Wow. I saw the one I posted and assumed there were many more. I've wondered lately what the point of blitz-posting is. Are the people who do it really trying to get out a message and do us all a favor, or is it a form of self promotion?
I lean toward the latter. Liz -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of ornamentalmind Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 9:17 PM To: Memphis Freethought Alliance Subject: Re: OVER 30 YEARS OF RISING DESPOTISM IN AMERICA 37 groups, 92 messages. :-| On Nov 24, 6:21 pm, "Liz Purkrabek" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://www.afrochat.net/forums/politics-activism/20720-over-30-years-... > despotism-america.html > > He's a chain poster. > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Morpheal > Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 7:49 PM > To: Memphis Freethought Alliance > Subject: OVER 30 YEARS OF RISING DESPOTISM IN AMERICA > > OVER 30 YEARS OF RISING DESPOTISM IN AMERICA > > A good leader always strives to make it possible for others to exceed > the leader's own self, to the maximum of their abilities. This is as > true in politics as it is in education. A good teacher always strives > to have the students excel beyond the teacher's own abilities and > knowledge. > > This is the opposite of despotism. Despotism strives instead to > prevent anyone rising up and exceeding its leadership. Despotism is > often clever in its using isolated instances, examples, that appear to > excel, to evade criticism of what it is itself guilty of. That is the > obstructing of excellence. A very few are chosen and made into > examples, as if anyone can achieve the same, when in fact despotism > stops all others dead in their every effort. That tokenism obscures > the fact of despotism, and that despotism often remains undetected and > unchallenged. > > The dangers of despotism in leadership, particularly prevalent in > insecure leadership uncertain of itself, in any enterprise, in > politics, wherever leadership is necessary, are a continual threat to > real progress. It favors mediocrity, resignation to despair, and > defeatism. It uses the modern psychological tricks represented by > catch phrases such as "let it go", "finish" with it, and "give it up" > as if that is the healthy choice. The very definition of health, > under despotism, changes from favoring exceptional accomplishment to > one favoring acceptance of defeat. The very meaning of realistic, and > in touch with reality, changes. Wisdom becomes the wisdom of not > trying to excel, and not trying to accomplish the exceptional, > nurturing only the idea that it cannot be done, and that it is foolish > to make the attempt. This becomes a socially engineered pattern, > prevailing in society, under despotism. Psychology, social > engineering, and medicine become the handmaidens of despotism. > > The human potential movement of the 1960s has largely perished, and > what remains of it has been radically, albeit negatively, transformed. > It has been constrained by despotism because it was a movement among > the scientists applying the new psychological and sociological > knowledge in a way that does not favor despotism. Despotism > annihilated that movement as readily as it annihilated most of > political activism and drove it completely underground. Even > demonstrations under a despotic regime differ in character and purpose > to those not constrained and manipulated by despotism, but again token > protests and demonstrations are certainly part of the smoke and > mirrors act that despotism so cleverly conceals itself behind. If you > know the history, and are old enough to remember it, or have studied > its largely discredited and banned writings, you know how it has > changed. Those remaining radicals and activists, who knew the 1960s > and early 1970s in America, know how it has changed and we must > resurrect their voices, wisdom, and experience. Those who knew the > human potential movement then, need to give voice to what happened to > that incredibly insightful and powerful force for positive change. > Those who knew the world of science and invention then, need to come > forward as to how that too has changed, because the changes were not > for the better. Despotism has prevailed in every area, and the truth > has fallen victim to that despotism. Cultural workers, artists, > playwrights, poets in particular, need to be heard as to what > despotism has done to them. > > There is nothing right, moral or true about having the power to make > others fail, to prove yourself right. That too is despotism. That is > as true in the cultural sphere, as it is in the political sphere, and > certainly in the economic sphere. Disguised as normal competition, > despotism remains more often undiscerned and unchallenged. Despotism > uses "competition", redefining it across a span of time, for its own > purpose. When negative changes come across a longer span of time > people fail to notice, fail to respond, and tend to accept, often > failing to remember how it was. That failure is a tool of despotism. > That is why despotism also favors ageism. The memories, wisdom, > experiences, of elders are discredited in favor of youth. Despotism > triumphs when its handmaidens of psychology and social engineering > enforce ageist principles and destroy respect and consideration among > youth for those who have