As hard as it is for me to believe, my generation will be old—in a blink. And I fear that many of our leaders, who captain our ship, today, have grown too rich to understand the desperation of unmet needs, which cause The 99%, who work so hard to make ends meet, to rock our boat. If we don’t open our eyes, the iceberg lies directly ahead. Sounds negatively, focused, right Mom?”
“Well, if you’re concentrating on downhill spirals, the fall of Rome, chopping off heads and sinking ships, that doesn’t sound very positive, Annie.”
“There’s a huge difference between focusing on the negative—and identifying how our values have shifted. I listen to people say: We have no values, today. That’s not true. *We always have values—they just change—especially when fear or desperation sets in. (Think our war for independence or the play, LES MISERABLE). If we look back into history (learn from history or repeat it) then we can see the classic downhill pattern within which every world power cycles when strengths hollow out and the fury of have-nots, too long ignored, erupts, and power changes hands, at last.
Today, we've reached the point in that classic cycle where our value of big bucks has stepped on the toes of too many have-nots with utter disregard for brotherhood, which breeds compassion for the downtrodden. Rather than honoring teachers, police, firemen, and nurses, we worship sports heroes, rock stars, rich dudes, designer duds, bags, shoes, fast foods and fast fixes. Athletic arenas, Maxi-theaters and shopping malls are our houses of worship. And on those rare occasions when we leave the mall and venture into the park, longing for a peaceful place to commune with nature, we fear getting mugged.
So here’s my point: High principled values can’t be taught. Responsible values must be modeled, day after day, in home after home. And here’s what I find really scary, Mom ... Most of us think we're doing exactly that, but, all too often, we're not. *Our present set of values has been undermining the strength of our nation, which depends upon balance, for at least fifty years. (A detailed account about that, later.)
In fact, while you and I sit swinging, side by side, feeling secure… we worry about terrorists, while, in truth, our nation is steadily self-destructing from within. When I think about leadership creating Homeland Security, I see the need for family leaders to learn how to set egos aside in hopes of establishing a sense of emotional security for each child by role modeling solid values in home after home. A child's role models must recognize where they are NOT setting a high value on honesty, self control, mutual respect, and generosity of spirit toward each family member.
*I see the family as a microcosm of society at large. Children who are inspired to develop a deep sense of respect for each other, while resolving conflicts at home, transfer that skill to resolving conflicts, which are bound to arise, as one culture connects with the next. In short, conflicting needs continue to clash until differences are thoughtfully and compassionately worked out. Reality suggests that as issues, due to cultural differences, arise, assimilation demands astute thinking, listening and speaking skills on both sides. As change takes time and education, minds on both sides must open to the necessity of ironing out misperceptions as well as corruption, which arise for this classic reason: *Human nature has two sides! Any process of assimilating patterns of thought requires more time and patience than emotional reactiveness allows. *It's imperative to note that the same problems arise with each culture that emigrates to another nation ... Jewish immigrants worked in the garment industry sweat shops of N.Y. Irish maids scrubbed the floors in Boston. Russian chemists flipped burgers at Mc Donald's. Hispanic parents work hard to offer their children a step up from poverty ... Beginning with immigrants dominating Native American's, one power will deny the powers of another—just as one tribe enslaved another before pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Before African Americans were enslaved. One glance through history, which whisks us into today shows the classic nature of man's inhumanity to man ... woman's to woman ... and if you've not yet read the series of posts, entitled, BULLY FOR ME, you might want to scroll back to see why I say there's nothing new about bullying, which continues to terrorize the minds of children in our schools, today.
Something inside me shudders when I hear people say that as long as our leaders lead our nation well, it doesn't matter if they cheat and lie to loved ones at home. That seems naive to me for this reason: *Why would we expect those, who gratify self absorbed needs by lying to and cheating on loved ones to to be above lying to and cheating on us? *Living up to high principled values starts at home, my friends.
How often do we react as blindly as scared-silly sheep, following the leader of a herd, who is stubbornly stampeding toward the edge of a cliff ...?
*Seriously, leadership, on every level preaches a good game while, in truth, we're placing blinders over green-eyed envy or greed, while lusting after immediate gratification. *It's amazing how swiftly the tides of solid, high principled values can hollow out and collapse, thus allowing sordid values to slip in and blow themselves up, like balloons, easily pricked with a pin. And if you ask, Annie, how do changes like this take place within high principled minds, I'd respond with that one word, which you may be sick of 'hearing' by now:
Denial.
*In order for a high minded person to lie to you, a slippery ego must, first, lie to oneself. Ass nary a person, who stands before you, is born without an ego, that makes me ask: Do you know when your ego slips out to do your thinking, listening and speaking? Do you know how your defense mechanisms try to cover your tracks after you meet your needs in manipulative ways? Do you know that the ego is especially slippery at those times when the truth weighs too heavy to bear? Or when the truth feels too sordid to bare? Do you know when your ego employs it's army of defense mechanisms to build a shield, which layers up, over time, until we can't feel compassion for those we've betrayed? Do you know the reason why you can't hear how clearly another expresses his needs? Have you checked to see whether your ears have been closed by thick skin, which has callused up? If you believe that people (children) cry, rant, rail, rebel or depress for no good reason then you are sadly misleading yourself. People of all ages cry, rant, rail, rebel, or depress when a barrage of confusion, frustration, and mixed messaged tension—all of which accompanies every clash of needs—whether cultural or within your home—is in need of lucid thinking/listening/speaking skills. I mean, whom do we expect our children to emulate when social skills at home grow—lax ... ?
