mansoor Ijaz did leak the memo and wrote the article for press?
• As Ambassador Mr Haqqani had direct access to highest civil authority in USA so why would he chose a betraying businessman?
• Mansoor Ijaz is known to Mr Haqqani since ten years; what was his past behaviour.
• What has been the actual bone of contention between Mansoor Ijaz & Mr Haqqani while they were associates since a decade?
• SMS record of calling each other is OK but what were the actual transcripts of those conversations; did it contain the memo's wording or substance.
• How and what stage Mr Zardari allegedly conveyed such instructions to Mr Haqqani.
• Why would Mr Haqqani send the memo to Mike Mullen, a person who was retiring shortly and himself an Army General?
• Why would Mr Zardari as President go through some one else in such delicate matter, he could have gone to USA on any pretext to see some more relevant tycoon in US admin?
• Why Mr Zardari had not preferred to call the American Ambassador in presidency to convey that much weighty message directly to the American bosses?

There may be tens of more questions to add. PPP government or Mr Zardari may be found guilty but an investigation by a reputed but retired judge would be more feasible. 

The entire episode is being projected with some prime motive and only time would tell whose game plan is this; Army or Civil. Be cool my countrymen.

Problems of this World Today (Final)

Summary and Conclusion of Part 1, 2, 3 & 4.

In this Chapter, first we presented a fairly comprehensive but by no means exhaustive outline of some of the major Problems of this World. Then we went on to show how the idea that Everyone is God may put in motion a process which leads to the Solution to the Problems of this World. We did this by using the analogy of a row of dominos and ordering our broad problem categories in such a way that showed the interdependencies between them. The dominos and corresponding problem categories were arranged in the order of the most abstract problems of this World first, i.e. in the realm of pure ideas, and the most concrete problems of this World last, i.e. Environmental and Ecological problems. In between we inserted Ideological problems and those relating to the Socio-Economic and Political spheres.

The proposal made was that by coming up with a unified solution to the greatest Scientific, Religious and Philosophical mysteries of the ages based on the central truth behind World Religion, that Everyone is God; then we will have a doctrine of such power that from it Social, Economic and Political Ideologies may be derived that have the effect of unifying humanity from the bottom up, creating a fairer, more equal and just World and in turn make it much easier for us to effectively tackle the Environmental and Ecological Problems. This would be a doctrine which would in its intrinsic make up, unify all Religion, unify Religion with Science and Philosophy; thereby providing a powerful message of Unification that may bring together humanity in a way that is not a One World Tyranny. We discussed why this will be so. Also from our all embracing doctrine and Unified Cosmic Perspective, we showed how notions such as the Sanctity of Human Life, Justice for All, Meritocracy, Equality and the Golden Rule naturally emerge. We suggested that this Unifying Doctrine may influence Social organization, Economic activity and Political behavior in a way that helps in a powerful way to solve the Ecological and Environmental Problems of this World.

We then went on to show the correspondence between on the one hand, the Problems of this World and their Solution, together with on the other hand the Prophecies for the End of the Age and their ultimate outcome. Also we made the interesting interpretation that if the Perennial idea that Everyone is God is the key to solving the problems of this World, this would correspond with the with notion of the Final Revelation or Apocalypse (i.e. Unveiling) being likewise the critical factor in bringing about the final predicted outcome of the Prophecies.

With this Prophetic interpretation of the current World situation and through the promotion of a proactive interpretation of the Prophecies, which sees human action as the agency which brings about the happy conclusion predicted by the Prophecies corresponding to the solution to the Problems of this World; then we showed how we can use the Prophecies to inspire people to become engaged in helping to solve the Problems of the World. Furthermore we suggested that by providing an alternative and sensible interpretation of the Prophecies in counter-action against the fantastic and nonsensical doctrines that are gaining widespread acceptance, i.e. Jesus appearing in the Sky or the UFOs landing to save us, then this alone can have positive effects on the World’s Problems.

In general this Chapter has tried to show how the idea that Everyone is God and a certain interpretation of the Prophecies can be the basis for the formulation of a powerful all embracing doctrine with which to fight the battle in the realm of pure ideas and ideology, for people’s hearts and minds. And that winning this battle or Re-synthesizing the Maze way is the key to providing a lasting and complete solution to the Problems of this World. We also hinted that in the future, in the same way that the idea that Everyone is God is the key to the resolution of the deepest and most ultimate questions in the realm of Science, Theology and Philosophy; so likewise it will be that this most ultimate of ideas will also lead to the formation of a definitive Political Philosophy that will provide the final answer to the questions concerning the organization of human affairs.

