Because I watch The Daily Show, I learned Sarah Palin was on a Jay Leno show.She got a few laughs, but nobody was talking about Palin's connections to the top leaders of "the New Apostolic Reformation/NAR; a religious movement that makes geographic maps of where demons reside. The NAR is a religious network of elites drawn from the ranks of business and government throughout the world [and] encompasses the humble and the elite alike, supporting a network of 'prayer warriors' in all 50 states, within the ranks of the U.S. military, and at the far reaches of the globe -- all guided by an entire genre of books, texts, videos and other media. The New Apostolic Reformation, is the largest religious movement you've never heard of."[1]
What we the people for peace, justice, equal human rights and for an end to war and military occupations are really up against is the empire of Big Brother; or the dominant or Royal Consciousness as Walter Brueggemann explains it in The Prophetic Imagination.
Brueggemann describes the ancient Hebrew prophets as itinerant poets, who addressed the social and political injustices perpetuated by the power structures, and were routinely ignored or reviled for telling the brutal truth. Brueggemann also connects the dots between prophecy and politics, "We will not understand the meaning of prophetic imagination unless we see the connection between the religion of static triumphalism and the politics of oppression and exploitation." [2]
"Royal consciousness is what drives the structures of political power---institutions that, devoted only to their perpetuation, exploit and oppress the people they are charged with protecting and serving.
"Royal Consciousness is concerned only with maintaining the systems that will increase power and wealth for the few." [Ibid]
Perpetuating the status quo is the foremost goal in the maintenance of Royal Consciousness, which runs through state, church and corporate media.
Hierarchy always interprets any expression of doubt or inquiry as a threat.
Those that question a policy or decision are perceived as undermining authority, but dissent and investigative journalism are the means to assure a healthy democracy.
In 1958, Edward R. Murrow warned that as television became more about entertainment and not about shows of enlightenment, the republic would be dumbed down.
The royal consciousness thrives when people are in a state of comfortable numbness; a society dominated by the royal consciousness becomes easily anesthetized by politicians who can also do a little stand up comedy.
Totalitarian regimes control the people with fear of 'the other' and lives kept busy with keeping a roof above head, and any escape from routine is often filled with mindless entertainment.
But then, the curtain on the obvious comes down, and what is oblivious to most is that things are very wrong indeed. People are needlessly suffering because of the apath,y and especially the inaction, of those with political power- but without the political will to do the right thing-and they won't do the right thing, unless their consciences can be accessed and pricked.
But the situation appears hopeless; the world is out of balance, tipped on its side by military power, and royal conciseness thrives when ever there are those who believe there is nothing that can be done to fix anything, so why even bother to think about it?
Royal Consciousness thrives whenever 'we' do not consider "the other' as also us-just in different skins and places in time.
And that is the task of prophetic imagination: to simply and directly challenge the royal consciousness by being a voice of Conscience, and it begins with "spying on Americans has become big business" and the unearthing by
