We asked for signs
The signs were sent
The birth betrayed
The marriage spent
The widowhood of every government
Signs for all to see
I can't run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud
But they've summoned up a thundercloud
They're going to hear from me.
-Leonard Cohen
I know a guy who's all for the War on Terror. He's for the invasion of Iraq. He supports Bush, and doesn't concede much at all to those who question all of the above.
I know a guy who's been hurt by folks who went overboard trying to address other people's hurts, and resents his deeply gored ox.
I know a guy who hasn't yet found out that the tiny pain that anyone feels is echoed through all of humanity for all ages, in some cases amplified beyond endurance. I know a guy who intellectually understands the First Noble Truth, but has no familiarity with the marrow of his bones. Many folks of course, don't even get the intellectual part of the First Noble Truth. How do we reach them?
"Truly words cannot open another's mind," wrote Wu-men centuries ago.
We have to understand that the folks on the other side hurt, and hurt deeply. This does not mean that we should be silent in the face of their resentment and fear; but it does mean that we have to be skillful. We have to work hard, but in the end, the transcendence of resentment will always prevail.
There is far, far to much at stake in this country, and for our families to let the national pooch be screwed because a bunch of resentful folks - resentful at the failures in their personal life- project that hate and resentment onto anyone who questions the status quo.
1 comment:
Richard, I respectfully, and categorically disagree.
Religion, as I understand it, is not simply "for your feelings," it should rather be a way to induce better behavior from one's self.
The "cash value" of a philosphy is the results it brings; these can be measured by various ways (such as opportunities seized and declined to act one way or another).
What is a "sound policy prescription?" I would say one that establishes, maintains, and enhances the commonweal.
This, my friend, is why right-wing policies inevitably fail by scandal or repression: the basic conservative position is that there is no such thing as a "commonweal," it's everyone for himself. It also explains why some left-wing and liberal policies fail too: everyone has a responsibility in society. Welfare (and workfare) programs designed to keep some employed did not really provide much means for welfare recepients to actually become prosperous by their own efforts.
We know that the earliest country with successful social programs and tolerance of belief was Ashoka's kingdom.
Would that conservatives harken back to such enlightened times.
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