Theos-Talk Archives (September 1995 Message tl00584)

>The biggest problem with teens today is that they do not respect,
>they do not fear, they do not trust the LAW.

Daniel,

Tuesday night our neighborhood held a community meeting at one of the local
schools where a mother and father who had founded an organization called
MARC came to speak to the "block captains." MARC stands for Mad Against
Rising Crime and it was begun as a protest sometime after the couple's son
lost his life to a gang-related shooting. She has since studied the gangs,
their behavior, and their whereabouts in the city. The husband and wife
presented their findings by slide show and "show and tell," and were asking
for any interested neighbors to join them by forming MARC local groups who
could either 1) do public speaking on the issue or 2) promote greater
awareness of the need in their area for citizen support.

Is this the kind of information you are seeking here? Wouldn't it be better
and easier just to read a newspaper? Why choose theosophists to hear this
tale of woe? There's a great bond within the Christian community to provide
this type of charity, with greater funds, and greater manpower to produce
change. We're only 5000 in this country and while social service is one of
the areas which our Theosophical Order of Service does encourage active work
in, it isn't a very feasible growth activity for "writers" and "students"
who are participating on the Internet.

I don't feel that it is necessary to share every detail of my life with
people who participate here, just perhaps what I am studying and learning or
thinking.

>Wake up! The sea of humanity does not share these grand
>illusions of the spiritual. I'll bet 99% of those that follow
>theosophy are well educated, well nourished, and far above
>the poverty line.

What is the percent of impoverished in the U.S.? Isn't it close to 15%?
I'm sorry, I have to plead ignorance here. A great heart is one that feels
the suffering of his fellow man and does everything within his power to
"wipe the tear from the sufferer's eye." Suffering does not end when poverty
ends and we are fed and clothed. Suffering takes place in greater than 99%
of the people on earth unfortunately. We say it is the human condition, but
by promoting a "unified" and "holistic" way of living, perhaps we can lift a
little of the world's karma on a one-on-one basis. I wouldn't try to
restrict this one-on-one to the world's impoverished as other's have
apparent need as well. Any skills which can be acquired by dealing with my
neighbor, for instance, have a far greater range of application by the force
of sheer numbers, than what I might be able to learn and apply to the
homeless, lost, wanderer on the street.