And then everywhere will be called Eden once again

[wiggs]

In another post, someone discussed the harsh realization that our perception of what America is may be an illusion....that our leaders, our government, and global corporations have created an upside down world in which the weak are scorned, science is not to be trusted, truth is attacked, lies are reinforced and repeated, corruption is rewarded, world resources belong to those who can take them, and compassion is reserved only for those of your own kind.

We have gradually gotten so far away from what should be that we don't sense the change...our national perspective and sense of right and wrong has deliberately been polluted and made disfunctional by polarization, name calling, distraction, and an intentional dumbing down of discourse.

Instead of a vision of compassion, sharing, enlightenment, growing, "lifting all ships," progress, advancement, and hope...we have concentration of wealth and power literally at any cost.

Man, have we strayed. Sure, all is not dreary on an individual level; we all have postive aspects to our lives..successes, loves, kids, income, etc and we certainly have it better than most of the rest of the world. But as a nation, IMO, we are falling far short of what America could be and the "illusion" created for us hides this from the public.

I think the recent revelations of Plame, DSM, Abu Ghraib, and Sibel Edmons may help wake most of us up from the nightmare so that, as a nation, we see what we really are and move toward something closer to what Judy Chicago was writing about:

And then all what has divided us will merge.
And then compassion will be wedded to power.
And then softness will come
to a world that is often harsh and unkind.
And then both women and men will be gentle.
And then both men and women will be strong.
And then no other person will be subject to another's will.
And then all will be rich and varied.
And then all will share equally in the earth's abundance.
And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old.
And then all will nourish the young.
And then all will cherish life's creatures.
And then all will live in harmony with each other and the earth.
And then everywhere will be called Eden once again.

Amen.

[Eric J in MN]

1. Who is Judy Chicago? nt

nt

[wiggs]

2. judychicago.com Artist, poet, feminist, celebrity. nt

[Psephos]

3. There are no Edens. Utopian dreams inevitably end in nightmares.

I suggest you let go of the politics a little and focus more on what's good, what works, who loves you, and who you love. Open yourself to your senses.

At all times throughout US history, there has been political ugliness, greed, strife, polarization, and ignorance. The same as every other country.

At all times, there have also been multitudes of unrecorded acts of kindness, dreams that do come true, civility, sacrifice for a better good, love, and a sense of belonging and personal worth.

Human society cannot be perfected. Whether you think life here is decent and worthwhile, or a political nightmare of oppression and greed...you will be right. So choose.

I've distanced myself a bit from the cycles of hate and distrust that extremely-held political views breed, and it's been like a spring zephyr blowing again in my life. I imagine that fundie Christians who somehow break away from the dogma feel the same way.

The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, or a Hell of Heaven.
- John Milton

Nothing can cure the soul but the senses,
just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.
- Oscar Wilde

[silverlib]

4. Slavery, child labor, racism,

we've made great strides throughout a history of atrocities, thanks to people who didn't think like you.

what happens if we all quit striving for utopia? I think that we might end up in Hitler's world.

It is not impossible to have peace within one's self and still continually question and try to change the world around us. In fact, Inner, personal peace is mandatory to work on peace outside one' self.

Pretty sloppy response and generally I have a rule not to post when I'm tired, but I think this deserved a response. Your quotes are beautiful, but not a call to submerge one's head in the sand. Obviously, you wouldn't be in this forum if you believed this in entirety yourself.

Peace -

[wli]

5. the neocons have already created Hitler's world

[silverlib]

6. You are correct - Progress is certainly being

made by the neocons in this area. Much damage has been done and it's going to take a lot to undo it, but I'm generally an optimist. I think there is still hope and the hope comes from those of us who will recognize the reality, talk about the reality and then dismantle the reality. Although the destruction of life that Hitler created can never be undone and the government that devastated many lives was brought down. So, I guess therein lies my hope.

[wiggs]

8. Curious

Did you grow up in the 60's?

