May I suggest that we use one of the following two in place of
"politically correct" which I have never liked as a phrase since it
actually means nothing at all (-- what is politcally correct for a person
depends on what her/his politics is):
"inclusive" - because what we are trying to do is to counter the
tendency for language to exclude women and other powerless people.
"non-hierarchical" - because current language usage includes an
underlying assumption of hierarchies of gender, race, etc. which
then become part of the taken-for-granted reality of society.
--
Moojan Momen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fax: (44) 1767 627626
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Feb 19 11:48:44 MST 1995
19 Feb 95 18:51 GMT
Date: Sun, 19 Feb 1995 14:09:31 GMT
From: Moojan Momen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Ecofem and spirituality
Lines: 42
The substitution of "feeling" for "spirituality" simply will not
do. Spirituality implies the existence of a reality which is outside
of the space-time continuum. Since this reality exist beyond/outside of the
physical world, science has no way of measuring it directly or intereacting
with it and therefore has nothing to say about it.
This does not mean however that the spiritual world is of no significance.
Human beings have a faculty (call it soul, spirit, whatever) which does
interact with this spiritual world. Indeed some would say that it is this
spiritual side of human beings that is the real human being and the
physical body is a temporary shell housing it, which is disgarded eventually.
Therefore the spiritual world can be said to be even more important than
the physical for human beings. For example, it is perfectly possible for a
human being who has all of the physical comforts and mental stimulation
that this world provides to be nevertheless very unhappy; while conversely
poor people can be happy and contented.
The reason that this is of importance for our concern for the environment
is that it is precisely the attitude of materialism that has resulted in
much of the harm that is being done to environment. If we truly believe that
this physical world is all there, then it follows that the person who has
been most successful is the person who has accumulated the greatest amount
of physical possessions, wealth, and property. and it therefore follows that
our aim in life must be to seek to grab as much of this for ourselves as
we can. It is such attitudes that lead to power hierarchies (which supress
women) and destruction of the environment.
Most of the spiritual teachers of the world have taught a similar message.
To quote the one that I follow:
> Thou dost wish for gold and I desire thy freedom
> from it. Thou thinkest thyself rich in its possession,
> and I recognize thy wealth in thy sanctity
> therefrom. By My life! This is My knowledge, and
> that is thy fancy; how can My way accord with
> thine? (Baha'u'llah, Hidden Words, page 56)
--
Moojan Momen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fax: (44) 1767 627626
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Feb 19 12:45:57 MST 1995
Date: Sun, 19 Feb 1995 14:53:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: Lana Rabkin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sender: Lana Rabkin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: Lana Rabkin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Political correctness
To: Moojan Momen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
In-Reply-To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
On Sun, 19 Feb 1995, Moojan Momen wrote:
> "inclusive" - because what we are trying to do is to counter the
> tendency for language to exclude women and other powerless people.
Women and other powerless people??? The women in my life are
powerful and strong people. Their lives have been filled with
accomplishment and influence and love. I disagree with the notion that
the oppression of a group of people renders them completely powerless -
this undermines their struggles for change. Power is not evil, it is
healthy and everyone has it. The *misuse* of power for selfish and
destructive reasons is what we should be fighting against.
Just sharing, Lana
