Mourning the Loss of Patient Persuasion

Today's post is a reflection on all the hype that we are daily bombarded with in this time in our individual and collective lives. Not a day goes by when some gaff of protocol/human decency isn't highlighted by the news media and promulgated by those who should know better. That's the problem, or so it seems to me, people don't know any better (seemingly). We have lost the art of patient persuasion as a mode of community building and accountability. We have forgotten from our founders that the "pen is mightier than the sword". I should add, that the pen, rightly employed, is mightier than the sword. Improperly used, the pen becomes the sword or inflammatory device.

There are so many examples from years past of persons willing to stand their ground for their beliefs, to suffer worldly contempt and sometimes physical harm, to patiently pursuade those in power of a differnet path, in order to promote a belief in a better world. In a world where self-promotion and arrogance have become the norm, there is little room left for those who don't seek the limelight. Little room for those who really believe that there should be "liberty and justice for all". Little room for those who's conscience won't let them rest while another human hasn't got the same freedom that they have.

What has driven us to this place? Is it the ease of electronic communication - a life excerpted in 160 characters of less? The ability to Tweet before you think? What happened to that motherly logic to count to 10 before responding? What has happened to our self-control and our ability to place others before ourselves? As a consequence, what has happened to our collective psyche and our HW2? We find ourselves in a very inconsiderate world, indeed.

It doesn't have to remain this way, however. We have the tools and the instructions to find a new and truly countercultural path into a different future. First of all,we need to find our way out of our consumerism and love of money. After that, we can begin again to put others before ourselves and the needs of a world before the needs of a single population. One percent of Americans own 40% of the wealth in the U.S. - only persistent persuasion on the benefits of divesting will change U.S. and lead us into a new and wholesome future.

For your consideration and reaction.

Peace,
Dan