Respect. Others. Self. Place.
Above is the respect schematic. Respect is the key categorical issue waiting to be recognized. It can be broken down into respect for others, self, and place. There is almost no major issue disussed on DailyKos that could not be categorized as a failure of respect. Racism, sexism, child abuse, genocide, abuse of government power, murder, rape, robbery and war all involve disrespect for others and self. Taking abuse, whenever change is possible, disrespects oneself and others so abused. Global warming, toxic waste pollution and reckless resource depletion all involve a lack of respect for the physical place around us. Propaganda, lies, media distortions and bullying of all kinds disrespect the place of connection between us.
Respect. Others. Self. Place.
"Today we are faced with the pre-eminent fact that, if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships, the ability of all people, of all kinds, to live together and work together in the same world at peace."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Respect. Others. Self. Place.
I just got back from "An Inconvenient Truth." Al Gore was brilliant, kind and articulate, but I think FDR was seeing from a few steps higher up on the pyramidal organization chart of the problem we are facing. If we are going to solve global warming, pull back from the nuclear brink and stop pending genocides, we are going to have to learn to cooperate and work together like never before, and we are not going to be able to do that unless we recognize the respect issue. When the issue is recognized, then we can start thinking about ways to encourage people, institutions and nations to build a society that respects the environment as well as ourselves. First, we must see: the problem we face is ourselves.
Respect. Others. Self. Place.
The link below leads to some other thoughts I've posted on this issue as my alter-ego, respectisthehub, on the blog, earthfamilyalpha, where my friend, Oz, writes knowledgeably about global warming, peak oil and the need for change. I hope this post finds the reader well.
http://earthfamilyalpha.blogspot.com/...
Respect. Others. Self. Place.