Today, we've reached the point in that classic cycle where our value of big bucks has stepped on the toes of too many have-nots with utter disregard for brotherhood, which breeds compassion for the downtrodden. Rather than honoring teachers, police, firemen, and nurses, we worship sports heroes, rock stars, rich dudes, designer duds, bags, shoes, fast foods and fast fixes. Athletic arenas, Maxi-theaters and shopping malls are our houses of worship. And on those rare occasions when we leave the mall and venture into the park, longing for a peaceful place to commune with nature, we fear getting mugged.
So here’s my point: High principled values can’t be taught. Responsible values must be modeled, day after day, in home after home. And here’s what I find really scary, Mom ... Most of us think we're doing exactly that, but, all too often, we're not. *Our present set of values has been undermining the strength of our nation, which depends upon balance, for at least fifty years. (A detailed account about that, later.)
In fact, while you and I sit swinging, side by side, feeling secure… we worry about terrorists, while, in truth, our nation is steadily self-destructing from within. When I think about leadership creating Homeland Security, I see the need for family leaders to learn how to set egos aside in hopes of establishing a sense of emotional security for each child by role modeling solid values in home after home. A child's role models must recognize where they are NOT setting a high value on honesty, self control, mutual respect, and generosity of spirit toward each family member.
*I see the family as a microcosm of society at large. Children who are inspired to develop a deep sense of respect for each other, while resolving conflicts at home, transfer that skill to resolving conflicts, which are bound to arise, as one culture connects with the next. In short, conflicting needs continue to clash until differences are thoughtfully and compassionately worked out. Reality suggests that as issues, due to cultural differences, arise, assimilation demands astute thinking, listening and speaking skills on both sides. As change takes time and education, minds on both sides must open to the necessity of ironing out misperceptions as well as corruption, which arise for this classic reason: *Human nature has two sides! Any process of assimilating patterns of thought requires more time and patience than emotional reactiveness allows. *It's imperative to note that the same problems arise with each culture that emigrates to another nation ... Jewish immigrants worked in the garment industry sweat shops of N.Y. Irish maids scrubbed the floors in Boston. Russian chemists flipped burgers at Mc Donald's. Hispanic parents work hard to offer their children a step up from poverty ... Beginning with immigrants dominating Native American's, one power will deny the powers of another—just as one tribe enslaved another before pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Before African Americans were enslaved. One glance through history, which whisks us into today shows the classic nature of man's inhumanity to man ... woman's to woman ... and if you've not yet read the series of posts, entitled, BULLY FOR ME, you might want to scroll back to see why I say there's nothing new about bullying, which continues to terrorize the minds of children in our schools, today.
Something inside me shudders when I hear people say that as long as our leaders lead our nation well, it doesn't matter if they cheat and lie to loved ones at home. That seems naive to me for this reason: *Why would we expect those, who gratify self absorbed needs by lying to and cheating on loved ones to to be above lying to and cheating on us? *Living up to high principled values starts at home, my friends.
How often do we react as blindly as scared-silly sheep, following the leader of a herd, who is stubbornly stampeding toward the edge of a cliff ...?
*Seriously, leadership, on every level preaches a good game while, in truth, we're placing blinders over green-eyed envy or greed, while lusting after immediate gratification. *It's amazing how swiftly the tides of solid, high principled values can hollow out and collapse, thus allowing sordid values to slip in and blow themselves up, like balloons, easily pricked with a pin. And if you ask, Annie, how do changes like this take place within high principled minds, I'd respond with that one word, which you may be sick of 'hearing' by now:
Denial.
*In order for a high minded person to lie to you, a slippery ego must, first, lie to oneself. Ass nary a person, who stands before you, is born without an ego, that makes me ask: Do you know when your ego slips out to do your thinking, listening and speaking? Do you know how your defense mechanisms try to cover your tracks after you meet your needs in manipulative ways? Do you know that the ego is especially slippery at those times when the truth weighs too heavy to bear? Or when the truth feels too sordid to bare? Do you know when your ego employs it's army of defense mechanisms to build a shield, which layers up, over time, until we can't feel compassion for those we've betrayed? Do you know the reason why you can't hear how clearly another expresses his needs? Have you checked to see whether your ears have been closed by thick skin, which has callused up? If you believe that people (children) cry, rant, rail, rebel or depress for no good reason then you are sadly misleading yourself. People of all ages cry, rant, rail, rebel, or depress when a barrage of confusion, frustration, and mixed messaged tension—all of which accompanies every clash of needs—whether cultural or within your home—is in need of lucid thinking/listening/speaking skills. I mean, whom do we expect our children to emulate when social skills at home grow—lax ... ?
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