In essence it's making people who have a certain belief system register. Sounds a little familiar, and it's not a sound I'm too wild about (well, maybe I GET wild about it).
Yes. The best way to control a population is to know who and where they are. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
In any kind of dictatorship, it would just be prudent to keep an eye on anyone "important" or who had some innate type of superior power (and I think awareness of past lives generally looks like an extraordinary ability) that was reborn. For example, anyone with a past life history of rebellion or revolution could be an increased risk for more of the same (you don't even need to ask me how I know this).
True, but I still think its more of a political and control issue than a communist recognition of the plausibility of reincarnation.
It's one of the basic problems that comes with too much information in the hands of people without spiritual maturity or even basic scruples. The miracle of far memory becomes yet another knowledge base that can be misused by the unenlightened to maintain control. It perfectly illustrates the librarian's (secret) motto, "Knowledge is Power."
If it can be used, it can be misused, thats something thats been proven again and again. Although traditionally spiritual matters have been proven rather slippery when it comes to regulation. Take a look at the nazis attempt to surpress Christianity among the masses by creating a state religion where Hitler was the central deity. Even with those measures in place, and a heavy push for members of the Wehrmacht to declare themselves Gottglaubig {God-Believing} there was still a large number that refused and kept their old religion (I know my Soldbuch said I was Catholic.. because I was). Most of the time if the movement is strong enough it will simply go underground.
BTW, that motto isnt from the "Librarian" series is it? I didnt have the... opportunity to see the first one, but the second one was almost unbearable. Ive heard of swinging low and loose with lore, but that was worse than "From Hell"...
My concerns about this aren't really a new wrinkle. Some of this "knowledge" has been around for a long time, but it's been kept secret and thus hard to access.
Perhaps im daft, what knowledge are you talking about? How to use knowledge and secrets against people? how and who has kept it under wraps? Or is it more of a open secret, as they say?
Hopefully, it would never get that evil here in the land of the semi free. But by record, this government will do just about anything it takes to further it's temporal interests including a whole bunch of repressive and totalitarian machinations, just like Hitler, just like Mao and of course, just like Saddam, who was put into power by the CIA in order to check the Iranians back in the 1970's.
Yes, but I think in some ways were lucky. One of the good (and bad) things about America is that we have always been fighters, and even though the country is now filled with a bunch of tv-addicted-ipod-wearing-naieve-teenagers and twentysomethings, I think that even they will have a breaking point if things go too far. I hope it would never get that bad, but if it does, I think we may be surprised at what happens.
then again, I have been accused of being too much of an optimist when it comes to this country in the past.
Wilhelm
