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Tag(s): Anger; Arrest; Children; Congress; Democratic; Depression; God; Healthcare; Impeachment; Iraq War Funding; (more...) Katrina; Laws; Love; Peace_War; People; Politicians; Positive Psychology And Optimal Function; Progressive Values - Issues (less...)
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March 3, 2008 at 08:10:28

Headlined on 3/3/08:
A Positive Agenda: Healthy or Unhealthy for the Progressive Cause?

by Kathryn Smith Page 2 of 2 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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Same thing in our current situation.

Our house is on fire, yet people are refusing to grab a hose. It's too crazy an endeavor to put out a raging fire. Just stand by and watch the house burn down (by refusing to impeach for fear of mudslinging and other "Uglies"), that's a "positive agenda" for you. (NOT!)

By that definition, I guess it's best we leave Iraqis to writhe on the ground all for lies, and to let our soldiers get their brains blown out. Better we should relive the Great Depression as war funding continues in the face of recession than to "Just say YES" to impeachment. Perhaps a nation of people should starve during a renewed and updated Great Depression rather than sling mud around, in public. It would seem to be preferable at this point to let civil liberties trickle through our fingers than to cause a stir. After all, warrantless arrests without probable cause are much more "positive" than impeaching a President who breaks more than 900 laws, withholds healthcare from children, abandons Katrina victims to die, creates a 9-11, and and and....because you see, impeachment is an ugly thing. It's a form of mudslinging in a way, isn't it. And that just isn't "nice".

Yet look at all the uglies, far worse and more warped and more maimed, which are the offshoot of the rejection of "The Uglies" from within and in the world around us. If boundaries are rejected as one form of "The Uglies", then "The Uglies" will surely grow into giants far greater in stature and perhas ten times more ugly than before.

Is this blockading of impeachment to spare us all from "The Uglies" a positive agenda? Methinks not. Time for some among the Progressive cross-sector to reconsider their "positivity".

As before, boundaries are a form of love. Sometimes the single most beautiful and good thing we can do is to stop evil when it is happening.

It's called the Michaelic principle: The Archangel Michael wields the sword of truth. That's the work of angels for you. Postive. For the good. Because, as they say, "pretty is as pretty does". And sometimes, even the work of angels----great archangels---ain't that pretty, even if what it *ultimately* does is for the general good. They fight with the sword, and they slay the dragon, which involves bloodshed, albeit with a sword of truth and goodness (which according to the heroic Michaelic image, can indeed be fierce sometimes!)

Lucifer, the great patron of the arts and of love and beauty, not coincidentally known as "The Light Bearer", is also the bearer of false light in the sense that his light fosters illusion. You know, a sort of la-la land of eternal peace and beauty. It is illusion to think that gentleness at all times is truly the way of God (however you prefer to define God in your own mind). As before, sometimes the greatest evils are committed by the silence of good people. That is the trap which Lucifer lays for us, if we fall into it. In the name of love and light, we neglect our duties to promote the work of love and light among people. Because sometimes that work for light and goodness involves fierceness. But with our left and right brains both at work, we can side-step Lucifer's trap of deception and not be misled by "The Pretties". We can wield the sword of truth and fight the sometimes necessary battles. It's the outcome of the sometimes necessary battle which is for the general good, and that outcome is the truest spiritual beauty of all. It also is the true Beauty which offers the most inner rewards. Morality upheld, love protected, and Peace to all. Now *that* is what I call a "positive agenda".

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6 comments

A writer is a rogue goose. All other gees fly in a flock formation; every goose knows his place and time for honking. The rogue goose is undisciplined. He leaves the formation indiscriminately to have a look at it from aside. He roams back and forth, takes a peep at the leader, honks a little bit from behind, distracts everyone and writes on what he sees. Time passes and as he wants to return back to his place he discovers someone else there. Thus he either has to wait until they land for rest...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Mark SashineA writer is a rogue goose. All other gees fly in a flock formation; every goose knows his place and time for honking. The rogue goose is undisciplined. He leaves the formation indiscriminately to have a look at it from aside. He roams back and forth, takes a peep at the leader, honks a little bit from behind, distracts everyone and writes on what he sees. Time passes and as he wants to return back to his place he discovers someone else there. Thus he either has to wait until they land for rest...

to see more of bio, click on member name

And... no comments. right?

