compassion, collaboration & cooperation iN transistion
WHY WE FIGHT ...
& DON'T LOOK TO THE MOUNTAINS
for our inspiration to become -
MERCHANTS of LOVE not MERCHANTS of DEATH
"Whether you feel that your soul is pleased by the conception or contemplation of harmonies or that your mind is stimulated by the aspect of magnificent problems or whether you are content to have fun in trying to observe and depict the jolly things you see, the vistas of possiblity are limited only by the shortness of life. Every day you may make progress; every day you may be fruitful, yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb."
Winston Churchill - Painting as a Pastime
Eisenhower was proud to have a hobby in common with Churchill. In 1958, Ike helped arrange for an American tour of the paintings of Sir Winston, who wrote that he would never have done it without the encouragement tendered him by his friend, Ike. It was the first time that a large exhibition of Churchill's paintings had ever taken place. Almost ten years later, in June 1967, Ike had his own exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in New York City. He consented to this because it served as a fundraiser for Eisenhower College in Seneca Falls, New York, which opened in 1968. Most of the paintings were borrowed from those to whom he had made gifts. Upon seeing the exhibition, in his usual display of modesty, Ike said, "There are a half a dozen here that I would like to burn right now." He commented that if friends hadn't asked for them as memorabilia, most of the paintings would have ended up in the furnace. The paintings subsequently appeared on calendars and in print portfolios and in a large format book called The Eisenhower College Collection: The Paintings of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
On this day that President Eisenhower gave his Farewell Address to the Nation following his creation of NASA - the body destined to be responsible for the euphoria of the moon landing, traveling throughout the solar system & the joys of revelation to be confirmed by the Hubble telescope; juxtaposed unfortunately against the tragedy of the Space Shuttle Challenger-
let us not forget why we fight - the reasons which "IKE" so succinctly detailed - and his WARNING of TRUTH that -
the total influence - economic, political even spirtual - is felt in every city, every State house, every office of Federal Government.
That - WE recognize the imperative need for this development, yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. OUR toil, resources & livelihood are all involved so is the very structure of society. In the councils of goverment, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes.
We should take nothing for granted. ONLY an alert and knowledgable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.
ALL of which exemplify Eisenhower's strong guiding principles. Principles of responsibility which may best be summarised, by his most telling and prescient of ALL statements, that ...
"Buying weapons takes FOOD from the HUNGRY and SHELTER from the HOMELESS"
In the evolving world order, the comparative advantage of the United States lies in military force, in which it ranks supreme. Diplomacy and international law have always been regarded as an annoying encumbrance, unless they can be used to advantage against the enemy. With the current configuration of US strengths and weaknesses, the temptation to transfer problems quickly to the arena of forcefulconfrontation is likely to be strong. Furthermore, though the United States cannot regain the economic supremacy of an earlier period, it is committed to maintaining its status as the sole military superpower, with no probable contestant for that role. One consequence will be exacerbation of domestic economic difficulties; another, a renewed temptation to "go it alone" in relying on the threat of force rather than diplomacy.
So integralism takes an important value of postmodernism, which is the rejection of war, and says that we want to end war once and for all. It turns this admonition against war into something that's practical, something that we can actually implement. The ONLY way to prevent war worldwide is to replace it with law, and the only way to do that is some kind of democratic world federation.
Steve McIntosh
When all is said and done, the fundamental need of our time, the precondition of creating a peaceful and sustainable world, is the spread of a new and more evolutionarily adaptive consciousness —
the quantum consciousness of oneness and belonging.
First posted by Michael Grove @zaadz on March 29, 2007 at 10:30
.
Access: Public
in the context of a very POWERFUL STORY
"THE OLD APPEALS TO RACIAL, SEXUAL AND RELIGIOUS CHAUVINISM, TO RABID
NATIONALIST FERVOR, ARE BEGINNING NOT TO WORK. A NEW CONSCIOUSNESS IS
DEVELOPING WHICH SEES THE EARTH AS A SINGLE ORGANISM, AND RECOGNIZES
THAT AN ORGANISM AT WAR WITH ITSELF, IS DOOMED. WE ARE ONE PLANET."