The Solution to the Problems of this World as a Natural Consequence of the idea that Everyone is God.

The suggestion that a mere idea can solve the major problems of this World may seem far fetched. It may seem like a wishful thought or an idealistic dream. How can a single idea solve all the deepest problems in Science, Philosophy and Religion together with solving all the Social, Economic, Political, Environmental and Ecological Problems of this World? The suggestion seems fantastic and unbelievable.

However we not talking here about any ordinary mere idea. What we are dealing with is, I believe, the definitive truth about God, i.e. the ultimate, absolute and all encompassing. God that is the ground of all existence, the primary reason and the final cause. If this is the case then it is most natural to suppose that this truth should have far reaching consequences. For the truth about God is really also the correct perspective on the true nature of things. Then once we have this truth in place then all the unsolved mysteries in Science, Philosophy and of course Theology, should be satisfactorily resolved and all the separate disconnected puzzles should fall into place and come together in a perfectly consistent manner. And by the same token, this should also be the case for the problems in the Social, Economic, Political, Ecological and Environmental realms.

What we are saying is that the final answer to the nature of God should also provide the answers to everything else, for God is that which underpins all else. And likewise it is easy to see that if we misunderstand the nature of God or omit it in our considerations then of course all our attempts at trying to answer the most ultimate questions in Science, Philosophy and of course Theology are doomed to failure. Just as it is the case that if we misunderstand the true nature of life, what it is to be human and the Cosmic purpose, perhaps even denying there is one, then of course our Social, Economic and Political doctrines will be imperfect and problematic. Or put in another way, that the problems we face in the Social, Economic, Political, Ecological and Environmental realms derive from our misunderstanding of what is the true nature of things and being blind to spiritual realities; that is from not knowing the way things truly are and also not knowing who we really are. Seen in this way then, the Solutions to the Problems of this World are the natural and inevitable consequence and the inevitable ramifications of the full expression of the idea that Everyone is God and the Truth about the Nature of God. 

Problems of this World Today (Part 4)

How does the notion that the ‘Prophecies are Now’, help to solve the Problems of this World?

We’ll now discuss how it is that the promotion of the idea that the Prophecies are Now can be beneficial and have a positive effect upon the process of solving the problems of this World. Firstly I need to make clear that there are many different interpretations of the Prophecies contained in the World’s Religions and some of these can be quite harmful and actually contribute to the World’s problems. In an earlier chapter called ‘The Saviour is Within and Prophetic Outcome’, we described some different interpretations of the Prophecies from three of the World’s great faith traditions namely, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. We showed how there exist certain sects within these religions which adamantly believe that the Prophecies found within their respective faiths are taking about the present age and current circumstances. And furthermore we described how the particular doctrines and beliefs that have emerged in response these Prophecies have in them the potential for bringing about great harm, calamity and even a major World War. Each of these types of interpretation of the Prophecies, we described, only uses scriptural sources from a single Religion.

Instead what we are promoting in this book is an alternative unified perspective the Prophecies that incorporates ideas and scriptural sources from all the Worlds Religion taken together. We described this original and more encompassing interpretation of the Prophecies and their outcome in two earlier chapters entitled, ‘The Prophecies are Now’ and the other, also mentioned earlier, ‘The Savior is Within and Prophetic Outcome’. We now go on to describe how the promotion of this particular perspective on the Prophecies is able to help us to solve the problems of this World. There are three ways by which this is so and they are as follow.

The Prophecies are Now as a message of Hope:

Firstly this interpretation of the Prophecies, that I am promoting, is able to give reasonable people a positive message of hope in the future. For what we are proposing is a view of the Prophecies which is not supernatural but completely rational. And by the same token what we are also talking about here is a interpretation of the conclusion of the Prophecies, i.e. the Happy Ending, which is realistic and believable, not one which is supernatural and fantasy land. It is a picture of a future state for humanity of Peace, Harmony and Justice supported by the wise implementation of technology and a sustainable way of life. A society based on spiritual values where the goal of life is not money and status but rather love, knowledge and Enlightenment. In other words it’s what we get if we can fix the Problems of this World. So what we are saying is that what the Prophecies are saying is that these major human concerns and issues of the age will be fixed. This is so important to encourage people to believe that things will work out. And if you can do this by evoking the power of peoples belief in things such as prophecy then so much the better. A message of hope and a vision of a better world will be necessary when things seem hopeless and the World seems totally fallen. Also hope is so important because in order for people to act then people need hope. In order for people to hope for a better world and a solution to its problems then people need to be able to hope that the problems of the World will be solved and that things will be made better. Which takes us to the second reason our particular version of the belief that the ‘Prophecies are now’ will help to in solution to the problems of the World.