Kathryn, it was a very good article and maybe you should read some of mine too: I shouted the same for 5 years. Read at least my article on honor.... Not a single comment there. People like to feel good. It is the mightiest drug of all. This culture survived on spiritual blindness and .. Jesus, USA.

But my father just called me and said that in the Bible Jesus wanted fruit from the fig tree and there were none, so he got angry and said,' Oh, you dry out!'. And the tree died and the author of the Bible comments,' But it was too early for the figs to ripen, that's all'.

The Bible was honest and Jesus was honest and we here are not.

That's why there will be no comments on this one.

by Mark Sashine (50 articles, 19 quicklinks, 242 diaries, 3435 comments) on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 8:52:45 AM

Hello friends
I have decided to take a break from political writing for a while and have disconnected my email address correlated with Opednews. If any of you send me a message to my Opednews box and I do not respond, I am not ignoring you: The message simply is not getting through to me because of my disconnected email at home. Thank you and best wishes, Kathryn Smith

This quote summarizes the nature of my concerns and the content of personal experiences which stir my activis...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Kathryn SmithHello friends
I have decided to take a break from political writing for a while and have disconnected my email address correlated with Opednews. If any of you send me a message to my Opednews box and I do not respond, I am not ignoring you: The message simply is not getting through to me because of my disconnected email at home. Thank you and best wishes, Kathryn Smith

This quote summarizes the nature of my concerns and the content of personal experiences which stir my activis...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Thanks and well said, Mark!

"People like to feel good. It is the mightiest drug of all. This culture survived on spiritual blindness and .. Jesus, USA. "

I could never have said it any better. The mightiest drug of all. Wow. So accurate.

I would hope to see lots of comments and lots of articles. I sure hope I didn't sound like I was saying that I am the only one here with anything to say about this. If so it was not my intent. Please keep those comments coming! I will be very interested to read everybody's insights and suggestions. Thank you! And yes, Mark, I would love to see your articles about this. Best wishes, Kathryn

by Kathryn Smith (93 articles, 2 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 361 comments) on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 10:32:33 AM

Please help me to get this on the public radar!

Dear readers and friends:

In fact, I want to add a ps to my last message. A very important one.

Please help me to get this "positive" agenda business on the public radar. Again I agree that positivity is needed right now, but there also comes a point that it tips us back the other way and does us harm.

It would be the coolest thing in the world if people were to write more and more about this here on Opednews and in letters to the editor, on an on-going basis. And may I suggest that Mark's point about the blindness of our addiction to perfection/righteousness is a key point to discuss. How good it feels to think we are so pure. But we're not. In fact, that's when the greatest darkness is enabled. Oh god.

Thank you all for your help. I really do appreciate it. I really hope you will all continue to rebut the negatives about the "positive agenda" while touting the positives. Thank you again. ---Kathryn

by Kathryn Smith (93 articles, 2 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 361 comments) on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 10:41:52 AM

I just republished this, lets' stir the possum:)

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mark_sas_080302_i_am_talking_with_co.htm

by Mark Sashine (50 articles, 19 quicklinks, 242 diaries, 3435 comments) on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 1:15:14 PM

Barbara H. Peterson is retired from the California Department of Corrections, where she worked as a Correctional Officer at Folsom Prison. She was one of the first females to work at the facility in this classification. After retirement, she went to college online to obtain a Bachelor's degree in Business, and graduated with honors.

The most valuable thing she received from her time with UOP was a realization that her life's passion is writing. Now her business degree sits in her d...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Barbara PetersonBarbara H. Peterson is retired from the California Department of Corrections, where she worked as a Correctional Officer at Folsom Prison. She was one of the first females to work at the facility in this classification. After retirement, she went to college online to obtain a Bachelor's degree in Business, and graduated with honors.

