Community or Sociopathy

We have a new contributor to Earthfamilyalpha.

Community must replace sociopathy

We don't have much time.

Hello Oz:

Thanks so much for the invitation to earthfamilyalpha. It is an honor and a privilege to be here.

I was struck by your post on The Soylent Seas . I thought about it the whole next day. Even if we save ourselves from peak oil and global warming, can we survive dying seas?

I do not know.

I only know that the most important question of the last two millenia, if not all of recorded history, remains unanswered: "Can we get along here? Can we all get along?"

We are going to learn how to get along, or we will be toast. I can understand not having the answers, but I don't understand why only Rodney King, and a few others outside of power, are even asking the questions.

I have never truly published, and have advertised anonymously only rarely, but I have sent various individuals various essays on the importance of recognizing respect as a meta-issue since the late 80's. In my file cabinet, I still have copies of an essays referring to "The Problem" that threatens to kill us all, the single thread that ties child abuse in this block to the brink of nuclear destruction to the rape across town to the emissions from our cars and factories into the sky above.

No one refers to "The Movie", "The Book" or "The University" anymore, but "The Problem" is still disrespect.

My point was never that I had come up with any new ideas. My point was always more like, "I know we've talked about respect for thousands of years, but now it's really important, because we're about to kill each other off, basically for lack of trying to get along and work together to solve all the mutual problems created by disrespect."

Or we could keep trying to solve all the countless problems created by persons, organizations, and nations disrespecting other persons, organizations, and nations without really focusing on the root problem. It's worked well so far.

In all those years, I was hoping someone would write back to say that they wanted to help make respect "The Issue."

No one ever did.

Perhaps, because I never used the word "meta-issue" until now.

The force is the only chance we have.

"Specifically, the force of cultural adaptation, the software that runs on our biological hardware. If we can recognize that we are on the brink of catastrophe, and if we can make respect for self, others and place a universal goal, and if we can use all that we now know about ourselves to pursue that goal in a realistic fashion, recognizing the goal of respect as essential to surviving our weapons and our waste, then we might have a chance.

In my humble opinion, The Golden Rule, while brilliant in intent, could have been worded better. The final exam for rewriting The Golden Rule into something that actually works as a lynchpin for society is upon us. We will not make it, if we do not learn to talk about our problems and treat each other better.

We will not make it, unless we give to the respect

Child abuse, terrorism, greed, pollution, mean prejudice, war, rape and the nuclear brink. Disrespect is the problem. Respect is the vision that we need to see."

by respectisthecentralissue on Thu Feb 09, 2006 at 11:00:33 PM CST

"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me . . . All I ask is that you respect me as a human being." Jackie Robinson

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