The Prophecies are Now as a Call to Action:

Secondly, if hope gives people the strength to act, then our interpretation of the Prophecies also may get people to act in the first place. As well as providing a positive outlook the viewpoint of the Prophecies we are presenting also promotes positive action as well. A participational view of the Prophecies and proactive response to the belief that the ‘Prophecies are Now’, naturally emerges from and goes hand in hand with the belief that ‘Everyone is God’. For in the same way that we stop looking for God outside of ourselves, so it is that we stop looking for some outside intervention or supernatural agency to intervene and solve the problems of this World on our behalf. Instead the belief of the God within is also the recognition that we are the agents who will bring about the happy ending to the World’s problems that the Prophecies go on to foretell. We realize that the resolution of the problems of the World is in our own hands. To fully accept that you are God is to understand that you create your own reality.

So the idea that the Prophecies are now coupled with idea that Everyone is God leads to the idea that the Messiah and World Savior, which is representative of the agency that will solve the Problems of the World, is to be found inside all of us. Therefore this interpretation of the Prophecies may serve to stimulate people to participate in the process of Solving the Worlds Problems and be a call to action.

This Version of the Prophecies are Now as a Necessary and Better Alternative to Fundamentalist Fantasies:

Thirdly and lastly, related to a point made earlier, there exists in the World many interpretations which are actively harmful or may actually cause people to contribute to making the problems of this World even Worse. For instance Christian Dispensationalist doctrines where Jesus is expected to literally appear in the sky and lift the born again into a the protective bubble of the ‘Rapture’ at the time of maximal calamity. For part of this doctrine is the idea that Jesus will scorch the earth and remake it anew for the benefit of the faithful when they’re returned to the earth. These ideas, which are widely believed by Fundamentalist Christians, have caused some Fundamentalist Christians to belief that it is not necessary to try to protect the Environment and Ecological systems of the World because Jesus is going to destroy it all anyway. Also some Fundamentalist Christian even believe that Nuclear Weapons exist to allow Jesus to ‘Scorch the Earth’ and see their use , all out nuclear war, as a divine intervention that will be to their benefit. Similar harmful beliefs exist in Judaism where some Jewish Fundamentalists believe that active steps should be taken to rebuild the Temple of Salomon for the Messiah whose arrival is believed to be imminent. A process which would necessitate the destruction of the Dome on the Rock, one of the Holiest sites in Islam, thereby potentially triggering an immense amount of conflict, war and suffering. And in Islam there is the Messianic Hogtie Sect which is purported to believe that the coming of Muslim Messiah or the Mahdi, can be hastened by creating as much chaos on the planet as possible. These are examples of how prophecies can be interpreted in such a way as to be harmful and problem promoting.

There are also other interpretations of the prophecies, while not being actively harmful, can lead people into states of passiveness which, while though not contributing further to the Problems of the World, actually prevent people from taking a more active part in their solution. For instance there is the belief as mentioned earlier that the UFOs or Aliens will land either to save us or else to take us away to safety. Also there is a belief not uncommon in New Age and Psychedelic circles, which is not totally unlike the Christian Fundamentalist doctrine of the Rapture, where at the end of the Age, people expect to be shifted to another dimension or ‘Higher Vibrational Frequency’ and so escape from the problems of the world.

Though some of these interpretations of the Prophecies seem a little far fetched and irrational, at the same time the problem is that as things on this planet become more perilous and stressed, then it is inevitable that more and more people will want to find hope and escape in these sorts of fantastic interpretations of the Prophecies. So therefore it is necessary to give people a reasonable interpretation of the Prophecies and one that leads to people taking positive action, in order to solve the problems of this World and help to actively bring about the happy conclusion that the Prophecies talk about. So just by giving people an alternative interpretation of the Prophecies which leads people into becoming part of the Solution rather than them becoming part of problem whereby they contribute to the worsening the Worlds Problems; then in this way, a reasonable and positive interpretation of the idea that the Prophecies are Now can help to solve the problems of this World.

