Learning, was "Hurting" LO18943

Douglas Max (dmax@bellatlantic.net)
Mon, 24 Aug 1998 08:50:06 -0400

Replying to LO18926 --

Doc says,"Other peoples are not like our children" and "Our global
community does need to learn to get along, with or without trust. But, we
can't make people listen. We can't give them money to further our
motives."

I'm not sure that the model of your community (a model community and not a
model community!) and your description of the relations that exist
necessarily undermines the thought that we should treat others as we'd
treat our children. Admittedly, other peoples are not our children...and
no, we can't make other people listen...but we can fill the "airways" with
positive models.

The approach of dealing with others as we do our children, for me anyway,
presents a model that I can work with, because I live with it. All you
described about your community is reflected (more moderately) in the
relations I see at home. My boys don't share, one slaps the other, they
get into hysterics (well they've got an excuse being only 2 & 4).

You've got zealots, pedophiles, racists in your community and you do what
I've done...you make rules to make sure everyone "gets along" because you
can't make them listen.

Did I think that giving the terrorists cash instead of cruise missle
attacks was really the answer? No. But then, I appreciate a good
dialectic! Can't really start one by staying in the middle. I hope that
the answer(s) can be found somewhere between focusing on others as our
children and focusing on others as simply, and completely others.

To paraphrase Jesus, "love thy neighbors as thyself...and thy children."
No, I'm not a religious zealot, but the golden rule isn't a bad place to
start operationalizing answers, n'est c'est pas?

Doug Max

-- 

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