The most valuable thing she received from her time with UOP was a realization that her life's passion is writing. Now her business degree sits in her d...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Perfection/righteousness

Hi Kathryn,

You wrote:

It would be the coolest thing in the world if people were to write more and more about this here on Opednews and in letters to the editor, on an on-going basis. And may I suggest that Mark's point about the blindness of our addiction to perfection/righteousness is a key point to discuss. How good it feels to think we are so pure. But we're not. In fact, that's when the greatest darkness is enabled. Oh god.

I was taking care of the animals the other day when this thought popped up in my head: "It is the imperfections that create the beauty in what we see." Perfection is misunderstood to mean equal, or exactly the same. This could not be further from the truth. It is the imperfections that make the uniqueness in everything and everyone, thereby displaying the beauty of the individual. To be beautiful, the imperfections must do their work to carve out perfection in a unique manifestation.

So, if we are blindly following a "so called" path to perfection while disdaining anything imperfect, we are in fact, disdaining the very path by which perfection is attained. That is when we think we are on the "good path," which only leads to destruction.

We just don't get it. Instead of embracing the imperfect and realizing its value, we try to eradicate it and replace it with things like genetically modified organisms, and wonder why the destruction is so complete; but that's another story...

by Barbara Peterson (46 articles, 80 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 416 comments) on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 3:14:01 PM

Left of liberal, technology marketing communications specialist, living the 21st Century American Dream: kids, mortgage, and strapped most of the time. Trying to raise my kids to be kind, thoughtful and full of wonder in a world determined to turn them into self-doubting consumer-citizens. But endlessly hopeful, regardless.

I built www.changany1thing.com because I know there are a lot of other concerned people who like what modern life offers, if only we could change a thing or t...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Eric HellerLeft of liberal, technology marketing communications specialist, living the 21st Century American Dream: kids, mortgage, and strapped most of the time. Trying to raise my kids to be kind, thoughtful and full of wonder in a world determined to turn them into self-doubting consumer-citizens. But endlessly hopeful, regardless.

I built www.changany1thing.com because I know there are a lot of other concerned people who like what modern life offers, if only we could change a thing or t...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Maybe they're trusting electoral-based change

What an impassioned and deeply felt post....I too share your concern about the apparent ambivalence - at best - towards what can only be described as a criminal regime. Having a 20% approval rating doesn’t come close to addressing what ought to be outright anger spilling into the streets…but then again even I’m not in the streets. And I’m as impassioned about this stuff as anyone, trust me.

Obviously there are many possible reasons for this and too much to cover in a comment, let alone in a well written post like yours. I guess we can’t forget that we’re living in a time of "amusing ourselves to death" as Neil Postman so accurately wrote....twenty five years ago, even before 500 channels and the rest of the infotainment madness. At the same time we’re also “working ourselves to death” too. I mean, after a twelve hour day of work/commuting/stress, do I really have the energy to start marching in the streets? I just want to pick up my kids at daycare and spend some time with my family, if I remember what they look like.

But at the same time, I’m sure you agree that we are without question entering some kind of new politically progressive era. I've got my own blog which is dedicated to the idea of progressive change so this is near and dear to my heart (and mind). Right now I think many Americans are just exhausted by seven years of Bush and have decided to wait for him to just go away. In other words, my guess is that right now, the thought is to "vote the bums out of office" and trust electoral politics.

Is that the sound of “we won’t get fooled again”? Because of course taking this path, we will be fooled again. The parties are in the pockets of the real political/economic force that's unchecked by any check and balance and that's corporate power. But in general Americans are conservative by nature – I don’t mean conservative in the right-wing sense but in the “social change” sense. When they get going watch out (1960s, 1900s, 1860s...), but for the most part, our laws and culture really do put up roadblocks to change. It’s a slow process, alas!

Eric
--
www.changeany1thing.com

by Eric Heller (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 2:40:21 PM