From the Editors November 21, 2011 Issue

Nothing lost in transition

The Editors

Protests abound: they include citizens faced with austerity measures in Greece, people in the Middle East still striving for freedom, and the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters in New York and many other cities. Individuals are joining together either to demand change or to resist it—depending on the country and the challenge.

Banks and other financial institutions, along with governments, are under special pressure. Assumptions about education—including the cost of higher learning—energy, environmental issues, and other points for debate are also being questioned. As demands for attention increase, government, businesses, and other institutions struggle to find a way to respond.

To look at these conditions from a purely material standpoint, suggests a world in confusion and dismay. Yet these demands and the turmoil that attends them can also be seen as a sign that humanity is being stirred to shake off complacency and to strive for a higher way of living and being. The carnal, or mortal, mind—which opposes progress and anything that points humanity toward spirituality—argues on behalf of fear and despair. It suggests that people must cling to material structures, forms, and norms, because it can’t see spirituality and the goodness of God. This false view can never impede true progress or destroy whatever is viable and good.

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