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The author wishes to thank Richard Sassoon for his encouragement and support in the writing of
"The Battle of Hubris and Nemesis." He is also grateful to Sister Judith Thackray, OSA, for her encouragement
of an interfaith viewpoint.
Part 1: The Battle of Hubris and Nemesis
In the ancient Greek tradition, Hubris is male and stands on a mountaintop proclaiming,
"I am great. I am the greatest. I am all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-inclusive. I am God and bigger
than God. And what's more, I am right--always right." Hubris is about immense and overweening pride--
a pride that is hurtful because it knows no boundary. It exists in defiance of God and the gods.
But the very God that Hubris thinks it is bigger than, in his/hers/its infinite wisdom, created
a balanced system, a system such that when Hubris swaggers and prevails, it automatically calls forth
a balancing energy, quality, or principle. Hubris gives rise to Nemesis because The System is always
seeking balance.
Nemesis is the goddess of retributive, restorative justice who comes forth in righteous indignation
to give back to Hubris what is due his swelled head and dominating ways. But when Hubris and Nemesis
mix it up in a battle of giants, it isn't pretty; the result is often an outpouring of intense violence.
Today, Hubris is a Western world grown cancerous with arrogance, greed, aggression, and delusion.
Hubris contains such intellectual arrogance that it covers its tracks with shouts of
"Democracy!" "Human Rights!" "Science!" "Technology!" There is, in fact, nothing wrong with these things, until they
become instruments of arrogance, as they have more and more.
Certain factions within Mideastern fundamentalist Islam are collectively the Nemesis that
comes forth to counter the Hubris of western democracies and bring The System towards balance. But Nemesis
is no sweetheart, no good lady, and no darling. She is just as sick and unjust as Hubris is powerful
and controlling. A clash between these two is similar to what happens in a bad divorce. Nemesis calls
forth jihad to counter Hubris. Superficial jihad is physical violence against a designated religious
enemy. Authentic jihad, on the other hand, is struggle against the deluded self, and discovery of something
that makes overt or covert violence unnecessary. Authentic jihad has much in common with the deepest
purposes of true spirituality no matter where it is found. Superficial jihad is just another excuse
for hate. In the battle between American "enduring freedom" and Eastern jihad by way of terrorism, we
may be on the verge of participating in one of the ugliest confrontations humankind has ever known.
Yet not all of Western civilization has grown arrogant and domineering. Europe has been so
humbled by two world wars that she is not, at this time, the natural target of Nemesis. Neither are
Canada nor Australia, two Western democracies whose own currency exchange rate shows that they themselves
have not done well against Hubris.
When commercial airliners crashed into the World Trade Center buildings in New York, and the
Pentagon in Washington, these events were acts of overt physical violence and hatred rarely seen in
North America. Thousands of human beings were killed. In addition, the ripple effect is enormous and
sad beyond speculation. But make no mistake, there was a covert form of violence--economic and cultural
aggression--also going on in all three of those buildings at the time of the attacks. Commercial globalization,
international capitalism, and world-wide militarism were the symbolic targets of those three airliners.
Globalization and capitalism require war to grow. Regrettably, what is happening will strengthen the
unhealthy expression of both and plant war firmly in our future.
I do not condone the violence of the forces of Nemesis for any reason whatsoever. I weep for
the damage done to countless lives and the damage still to come. But I do see clearly the intellectual
and economic violence carried out by the Hubris that is the object of the attacks, however sick, sad,
and misguided the attackers may be. We are operating at a higher level here, a Systems Level. The System
as a whole, viewed over long periods of time, is deadly accurate in its cause and effect, action and
reaction, tit-for-tat responses. The System is trying to get our attention.
What goes around comes around. Those to whom evil is done do evil in return. Force against
force equals more force. Who is not familiar with these wisdom proverbs? Did we in America think that
we are above the operation of principles and natural laws? It may be the unique quality of Hubris to
see itself as bigger than the natural system we call life and to think itself immune from laws of retribution
and restorative justice. Nemesis, however unhealthy its own actions, is the branch of The System that
has been oppressed and suppressed for so long. Nemesis has not been heard, and it is desperate. It,
too, is trying to get our attention.
The actions of the terrorists today, in the Fall of 2001, are inexcusable and indefensible.
But just as inexcusable and tragic is the blind Hubris that thinks it has "Right" on its side and fails
to see its role in the political and social instability in the Mideast. What is about to happen is a
fifty-fifty deal. It is a contest of sick versus sick--and this doesn't mean that there isn't some wellness
on both sides, too. But what are those of us to do, those of us who have been quietly working on our
own personal development as human beings, in North America, in the Middle East, and throughout the whole
world, as this global drama begins to play out?
This is not an easy question to answer. What does personal development mean, anyway? First
and foremost, it means contacting love and compassion in the human heart and kindling that quivering
flame into action, and, even more, into wisdom that is larger than action or activity. For some of us,
this means supporting the American war effort by countering the attacks on the American homeland that
are no doubt being planned even as this is written. For some it means going to war themselves or supporting
our youth going to war. When Hubris and Nemesis begin the battle of the titans, many will naturally
be drawn into violence and war.