been in this world long enough to know the > difference between despotism and true human freedoms. Despotism > triumphs among naive ignorance, not among experienced wisdom, but it > knows how to silence and discredit that experience and wisdom. That is > part of its weaponry of attack. > > Creativity , innovation, invention, social, economic, cultural, > political, individual and particularly collective progress cannot > truly and genuinely thrive under despotism. Despotism divides and > conquers against collectivism enforcing a solipsist, narcisist, self > involvement as the primary focus of the individual's cultural, and > socio-political existence. This is also promoted as a new standard of > health, and reflects in the cultural products and their means of > production, most strongly. Often the problem of money is interposed as > the rational for this phenomenon, but despotism knows how to decrease > the means, increase the cost and put a price tag on everything, to > prevent itself from being challenged by those who are trying to rise > up, and to achieve. Alone they have little, or at best much less, > chance. Collectivism is made too expensive. Cooperation is nearly > unheard of. Only those chosen as examples, as tokens, and having more > fiscal means, can buy that cooperation, and that too is part of the > illusion that despotism hides behind. In the 1960s and early 1970s > that was not how it was. There were far greater chances for > cooperation and collectivism as an alternative without a high price > imposed by despotism. Times have changed and despotism is counting its > triumphs against humanity. > > Despotism also does something else worthy of note. It is often first > to place an irrational idea, an unreasonable principle, that must be > unquestioningly upheld, above all else. It often attempts to vindicate > by a twisted, anxiety producing, highly conflicted, variant of > religion. Its illegitimacy in that regard is scarce questioned because > it requires immense expertise in order to discern the difference and > to challenge what is happening. Despotism uses the powerful concepts > of "spirituality", "faith", "belief", "trust", "grace", "salvation", > and "god" in new ways, for its own political purpose. Despotism would > have been considered the devil, but now it is a pretender to being god > and that blasphemy, if you are religiously minded gradually tends to > hold sway. Those concepts become the irrational justifications for all > manner of despotic oppression, and are increasingly accepted by many, > who lack the discernment. Again the expertise is coopted to being > handmaidens of despotism. Psychology, sociology, social engineering, > medicine, become coopted in support of the redefining of what we might > term the "spiritual" dimension of life. The despotic destruction of > other purposes, goals, achievements, attempts at succeeding, in any > sphere of life become subordinated to a false spirituality, a false > religion, which is made increasingly convincing of its "rightness". > The very word "right" and "religion" become concatenated under > despotism. The ability to question effectively and to act outside of > that constraint of unquestioning irrational belief as a necessary, > sometimes made into a sufficient, condition for imposed mediocrity to > triumph, becomes completely destroyed under despotism. Even the > experts are silenced on that subject. They are neither promoted, nor > discussed openly. They are pushed down and ignored as being ignorant > themselves, as a result of despotism. > > I myself studied the world's religions,.and its philosophies, eastern > and western, more than 25 years ago, and I know how it has changed. I > read the radicals, coming a little late, and having been a little too > young in the latter half of the 1960s, but I remember the atmosphere, > and what went on. I remember how things were done. I read the accounts > of others. I know the difference. > Later I witnessed the effects of the worsening Cold War, and the > parallel rise of despotism in America, spilling over its borders, and > changing my own country of Canada, and its socio-political > environment, affecting its differing ideals, manipulating its culture, > simply as the wake, the spillover wash, of an overwhelming flood of > American despotism. We can scarce recognize ourselves, across the > border from America, being so affected by its despotism. We watch the > changes in America across a span of more than 30 years in largely > silenced horror, and most have fallen victim to resigned despair and > socio-political, even cultural, impotency in consequence of the tidal > wave crossing the borders from America and spilling across the whole > world. How much worse the effects of its own despotism, on America > itself. We are the witnesses of that too. We, who have lived through > that time, experienced it, and who remember the difference. > > Despotism has also persisted in using its failed economics, more often > deliberately failed, also becoming a form of social engineering and > manipulation, in shock waves of brutal ups and down cyclical economic > apocalypses, timed to destroy progress, and beak it down, > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Memphis Freethought Alliance" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/memphisfreethoughtalliance?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
