In BRAVE NEW WORLD (1932) Aldous Huxley portrayed a dystopia derived from an excess
of capitalist consumption that led to a dehumanized world where babies are made in test tubes,
the idea of “family” becomes disgusting, and everyone can avoid pain by taking soma, the happy
drug.
A few years later (1948), George Orwell penned a far more chilling novel, 1984, where socialist
ideology has been corrupted by an elite group for their own benefit. Orwell feared that by 1984
the kind of authoritarian governments that he had witnessed in Italy, Spain, Germany, and the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Russian and its empire) could come to dominate the entire
planet as improved technology allowed for greater and greater social control.
Both Huxley and Orwell wrote well before the creation of the Internet, YouTube, TikTok, etc.
Yet they both could foresee the potential for totalitarian rule.
Ueshiba Morihei, O-Sensei, was born at a time when Japan was justifiably trying to modernize
rapidly in the face of European and American dominance that had already taken over much of
the world. The new government of Japan that had replaced rule by the samurai turned to a focus
on the divinity of the Emperor and adherence to State Shinto as tools to promote the loyalty,
devotion, and dedication of the citizenry. But by the 1930’s, the military had seized almost full
power and was pushing Japan more and more towards an authoritarian system.
O- Sensei played a role in this, although his adherence to Oomoto-Kyo Shinto created some
doubt in his mind. As World War II (known as The Great Pacific War in Japan) progressed, he
was repulsed by the violence and retreated outside of Tokyo to the little community of Iwama.
There he trained, taught what he now called Aikido, and farmed.
What is the significance of this? O-Sensei created a method of self-defence and self-cultivation
that encourages it participants to be strong but empathetic as well as confident but not arrogant.
He rejected the authoritarianism of his own government and encouraged us to seek peaceful
resolution of conflict.
To me, this approach includes defence of our fundamental freedoms and resistance to
authoritarian ideologies.
