Replying to LO28960 --
Dear At,
You wrote about your encounter with a therapist friend who supported your
feelings that more individuals felt...
> ... pulled down into the dark
> depths of dispair by a scheming fellow human. Last week I had a dialogue
> with a young psychiatrist, drinking coffee until my ears sang, about this
> phenomenon. He had been experiencing the same encounters with patients
> since the beginning of 2002. I wonder whether any of you fellow learners
> are experiencing the same?
Just this morning I was listening to a radio program about the image of
the U.S. in the eyes of non-citizens overseas. While our group has trodden
this path a bit, I want to add that I in light of your question above, At,
I think I'm feeling pessimistic, at best.
Could it be, as we peel off the calendar pages of the new millennium, that
humankind has entered into the first stages of a physical overpopulation
crisis, and that the manifestations are not physical -- not an expression
of homo sapiens per square kilometer -- but rather in many other,
relatively intangible realms? For instance:
The vast majority of humans on the planet live in conditions quite
different from the vast majority of Americans. And today a significant
proportion of those living differently than many Americans have filtered
and unfiltered access to images of how Americans purportedly live their
lives. What some of these people perceive does not help homo sapiens'
future.
And the vast preponderance of Americans have never traveled over the seas,
have absolutely no tangible comprehension -- beyond pictures on a TV which
can be shut off -- of how these others live. I'm not speaking about the
people reading these words at this moment. I am talking about a fairly
large, enfranchised group of 'well-meaning' Americans who simply DO NOT
KNOW, and, I truly fear, WILL NEVER KNOW what gulf exists between relative
haves and have-nots. Tribalism, education, bigotry, philanthropy,
terrorism, Médecins Sans Frontières, megalomania, corruption, all swirl in
the same stew pot.
I believe that we are moving toward more chaos in an almost imperceptible
way. Further, I believe that no human being on this planet can predict the
outcome of our humankind's manifestations on this planet, which we have
the hubris (my personal opinion, of course) to believe belongs to us.
So, in a few words, the global malaise has its roots in a despair and
hopelessness which ranges from the overt to something which until very
recently could have been deemed asymptomatic global behavior.
'Nuf said.
Warm regards to all during a beautiful mid-summer day which, no matter
what, fills my heart.
Barry
-- Barry Mallis The Organizational Trainer 110 Arch St., #27 Keene, NH 03431-2167 USA voice: 603 352-5289 FAX: 603 357-2157 cell: 603 313-3636 email: theorgtrainer@earthlink.netLearning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <Richard@Karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>
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