Reap What You Sow

Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

Yes, you have the right, you can do what you want and you also have to accept the fact that what you do always, ALWAYS, has consequences. You have the right and you are therefore required to reap what you sow. Repercussions are a fact of life and physics and nature because as explained so eloquently through the Asian symbolic representations with yin-yang, there is always some opposite reaction to what ever action you may take.

Yes, you have the right to apply tattoo’s to your body, you have the right to choose what kind of tattoo’s you apply and you have the right to display them in a fashion appropriate to the requirements of society. When you take actions that become public you also have the right to experience repercussions regarding how that public see’s, hear’s, feel’s and perceives you and what you do. You don’t get a  free pass just because you feel you have the right, that you are entitled. You don’t get a ‘get out of jail free’ card just because of your beliefs, the belief you have the right and that you are entitled because once you exit the front gate of your home and property and become a part of society you have both rights and repercussions to those rights, you have to be ready to accept the consequences of your actions and deeds because others out there may perceive and feel different. 

This is why groups gather and survive, they understand that there are rules in the group and one really important one is that every member of the group must abide by the groups rules to survive or expect repercussions that include being expelled or punished by that group. Society is no different from the group, social dynamics are the same as group dynamics. Society is about social cohesive connectivity, it is about groups within society, it is about the individuals of the group. It is about the individual having personal beliefs tempered with the beliefs of the group that are tempered with the needs and requirements and beliefs of the social order otherwise there is chaos, conflict and violence. 

I have a right, a right to not be gravely injured or killed. I do not require or depend on others to ensure those rights are protected. I have the right to protect myself from grave bodily harm or death. My rights are tempered by the rules of my family, my neighborhood, the groups that I am a member and the society in which I chose to live. The laws, rules and requirements trickle down where no rule subservient to the level to which I live is allowed to circumvent that rule, law or requirement.

It works like this, if society says thou shalt not kill or maim or gravely injure then those groups and individuals of that society do not have the right to break the rules, laws or requirements and when they do those who break them must suffer the consequences of their actions. The groups within that society can have stricter rules, laws and requirements but none of them can diminish or ignore the social rules, laws and requirements. If they do chaos ensues and actions of society will be taken. 

When I hear a cry from someone who feels they are above the laws, the rules and the social and group requirements to satisfy their own egoistic feelings and emotions that go directly against the society, the group, the family and the individual I have no sympathy. It is not about them, it is not personal and it is about survival. When an individual feels they have the right to break the rules, laws and requirements at any level such as using some weapon while disobeying the social order then I expect the social order to act accordingly and punish that individual in the means appropriate to the situation and infraction be it expelling them from society/group; implementing an appropriate lesson to reinforce those rules, laws and requirements and so on. 

Survival of the individual is not possible alone, no person is an island and every person, by nature and social requirements and needs, must be a part of that social group to survive. We must connect and act in a manner that promotes the survival of the social group, i.e., society and its members being individual and group oriented. 

The animal kingdom, supposedly inferior to the human species, all collect into groups for survival such as a ‘pride of Lions’ or a ‘herd of elephants’ and when they don’t they do not survive. 

When chaos ensues and the social connectivity, rules, laws and requirements fail or are ignored for the individual then that social order, group/groups, will die and become extinct. History is full of stories of great societies that are no more and it is obvious that those societies long gone into oblivion first lost their social cohesive connectedness, lost their ability to live and survive under these rules, laws and requirements and drove themselves into oblivion through the chaos of conflict and violence. All societies, all groups, all families and all individuals dies when they fail to relate, understand, believe, connect and live by the social/group survival rules, requirements and laws. 

This is true, it is a fact of life and nature does not use emotions and ego when making that decision for nature knows, nature survives and when all is said and done nature will live long past the time of humans unless ….

Ok, self-defense, got to put in a few words since this is a martial arts/karate self-fense blog so regarding self-fense, if you leave that front gate and wonder out into the world and society all you have to do it remain polite and follow the social rules, requirements and laws. You do have to remember that there are more stringent rules and requirements dependent on the environment in which you travel. Modern society has a much closer mixed multi-cultural belief systems that intermingle a lot more today than in history. It has its good and bad because dependent on how much you travel beyond your comfort zone in society the more you learn and the more exposed you are to conflict and possible violence when you don’t have sufficient knowledge and understanding of those cultural social rules and requirements. Makes self-fense a real challenge don’t you think? 

In a nutshell, an person has to have their beliefs, etc., and hopefully each person knows and understands that their cultural belief systems on a personal level must be such that it allows for flexibility when leaving the front gate to your home and environment, your personal home and environment. Like one professional used and stated, you cannot expect to stay in your personal shell and expect others to compensate but you should understand and expect to adjust your rights and beliefs so that you can function and survive in society. 

It comes down to balance and flexibility, i.e., the flexibility to allow for others and societies differences, rules, requirements and laws while maintaining the integrity of yourself thus by achieving a balance of self to the social dynamic so everyone remains steady, balanced and connected if for no other reason that the social group survival dynamic. 

Bibliography (Click the link)

“In order for any life to matter, we all have to matter.” - Marcus Luttrell, Navy Seal (ret)