Sunday, December 11, 2011

How to be Right, while Dead Wrong

A L O H A !
My Country 'Tis Of Thee by The Heritage Choir & Orchestra on Grooveshark


“ People may not remember 
exactly what you did
or what you said,
but they will always remember
how you made them
feel. ”
Tony Hsieh








" Boldness
is a mask
for fear,
however great. "

John Dryden












" There is only one judge. . .  So who are you
to judge your neighbor? "
 GOD'S WORD ® Translation

"who art thou that dost judge the other? "
Young's Literal Translation
James 4:12
Bible





  > < } } ( ° >
     





Was there ever a time
when we debated ideas?

Today
what we do
is choose sides
and attack!

We have no patience
for the details-
everything 
is a chance
to argue.

We used to try to 
convince
in good faith;
Now the most shocking assertions
get all the attention.
There is no career to be made
with common sense.

To keep passion alive,
(and reason asleep?)
  assertions need to be 
more
and more extreme.

And since we only listen
to those we already agree with
the extreme gulf in partisan views
only grows wider.

Who is building a bridge?

How can you invite agreement
with a combative, angry tone?


Our "news" &
politics is reported the same way
that celebrity gossip is,
repeating the same trivial,
school-yard stuff
over and over again
without un-packing it.
Gotcha!


So what are we trying to accomplish?


Media, pundits & radio personalities
want attention, airtime and money.

What do YOU want?

In a free society,
can either extreme win,
then rule 
their neighbors?

So what's your bottom line?
Would you rather make the best put-down
or find common ground upon which 
society
- all of us -
can move forward
together?

Do you want to be "right"
or be effective?
Merciless - or wise?

You can be technically
correct,
but the person you argue with
is telling you
what is Emotionally True to THEM,
what matters most to THEM.

Do you care enough to listen
instead of merely
preparing your 
ammunition?

Can we even really
hear each other
anymore?

Yes,
you may be "correct"
on your facts,
but be DEAD WRONG
in your attitude,
behavior,
results.



This is a Democracy -
not a winner-takes-all 
demolition derby.

Or is it?

We do not need to agree
on everything,
in order to live agreeably.

But we do need to understand
what really motivates
people
who hold opinions that seem
incompatible with our own.


To do that,
we need to regard them
once again
as
people,
not as stereotypes.


We need, in a real sense,
to 'love' our neighbor
as we do ourselves;
That is: as
basically good persons;
Persons who deserve
to be listened to.

So what is missing today?

Please share your opinion with us
in comments.

& Thanks for your valued visit.

                                                                    Warmly, cloudia

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree! What a great post!

Somehow we have lost the belief that people are inherently good and kind.

BlueShell said...

Very nice, and true!!
Thank you!

PerthDailyPhoto said...

I say look for the good in people don't try to find bad and definitely 'viva la difference', if someone's opinion isn't the same as mine, no worries, you never know they might be right and I might be wrong....NO WAY Me wrong, never!! Hahahahaha I'm only kidding! Great post Cloudia and yes I agree everyone is perfectly entitled to their own viewpoint, it's what makes the world tick!

Lynn said...

That Tony Hsieh quote is so powerful and perfectly true. I always look for the good and interesting in people first - it's my way, but also learned behavior after managing people at work for so long.

Reanaclaire said...

Hello Cloudia, coming by to visit.. I believe that we..we do not like others to tell our weaknesses..
have a nice week ahead!

Digital Flower Pictures said...

I wanna fly through a rainbow.

Greetings from the mainland.

Full-On-Forward said...

CLOUDIA-- WHAT AN AWESOME AND BEAUTIFULLY EXPRESSED POST! i TOTALLY AGREE WITH EVERY WORD AND THANK YOU FOR REMINDING US THIS BASIC HUMAN NECESSITY!

WHOOPS- see you got a CLA out of me it was so good!

I'll take this to heart!

Love to you my SIS!


HFTEC,

J

I'm Building a Bridge- as Chuck Swidoll said, "One Brick at a Time!" to Hawaii--see you next millennium.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Eternal problems Cloudia - never have been solved and never will. I do try not to judge but sometimes find it impossible not to.

Charles Gramlich said...

Most people just want to be "convinced" that they are right. Then they shut off all further analysis.

Anonymous said...

