It’s all about you

[omega minimo]

“One person may hit the mark, another blunder; but heed not these distinctions. Only from the alliance of the one, working with and through the other, are great things born.” --Antoine de Saint-Exupery





It’s all about you.

It’s all about your ideas and opinions, your right to have them, your right to express them and your right to allow others these same rights.

It’s all about you reading other ideas and opinions with a confident and flexible mind or a mind fearful and rigid.

It’s all about your issue, your motivation and your commitment to inform yourself and others.

It’s about you valuing the issues, motivation and commitment of others even when they are different than yours. Even when they may not know what yours are. There's a lot of work to do.

It’s all about you doing your best to be informed, through the multitude of mediated messages and catapult-loads of propaganda.

It’s all about you dealing with the confusion, frustration and weariness of sorting through too much information. Sometimes you need a break.

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” --Voltaire

It’s all about you knowing-- not thinking, but knowing-- that you can make a difference and YOU have the power to do so. You know that’s how it works.

Because you are “we.” We are us. United. We stand.




“Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't” --Mark Twain




* note: the preceding assumes the eventual restoration of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

[Warren DeMontague]

1. "The Only Vote That Matters"

:hi:

[omega minimo]

2. It counts!

:hug:

[JeffR]

3. Superbly put. Worth 100 recs

though I could give it only one.

[omega minimo]

5. Much obliged, JeffR

your "one" is golden :hi:

[JeffR]

6. Deserves a wide audience, I think.

Thanks for a great post!:hi:

[omega minimo]

42. This weekend a DUer who doesn't vote called for "independent issues"

to be more of a priority for the Democratic Party. He said that the Dem Party in California (due to civil liberties issues) seemed as much like "The Man" as the Repugs. He was of a GenXY age group that he said largely felt the same way-- why support (vote for) a Party that doesn't reflect their values, so why vote at all.

I have brought up (on DU) the importance of this large block of jaded (spoiled cuz they think they have the luxury to NOT vote?) post- Boomer/Yuppie potential Democratic voters who disenfranchise themselves. Even someone who shorthands his issues as "independent" issues doesn't see the irony of giving up his own (independent) right to vote.

These are the people who think the federal government is being run by corporations and that the Democrats and Republicans are two wings of the same party. And they don't vote. So-- any strategists who would like to pick up on a goodly portion of the under-40 voting bloc that stay home, needn't be afraid of bringing up "edgy" issues. Forget the middle, go after the edge voters. There's more of them and they are (laconically) waiting for Democrats to "deserve" their vote.

So in the OP the intentional magical thinking was meant for anyone who doesn't see the ill-logic of giving up the right to vote-- even if it's only as an act of defiance.

"It’s all about you knowing-- not thinking, but knowing-- that you can make a difference and YOU have the power to do so. You know that’s how it works. Because you are “we.” We are us. United. We stand."

“Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't” --Mark Twain

Kicking for a "wider audience" and for "possibilities" because the truth hurts.

:hi:

[omega minimo]

43. .

:grouphug:

[JeffR]

4. Well, I'm just gonna kick it again, then.

:kick:

[NanceGreggs]

7. K & R!!!

:applause:

[omega minimo]

9. Thanks NanceGreggs!

Your and JeffR's feedback tells me the experiment worked :thumbsup: :hug:

[JeffR]

8. Another kick.

:kick:

[omega minimo]

10. Cheers then

:toast:


I was trying for a "wide" message. Appreciate your feedback.


There's a hint at what inspired this. A positive suggestion for more tolerance. Since we're on the same side.

"It’s about you valuing the issues, motivation and commitment of others even when they are different than yours. Even when they may not know what yours are. There's a lot of work to do."

[JeffR]

11. Seeing each other's viewpoints isn't a strong suit here at election time

Or during heated debates on things like immigration, values voting, and so forth. People can learn an awful lot about other takes on things here, but we do spend a lot of time squabbling and refusing to see the merits or rationales of POVs different from our own. I approach all this from a rock-solid, longstanding conviction that electoral politics is bullshit and the time is long passed when the only way forward is to take to the streets. Time has passed that viewpoint by, at least for now, so I think coalition-building and rational discussion and debate are the only key to progress available now.

