fairness is not a myth

Socrates believed that in order to know the world, or understand the world, we must first know ourselves. The path to knowing yourself began, thought Socrates, with rational thought.
Socrates thought that our emotions and our desires dwell in the irrational part of our being. He believed our physical senses ruled the irrational part while the rational part was governed by our true selves(our rational thought), which consisted of both the irrational and rational.

Decartes on the other hand believed that reason alone determined knowledge and this could be done apart from the senses. Many other philosophers spent long hours writing about rationalism, empiricism and naturalism in terms of man's identity, which was also wrapped up in the concept of God and the soul. Today philosopher's still struggle with man's identity and its relation to humanity in general.

Having only a rudimentary self taught take on past philosopher's views, i tend towards believing that we are a puzzle of perceptions, emotions, desires, physical senses, and rational thought that blend together to make us distinct but part of a set of circumstances that make it imperative that we learn how to navigate and exist amongst affiliated human beings. i believe we are all distinct but we still have shared elements of the above making us part of what we call humanity and that melting pot of commonalities we all share.

A simple commonality is our sense of fairness.

The idea of fairness may be instinctual in all of us. Notice i said "may" because this is a great area for disagreement. Some might cry that my statement is an irrelevant abstraction of the "real world." That instinct plays no role, but i would beg to differ. We do recognize when one is being treated unfairly by another. The fact that we don't always choose to act against the unfairness does not mean we haven't recognized it. We do recognize the injustice or unfairness but our options, or our "perceived" options, sometimes outweigh our actions.

i think we can all agree that life isn't fair.

Some of us wind up far more advanced in the game of life for the simple reason that we were born privileged.

We are advantaged from birth and that doesn't make life fair at the get go.

Recognizing the advantage we have can lead some to give back to those whose circumstances are less than perfect. Recognizing the advantage we can fight to create environments where the less powerful are given a voice. Recognizing the advantage we can actualize scenarios where we choose not to take actions based upon our superior position.

We can choose to let the disadvantaged "win".

Every day there are stories of horror and hope.

One man's tragedy becomes another man's reason for carrying the torch of peace.

A man who came of age in an occupied territory(Gaza), a man who spent time in jail, a man who used violence thinking it would achieve his goal, a man who has lost his daughter to violence, has revised his course through life and taken on the mantel of dialog instead of violence.

He has turned the other cheek.

He has asked all on the other side to look first at those they kill. Look first at them and understand their humanity. Understand how alike we all are. Understand that killing is not the answer.

Our enemy image in order to have a society is based upon myth. It is an ugly, mammoth myth, perpetrated by those seeking power. It has poisoned society for millenniums. We will fight, scratch and go mad, just to survive, is the myth.

The real story, that of fairness, continues to be buried. We can resurrect the story, we can detail its continued success throughout history. We can encourage all to speak about all the instances of fairness that occur on a daily basis.

Because Fairness is not a myth.

Check out this YouTube on Fairness
The Evolution of Fairness

food factories working overtime

According to my calendar and probably yours it is March. Typically in those areas north of the equator March means the beginning of Spring. Spring is a time for better things to come, of growth and renewal, longer days, and the beginnings of the warming trend that extends through the Summer.
Spring is the time to put things together and start the new planting with the extra daylight we all get to enjoy.

Autumn, in the Northern Hemisphere, is the opposite of Spring. Autumn usually starts in September and is the time of year that is associated with a cooling trend as we move out of summer and into winter. Autumn is a time when food, that has finally ripened, can be harvested, trees loose their leaves and the days start to get shorter.

We have both seasons occurring at once here in the islands, Autumn and Spring work together in the month of March. During March the rains stop and the land begins to dry out. Bright red, yellow and orange clusters of leaves flutter through the air whenever a light wind blows, festooning the island with carpets of brightly colored dried crunchy leaves. i love stepping on them this time of year.

While the leaves drop you can find locals picking guavas, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, bananas, eggplant and other fruit and vegetables that make their way to market.

As this is going on, new seeds are being planted by the winds, bats, birds and farmers. Bees and hummingbirds are buzzing around looking for something to pollinate. Everywhere you can see new growth, shoots poking their stems up through the earth, flowers blossoming on trees, all things rejuvenating and rejoining in a burst of new growth.

Change can happen...just look at how Autumn and Spring, so different further north work together here. Neither dominates. Autumn strips us bare and spring clothes us but here we can do both at once and find ways to compromise.