I wish the world still had more time for basic polite civilities. We need to slow down and watch old movies to remember how that was done. DrumMajor

Teresa said...

Great sermon, Cloudi! Sorry I've been MIA, the semester ends next Thursday, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel :)

Myrna R. said...

There's a lot missing. Respect, kindness and a willingness to cooperate. So much has been forgotten.

This is a great post.

Windsmoke. said...

Tolerance and understanding is what's missing today. The first photo of the plane flying through the rainbow gets my vote :-).

Fernando Santos (Chana) said...

Olá, gostei do seu post... Espectacular....
Cumprimentos

Elephant's Child said...

Thank you Cloudia, Really listening is so much harder than it sounds. This is a lovely thought-provoking post.

Anonymous said...

The front page of one of the largest newspapers over here of the 6th December (the day with riots) was not about people throwing Molotow-Cocktails, but a picture of Photojournalists taking pictures of them.

Once again I thank you for feeling the pulse of the world and current time. Will continue to keep me thinking. Please have a good new week ahead.

daily athens photo

Erika said...

Here I'm, dear Cloudia! I was in Berlin and I came back. I like very much your quotes.
Wish you a good new week!
*-*
:))))

Rosaria Williams said...

Consensus. What happened to people of good will reaching consensus, agreeing to a set of ideas they could all get behind?

Cloudia said...

BLOWN away by the depth of heart, thought & engagement in your comments.

Sincere Thank YOU
for sharing your experience with our little community here at Comfort Spiral!

இ Baŋäŋaz இ said...

Love this quote..

“ People may not remember
exactly what you did
or what you said,
but they will always remember
how you made them
feel. ” ~ Tony Hsieh

jack69 said...

Yes.it does seem that the debate has become a dinasaur. But I still believe in folk, well I am trying to. hahahaha.
I do love quotes or wise folk and thinkers. It always make me pause and think.
Love from another, not quite so sunny place, Florida,
Sherry &* Jack

21 Wits said...

I've always liked that quote, and it really goes hand in hand with your question, if we're kind or cruel to one another the words won't be remembered but the feeling will live forever...we can make a difference, listen more, speak less, give more, take less, but mostly treat everyone we meet the way we want others to treat us, even if it's a worn old dog on his last leg....we are all the same inside... and the simple way is the best way....everytime!

黄清华 Wong Ching Wah said...

True ! True !

Cloudia said...

You each voice the wisdom that must save us!

Kay said...

Beautiful, Cloudia! I wish congress would all read this.

Lisa said...

Love this post, Cloudia! Warmest Aloha from your windward neighbor.

BlueShell said...

Good morning Cloudia! (here: 7 am )

Thank you for your visit and comment in Portuguese: I apreciate your effort: well done.

have a nice day, my dear!
yesterday, and today I

I have a low back pain.
I have taken pills for pain ... in vain!
I'm still in pain...

Commander Zaius said...

This is a Democracy -
not a winner-takes-all
demolition derby.


Or is it?


When politics becomes a Zero-sum game sooner or later there will be blood shed. Learned that from the professor who taught me ancient Greek history.

Bob Bushell said...

Nice one Cloudia.

Rajesh said...

Simply wonderful.

Vintot said...

Great post and very nice blog overall! I am now following :D

Josh Catchur said...

I think, on a global scale, we've forgotten what personal truth is. I mean, even our scientific (physical) "laws" are just theorems that have not been "dis-proved" and could be at any moment when we have newer technology. One of favorite things to say is, "There is no one way." If our very scientific laws can be challenged and/or changed we should be able to realize that every person, with their own viewpoint, has their own truth. And disagreeing with it yourself doesn't make it untrue for them.

Thank you for such a thought provoking conversation!

Betty Manousos said...

brilliant thoughts, cloudia!

although we live in a mad world of cruelty, we must always remember that we are all human beings and we also must treat others with kindness.

aloha!

Hilary said...

Very well said, Cloudia.

Cloudia said...

Thank You-may we each be pain free!

Daliana Pacuraru said...

Great thoughts, Cloudia!
My best regards from Romania!

Ruby said...

I think the golden rule may be the solution - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But again, everyone must think the same way - seems impossible, but there's always hope!! :) Cheers and Hugs for the lovely post! I dropped in from Hilary's Congratulations on the POTW award!