tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17581352.post116433962242283927..comments2023-10-17T09:51:39.667-06:00Comments on Seven: The Good Will PrevailSevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643893888470966419noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17581352.post-1164527814456503812006-11-26T01:56:00.000-06:002006-11-26T01:56:00.000-06:00I wrote a long comment but it didn't publish for s...I wrote a long comment but it didn't publish for some reason. Well, mainly it was about living the teaching. For me, following a path in life that is my highest dream is what I would dare to do for me that might end up teaching others better than I could do with words alone. I am thinking about being in the classroom. I prefer usually to work while they are working, not just flapping my mouth at them the whole time.. one of the benefits of teaching art. I've decided to move on from my present job teaching, not sure where, but I've realized my excitement about teaching, particularly to children. So as I go on the road I've mapped but have been afraid to follow, I wish that if teaching is meant to continue for me, it will someplace more suitable to my needs and wants. All that to say, experience is the best teacher?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17581352.post-1164484526874435012006-11-25T13:55:00.000-06:002006-11-25T13:55:00.000-06:00As i've said before I can only teach my daughter t...As i've said before I can only teach my daughter to be kind to others and to try to stand in their shoes for just a moment. <BR/>I am appalled and horrified by Jenn's mention of the Afghan mother who states "they have more warriors". How chilling and cold. Sometimes I look around and think "Oh the younger generation is a)lazy b)apathetic c)too self-entitled etc... then sometimes something will happen that makes me think "Yeah they do have a grasp of old fashioned good manners and values etc". I like to think somewhere, somehow down the line it all balances out. I'm a believer in the positive also.Monogram Queenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00201245389134780751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17581352.post-1164414707866280092006-11-24T18:31:00.000-06:002006-11-24T18:31:00.000-06:00Jenn,That was not rambling but rather a beautiful ...Jenn,<BR/>That was not rambling but rather a beautiful expression of what we all should love about America. Unfortunately we have a media fixation and far too many Ward Churchills in our midst. By this I mean the small minded intellectual that is all to ready to wear his 'badge of hating America' as if it were to immediately paint him as a sophisticate. This is the intellectual quicksand that is too predominant in our culture. It is also just too easy and available for the mentally lazy. You express a counter argument beautifully. Thank You.<BR/><BR/>Enemy,<BR/>Yes I hear you about our history. As my father counseled me many times, "no deal is perfect." There are sad things indeed in America's history. In the post I am taking a forward and (hopefully) progressive position. We have won, perhaps by accidental application of capitalism, but we have won. We can all hate the winners around us, but would it not be more prudent to study what produced the win and both emulate and improve the formula rather than merely hating with no end game in mind?<BR/>My point is less about the leadership of economics and more about the leadership of spirit and the application of ultimate good expressed through action. That is why terrorism is doomed; but we must fight the fight of the good hearted and the righteous soul. Good triumphs through application. It fails in non-expression and cowardice. I encourage courageous expression.<BR/>Like you, and your always good heart, I hope and look forward.Sevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17643893888470966419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17581352.post-1164412661789776242006-11-24T17:57:00.000-06:002006-11-24T17:57:00.000-06:00Thank you for mentioning me. It's a tough one. I t...Thank you for mentioning me. It's a tough one. I too, get annoyed at the hate veered toward us; I may have said as much before. Yet we were not always hated. Read history to see how grateful Europe was to us for our help in WWI. We saved Britain's behind in WWII--the Nazis were so close to victory. We rescued the French from German domination. And we rebuilt Europe. We showed the generous side of ourselves--sure, the cynics can reply with talk of Cold War domination, the necessity of control, and of course, we did horrible things from the 50s on in Latin America. I don't want to say that we once represented freedom, because I don't believe much in that word, but we represented choice and opportunity. The America that now is known is the lowest common denominator, generated by Ronald McDonald and the Whopper. That isn't the America my father and husband chose to serve in the Armed Forces. I know the bad of our history: Native American genocide, Manifest Destiny, Slavery, Jim Crow Laws--yes, it is an ugly manifestation of power and fear. But I love every speck of dirt of this land, and I only wish I knew how to share what I love about my country with the rest of the world. If people want to judge a nation by its GNP or government, then you forget its essence: the people. Americans can be ignorant fools, but so can the most sophisticated professor at Oxford. I don't know if this addresses what you say, but it is something that causes me great sadness, and yet I always hope.Enemy of the Republichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17342253341470198835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17581352.post-1164385078441166872006-11-24T10:17:00.000-06:002006-11-24T10:17:00.000-06:00That question is much harder to answer...not in th...That question is much harder to answer...not in the "what" but in the "how". <BR/><BR/>I remember reading something about an, if I recall correctly, Afghani mother who was full of disgust for American mothers because we don't have very many children. Her point was that they would always have more warriors because they had more children to teach the war. And that, to her, was how they would defeat America. That has haunted me - not in fear of war - but for the children who are taught to hate. <BR/><BR/>In my mind, the only way we might teach others is to have them walk a mile in our shoes. America can be full of materialism and the media doesn't paint a very serious picture of us. But we're not all Bennifer or Paris Hilton. We're not all highly paid athletes who misbehave. We're not all crooked politicians. I think those things might be easy to hate - if one doesn't see the whole picture.<BR/><BR/>The picture that includes families loving and helping each other. The picture that includes strangers helping strangers. The picture that includes people working hard to succeed. The picture that includes a government that is by the people and for the people. The picture that includes people allowed to protest that government and speak freely. <BR/><BR/>And even the picture that includes us not being satisfied with the way things are - but living with it and doing what we can to make changes that don't include killing or violence.<BR/><BR/>In my rambling - I haven't answered the question. I don't think I have an answer to the question. I do think those that are "losing" need to learn to play a different game. And they have to make that decision.Jennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07809904632972954430noreply@blogger.com