Some of my 60's friends take the position that cycles come and go, corruption is always around, nothing in the last 40 years is fundamentally different, etc. My response back is that they're not paying enough attention.

I like the premise that life is what you make of it. That's me, normally. I'm also very sensory oriented, generally optimistic, and open minded. Didn't used to believe in any kind of conspiracy theories about Kennedy, the NBA, or really anything else. I don't worry about things i can't control or affect.

Regretably, I've been shown that where money and politics are concerned we have to keep our eyes open. And in the case of national and global politics, open eyes discern that something has been going on for a long time and the public is way behind the curve. And it's stuff that actually affects us and our futures, not some intellectual conflict of philosophies. I have kids.

I don't believe I have an "extremely-held view" at all. My eyes are open and they see what they see.

"Opening yourself to your senses" sounds like you mean "looking" but not "seeing."

[Psephos]

9. Thank you for your thoughtful reply

Yes, I did grow up in the 60s.

These forums can be a hard place to state one's thoughts so that they're received with the same intentions with which they were expressed. I intended no slight to anyone with my post - I think you figured that out. :=)

Cycles do repeat, although each time has its own zeitgeist, its own defining problems. The actors change, and so does the scenery, but the play remains the same. Over the years, the more history that I read, the more I became convinced that the current times are not so different from those of decades and centuries past. Not so different at all.

Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and
everyone is writing a book.
- Cicero, 50 B.C.

Somehow, the world will survive; it always does (even if Rome did not). Meanwhile, we can and must do our part to improve things, but those improvements are better done with our hands than with our tongues. Politics is part of the answer, but not the only answer. Also, once our politics become principally a proxy for hating those with opposing views, the amount of good we do diminishes. Energy and time are all we have. I hope to spend them in ways that increase the supply of good feeling in the world.

These times, like all times, are the best of times...if we but know what to do with them.
- Emerson

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
- Emerson, again

At the end of my life, I would like to say I succeeded on almost exactly these terms Emerson describes.

>I don't believe I have an "extremely-held view" at all.

I agree. You seem like a gentle but strong soul aided by good conviction. With a bit different choice of phrasing, I could have made that more clear...There are some here who have moved beyond the pale, and it was to them I suppose I was speaking. I was tilting at windmills, as it were.

>My eyes are open and they see what they see.
>"Opening yourself to your senses" sounds like you
>mean "looking" but not "seeing."

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery (The Little Prince)

My point is that our senses are almost infinitely more reliable than someone else's words, but the strongest sense of all is what we sense in our hearts. My problem with strong politics is the same as my problem with strong religion: at some point we begin to surrender to the authority of others in matters of what's true. Fundie Christians, fundie Islamists, fundie wingnuts, fundie far-lefties, all utterly convinced they have received the Truth. At the extremes of the spectrum, there are more similarities than differences. Have you ever read Arthur Koestler's famous essay, The Yogi and the Commissar? Please do, if you haven't. And check out Eric Hoffer's The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. It's stuffed with insight.

Well, I've spent more time here than I planned. I don't believe we can share wisdom; we have to distill our own from the material of our own lives. Something tells me you won't have much problem there. Especially if you continue to hold on to the powerful realization that life is what you make it.

These are my opinions, nothing more, nothing less.

Peace.


EDIT: Added a sentence I left out.

[wiggs]

10. No real disagreements

But it might be easy to confuse "strong politics" (fourth to last paragraph) with "strongly held positions" on a message board. Strong politics and fundamentalist religion are often about obedience and can blind one to other input. This is something to avoid, in my life so far anyway.

On the other hand, Strongly Held Positions are not necessarily the result of blind obedience and be arrived at with careful thought, observation, and might be called "heartfelt", right?

Hey...we need all kinds: the ones who react strongly, the ones who sit back and ponder with great perspective, the ones who agitate, the ones who fly off the handle, and the extremists. More power to us all.

[silverlib]

7. Great post!

Got a little sidetracked, but I think you have expressed a scary reality very well.

Thanks! Love the quote by Judy Chicago!