Posts like this aid that effort greatly.

[omega minimo]

18. "You're putting words in my mouth"

"...the way you put artificial facts in your head." Sorry, got a bit distracted by DAVID LETTERMAN KICKING BILL O'REILLY'S SORRY ASS.
:applause:


Some of the dirty tricks and bait and switch tactics O'Lielly and his ilk utilize are similar to what's been happnin here lately. Hotheaded false assumptions and illogical leaps to accusations...................


RE: "electoral politics is bullshit" and the rest. I hear what you're saying. And your comment brought to mind Symbolman's DVD of the DSM Basement Hearing. Watching Joe Wilson and Ray McGovern go through the process of acting as if the process works. And speaking so calmly and clearly.

FWIW.

[JeffR]

19. If the process is ever going to work

We have to act like it does, even if we know it doesn't. What a world this is...

[omega minimo]

25. Hell

Been doin that since REAGAN was elected :rofl:

"We have to act like it does, even if we know it doesn't."

[Mr_Spock]

12. More tolerance is certainly something we could use here

I'm still stunned at the self-serving slander that continues in thread after thread here. I thought we were here to elect Democrats.

[omega minimo]

16. I don't know how to say

in a peaceful way conveying the bizarre irrational accusations seen recently....


so I wrote the OP. B-)

[Mr_Spock]

17. It's a topic that needs to be discussed here

I am still reading post after post where people are taking underhanded swipes at people who they feel are not loyalists. Are we temporarily descending into different factions and are we displaying symptoms you might see in a dictatorial society? I can deal with bizarre and irrational on DU - in fact I expect it - but the character assassination is Freeper-like in nature and has me wondering if there will be a factional splitting off of some groups here on DU. I sure hope not, but I'm not sure you're insightful post will make much of an impact - though we can always hope.

[omega minimo]

20. Well yes, those symptoms ........................

include assuming that if someone doesn't read the same threads and know the secret password and magic handshake they MUST be saying "X, Y and Z."

[Mr_Spock]

21. If only Agent Mike wasn't watching our every move...

...perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult to keep up with the latest "secret handshake". ;)

[omega minimo]

24. “Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't” --Mark Twain

* note: the preceding assumes the eventual restoration of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

[Mr_Spock]

28. "All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence -- and then success is sure."

Another gem from Mark Twain...

[hfojvt]

13. It is?

I thought WP was just being a smarta$$.

Speaking of my opinions. My LTTE was in today's paper. Just trying to inform others.

"At the candidates forum in Leavenworth on Saturday, Congressman Ryun seemed to stress two things. First, that he brought federal dollars to Leavenworth, and second that he believes in tax cuts. Apparently the new Republican philosophy is "borrow and spend". Should pork buy a re-election or did that money come to Leavenworth based on the merit of those projects?
Should we fund them with borrowed money? Nobody likes a tax increase, but spending borrowed money means you will pay much more in the long run. That $1000 child tax credit will be paid back by your children, with interest. Worse yet, that tax credit is a drop in the bucket compared to the tax cut that went to Bill Gates types.
A simple example should illustrate that. For my taxable income of $19,000 my taxes were $1718.25 in 2001 and $1278.25 in 2005. A tax cut of $440. Then there's my Uncle Charlie (not really a relative). According to Forbes, Charles Koch was worth $4.5 billion in 2005 and worth $12 billion in 2006. Let me estimate that his income is $10 million. Then, in 2001 his taxes were $3.887 million and in 2005 they were $3.48 million. A tax cut of $407,000! Jim Ryun does not want to talk about that. He calls it class warfare to point out the fact that he and his fellow Republicans are giving large benefits to people like my Uncle Charlie.
Ryun seems to believe that there is no way to create a tax cut to save me $440 without also saving a multi-millionaire $400 thousand! He would also have you believe that there is no way to eliminate the tax cut for the multi-millionaires without also eliminating the tax cut for people like me. He is wrong on both counts. Ryun may call it class warfare, but I think that tax cuts and other laws should benefit ordinary Americans more than they benefit the very wealthy. I am proud to fight for ordinary working people, that's why I have been working to elect Nancy Boyda. She promises to fight against big money control of Congress. Ryun denies that big money is in control, while he claims that tax cuts that give $400,000 to multi-millionaires actually benefit you and me. They do, a little bit, but they benefit the rich much more. Those are the people Ryun has been working for when he should have been working for you and me."

