Man is subject to death so seeks to limit his vulnerabilities. In somewhat stable times, he can go so far as
to hone a sense of security by fabricating dubious guarantors of
strength either materialistically (showrooms filled with unsinkable Titanic’s)
or ideologically (comforting Towers of Intellectual Babel).
During dire threats, however, man’s prior reflexive succor from handy
pacifiers is at last shorn away leaving the ultimate defense against death
where it has always resided—exercise of equality’s Golden Rule and mutual accommodation.
Then everyday kindness is not readily dismissed as mere cotton candy, but cherished
as the most vital strand of DNA.
There is a dilemma in human affairs that persists in all seasons. That pertains to the concurrent need for accountability and for forgiveness. Often it is the human heart itself that must resolve this ever-wreathing Gordian knot. Jesus represents the preferred recourse in elegant simplicity. In the incident of the woman who was the target of stoning, Jesus noted the obvious truth that none of her accusers were without somber error. By masterful indirection, he slowed the pace of events and effectively disarmed the situation. Then, as day follows night, he said to the grateful woman “Go and sin no more.” Even so, as for the stiff-necked chromium personifications of self-righteous cruelty preying upon society at large, he unrelentingly denuded them for public display. I must share that I saw on the news last week President Trump directly relating one-on-one with little children during his visit to a flood disaster relief center in Texas. This instantly caused me to weep. May light suffuse our nation.
For the last month, I have been exposed to an unusual
measure of personal anxiety. A routine
blood test revealed the presence of a protein that is a possible indicator of
bone marrow cancer. An oncologist
directed that I take a battery of test including a complete bone survey using
imaging technology. On completion of this survey, a
presiding technician who had been viewing the images as the examination progressed showed so much compassion—putting
on my shoes, attaching my necklace, even correctly positioning my eyeglasses—that
I was certain that the x-rays must have revealed an obviously abnormal bone
condition.
Last Thursday I returned to the office of Dr. Ahmad
Shaker, the oncologist, to hear the results of all the tests. As is often the case, the congenial work
environment of the staff was plainly evident.
The graciousness, authenticity, helpfulness, and cheerfulness of the
staff was a sure signal that their boss was not a Hitler.
Connie was with me for the appointment in case I should need
the buttressing of compassionate empathy should the news be bad. Soon we were summoned from the waiting
room. Connie was in her transport wheelchair. I was wearing sandals. On maneuvering through a tight area in the waiting
room, my left big toenail caught on wheelchair apparatus. It hurt, but the
pain was not significant. Waiting for the doctor in the exam room,
however, we looked down and a large pool of blood surrounded my sandal. The doctor came in as I was using paper
towels to wipe of the blood. He at once
said, “That’s OK I will take care of it.”
He put on gloves, and with paper
towels finished wiping up the blood.
Then he asked me to raise my foot.
He carefully cleaned the injured toe and bandaged it. He then wrapped my entire foot. His readiness to help and his congeniality
and humility greatly impressed me. As a fully accredited oncologist and hematologist,
surely staff could mop up blood and bandage a toe. While he had my foot in his hand and was carefully
wrapping my toe, a strong and warm feeling of being cared for, even loved, came
over me. (When I was a kid and Daddy
would buy me shoes, he would always bend down and press the tip of my shoe to
make sure that my toes had room. He
would look up directly at me and ask “Is this OK?)”. (By the way, as for the tests, no cancer was
found.)
Sometimes it is necessary for a leader (for example, an American
President) to lay out facts in a forceful and even somber manner. But it is also surely the role of a leader to
faithfully communicate to others the compassion and willingness to serve (the care, the love) of the
those he represents.
Those who proselytize prejudice never seem to count the
costs of prejudice:
Some would argue that the infliction of pain and suffering
represents the greatest evil of prejudice.
This pain socially and individually has three dimensions--physical,
mental, and spiritual (all moral considerations). This fallout
of prejudice when empathy is present can arouse widespread sadness.
But as a true American I must admit it is the impracticality
of prejudice that drives me bonkers.
The very idea that we would write off even one individual as having
nothing to offer--except as conforms to our sick fantasies--boggles the mind as
to its utter stupidity and impracticality.
Let us say that we are in a bad way and in desperate need for insight;
say, how to get unstuck from (fill in the blank). Certainly the society that has assiduously cultivated
to the maximum extent possible its entire inventory of human talent, encouraged
a can-do spirit of hope and optimism, has manifested a readiness to share and receive,
and knows from experience the satisfaction of shared participation and accomplishment—such
a society is surely much less likely to stay stuck in the mud.
Thank you President Trump for singing from the hymnbook today that most moves my heart. I certainly do not think America owns the intellectual rights to common respect and kindness--though like many others I am grateful for our founding documents that inextricably intertwine business rules and regs with provisions for the deepest needs of the human heart--the principal need of which is for each person to be graced with love--not as an expendable state reward for some notoriety they may have received--but from our Creator duly recognized in the Declaration as the final governing authority. We especially are to cherish the spirit manifest in the Bill of Rights. Love being the Creator's principal gift, we can spot would-be charlatans who care more about selfish gain than the wise nurturing of the commonweal. Yes, President Trump I agree that all want to be special--in some sense great. It's uncanny how Greatness often has Generosity as its closest friend. A moment of greatness can be seen in video below:
================== According to Neil Sloane, an ATT Fellow who co-edited [Claude] Shannon's large collection of papers in 1993, the perspective introduced by Shannon's communication theory (now called information theory) is the foundation of the digital revolution, and every device containing a microprocessor or microcontroller is a conceptual descendant of Shannon's publication in 1948. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Shannon) =================== I am one of those fortunate individuals to have experienced in various ways the mental addiction that comes from “connecting the dots”. This phenomenon can induce a powerful and addictive high. In climatic manic states, I have found myself in mental hospitals (or jail). In my first admission into a mental hospital, I was sitting in a waiting area and took from a nearby table a pamphlet on alcohol addiction. Someone sitting next to me pointed directly at me and offered that my own condition was much like an addiction. I dismissed it then—to my great disadvantage It seems to me that ideologies--political, philosophic, or religious—share at base the digital bimodal structure of a bit. In the case of prejudice, I am white and you are black is captured by the severest and most universal addictive engine known to man—the free radical tautology “me good; you bad.” It can be argued that tool-making humanity with all the leverage that implies will survive only if and when this engine is tamed.
It is clear to me that the greatest contumely Donald Trump could possibly heap on anyone is for him to call them “a good man.” (This would include the more inclusive phrase “a good person.”) A similar concept describes people who are called “the salt of the earth.” These monikers refer to persons willing to take detours to assist in lightening the load of others. They add seasoning to life because goodwill is fundamental to fostering a nurturing and cohesive environment. A contrary view is that all goodwill is at base fraudulent. By definition, humans (assuming they have the requisite guts) relentlessly pursue selfish interests at whatever cost to others. There is the belief in fact that if one doesn’t fuck over others, then one lacks integrity and cannot be truly effective or successful. Thus, the concepts “integrity”, “effectiveness”, and “success” are perverted to entail antisocial thoughts and actions. This twisting of social norms and meanings reaches its nadir in the concept “law and order.” Law and order in this inverse realm loses its function as a potent balm derived from a broad social contract and comity and becomes instead the lethal bludgeon of fanatical bullies.
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When the last nerve of a gentle lady is bludgeoned by bullies:
