Victory Unlimited said:
So...I see yet ANOTHER war of ideas rages on here...
Well, I will enter the fray long enough to only say this:
Whatever a man focuses on----becomes MAGNIFIED. And whatever a man DOES NOT focus on---------tends to SHRINK from view----from even his PERIPHERAL vision.
For deep down, HOW people see themselves...is usually the way they see others----and THE WORLD around them.
And NO thread that I've read on this board illustrates this point better than this one.
I like your Pattonesque exhortations a lot, VU. They are inspirational and affirming. I enjoy reading them, and I almost always derive a lot of good feeling, positivity, and 'forward looking" vibe from them.
But you let us down, here. You sound like an astrologer, or a Tarot reader. You seem to project some kind of "magical" quality in this post. It's like you are saying that unless I/we see things YOUR way ("positivity" in our views of others), then we are seeing OURSELVES as "negative."
Well, I don't believe I have to be "negative" myself to see "negative" things in the world. Simply having low expectations of others doesn't mean that I have to have low expectations of myself. I know that this isn't EXACTLY what you wrote, but it SEEMS implied in your post. It's like you are saying that if I see the world as a dangerous place, where one must be on guard, then I am ALSO saying that I am a dangerous man, against whom OTHERS must be on guard. Again, I know that's not what you said, but it follows.
I would assert that I'm a pretty good guy, and I treat others pretty well, with NO expectation of reciprocity. At the same time, I don't expect that
life/the world/other people are going to be as kind to me as I may be to them/it. And that's OK. I accept that, and offer no complaint.
I just refuse to EXPECT kindness, goodness, etc., from others. It's just a bad bet. But it DOESN'T mean that I have to be an ASSH*LE, too. I can choose to be kind, and just, and giving, even if I see that things generally suck out there in the real world; it just isn't realistic to expect more from others. And I CANNOT demand to be repaid in kind; that would be foolish or silly. The world is a rough place, and I have to be ready for that, but recognizing and accepting that fact doesn't make me a "bad guy."
Simply seeing and recognizing
evil/bad/whatever out there in the world doesn't make he who sees it necessarily "bad" himself.