We don't need a messiah

So i don't know who has heard of Benjamin Creme and his "Matraiya" prophecies? Loony ald man been raving for decades about the coming of the messiah, called Matraiya, who will free all humanity etc etal. Share International is the homepage, no i'm not linking to it.

Anyhow. So in and amongst these prophecies are clues to who it will be. Will appear on US television and then ... i dunno. Stuff. Imagine this, people found him. Or not him, but someone who ... the clues said were him. So imagine you're this guy, and one day you get mails asking if you're the messiah. The other letters asked if he was the antichrist. Go figure.

Mr Raj Patel is the guy's name. Not a terribly inspiring start, but after reading his comments on the matter, i think i like him. Read his story here, it's by turns amusing and terribly sad.

This is what he said:

From the Bible to Knight Rider to The Matrix, the story's the same: in crappy times, a single person will emerge to make all the difference and turn everything around. Although it makes for great viewing, it makes for a bad society. Ultimately, tales about messiahs are bedtime stories steeped in power. They're debilitating soporifics, inducements to be passive as we wait for social change because, some day, our prince will come.

Why wait, though? If the world is to transform, faith in politicians offering hope and change is a recipe for disappointment. Ask almost anyone who voted for Obama. Change happens through millions of acts of rebellion and mutual aid, not through faith in one great leader. What's depressing about this whole Maitreya thing is that it is a sign that we've given up on ourselves, that we need to depend on The One rather than finding the means to fix our own problems directly.