When the notion is self over everything else we thrust upon ourselves situations that do not transfer out into civilization. Working on how to help yourself, how to meditate, how to practice mindfulness, how to get ahead in your profession does not do anything for the greater good. It might help you feel better about yourself but how does it help move civilization forward? How do you get beyond the self and on to making the world a better place for everyone?

Well Autumn and Spring working together is an indication in nature that even opposites can and will find ways to join together to create a better environment.

They don't have to go it alone.

They are equal because no two things can be more equal.

We human beings are equal too...we can work together...we can make the world a better place......we just don't always understand this.

where do you live?

This speaker had a stroke. Her name is Jill Bolte Taylor and she is a neuroanatomist, one who studies the brain. While she was having a stroke she realized what was happening and her story is most amazing.
The video is 18:44 minutes long and well worth every second.

waiting

It is harder for those who guide than for those who act. Those who guide must have patience while those who are supposed to act kick in to gear. Unrealistic expectations during conversation can happen in minds that become conjoined with discussion that never occurred in real life.

When the actual subject is brought up all those imaginary conversations that never happened come screaming back to life only to be dashed against the shore of a reality that never transpired. We all exist first in our minds then in reality. It is no wonder that mankind's reality is so different from what is in his mind.

i'm sitting next to an empty beach, an empty road when a fly buzzes past, noticed and recognized for an instant as the only thing besides oneself that is moving. The wind and sea are both calm. The cars occupant, me, waits and waits for the appointed time to arrive and then pass. A cloud moves and the sun shines through for a brief moment. A rumble starts up from behind, some kind of truck has gotten a flat tire. A dove coo's and headlights appear in the east. A car approaches carrying a friend who waves as he passes by my parked vehicle.

The waiting continues.

A pearly eyed thrasher jumps upon the garishly painted trash can. He looks in, looks around, shakes his head, looks around again and jumps in. Empty. No food and he flies out. Two young West Indian children, maybe ten or twelve years of age with a pit bull on a leash walk past the waiting car. They call out a greeting, "Good Morning" and pass on by.

Long minutes of life have ticked on by. Those minutes are in the past now. i'm still waiting for a friend who is late, who has failed to appear. i'm not bothered, the waiting has been productive. A new course of action will be taken. Swimming alone this morning may be the salvo that is needed at this juncture.

But alas, the wayward friend arrives. Swimming alone will not be.

We interact, we exchange pleasantries, we ready ourselves for the swim. The water is cold and it is hard to start out. We shrivel into ourselves, trying to warm our cores, knowing we are torturing our bodies by not submerging as quickly as possible, then we plunge and swim off.

The water is clear, a deep soothing blue, full of life. i ponder the waiting i had done and look for more life to surround me. The fish comply with my wish and school around me. The waiting was instructive i think to myself as i revel in the company of fish.

Chief Luther Standing Bear once said:

"I am going to venture that the man who sat on the ground in his tipi meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures, and acknowledging unity with the universe of things, was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization..."

We all wait for something but forget to stay involved with our surroundings while we wait. Noticing where you are is important to where you are going so consider why you are wasting that waiting time.

silence

We in the United States of America have been trained to refrain from discussing politics or religion. We recognize the need to communicate but we don't recognize the need to communicate about religion or politics in order to manage the world we live in. This failure to discuss the implications of our political and religious actions puts us at a disadvantage when those more powerful are manipulating huge populations.

Americans may want to consider breaking through the barriers of silence and make these discussions less uncomfortable. What happens when a nation is doing poorly? Could it be because of the barriers to discussion? When we don't discuss we find ourselves failing to cure what ails us? When we don't intervene does the illness continue to get worse?

Those that raise the taboo issues(by speaking out with friends in public about religion or politics) become designated the annoying mosquito that continues to buzz in your ear. They just won't go away. They just won't stop talking about the negatives. They won't let you return to that imaginary world that doesn't exist. How do you learn about the illness, how do you cure the illness if no one ever wants to discuss it?

Europeans, for instance, live to discuss politics. All of them do it, in beer gardens, in coffee houses, around the dinner table with grandma and the kids, in the wine pubs - you get the idea. Europeans do it to everyone and to each other with much passion and are very outspoken about it - which can seem confrontational to Americans. i grew up with European parents and it was very much a part of our lives...politics and religion were always discussed, they had to be discussed............in order to keep groups like the Nazi's or the Jim Jones from ever coming to power again.

We need to question why we are uncomfortable discussing these taboo topics? Why we can only discuss amongst like minded folks? The answer could be that we don't ever want to face up to decisions that may have caused the country to become sick and divided.

We, the little people in America, can embrace discussion of politics and religion slowly, using it as a bridge between political and religious groups to turn the situation around to one of understanding for it is a method that is non-violent and just might cure the illness. Or we can continue to keep the bridge closed.....which is it?


Eventually, we will have to face the demons for they will have their day.

Michael Lerner Speaks Out

We mourn the 8 lives lost and the wounded in Yeshivat Mercaz Harav just as we mourn the 120 lives lost in Gaza last week, the hundreds wounded, and the many wounded and killed in Sderot and Ashkelon.

Murders at a Yeshiva in Jerusalem
by Rabbi Michael Lerner
Editor, Tikkun

Tikkun and the Network of Spiritual Progressives unequivocally condemn the killings of students at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav in Jerusalem today. Just as last week we prayed for a speedy recovery of Israelis and Palestinians wounded in the fighting in Gaza and the bombings of Sderot, so today we pray for a speedy recovery for those who were injured in this ghastly attack. The wounds of two thousand years of exile and the holocaust are inevitably restimulated by this kind of attack, and tragically the price will likely be paid by Palestinian civilians, who in turn will fight back and then the price will be paid by other Israelis. Thus the seemingly endless cycle of violence will continue.

We at Tikkun feel equally grieving for the people killed by vicious and immoral terrorists at the Yeshiva Mercaz HaRav (the ultra-nationalist religious center that developed the ideology which inspired religious Zionists to believe that they had a God-given right to settle and hold on to the territories without regard to the consequences for the Palestinian people already living there) as we do for the victims of Israeli terror (which in the past week killed 120 people, many of them children, many of them sitting in their homes when Israeli troops randomly fire-bombed and murdered them, as documented by the same international human rights organizations that today condemned the attack in Jerusalem by terrorists). We understand that these killings can only be understood in the context of the 60 year old struggle between these two communities, and that nothing short of a full peace accord that will require a new open-heartedness on both sides can possibly break this horrible cycle of violence.

We similarly mourn the people in Sderot and Ashkelon terrorized by bombs from Hamas, as we did for those people who die in the Gaza and West Bank areas because the check points prevent them from getting to the doctors they need, and the many children suffering from malnutrition because of Israel's slow starvation of the country and cutting off of supplies. Of course there is no "moral equivalency" here, because as Talmud and other religious and spiritual traditions teach, every single life lost is a unique tragedy, and no life lost can be compared to or the loss justified in terms of the life lost of others.

From our standpoint, all violence, whether overt or built into the institutions of economic and political reality, is a sin and unacceptable, whether done by the powerful or the powerless. Violence is the wrong path. So this week in Beyt Tikkun synagogue we will say kaddish for the young men killed at the yeshivat ha rav, and for the people killed in Gaza by Israeli troops, Israelis killed in Sderot and Ashkelon, and for the million two hundred thousand Iraqis killed by the US occupation of Iraq and the 4000 American soldiers killed in that war. And all the victims of wars in Africa and Asia, all the victims of oppression and murder in China and Tibet, all the victims of oppression in Saudi Arabia and Iran and Lebanon and Syria and Egypt.

When will they ever learn? Violence doesn't solve anything. It doesn’t create safety. The way to security is through a. recognizing “the other” as part of you, not an alien but as a fundamental part of “the unity of all being” created in the image of God and deserving just as much as we deserve, and entitled to live at the same standard of living and with the same political rights as we have and receiving the same compassion we would give to our friends; b. the Strategy of Generosity that we in the US have to initiate and the Global Marshall Plan that makes it concrete (see www.spiritualprogressives.org); and c. public acts of repentance and atonement that both sides need to take to acknowledge the cruelty and hurt that they have visited on the other side.

Till that happens the killings will go on, and the partisans on each side will always blame the other, and each will ignore the history that has led to the specific act of violence that they are focused on, and each will proclaim that any one who does not side exclusively with their side is a traitor and an evil person.

All this talk, though, doesn't really reveal how much those of us in the Tikkun community are grieving for all the pain and suffering, how deeply sad and depressed it makes us, and how very much we wish we could ease the suffering on all sides of this struggle. May all of them be comforted along with all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem and the whole world!

Rabbi Michael Lerner
Editor, Tikkun Magazine www.Tikkun.org
Chair, the Network of Spiritual Progressives www.spiritualprogressives.org
RabbiLerner@tikkun.org


P.S. If this message resonates with you, please a. send it to everyone you know and call your local media and ask them to have this “progressive middle path” perspective represented by speaking to us at Tikkun Magazine b. help us by joining the Network of Spiritual Progressives at www.spiritualprogressives.org

changing the world in the check out line

i'm trying to keep things simple and dry.
It has been sprinkling today, no heavy downpours, just that quiet wetting of the earth and all things exposed to it.
i have been slowly wetting the blogging world instead of bombarding it with my inspirational quips (Ha).