The Power of the Idea and the process of Mazeway Re-synthesis:

An interesting way to view the solution to the Worlds problems being proposed in this chapter is that of Mazeway Re-synthesis. Some explanation is needed here. Essentially the solution we are suggesting is that a tight nexus of closely related ideas centered around the idea that Everyone is God and also a recognition that the Prophecies are Now, can form a powerful unifying doctrine that brings together the major Religions of the World, together with the integration of Religion with Science and Philosophy. It is this unified and all encompassing World view which when expressed as a Political Ideology that is then able to oppose some of the dominant and harmful Ideologies of this World, i.e. Various Religious Fundamentalism, Scientific Nihilism and Selfish Genes interpretations of Evolutionary theory. This World view we are proposing is really a return of the ancient Perennial Wisdom but expressed in the concepts and language of the 21st Century. Through the adoption of a World view which is intrinsically Spiritual in its nature and orientated towards truer notions of God, then the impact on the Social, Economic and Political life, of this planet, will be dramatic. For it will help to create a One World Order that is Just, Equal, Fair and inherently opposed to the idea of Tyranny and Selfishness. In turn this will also lead to the conditions whereby the Environmental and Ecological problems of this World may effectively be tackled. This is as was discussed earlier in this Chapter. But what then is Mazeway Re-synthesis?

The idea of Mazeway resynthesis derives from the work of the Anthropologist Anthony Wallace who studied the process of Cultural Revitalization and the phenomenon of Revitalization Movements. These are social movements which emerge during times of crisis when a society is in a period of turbulence and transition, i.e. when things in a society are going terribly wrong and there is a need for change and readjustment. It is during these times that Mazeway Re-synthesis occurs. So what is the Mazeway?

The Mazeway, as defined by Wallace, is the total set of beliefs that a person has about herself or himself, all the social norms that the persons adheres to and also her or his views on Society, Culture, Politics and Religion. It is the person’s overall world view through which that person interprets the myriad details of life and also upon which that person bases her or his actions. In Wallace’s own words, ‘The Mazeway is nature, society, culture, personality, and body image, as seen by one person’. Therefore a Mazeway Re-synthesis is what happens when a new set of ideas sweeps through a society during a time of crisis because it seems to offer answers and a solution to the problems facing that society. If the old Mazeway was seen as the source of failure, stagnation and discontent then the new or re-synthesized Mazeway is seen as something that offers hope for the future.

Examples of Mazeway Resynthesis would be the emergence of new Religions i.e. the Resynthesized Mazeways of Buddha, Muhammad and Jesus for instance which during their time all opposed the status quo. Also various political ideologies such as Deregulated Free Market Capitalism, Communism and German National Socialism can also be viewed as Resynthesized Mazeways. Another example would be the political philosophy that emerged during the Enlightenment that sought to replace Monarchy with Equality, Fraternity and Liberty, and which seeded the French and American revolutions. On a smaller scale the process of Mazeway Resynthesis also occurs within sub groupings of society and on a tribal level as well. Here the Resynthesized Mazeway will likewise seek to address the more local problems facing these social groupings. On a larger level than all of these would be a Global Mazeway Resynthesis that covered all the essential domains of knowledge and belief throughout the entire World and one which in corresponding manner is applicable the World over. This is what is being suggested in this Chapter.

So Mazeway Resynthesis is really the process whereby a society, or for our purposes the World Society, comes to accept a new World view when the old World view isn’t working anymore. When the old ideas on which we base our lives, and which inform our behaviour and the choices we make, are seen to be outdated, incorrect and a handicap on our ability or that of society, to be effective and viable; then this is when human societies may undergo a Mazeway resynthesis. It will be during times of chaos and calamity that this need becomes identified. These are the moments when newly Resynthesized Mazeways emerge to give people a better way of looking at things and inspire new ways of living and organizing.

The Absolute Necessity of Fighting and Winning the Battle in the Realm of Pure Ideas and Ideology, thereby Resynthesizing the Mazeway.

The notion of a Battle in the Realm of Ideas may seem rather abstract and academic. It may seemed far removed and of no immediate consequence in relation to the overall aim of trying to solve the problems of this World. However in this chapter we’re tried to show how it is the case that ideas are indeed very powerful and can have and have had in the past, had a very significant influence on History and the course of human affairs. Mainly in this chapter I’ve tried to explain the positive effects that the twin notions that Everyone is God and the Prophecies are Now, may have on helping to solve the problems of this World. We’ll now turn to consider what would be the case if we totally neglected to address the problems of this World in the realm of pure ideas and ideology. We do this in order to further emphasis the importance of winning the Battle in the Realm of Ideas. Or put another way, the importance of Resynthesizing the Mazeway.

