"Never Compete. Every competition damages your reputation.
Our rivals seize occasion to obscure us so as to outshine us. Few wage honorable war. Rivalry discloses faults that courtesy would hide. Many have lived in good repute while they had no rivals. The heat of conflict revives and gives new life to dead scandals, digging up long-buried skeletons. Competition begins with belittling, and seeks aid anywhere it can, not only where it should. And when the weapons of abuse do not effect their purpose, as often or mostly happens, our opponents seek revenge and use them at least for beating away the dust of oblivion from anything that is our discredit. People of goodwill are always at peace, and those of good reputation and dignity are of goodwill. "
- Balthasar Gracian, "The Art of Worldly Wisdom"
Who here feels edified by having our fine citizens, both Democratic and Republican, dig lower and lower into their beings to beat the other team (being addicted to sport) in this lifelong attempt to finally reach bottom?
Competition is not the only avalable option...
(More below the fold)
Competition is not the only available option. For visionary candidates, it's ludicrous. A visionary is best served by keeping his or her mind on the vision, and on reality, in its true and current state. Bullshit doesn't help. Bullshit visions don't help. Focusing on the other candidate doesn't help. It only serves to divide one's attention, which would be better spent elsewhere.
This is why I love John Edwards. He is the true visionary. His normal mode is that of focusing on the better solution, the better vision, as well as being most in touch with reality on the ground.
Hillary and Barack benefit from his ideas and visions, and should be glad that he is so generative and generous. I can relate to him, and the way his mind works. We both know how to achieve large effects with small causes -- often called the Butterfly Effect. That said, he still could use your donations...and use them to good effect...a butterfly effect.
Were John to be silenced, or shoved out, America and the world might well miss all the amazing ideas and visions that John, his lovely wife, Elizabeth, his amazing team of idea consultants, creatives, seers and visionaries bring to the table. Then its back to Dullsville.
We need to evolve our ability to cooperate in meaningful ways for that, instead of destroying each other in the competition, we are healing, ameliorating, edifying, educating, and raising one another...and each candidate.
They ALL should be thinking with the tops of the heads, and from the depths of their hearts and consciences.
We can evolve this thing, but not through this adolescent and vitriolic warring.
The ultimate solution to the election might be a matter of "Which two?" rather than "Which one?"
But we would never get there through competition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
david k beckwith
anonyMoses Hyperlincoln III