Paul and Kenoli.........and all Here' what I'm seeing in your vibrant exhange
> "This is a nation that needs shocking. Most of what it gets is > pablum, protecting it from the realities that we face on this planet. We have indeed been shocked. And when one lives basically a life of ease and power (as we do in the West) it is all too easy and convenient to blind ourselves to our own role in creating suffering and injustice - both here and abroad. So opening ourselves up to our errors and arrogance is probably a good thing. > I think the truth is that we are not much better (or much worse) than other > countries. There are exceptions, of course, in both directions. But > until we can own the horrible (yes horrible) things we do in the > world we are going to keep doing them. It is out of a love for this > country that I want us to be able to see these things. > The thousands who come to American and Canadian shores think that conditions are better in USA and Canada. They perceive political and economic opportunities not possible at home. There has been a stream for several hundred years - "the voice of the feet of the people" in general toward more openness and freedom. And while original home conditions may be augmented by western powers, what is the role of their own culture and political systems? If we say it is ALL due to the "fault of the west", then we are actually totally disempowering them, or not acknowledging their role as responsible humans, with a role inc reating their own reality. So I think there is a disconnect in your statement above. Some values are better than others - the ones where compassion and dignity and respect are extended toward a broader and broader segment of humanity (and the planet!) Not just your own tribe or in-group. And when we can see more clearly the horrible things that we do (and we will probably continue to make errors - such being the nature of being human), then we can more skillfully help others to achieve peace and justice for themselves. Meg Salter MegaSpace Consulting 34 Eastbourne Ave. Toronto, Ont M5P 2E9 Canada 416/486-6660 meg.sal...@sympatico.ca www.megaspaceconsulting.com > >http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > > -- > Kenoli Oleari, Horizons of Change, http://www.horizonsofchange.com > 1801 Fairview Street, Berkeley, CA 94703 Voice Phone: 510-601-8217, > Fax: 510-595-8369, Email: ken...@igc.org (or click on: mailto://ken...@igc.org) > > * > * > ========================================================== > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu > ------------------------------ > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, > view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu, > Visit: > > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu, Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