But there are others whose lifelong work in loving self-development has led to an unshakable
belief in kindness, compassion, and non-violence. For some, true peace has dawned, and this peace
is not merely the absence of war--it is much deeper than that. For many of us, the past 30-50 years
have been a time of deep spiritual growth and maturing. There is now a core of wisdom and eldership
in North America that can be drawn upon in this time of crisis. For many, the peace movement I am talking
about doesn't mean manning the barricades in protest and interfering with the American war effort. We
may not be moved to do that. We will be like conscientious objectors who care for our country deeply
and seek "alternate service" as healers and teachers.
Is there room for all of us in the battle between Hubris and Nemesis to come? All of us: the
hawks and the flag-waving patriots; the doves and members of the conventional peace movement that will
oppose the hawks; and those of conscience who will work hard at healing the spirit of all those we come
in contact with?
I certainly hope so. But my concern is that the function of Hubris is to swell the head of
all it comes in contact with. "If you are not with us, you are against us" will be the saddest slogan
to be heard. We have to remember to respect all these voices in order to move through the coming times--
the voices of the hawks, the doves, and the healers or teachers. This is the true meaning of unity and
the birth of the third way--the way of self-development, the way of the healer.
There are many socio-political-religious reasons why hate is directed at America from the
Mideast. Will the dominant society and dominant governmental structure of America have the courage,
strength, and, most importantly, the humility to examine its foreign policy and stance towards
the world? Will anything in the political reality of America change as a result of what is about to
happen? Make no doubt about it: the faction that attacks us is comprised of unhealthy people who have
been recruited to take the role of Nemesis by forces larger than the personality of individual or nation.
There is a primary mythos playing out here. And America's materialistic and excessively individualistic
way of life, which has grown cancerous over recent years, is a part of that mythos that has caused many
to lose their hearts.
It is my hope that whatever comes can be directed and turned to help us as human beings
rediscover our capacity for true love, compassion, and wisdom. It is my dream that the transformational
result of this confrontation will be to give up our worship of materialism.
But if we "prevail" as our President says; if we go back to business as usual after this is
all over, then, having lost our hearts to materialism, we will have also lost our souls. Rather, let
us rise to what we, as Americans, are truly capable of. Consumerism and materialism, as they now dominate
the U.S. and destabilize other parts of the world, are driven and sustained by a loss of faith. Let
us use our material wealth to serve others and to rediscover the sacred in either traditional or contemporary
terms. There are many now among us who can teach how this might be done.
October 11, 2001
Part 2: Re-Dedicate September 11
It is March 11, 2002, exactly six months since the attacks on the World Trade Center in New
York and the Pentagon in Washington. Using conventional logic and measuring criteria, it certainly seems
that the United States has "won" in its retribution against those who attacked America on September
11, 2001. In the battle of Hubris and Nemesis, Hubris has bested Nemesis. But it never lasts. There
will be much more war to come.
As one dedicated to peace and healing, I wept at the atrocity committed in New York, as well
as the destruction in D.C. I do my part in the arenas in which I am effective to help others deal with
the results of September 11, as we all do. To this day I feel the bereavement of those left behind.
I am keenly aware of what New Yorkers must feel. But I also keenly feel the pain and bereavement of
many in the Mideast, whose lives have been affected by endless U.S. hegemony, values, and economic domination.
It is my wish that we in America can understand what the psychology of dominance is doing
to all of us. It makes slaves of the oppressors as well as the oppressed. To be the one remaining global
superpower carries a responsibility of wisdom that entails much more than just being great or smart.
We are living in a time of great potential because the seeds for real peace are already being
sown all over the world. This authentic peace is the dawning of self-knowledge in all its forms. Authentic
peace will be the result of the authentic life teachings that are today being planted in the world.
It will be born from the commitment of the many individuals who are avidly entering into apprenticeship
with teachers who teach about what it means to be alive, no matter what their tradition, roots, or approaches.
It will come from those who "go on a journey" of love and enlightenment that goes by many names. It
will not come from the impulse to runaway scientific and technological progress, unless those are balanced
with love and compassion.
It is this quiet but mighty undercurrent of teaching and learning about life in a participatory,
inner way that will sow the basis of real peace. This is the hope to come from September 11--not the
victory of Hubris in Afghanistan and in the militarism still to come. Any of us may enter such an apprenticeship
or training as healers, no matter what walk of life we inhabit.
Step out of the unhealthy pattern that dominates the world. Enter a path, no matter what flavor
appeals to your unique temperament or place in life. Join one of the many teachers, healers, or traditions
sowing the basis for real peace in life. Or find your path in your own unique way. Dedicate yourself
to personal inner development, joining with others who are doing the same. To find the love that can
heal September 11 there must be a basis of love. The basis of true love is self-knowledge and awareness.
The entry points and gateways of the authentic journey are everywhere today. Find one and make your
entry now.
March 11, 2002
Part 3: True Peace
Now, on September 11, 2002, the one year anniversary of the attacks in America, I submit what
is to me the only orientation I am able to embrace at this turbulent time. It comes in the words of
Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota Sioux, through the work of Joseph Epes Brown.* May the True Peace prevail.
"I wish to maintain here, that through these rites (the spiritual practices of the Oglala Lakota
Sioux) a three-fold peace was established. The first peace, which is the most important, is that which
comes within the souls of individuals when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the
universe and all its Powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka,
and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real Peace, and the
others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals,
and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there
can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which, as I have often
said, is within the souls of people."
--Nicholas Black Elk, 1947
September 11, 2002
For All Our Relations
*(The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk's Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux, Recorded & Edited by
Joseph Epes Brown, University of Oklahoma Press, 1953-1989. 1989 Printing, page 115).
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