The Talking Stick Speaks: (through Manitonquat)

You are oppressed people. Every one of you. Most of the people of the world languish in poverty feeling helpless. You are not? Even the few wealthy and powerful also feel oppressed, in other ways. Oppressed by the clock, schedules, responsibilities, stress, attacks, betrayals, inadequacies. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

Human beings, the systems you have inherited, built by your forebears, have put you at odds with one another in a struggle for survival. They have brought you conflict, enmity, anger, anxiety, loneliness, and a lifetime sentence of muted dread.

Your systems of law and enforcement, of economies based on the greed of desperate egos, of education of mind, emotions, and spirit motivated by unadorned selfishness, all these systems are failing you. And the more they fail, the more you curse and attempt to tinker and prop them up. You are only feeding the conditions that are creating all your problems.

Freedom, you cry. But freedom is not to be found. Not in the systems that perpetuate your oppression. But somewhere in the dim recollections of past struggles you may be connected to the old dream of equality. Freedom and equality, they cried, and brotherhood. Familyhood. The family of humankind. Human closeness.
‘Man is born free but is everywhere in chains,’ J-J Rousseau said it, and it’s just as true today, after all those revolutions. Only the chains may in some places be different. But the cry that rose from the heart then, ‘Liberté, Egalité. Fraternité,’ still resonates. Because you know they go together - you cannot have one without the others. You need equality, for without it you will not have true closeness and love, and without them you will never be free.

Start with equality then. Can’t you see how your systems promote inequality? How they create wealth and power and keep them securely in the hands of a tiny few while subjecting more and more to greater and greater poverty? Did you know that the total resources owned by less than 300 people on earth equal the total resources owned by three billion people? Did you get that? Think of it: less than 300 people own more than half the other people sharing this planet. Where, in that world, will you be able to find justice and peace? To say nothing of joy and love.

So, for you to be free, you must live by a system in which all are truly equal. That means everyone must have an equal say in the system. That equality must not only be a word, window-dressing, propaganda, spin. It must be practical and functioning.

When you come together to decide and to act you are, of course, not equal in many ways. Some of you are louder, angrier, some excel at logic, persuasion, some are shy, unsure, some think fast, others need more time. Some of you have been so hurt in the system that you retreat from conflict and ill will, while others, maddened by past injustice, attack relentlessly and pay no heed to anyone else.

To be rid of the inequality of the law, which is devised by, for, and of the wealthy and powerful, you might turn to pursue anarchy - no law, no governance. But that only produces another inequality - rule by the aggressive, loud, and violent over the timid, quiet, and conflict-phobic. Before there was law, however, before your conquerors imposed their wills and codified them in statutes enforced by their mercenaries, by threat of slavery, confinement, or death, your ancestors managed good and harmonious societies for millions of years.
The system they devised for that is the one we call the circle. All the systems you live under today are pyramids. The power comes from the top down, from the very few over the many below. In the past the rulers claimed their authority from higher up - from a god or gods. Today they also claim authority from the bottom, that they represent ‘the will of the people’. The truth is their authority comes only from fear - the fear of sheer physical force and violence.

The people in a circle are equal to one another in power and authority. There is no top or bottom. They represent themselves and need no representative to speak for them. This means that a circle cannot be too large for all to be heard in the amount of time needed for it. When a circle becomes too large for the time allotted, it must break into smaller circles so that each may be heard equally. When these circles make decision they may be heard in larger circles, but any decisions made there must be brought back to the small circles for approval.

This takes more time than governance by executive fiat or by representation. But it assures equality and avoids the threat of domination. Every voice has the opportunity for an equal impact and authority. But each must be heard without interruption under an equal time limitation. To have a true circle of equals there must be a prior agreement that each shall have equal respect and attention.

To assure this your ancestors created me - the Talking Stick. I could also be a talking feather, wampum belt, shell, feather, bowl, herb, stone, relic, or what-have-you. But something in the hand reminds the listeners that attention must be paid and respect given. And something in the hand gives the speaker opportunity to consider, to collect thoughts and draw on inspiration. With me in your hand you can take your time. You can find your center and speak your heart. You do not need to rush to speak, no one will interrupt you. The time is yours. You have the full attention and respect of the circle people. You are their equal. Respect does not require they agree with you, only that they listen and consider.

When you hold me in your hands, when you share me among you and listen to each other carefully, you will see a change in your deliberations. You will not be in competition with each other, trying to better or best each other. You will pay attention to what you have in common, to what makes you one body, one mind, one heart, a family, a community.

I have seen this with all your ancestors before you were subjected to the laws of the conquerors. I see it today whenever I am brought to circles in prison and other oppressive systems. They used me in the ancient Nordic Thing, and they use me still in the gatherings of the Rainbow People, people of many nations and races and ages and backgrounds who have no law but come together and create peaceful communities every summer in many places around the world.

With respect and attention there begins to be understanding, and with understanding there begins true human closeness. With equality and closeness comes freedom. The will of the people is your will.
When you find your own human community - body, mind, heart and spirit, you will be free together. And together there is nothing you cannot do.

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