My delusions, my insanity, my desire to save the world.

i stood in the check out line yesterday......chatting with a friend in front of me.....telling him that i wanted to save the world. He said he didn't think the world was worth saving(sourpuss) and i of course lambasted him.

Thankfully, the check out lady had to have an item priced and we stood there discussing saving or not saving. By the time we were finished he did agree that there is a definite change in the air. That forces controlling the discourse are moving in a more positive direction. That maybe changing the world wasn't all bad. The check out lady was nodding her head and the bag boy was beaming as were the people behind us in line.

Today, i was with another group of people and the subject moved to the changes occurring in the world. i told someone about this blog and said i wanted to help save the world. This fellow answered "good" we need more that want to change the world.

More and more people intuitively believe that a positive change could and may very well occur. You don't have to be religious to believe or to be optimistic about mankind.

i think in some way the concept of revelation over time is very real. Believing that concern for the time we live in is of utmost importance and that as we evolve so do the concepts of our responsibilities towards all men.

When people are ready to hear, teachers appear. Education of humanity for the time period, for the welfare of human society, occurs when truth is revealed over time and moves humanity towards that of unity. As the ravages of war unveil their ugly truths the need to stop repeating history allows speakers of another world view the opportunity to approach the podium with age old wisdom that has not been given a chance to prevail.

As mankind moves away from its tribal heritage and self indulgence, towards a more connected world, the old prejudices fall away allowing the unity of humanity to occur.

Today there should be no such thing as a second class citizen. As the world matures and humanity recognizes differences and similarities the greater good will be served when all can accept that each human being should be treated with dignity, respect and equal treatment under the law.

King Abdullah II speaks at Princeton

Remarks by His Majesty King Abdullah II

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

Princeton University

29 February 2008

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim

Fifty-seven countries are not at peace with Israel today.

Fifty-seven countries out of 193 countries in the world.

Fifty-seven countries with a total population greater than Europe and the United States combined.

Fifty-seven countries, representing one third of the members of the United Nations.

Fifty-seven countries for whose citizens the conflict in Palestine is the issue of their time.

We must, therefore, ask the important question. What are the implications for global stability if this continues?

Today I assert that this must not continue and that 2008 is a critical year. Yes, at long last, this year, right now - we are in the best possible position to resolve 60 years of conflict between Israel and Palestine. The Arab and Muslim states have committed to an unprecedented and unanimous peace initiative. We have a chance to answer this third of the world who are not at peace with Israel and who demand freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people.

But time is running out and we need the United States of America completely involved, to influence the course of discussions, monitor progress, and help bridge the gaps to ensure a final agreement by the end of 2008.

It is difficult to exaggerate how great the stakes are, for Americans, for Arabs, for Israelis, and indeed for the whole world.

But I am not here today to speak only of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I am here to speak to you, the scholars of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, of the critical importance of a long-term strategic American involvement in the development of the Middle East.

I am here to explain that such a commitment is an opportunity to transform the strategic landscape of the Middle East for years to come.

I am here to speak of what must, I repeat, must happen if our world is to be safe.

I know that optimism does not come easily in academia. But I do know about the visionary thinking that is the scholar's gift. Today, I ask you to employ visionary thinking to consider a short- and long-term strategy that will ensure a viable, stable, prosperous Middle Eastern region and a safe and secure world for all.

America's involvement is a critical success factor of such a strategy. We need a strong authority that can act and act swiftly. We need to act now for time is running out. The continuing confinement of the Palestinians in Gaza everyday creates a greater radicalism amongst Palestinians and invites other actors within the region to operate on their behalf. The long period of conflict has allowed new ambitions, influences, and capabilities to appear. They are echoed in Iraq's armed sectarian division, in the attacks on Lebanese sovereignty, and in the power-projection by state and non-state actors.

There are many other serious threats.

Security, opportunities for youth, economic development, resource scarcity, chronic conflicts, institutional challenges and nuclear weapon proliferation, are just some examples of the major challenges we face. You are a prime example of some of the gifted, ambitious youth of America. We are acutely aware of the urgent needs of our own youth who make up 70 percent of my region's people. It is the largest youth cohort in our history. Like American youth, Internet communications have given them an unprecedented view of the world. In their own region they see evidence in extremist messages of hatred and isolation. They see a lack of opportunities and an uncertain future. But they also see the prosperity and freedom that countries and regions in peace can offer.

