---------------------------

George:

“Presuming there may be more to this than the usual "we can't afford it & we don't have the people to do it", i wonder why there isn't any followup on (& fellowship with) people who show interest in "the movement."

In spite of my writing ability & presence on boards like these for some time, i've never gotten much impression of being welcomed into anything (i do thank those people who have responded constructively to my posts). For the most part it all seems about as cold & alienating as anything else in America.

Maybe i expect too much from the Internet.

Maybe we could use fewer analytical articles on foreign policy & more getting down to connect with other people on a personal level, building community.

Just some random thoughts on a rainy November night in New England.

-------------------------

Ned:

George, you could always send donations... ;-)

This is my experience with organized groups in North America: when you offer your help, the usual answer is: "give me your money, lick some stamps onto envelopes, march in the protests and shut up about policy" -- regardless of your abilities that could be best used to serve the cause.

Disappointing, isn't it?

--------------------------------

George:

I suppose i might realize that the Left only naturally suffers from the same blindness & alienation as the rest of the culture.

This is an issue i've addressed in some other posts, as you may recall. If we could take the plank out of our own eye we might see well enough to take the speck out of society's eye.

There was a moment back in the '60s when the political & the humanistic/psychotherapeutic/spiritual looked like they might merge & create a new synthesis, but for a variety of reasons that never happened. Maybe it can only occur on a personal, individual level.

Being able to see each other (& ourselves) as we are, in wisdom & compassion, is what's needed. I think many people, awarely or not, are seeking human connection, identity, meaning, not just concepts & causes, no matter how insightful & righteous.

The hunger is for much more than ideology, i would say: for a new world, & that, i believe, has to begin in ourselves.

"All the troubles of man derive from his inability to sit quietly alone in a room." Blaise Pascal

-----------------------------

Ned:

Part of the problem is the sad fact that 'idealism' became such a dirty word. It has been systematically sneered at by the popular culture for decades now.

"Don't be such a boy scout" -- an honest politician is jeered at by his colleagues, the same ones who tell their kids to listen to the scout master.

"Don't be such an impractical fool" -- a leftist leader is telling potential followers who want to know how to save up for retirement without feeding the banks.

It's everywhere, we are surrounded with it and permeated with it and there is no hope to get away from it, unless people rediscover idealism and develop a courage of their conviction.

We have to learn to tell 'right' from 'wrong' and reject the 'wrong' however tempting it might be and whatever 'right' we may be told justifies it.

We have to follow the same lofty principles we try to teach our children at home. As long as we don't, our children despise us for our hypocrisy and our rulers despise us for our stupidity and cowardice.”

[ November 19, 2002: Message edited by: Zatamon ]