- CARL SAGAN
Leave Your Wise and Insightful Comment
Views: 643
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Comment by Michael Grove on March 3, 2011 at 12:52
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In the context of WHY we CONTINUE to FIGHT without that much success;
because as Alex-Alekhine has said: "The whole Kony 2012 thing was a half-baked effort at activism in the first place; a fantastic example of the ineffectiveness of America's condescending attitude towards Africa. Invisible Children turned out to be a scam, one of the filmmakers was arrested for wacking off in public, and most importantly, nothing ever happened to Kony and his army is still at large."Where do the good ideas come from?
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Michael said
A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger...
Joseph Campbell
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Michael said
“I always have this saying in mind when I go out on my missions for peace: -
' Wars are the stains of shame which centuries will not wash away and we cannot redress the wrongdoings of mankind, what we can do is educate those who will one day inherit the earth from us and teach them the values of peace, universal understanding and the joy of global friendship.' ”
HRH PRINCE FREDERICK VON SAXE-LAUENBERG
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Michael said
The dedication of the new national memorial - to those military personnel who have given their lives in service of their country since the end of WWII - took place at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire today.
The names of the dead and the space for 10,000 more names - must forever act as a “constant reminder” of the need to consider … “WHY we fight?”
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Michael said
A VISION for CHANGE must focus initially on the motivation to rendezvous with destiny
THE ultimate motivation of our species MUST BE peace on earth. But peace on earth can only be attained if we can sit down with our adversaries and formulate sustainable solutions together, to address the issues that divide us.
THE penultimate motivation of our species MUST then BE to establish a global infrastructure which will allow this to happen.
THE MISSION of an “umbrella agency” …
Must initially provide a charitable mechanism, of innovation through collaboration,
which has established the template of a process to “let the people decide”.
The masses of individuals deciding, how to spend their “small change” on charitable activities, such that a simple sustainable model can be established as the basis on which ALL the dollars, pounds, dinar, yen etc. can be spent on everyday
planetary activities, at some time in the NOT too distant future.
The children deciding, in the context of their responsibilities to the planet and humanity, how to spend the “small change” collected, in accordance with the agenda of the
UN millenium goals.
The businesses and companies of people deciding, in the context of their
individual corporate social responsibility and collective global social
responsibility, how to spend their “small change” & maybe “big dollars” in support of the above process.
THE umbrella agency must address the age old conundrum that we cannot hope to have any true meaning in the history of the universe but we can know it better and we can be a better part of it, by providing a brand which the world of business & commerce and particularly the military industrial complex could adopt as their own commitment to being “ a better part of it ”.
THE umbrella agency must provide us with the, keep it simple, sustainable mechanism by which, the opportunity to consider the CONSCIOUSNESS of LIFE can be established, through a process of BUILDING COMMUNITY - BUILDING LOVE.
The purpose of THE umbrella agency must be to facilitate THAT process, whereby the CHILDREN are supported by their local community mentors, parents, teachers, enterprise representatives - both matriarchal & patriarchal - in their task to develop sustainable LIFE on earth, which they would regard as appropriate for their own CHILDREN and their CHILDREN's CHILDREN.
This can only be achieved IF one “thinks global” and ACTS LOCAL. When the UN set their millenium goals, at the turn of the century, the world was comprised of the “developed” world and the “developing” world. Since that TIME, never before experienced events have impinged on the global collective mindset and the rate of change in the world is now accelerating at an ever accerating rate.
This almost dictates a requirement for us to re-classify the developed world itself, in particular the United Kingdom, as DEVELOPING.
In the context of ALL of the above, the minimum sustainable solution is ONE which requires two local communities, however juxtaposed they may be - led by the children, working in symbiotic collaboration, exemplified by a transparency of words, values and ACTIONS - to establish the development process necessary to achieve those UN goals.