[omega minimo]

23. HFOJVT!

:spray:

Nice job on the letter. :thumbsup:

"Jim Ryun does not want to talk about that. He calls it class warfare to point out the fact that he and his fellow Republicans are giving large benefits to people like my Uncle Charlie."

Maybe we should agree with them. Yes! It's the war that the Investment Class is making on the Working and Middle Class.

[Mr_Spock]

14. Thanks for this post...

We are so much better as a team.

[Ms. Clio]

15. k&r

[lonestarnot]

22. K & R

Excellent post!

[H2O Man]

26. "What you think,

you become." -- Gandhi

[Mr_Spock]

29. "An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind." - - Ghandi

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do -are in harmony" -- Ghandi

[omega minimo]

41. Do unto others........

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do -are in harmony" -- Ghandi

aka "Integrity" aka......... this seems another fundamental concept, no matter what it's called.

:grouphug:

[saltpoint]

27. K&R.

Mighty good stuff.

[Mr_Spock]

30. "this person only posted a bunch of fluff posts, then this real serious one"

lol - there is that "special handshake" rearing it's ugly head again.

:(

[omega minimo]

31. Brain Salad Surgery

"Right Place, Wrong Time"
DR. JOHN

I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd of said the right thing
But I must have used the wrong line
I been in the right trip
But I must have used the wrong car
My head was in a bad place
And I'm wondering what it's good for

I been the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
My head was in a place
But I'm having such a good time
I been running trying to get hung up in my mind
Got to give myself a little talking to this time

Just need a little brain salad surgery
Got to cure this insecurity
I been in the wrong place
But it must have been the right time
I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong song
I been in the right vein
But it seems like the wrong arm
I been in the right world
But it seems wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong

Slipping, dodging ,sneaking
Creeping hiding out down the street
See me life shaking with every who I meet
Refried confusion is making itself clear
Wonder which way do I go to get on out of here

I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd have said the right thing
But I must have used the wrong line
I'd a took the right road
But I must have took a wrong turn
Would have made the right move
But I made it at the wrong time
I been on the right road
But I must have used the wrong car
My head was in a good place
And I wonder what it's bad for


It's okay Mr. Spock. This too shall pass. Maybe (maybe!?! :eyes: ) a hazard of The Internets-- a reason I put in a line about minds confident or fearful........ the hazard of reading something and REACTING with the full force of whatever "you" had in your hand ready to throw, because of previous battles, confusions, posts, threads.............

What struck me was the number of times people were being accused of saying "something" because of what they were NOT saying!

*You said this about the way the topic was presented so you're an enemy of the topic and everyone who values it!

*It's not OUR fault you don't know what this thread title refers to because you didn't see the other threads that WE all saw that this is OBVIOUSLY referring to!

*How dare you object to this presentation of a topic when you didn't object to all those OTHER presentations of that OTHER topic! I know cuz I was there and YOU WEREN'T!!!!!11 I didn't see YOU at all!!!!!!!!!!111 :crazy:

*How dare you comment about this when you weren't in ALL those other threads with all of US and you don't even know there WERE all those other threads cuz you didn't see them so where the HELL were you and if you CARED you would have been there with US and KNOW what WE all know so if you criticize something here YOU MUST BE SAYING YOU DON'T VALUE OR SUPPORT OUR CAUSE so you must be an ENEMY!!!!

:silly:


These people will calm down. Eventually. They need to strike out and find that solidarity. The people who visited this thread are the ones that already get it and read with some confidence and perspective. (and occasional critical perspective, pointing out the alienating effects of the WAY topics are presented :yoiks: )

There is another hazardous trend going on now-- the backhanded snark (another version of the reactionary copycat threads) :sarcasm: "Oh YEAH what WE need to do is ___fill__in__the__blank____ instead of Support Every Single Democrat which is what WE'RE all HERE for or else YOU DON'T belong here."