In order to make my point I propose a thought experiment which goes like this. Suppose that some agency of extraordinary power was able to completely fix the Environmental and Ecological problems of this World overnight. Through supernatural power or super advanced technology, this outside agency was able to repair all the Ecological and Environmental damage that had been inflicted on the planet since the dawn of human civilization, even replenishing all the Earth’s non renewable resources such as Oil, Gas and Coal etc. Furthermore this outside agency might also set up an optimal system of Social, Economic and Political Organization for our benefit. However nothing is done to address the Ideological problems of this World, nor the problems in the realm of Pure ideas relating to Science, Theology and Philosophy. So with this remade planet Earth and a fresh start we still have all the various Religious Fundamentalist Doctrines, all the notions of Selfish Genes, Survival of the Fittest and a purposeless Universe devoid of any ultimate meaning. It’s not difficult to see that within a few generations we would be back to square one and facing exactly those problems we are facing today, once again.

For unless we tackle the root cause of the problems of this World which is the ideas in the form of Ideologies which create the Sociology-Economic and Political problems and which in turn give rise to the Environmental and Ecological ones; then we’ll only ever be treating the symptom and not the disease. We may be able to mitigate the symptoms and minimize their effects, but they will keep coming back and also perhaps with increasing severity. 

So addressing the problems of this World in the Realm of Pure Ideas and Ideology is not a luxury and something that should be seen as a secondary process, but rather as something that goes hand in hand with practical action and the formulation and also implementation of specific solutions.

The Need for New Ideas and the Receptiveness to them during times of Chaos and Upheaval:

The notion of Mazeway Resynthesis which happens during periods of Cultural, Political and Social Revitalization, and which is precipitated by a situation where a Society is under a time of extreme stress and hopelessness, underlines the fact that it is only during these times that large numbers of people within a society will actually be even the slightest bit receptive to radical and revolutionary new ideas. When everything is going smoothly, i.e. during times of prosperity, full employment and security then generally populations become content, self indulgent, perhaps even decadent. However it is when things get calamitous and uncertain that there is a stronger motivation for understanding what is going on and also a search for solutions and new ideas.

Over the next 20 to 40 years the World will become more and more stressed. Many of the Problems of the World today outlined at the beginning of this Chapter will become more pronounced and cumulative. If there is already a feeling of unease and a sense of foreboding then this is surely to become more exaggerated as the years go by. If the idea that Everyone is God seems a little too rarefied and radical for a lot of people to accept today, then this will be less so in the future. Of course abstract metaphysical notions are not normally considered by most folks. But it is not most folks that the Mazeway Resynthesis necessarily happens to. And the battle in the Realm of Ideas for Peoples hearts and minds doesn’t necessarily have to be fought out in the hearts and minds of all the people or even most of the people. It is a certain proportion of the people in a population, who are most dynamic, persuasive and intelligent that need to accept an idea for that idea to become dominant in a society. Leaders in other words and especially young future leaders, movers and shakers.

Some Social Psychologists entertain the idea of a certain 5 percent quantity or 1 in 20 ratio which roughly specifies for them the proportion of people who are natural leaders. This idea originally derived from research which tried to understand why the escape rate of American POWs during the Korean Conflict was so low, in fact practically zero. It was discovered that the reason for this was that what the captors had done was to separate out the 5 percent whom they’d somehow identified as the natural leaders and hold them under especially tight security. Without the instigation of the 5% the other 95% generally made no attempts to escape whatsoever. Anyway from this detail of 20th century history, the idea that there is a roughly 5 percent of people who are leaders was derived. Using this viewpoint, then it is this 5 percent, in whom the process of Mazeway Resynthesis needs to occur and in the hearts and minds of whom the Battle in the Realm of ideas need to be fought and won in order for the plan set out in this chapter to succeed. The even more troubled times towards which collective humanity is heading, provides the perfect context for this process to unfold, a process which will in turn get us out of these further troubled times and provide a lasting solution to the Problems of this World.

What we are about to face, the inevitable suffering and pain ahead will be the most major challenge collective humanity has ever faced in recorded history. This prognosis may seem to some as overly pessimistic. Some may object to this line of discourse as ‘scare mongering’ or being unnecessarily ‘doom and gloom’. However I believe this is a perfectly realistic and rational stance to take. It is through the full recognition of what is ahead of us that puts us in the best position to make the best choices, to best chose always the lesser evil, maximise the common good, and minimise the collective hardship. In truth the predicted pain and suffering, the projected chaos and calamity, has already started though currently it mainly afflicts people in the Third World. Also affecting the very young, very old, poor and under privileged in the richer countries. As was witnessed during the freak 2003 heat wave that affected North Western Europe and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans USA in 2005. Anyway, this time of increasing crisis will be the context in which the ideas introduced in this book will become more and more relevant. The trials and tribulations ahead may be the most appropriate setting for the idea that Everyone is God to become established. Indeed in crisis there is also opportunity.