The split between culture and world governance is psychotic so I tend to feel dis-spirited about the whole affair. The West has blundered into the Middle East so it will be a real challenge to blunder out of it anytime soon- more's the heartache for our troops- ill-spent. I have traveled to the Levant and felt comfortable with fellow human beings but that counts for little in the grand drama. Have been thinking lately of the human need to construct hierarchies- however how foolish/absurd. But that's a different topic.
On Oct 9, 6:10 am, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > Pat minus his dogma - now that would be an exotic substance (possibly > negative mass mate!). In a sense here we need a lot of negative > energy - to work out what is wrong, but in a spirit of trying to get > things right. Rigbsy points to a lot of local collusion - precisely > how empires have worked for thousands of years. Doris turns to a > peaceful local (much to be said for this). Vam is back to his > 'Guardians' - me back to my fear this is just another 'Mouseland' with > 'King mice' likely to plunder for their own selfish genes, even though > I know this isn't what Vam means. > Our media is full of religious ceremonies of late - generally a sign > we are justifying war - the latest is an Iraq memorial. Unusually, > Sky News isn't running it and talking about the Peace Prize. Next up > our legal system is giving up some pathetic hacker who is mentally ill > to 'US justice' - his last hope is the Human Rights Act. > Key in all our problems is the way 'leadership' can run roughshod over > the small - the lack of democracy and responsibility or Vam's '[what] > keeps us from growing into more equitable freedom, more organic > happiness, more universal goodwill and trust towards each other' has > reached into us. The fundamental 'brokenness' we are operating in > seems beyond our our dialogue and attempts in-themselves depressing (I > suspect as a scientist the mechanisms of this can be used in similar > ignorance to that in which we drive cars). > > We can organise all kinds of daft contests across the world (sport is > surely the paradigm case). Yet we can't organise what Doris was > talking about. I see little informed talk about what we do organise. > We are always in crisis - and yet we know 'crisis management' is often > created by those who benefit from it - Melanie Klein's notions of > shocking whole countries so 'someone' can benefit in the chaos (but > also in the surreal small levels of working in organisations). > > I have long suspected 'political correctness' is an example of the > extent of our defensiveness. We pretend some kind of 'tolerance' in > order to suppress any real public scrutiny of what we are really > doing? I pack my bag, head off to India and inflict my PC Missionary > zeal on Vam, as though my great liberalism, so ruthlessly conflated > with absolute truth, is to be accepted by all. I will, of course, > have left the English Defence League marching in Manchester, having > been unable to get them to accept this 'truth' - marching apparently > to protest the Islamisation of Britain. I hope I would be as > resistant to such a reverse visit by Vam to convert me to his absolute > knowledge as he would be to mine. That neither of us intend any such > 'visit' is not the point. There is a problem with absolute truth. > Even the English Defence League has some point to make to us - not > least why it exists at all and is popularly organised and why I feel > more in common with a man brought up in a very different culture. I > have researched the EDL - easy enough to pretend for an hour or so > that I share their views (though in honesty I am concerned by any > religionisation) - pretending to be PC is even easier. I'll leave to > the imagination how vile some of these views are, whether the PC-Nobel > award of the peace prize to Obama or the racist-laden EDL. The world > situation needs honesty - but this would lift a dreadful scab. I > don't believe we can get to the disease without this - yet how do we > find such a new diplomacy that retains peace and debate in genuine > admissions without diplomacy itself killing off public scrutiny as we > fear the truth can only lead us to war? > On 9 Oct, 07:57, Vam <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > That would be very simplistic, OM, except when such a retreat is used > > to contemplate on doing something better ... that is, remaining > > engaged ! > > > What is crucial is to engage and be able to contribute genuinely, to > > actually think of and do for the good of other people, without any > > expectation or profit for oneself other than the trust and goodwill > > earned ... or, maybe, not even that, as it happens in shorter time > > frames. But, for that kind of lasting contribution to happen, one > > should have done that for one's own people, to have learnt and known > > what works and what does not, over a longer time frame matching that > > in which popular opinions and attitudes historically abide. > > > It is this kind of a capability and attitude, knowledge and self - > > belief, that the world lacks. It calls for a ' capacity ' for truth, > > universal empathy and worked - for - hope, and a clear understanding > > of history that tells us : " advantages are momentary, a liability to > > be discharged for the good of all we can reach out to, for lending > > support and creating trust." > > > We need to shed the parochial in our opinions of others, the power > > base in our judgements. Perhaps, then, we will have a critical mass of > > visionaries and statesmen, some of whom might actually rise to seats > > of power over enormous resources, of decision - making that can > > actually mould global attitudes residing in our individual hearts. > > > We need thousands of people like Pat, minus his dogma ! The > > conservatist within us, more or less, does keep us rooted ; but, it > > has gone so far that it also keeps us from growing into more equitable > > freedom, more organic happiness, more universal goodwill and trust > > towards each other. > > > On Oct 9, 1:45 am, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > The question is easily answered. The US removes its military > > > occupation from Iraq and Afghanistan. The US stops shoveling money at > > > both countries. Obama needs to find advisors who are not influenced by > > > vested interests in the military-industrial-complex.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