Reading these seems like people are really smart and maybe confused-- or again don't have the confidence-- about healthy discussion and constructive criticism that will make Democrats STRONGER and MORE successful. The DU Rules are trotted out as supporting a (often vicious) You're With Us OR Against Us!! bullying, when in fact actually reading the Rules shows that DU is intended as a place for wide participation of those interested in supporting the Democratic Party.

The fact that so much good discussion is shot down by these defensive attitudes is not good for Democrats in the long run.



So the OP was generic in the hope that any "you" reading it might relate. And remember that the national system we want to elect Democrats to restore and repair makes a PRIORITY of "your" right to free speech, which is dependent on allowing others the same. Plenty of issues and topics to go around. Balkanizing our own party is sure to make the Reich Wing Hatemongers very very happy.

[Mr_Spock]

36. Definitely in the right place at the wrong time!

I had no idea what I was getting into - I came in from the garage after finishing my work and scanned all of the popular forums here and saw nothing concerning what I had just heard on TV - which I thought was odd. It occurred to be that folks were trying to avoid the topic - but that is not how one wins elections - we need to keep our eyes WIDE open so as not to be surprised when the new set of "talking points" are dispensed from the WH hate machine. OTOH, one would normally want to apologize to those who may have felt put on the spot by such an issue. That could not happen as the hammers of hate were being wielded faster than one could react.

The irony of it is from whom the majority of the intolerance was coming from. What could be more titillating to our opposition? I am still in shock and very angry at the bigotry I was confronted with.

A bigot is a prejudiced person who is intolerant of opinions, lifestyles or identities differing from their own.

[omega minimo]

37. Similarly surprised

on the day-of that there were virtually no threads that evening in GD or GDP discussing the * WH Press Conference. There was a particularly power-packed handful of topics on the NewsHour following the * coverage and the Big Boards were doing I don't know what.

I raised an OP question "Is this world being run by short people with enormous heads?" with a reference to "TV is the problem" inside. What I learned is that not everyone is aware that many/most actors/newscasters are very short with large proportioned head/faces. Also, another (over the top absurd) example of how if one subgroup is mentioned in a certain context (that not everyone gets, I guess) suddenly some of the subgroup people think it's all about them, because they're sub, see? Forget the context! Short people come out of the woodwork to complain, rather than look at a cultural phenomenon about TV and its affect on society/politics and stuff. Which is another reason I wanted to address this "All about you" thing. So with that sort of narcissistic disconnect and inability to objectively look at societal forces, of COURSE people act touchy and "bigoted."

Also. That particular subject you refer to and its current campaign is based on a certain (and I mean this in a positive sense) arrogance or sense of entitlement. "We're doin this now and you better deal with it!!" It seems to be working. We'll see. It seems to be skipping some integral steps IMHO but who knows. So that sort of "crashing the party" attitude is perhaps permeating the whole discussion and uppity-ing some folks attitudes.

[Mr_Spock]

39. Funny thing that other post you mentioned

I could easily be an actor or newscaster based on that criterion - where did I go wrong? :rofl: It did catch my attention for that reason. :) There is a particular person here who keeps putting up posts that kind of denigrate short people, and then the person piles on if anyone complains about the topic. That may have contributed to the shit that you got. Not justifying it of course (I didn't see it as an affront), just adding to your knowledge base.

You know, on the topic of "assigning motivations" to account for where people are coming from - I'm not comfortable doing that being an "outsider" as it where. I am as vehement a supporter of the rights they desire as the most outspoken in those threads. That's probably the reason why I am so determined to see that Democrats - people who support civil rights for all - are elected to office. I will say that any group that purports to speak for all of us by use of the iron-fist technique does them self quite the disservice. Why piss off your most ardent supporters?

[LWolf]

32. I may be a little fuzzy-headed today,

recovering from long hours this week, but I'm not getting your point.