When each of these three elements of vision
– concern for excellence, for people and for the wider environment –
are present, business is transformed from a tool for making profits
into a creative, humane experiment for improving life.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
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cHAngeL said
The children deciding, in the context of their responsibilities to the planet and humanity, how to spend the “small change” collected, in accordance with the agenda of the
UN millenium goals.
Brilliant…yes the children, my dearest old friend. Thank you for your love, warmth and understanding, of those in this world with less power. You are an
inspiration to the universe in your devoted meditations, and to me as a
woman and mother. Peace on earth, for planetary change. Thank you for your devotion, wisdom, compassion and brilliance.
With respect of universal size…
Warmly,
Janie
ANd as always…love to Linnie :)
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Michael said
AS we celebrate the birthday of Abraham Lincoln today …
and contemplate our ACTIONS to …
CHANGE THE WORLD ...
LET US NEVER FORGET the words of a.n.other President, Franklin D. Roosevelt …
THERE IS NO THING TO FEAR BUT FEAR IT SELF
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Michael said
Conscience, noun, the awareness of a moral or ethical aspect of one's conduct together with the urge to prefer RIGHT over WRONG
Cowardice asks the question, “IS it safe?”
Expediency asks the question, “IS it politic?”
Vanity asks the question, “IS it popular?” but ...
Conscience asks the question, “IS it RIGHT?”
and there comes a TIME when one must take a position that is neither safe, politic or popular but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is
right.
Dr. Martin Luther King
President Reagan pointed out to President Gorbchev in 1985 that a common threat to THIS PLANET from ANOTHER would help the warring sides see their common humanity in an instant and begin to work together for the survival of US ALL. Today the threat is not from space but from the way we currently live with each other - can we still find our common humanity ?
OUR PLANET NEEDS US !
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Michael said
In the context of the United States 2008 Presidential Election and the U.S. electorate's rendezvous with destiny, IT would be wise, VERY VERY VERY WISE, to play more than lip service to the issues which Noam Chomsky raised in his 1991 epic, Deterrring Democracy … particularly in respect to Chomsky's devasting analysis, of America's imperialism as the sole remaining superpower, which drew alarming connections between its repression of information inside the U.S. and its aggressive empire-building abroad, and the present day shennanigans of the so called Democratic Party Presidential selection process.
WHAT the U.S. electorate is risking …
IS the REPUBLIC ITSELF …
by NOT letting the people decide …
.
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cHAngeL said
and there comes a TIME when one must take a position that is neither safe, politic or popular but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is
right.
Dr. Martin Luther King
And sometimes we get so passionate we almost explode like a volcano with healthy anger ;)
But you have made it a den of thieves—Jeremiah 7:11According to the Gospels, Jesus took offense to this, and so, creating a whip from some cords, drives out the livestock, scatters the coins of the
money changers, and turns over their tables, and those of the people
selling doves.
There must be justice…sometimes ya just have to squeek or the world don't get oiled…
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Michael said
There must be justice…sometimes ya just have to squeek or the world don't get oiled…
INDEED SO & SO BE IT
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Michael said
The true drive for war is NOT morality, IT IS economics. We hide the fact that the real reason we sanction the murder of children and the rape of women (Darfur) is that we need war in order to
drive our economy. Britain is one of the four largest global arms dealers, it is in our financial interest to keep the world in conflict - civilian casualties are thought of as simple corporate losses.
Sam Roddick
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Michael said
We kill each other because of the texts, the Koran, the Bible.
But God IS NOT a book, GOD is this human power inside you and me that fights for justice.
Nadal Sadawi
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Michael said
throw away your guns and your knifes and your hate…
don’t you know you’re killing your sisters and brothers?
CHILDREN are fast learners, LET US give them the right tools !
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Michael said
At this MOST CRITICAL juncture, IT can only BE the self-sophisticated, arrogance and greed of a man like Kim Jong, that would explain WHY WE FIGHT, in the face of his starving PEOPLE, and the outright support of China of course.