How to be Right, while Dead Wrong

A L O H A !

“ 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

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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

And I Was There

Hawaii Civil Unions Bill

 Wins Final Approval

New Governor Will Sign!

Hawaii State Senate Chamber, Yesterday


Feeling the weight of history on my shoulders,
I was there for all those abused folks
who never lived to see this day.

There had been much contention and hurt feelings. . . Years of sign waving, lobbying,

tears and slurs;

but the day had really come.

After some final speech-i-fying:

 Souls Took Flight!

Song of the Day!

                                 

How Long Has He Waited?  

Will she ever understand

 how it used to be, or 

the battles fought for her?

Those are the people we elect. . . doing our business.

Mahalo - Thank You!

State of Union Insights

"There's no doubt 

that the residue of Hawaii will always stay with me,

 and that is part of my core.

  What's best in my message,

 is consistent with the tradition of Hawaii."

President Barack Obama,

speaking in Honolulu, 

December 2004

 The ALOHA Spirit

 is enshrined in the State Law of Hawaii

 which refers to it as:

 "-the essence of relationships

 in which each person

 is important to every other person

 for collective existence."

 "The multicultural nature of Hawaii. . .

has a cultural bias toward courtesy

 and trying to work through problems

 in a way that makes everybody feel

 like they're being listened to.

  And I think that reflects itself in my personality

 as well as my political style."

Barack Obama

"Barry (the President) has a depth of knowing

that what we have in common in Hawaii

 is our difference.

That's Hawaii."

Manu Alulii Meyer,

his schoolmate at Punahou School,

 Honolulu

"Hawaiians are affiliative;

 we really want to bond with people.

Every time I see Obama, he's touching people,

 connecting.

That's island all the way."

Sally-Jo Bowman, 

author: The Heart of Being Hawaiian 




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There you have it.
Aloha 
from me
      to YOU, cloudia


leave a comment :)

Ask Not

ALOHA,
             Welcome to Hawaii

click on  the clouds for potential revelation!

"I believe that there is a subtle magnetism

 in Nature,

 which, if we unconsciously yield to it,

 will direct us aright."

Henry David Thoreau

Aloha on da beach (see it?)

"Forget not

 that the earth delights to feel your bare feet

 and the winds long to play with your hair."

Kahlil Gibran

"That's what (the film) Rocky is all about:

 pride, reputation,

 and not being another bum in the neighborhood."

Sylvester Stallone 

<<+>>

Has it really been 50 years?

Yes it has,

as of yesterday in fact.

In that time

the world has changed

from:

 "Ask not what your country

can do for you - but what you

can do for your country."

To

"Greed is good."

What happened?

Here is a picture of a far off time.

Some called it Camelot.

To many of us

it was

and remains

a magical 

time:

"The world is very different now.
 For man holds in his mortal hands
 the power to abolish all forms of human poverty
 and all forms of human life. . .

Let the word go forth from this time and place,
 to friend and foe alike,
 that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans --

that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge -- and more.

So let us begin anew -- remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

 I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation.



The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do

 for the freedom of man."


excerpts from

John F. Kennedy's

Inaugural Address

 20 January 1961

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How does that make you feel today?

     Please join us in "comments."  cloudia

With a good conscience our only sure reward,

 with history the final judge of our deeds,

 let us go forth to lead the land we love,

 asking His blessing and His help,

 but knowing that here on earth

 God's work must truly be our own.

Must truly be our own

You & Me.

Liberated Hero

Aloha!

Welcome Back To Waikiki

"He that would make his own liberty secure,

 must guard even his enemy. . ."

  Thomas Paine

"There are moments

 when the will of a handful of free men

 breaks through. . . opens up new roads."

  Charles de Gaulle

"My definition of a free society

 is a society where it is safe

 to be unpopular."

  Adlai Stevenson,

 Detroit 1952

<°)}}><

We've visited my favorite hangout before:

 Hula's Bar & Lei Stand

 in the boutique Waikiki Grand Hotel

steps from the Honolulu Zoo, the beach,

 and Kapiolani Park.

What a view of Diamond Head!

Today I was passing some pleasant time at the bar

with a few of the other regulars.

As always, there were new faces too;

faces who might hail

 from anywhere in the world;

Waikiki's like that.

One new friend told me that he was happy

to have finally found an apartment.

"Here in the Grand?" I asked.

When he answered affirmatively, I asked him

about his line of work.

"I'm in the Navy."

I thought about that for a minute.

Gay or not,

 this guy feels safe living in a building

that flies the rainbow flag

 from a famous Gay bar

on the second floor.

And he feels safe drinking coffee

in here at 11am on a Friday.

"Isn't it great that you are free to live in this building

now that DADT was repealed?"

Silently he lifted his shirt sleeve

revealing a fresh tattoo,

less than a month old.

It read:

12/22/10

The date of repeal.

 Liberation day for this fellow

(and how many others)

who's chosen to serve his country

as a nuclear engineer, lately assigned

to shore duty at Pearl Harbor.

I feel better that he can now concentrate on his important work

and not on concealment.

Fair is fair,

That's what America is supposed to be about

and what makes me happiest of all.

Challenging times? Yes.

But good things are afoot too.

Dare to celebrate.

And don't give up the struggle

for simple humanity.

A TATTOO! Imagine what it means to him.

           What do YOU think? cloudia