Is it all about me, my ideas, my opinions, my process of sorting through all of the incoming information and opinions and making some sort of sense out of them, and having the confidence to believe in that process, and act on my convictions?

Or is it all about being "we," marching in step with what the oh-so-superior "leaders" and their loyal sheep tell me is in my/"our" best interests? Am I supposed to be united in wanting to act for progressive change, or united in voting the way all those who "know better" than I tell me to? If I don't think the majority is marching towards the change I'm working for, am I supposed to give up the "it's all about me" and fall in line? Does that make a difference for me, or for "we?" What if "we" aren't making the difference I want? Do I allow "me" to be diminished by the might of "we," or do I continue trying to make "right?"

While I'm a lifelong lover of Samuel Clemens, I am having difficulty fitting the quote in. In the context of your post, does that mean I'm supposed to abstain from focusing on possibilities, suck it up, and accept mediocrity as "truth?" What?

Or am I supposed to know that truth is a universal thing that can't be squashed forever by political corruption, and that as long as I'm focused on truth, and working for it, truth will emerge whether or not I get in line with the masses of "we?"

I'm off to clean a chicken coop; maybe the smell will clear the clouds and I'll "get" it when I get back, lol.

[omega minimo]

34. Maybe it's about finding a balance

Good questions :hi:

"Is it all about me, my ideas, my opinions, my process of sorting through all of the incoming information and opinions and making some sort of sense out of them, and having the confidence to believe in that process, and act on my convictions?"

Yes!

And no-- the "We" is not a goosestepping toward oblivion-- rather the opposite. The awareness that our individual rights are related to and interdependent with the rights of others. That is the "United We Stand." If we are on the same side working toward a return to balance in government and restoration of our rights, it's pointless to fight with each other.

from OP: "It’s about you valuing the issues, motivation and commitment of others even when they are different than yours. Even when they may not know what yours are....It’s all about you doing your best to be informed, through the multitude of mediated messages and catapult-loads of propaganda. "

People are bickering and making illogical accusations at each other. It looks like they are scared and angry and tired of trying to sort through all the bullshit. And turning on each other.

"Or is it all about being "we," marching in step with what the oh-so-superior "leaders" and their loyal sheep tell me is in my/"our" best interests? Am I supposed to be united in wanting to act for progressive change, or united in voting the way all those who "know better" than I tell me to? If I don't think the majority is marching towards the change I'm working for, am I supposed to give up the "it's all about me" and fall in line?"

With a balanced view of our shared and interdependent rights, we may be ready to return to a "Big Tent" style Democratic Party. This OP was a response to much of the internal "Us vs. Them"ism polluting DU lately. As for "oh-so-superior 'leaders' and their loyal sheep," I'd say consider the source. Are they really working for the good of the people and the Democratic Party or for their own "It's all about ME!" agenda? Maybe we go back to "Follow the Money." :think:

"It's all about you" takes on a different feel when we realize everyone else feels that way too. IMHO that is a fundamental concept at the heart of the American Experiment and its (currently shredded) documents.

It's a fundamental concept found in many versions and echoed in the quotes provided by H2O Man and Mr. Spock:

"An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind." - - Ghandi

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do -are in harmony" -- Ghandi


The Clemens quote relates to:

"It’s all about you knowing-- not thinking, but knowing-- that you can make a difference and YOU have the power to do so. You know that’s how it works."

“Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't” --Mark Twain

To me it suggests the faith or gumption or imagination or plain orneryness required to believe that you make a difference, under a governmental system that gives "you" the rights and responsiblities to do so.

"What you think, you become." -- Gandhi

[LWolf]

38. You pull all of this together very well,

thanks!

[omega minimo]

40. Thank YOU

:toast:

[Mr_Spock]

33. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one"

The words of Leonard Nimoy as the character Captain Spock in the film, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In the film, Spock brings the meaning of these words to a poignant reality by sacrificing his life to save the life of the Enterprise crew.

...

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1145859

Something to ponder...

[omega minimo]

35. the paradox of the humility in heroism

Illogical! B-)