by David E. Johnson

I am horrified and deeply saddened by the death of this great and courageous woman, Benazir Bhutto, which clearly demonstrates the extremist patriarchal mindset. Clearly, the fundamentalist insanity that grips the Muslim world by the throat, the Al-Qaida/Taliban extremists, are the wolves at the door and may be directly responsible for the loss this world has suffered. The question is of course, who let the wolves in? That is to say, who did as little as could be not only to prevent this. Who denied her repeated request from better security that she would hire? Who denied her this access?
The answer is the dictator Musharaf, who is struggling to maintain his dictatorial power base that he calls a presidency. Musharaf saw Bhutto correctly as a formidable adversary. One down, one to go for Musharaf, there is another candidate who is not dead yet. The other major opposition party leader Nawaz Sharif is still alive. Will he be next, will Bhuttos family? Unfortunately, the dictator will stop at nothing, including canceling elections and replacing the Pakistani Supreme Court with his minions. And he has nuclear weapons. When will the world community wake-up and take action. This will only get uglier.
Not only was Bhutto an opposition candidate, and a proponent of democracy, unpopular with the dictatorial regimes vying for power, she was a woman. The Muslims culture demonstrates the patriarchal way and naturally the extremists do so to the extreme. In the Muslim belief system the feminine is seen as needing to be protected, not to be trusted, and no wiser than a child. Women are considered to be chattel, property. The value of the feminine and recognition of its wisdom is an idea that is violently rejected. Even in the western world the importance of the feminine is not fully acknowledged. Bhutto could not be tolerated by these gluttons, greedy for power and control. All the players conspired to keep her wisdom, her feminine sense of balance and fairness out of their area. Women are not welcome is the banner they flaunt. This is because the arrogant patriarchal thinking, which is disconnected from feelings, sees these elements as dangerous. Of course, dangerous only to their extreme beliefs that only allow for obedience to strict mental dictates. They call these religious laws, which they cowardly hide behind as they brutally enforce their dictatorial ideals. They use fear to whip their people into submission, caring not for the damage it does to their people. Blind, heartless arrogance and blind hatred are their main driving force. Have we not seen this throughout history, even in our history? For a thousand years, our religious systems burned-at-the-stake, those who would not capitulate. We must stop those who would continue to do so, but not by being judgmental. Force will be needed, as will understanding and guidance.
Bhutto has sought to balance all parties, bring them together, and attempt a workable solution through reason and compromise. Her intent was to cause a shift away from a fundamentalism that allows no other possible way, to a more blended way of thinking that allows differing points of view. This is, I believe, critical for the survival of humanity. A poly-psycho-theistic way of operating based on many view points. The melding of dichotomy, a blending of differing view, not into a homogenous one, but a multi-faceted whole comprised of difference. Here, the round and square holes will expand in awareness to accommodate square and round pegs, without loosing there own identities. I believe this is the true desire of the Divine.
Will her death be in vane, another martyr, another light in the darkness extinguished? I hold not. But my holding, my belief in the greater good and evolution of the human spirit will be wasted without the shift in consciousness needed to bring about this new paradigm, or group behavior model. Who needs to shift, I do, you do, our representatives in government do, our greedy short sighted businesses do, the super-wealthy that exert incredible multinational influence do, our religious leaders do, and finally our world leaders. It all starts with the person in the mirror. I have written this piece and will continue to work for expanded awareness and balance. What you choose to do is up to you, but do your best, taking action in some form you must if we are to survive.
The world has lost a magnificent and brave woman. Let us no forget her sacrifice for she knew she risked her life returning to her Pakistan; and even more so by running for the office she was ousted from years back by the predecessors of the fundamentalist monsters.
Dr. David Eigen is a leading psychologist and the author of Men The Gods of Love. Additional information may be obtained at www.menthegodsoflove.com.