We must meet the expectations of this younger generation. In my region, we expect to need 200 million new jobs by 2020. Creating these opportunities will require investment and partnerships to develop new infrastructure, meet energy and water needs and improve public services and education. A strong cooperative Arab-American strategic partnership must be created.

But today my friends, we must contemplate.

I pose these questions for your consideration...

Will my region plunge into more chaos and violence, where extremism rules? Or will it be a peaceful, developing region?

Will it be a region focused on conflicting radical ideologies fueled by the manipulation of sectarian division? Or will it be a region reaping the benefits of globalization and strong global partnerships?

Will it be a region that rejects Western alliances, perhaps violently, because they have become far too difficult to achieve? Or will it be a region that is a global partner in progress and prosperity with the West?

The choice is ours. But we must act and time is running out. The dangerous combination of new technology, terrorism and the drastic consequences of economic underdevelopment, all continue to add to a potentially catastrophic situation on the ground.

We must act this year if we are to achieve the first important advancement towards a strong Middle Eastern region.

A year ago, before the U.S. Congress, I urged an all-out American commitment to lead the way forward. I said then what I repeat today: that the wellspring of global division, the source of resentment and frustration within the region and far beyond, is the denial of justice and peace in Palestine. The beginning of a long-term strategic partnership between the Arab world and the United States must begin with the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

America is the only world power capable of ensuring that the parties stay on track and on time in their current negotiations. And America is uniquely placed to build international support throughout the peacemaking process. Resolution of this conflict will be critical if we are to confront the other serious regional challenges

But time is running out. This year is an unprecedented opportunity to reach a comprehensive settlement between Israel and all its neighbors.

In Israel, there are those who oppose any movement toward resolution. There are politicians who do not want peace with Palestinians and who reject a two-state solution. I disagree. Israel's security cannot depend indefinitely on occupation, walls, and the Israeli military. Real security for Israel will occur when it is a neighbor among neighbors, an economy among economies, a people among people working together towards the achievement of common goals and bright futures.

In America, there are those who oppose any further involvement. There are those who say it is not America's business. I disagree. You will all know that historically, success in Middle East peacemaking was achieved when the United States stepped in and drove the negotiations.

A victory by the enemies of peace, freedom, stability and moderation cannot be an option. If we miss today's opportunities, peace will be set back, perhaps for decades. Extremists will continue to act. The forces for moderation and positive change will weaken. Global divisions will not only endure but also possibly deepen. Questioning of the West's effectiveness, and commitment, may grow. All of these will have consequences not only for my region but also for the world.

My friends,

Division and hatred have eroded understanding and agreement. They have played into the hands of the enemies of humanity - those who attacked the World Trade Center, those who would divide multi-cultural Europe, those who, right now, seek to tear my region apart.

If we fail to take the necessary steps to resolve the core problem of the region, it will become significantly harder for the countries of the Middle East to work in partnership with America in the future. I fear radical ideologies will determine the political and social agendas in many of our countries. The region will move further away from our vision of moderation, prosperity and peace. It will move further away from the common principles of mutual respect and partnership on which we want to base our relations with the United States and the West.

Every day another child in my region grows up with frustration and hatred in his or her eyes.

Every day another child grows up with aggression because that is all they have known.

Every day young people lose hope because they cannot get jobs and they cannot see opportunities.

Princeton scholars,

Speaking here today, I am especially aware of the role of scholars and students in making progress happen. Where others see unsolvable problems, you see paths that can lead to answers and successful action. This is the tradition of great scholarship of which you are a part.

Today I ask you to bring the tradition of scholarship to the challenges that lie ahead, and join me in thinking about the reality that together our countries can create:

* An end to 60 years of conflict, violence, and occupation;
* A homeland for Palestinians, offering hope, respect, and a future;
* Security and new acceptance for Israel, within its neighborhood and around the world;
* A strategic region that is able to turn to the future as peace takes hold;
* And, a new partnership between your country and the Arab and Muslim peoples, transforming the strategic landscape and creating new horizons for progress and peace.

It is an honor to be speaking to you all today, and I thank you, President Tilghman, for your warm reception.

I should like to conclude by drawing from the wisdom of the great American after whom this school was named.

Woodrow Wilson said,

"Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together. There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power; not organized rivalries, but an organized peace."

This is the challenge, this is the opportunity, and we must succeed.

Thank you very much.