Competition LO17992

Roxanne Abbas (rabbas@comp-web.com)
Tue, 5 May 1998 07:09:48 -0500

Replying to LO17933 --

Rol says:

>Isn't part of the issue simply that competition is not always avoidable?
>If different groups have different beliefs about something, and they both
>feel strongly, and they cannot resolve the difference, then it appears
>that win-lose is inevitable at least some of the time.

And,

>My limited experience in this arena is that it requires a certain amount
>of time and energy to be invested in competition before the protagonists
>are prepared to try a different approach, and it may never happen.
>Ireland, South Africa, Israel all pop to mind as examples of 30-50 years
>of strife in preparation for a tentative rapprochement.

Rol, I'm not ready to concede that competition is unavoidable. I want all
the combatants in war zones around the world to keep trying to understand
each others' perspectives and seeking a way to live cooperatively.

I recently met an attorney who had dropped out of her big name law firm.
She described litigation as warfare and living in this constant battle
zone had driven her into alcoholism. She now works primarily as a
mediator and is again happy, healthy and dry. We each make decisions on a
day to day basis, whether or not to treat each other with kindness and
respect, whether to strive to bring peace or continue the strife. I have
chosen my path and though it's sometimes lonely and often easy to slip off
and fall into the way of the world around me, I intend to keep plodding
along.

Best regards,

Roxanne

Roxanne Abbas
mailto:rabbas@comp-web.com
http://www.comp-web.com

-- 

Roxanne Abbas <rabbas@comp-web.com>

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