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remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


Fascinating to see the astrology of revolution we have been foretelling playing out before our eyes. 11/02/2011



While not specifically an expression of personal sovereignty, this kind of crisis, of break-out activity, can certainly turn minds otherwise engaged in habitual behaviors to become aware of such conflicts and concepts. The myth is not just for the future. Reality is being remade.

Government is an unwieldy structure, not meant to be change. Humans are adaptable and able to reason, communicate, take action and inspire.

Democracy at its inception was seen as an experiment. Hopefully, we are still experimenting.

The march of human history seems to be moving toward greater individual liberty within a more empowered collectivity.


This is a time of crisis from which events will flow. Thus, it is a time when labels matter. If we come at this from a place of differentiation (nation, religion, political agenda, demonization of any kind), we will be building distrust and opportunity for despotism. If we come at this from a place of the people of the world striving for common freedoms, it could be a real revolution into an age of Man. (with perhaps less hyperbole, I suppose)
These revolutionary objectives are and have been about human desires for freedom, self-determination, and opportunity. They become twisted into religious-affiliation camps when they are so defined by some colonial-era hangover paradigm that needs to lose its false eminence.

We don't need to help the fundamentalists by playing into their propaganda. We need to show our ability to reason, and to relate to the aspirations of seekers of freedom -- not our irascible idiocies of paranoid prejudice and siding with entrenched authorities, certainly not our cynical kneejerk hatred.

I am becoming sickened by the seeming disturbing lack of respect for the Egyptian people, and by implication all people working for self-determination, by so many who speak worryingly as though their partisan interests were what is of real importance rather than the interests of those who will be Egypt's (and the world's) future.


Perhaps it is not so much that we ought to temper "bad temper" but turning it to creative energy rather than destructive.

The US attitude toward Iran helped to legitimize the influence of radical Islamic fundamentalist propaganda.


blah-blah-blah Sharia Law blah-blah- Israel - blah - blah - security - blah - blah - US interests - blah

Get your head out of the blahs.


The Muslim Brotherhood is a hot button soundbite to give us the cold rush down our spines and demand US intervention. Whether these people as such (and not just extremists as in any group) mean to somehow take over Egypt from the internet savvy, educated without jobs, economically disadvantaged young Egypt, they are unlikely to end up more than a minority voice.

It's not about the Koran or Islam. It's about a people's reaction to the devastations of colonialism and its turbulent aftermath -- realpolitik, not religion.

If we want a Middle East to hate, to ratchet up anger and bloodshed, to take on the worst attributes of our phobic fears, we will act as if this is about religion. If we want a more democratic, fair and peaceful world, we will honor the Egyptian cause, the cause of any people who want that world for themselves.

The US must advocate for US interests. Our interests, of course, change with the fluidity of world situations. Looking toward future best interests, we do well to encourage better democratic institution in the Middle East. The world is moving out of the shadows of the era of colonization and its aftermath in that region. The populations are mostly young, and motivated to greater self-empowerment. We do well to forge bonds of friendship for mutual social and economic benefit.





Of course allowing public dialog to be overwhelmed by hatefulness does nothing to usefully address common problems or improve politics. No need to give up distrust, just keep the priorities about finding solutions, not spitting bile.



Gnats, fleas, mosquitoes, biting, buzzing
can inflict disease beyond their size
or intellect. Best to discover and cover with repellant
to quell their appetite for terrorizing we they see
as tempting treats of invigorated blood.










I do think spiritual living begins with a conscious movement toward impeccability of word and action.
Feb/11/2011, 9:42 pm Link to this post Send Email to libramoon   Send PM to libramoon Blog
 
Terreson Profile
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


I too am excited about this day, 2/11/11.

Tere
Feb/11/2011, 11:23 pm Link to this post Send Email to Terreson   Send PM to Terreson
 
Christine98 Profile
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


It certainly is a day to celebrate. But Libra,
I've been following events on the news (from Al
Jazeera English, BBC, to network news) most of what I hear is positive, very positive. The President's speech was inspired.

Where are you hearing all these negatives? I'm not including Fox cable news of course. Their stuff is so predictable.

Chris

Feb/12/2011, 11:37 am Link to this post Send Email to Christine98   Send PM to Christine98
 
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


Thanks Tere and Chris for responding.

I guess my social network groups are more negative than yours, Chris. Also, there are plenty of naysayers calling in on C-SPAN and complaining on the cable stations (other than FOX) -- you know, "fair and balanced" is not just FOX News anymore (or ever) since we expect our talking head "experts" on every issue. All I seem to hear is "How will this affect Israel" or "We can't have another Islamist terrorist state." or "We need a stable Egypt to keep American interests safe in the region." or ... You would think the "Brotherhood" is the second coming of the Third Reich, ready to call a jihad for world domination from the streets of Cairo.
Feb/12/2011, 2:12 pm Link to this post Send Email to libramoon   Send PM to libramoon Blog
 
Christine98 Profile
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


hey Libra,

I don't have a social network group other than this place and don't get cable...sooo maybe I'm better off. I avoid the Sunday morning talking heads like the plague.

Could be I'm keeping myself in a bubble but otherwise it was getting to be like: apply acid directly to stomach lining until head explodes. I couldn't take it I tell ya.

Peace,

Chris
Feb/12/2011, 2:57 pm Link to this post Send Email to Christine98   Send PM to Christine98
 
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


I totally sympathize, Chris. Sometimes I have to unplug and wildly dance to get out the agitation. Sometimes, though, it informs my writing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12368624
Poetry, the creative process and mental illness
By Alex Hudson
BBC News

"So is it mental illness that drives people to art or art that drives people to mental illness?

"A lot of creativity comes from a conflict somewhere in your mind," says Wright."

Feb/12/2011, 3:41 pm Link to this post Send Email to libramoon   Send PM to libramoon Blog
 
Christine98 Profile
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


Thanks for the link to the article, Libra.

I resist the notion that creativity and mental illness are somehow related. Mostly I'm resistant to romanticizing or fetishizing various forms of psychic suffering, instability, addiction etc.

Would Plath, Sexton, Thomas (Dylan) or for that matter, Jim Morrison, be as fondly and fervently remembered if they hadn't died young and tormented? The fact that their biographies over-shadow their creative accomplishments; the conflation of personality and work. That really bothers me.

Chris

 
Feb/12/2011, 4:09 pm Link to this post Send Email to Christine98   Send PM to Christine98
 
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


I resist the idea that "mental illness" is the logical diagnosis for troubled minds. There is much to be troubled about, and many ways to express or otherwise react. We do disservice to our creative heritage or triumphs when we medicalize inner turmoil as such.
Feb/12/2011, 4:41 pm Link to this post Send Email to libramoon   Send PM to libramoon Blog
 
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


Good point, Libra. Maybe "mental illness" is an inherently offensive/demeaning term. I do think there is something other and more debilitating than "inner turmoil" which does respond to medical intervention in some instances. We may have gone off the deep end, over-diagnosing and over-medicating. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we've gone off the deep end.

Chris

Feb/12/2011, 5:27 pm Link to this post Send Email to Christine98   Send PM to Christine98
 
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posticon Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


When we speak of mental illness, for the most part we are looking at different ways of processing information from the norm. And the norm is not really normal or any kind of fixed definition.
Feb/12/2011, 11:35 pm Link to this post Send Email to libramoon   Send PM to libramoon Blog
 
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


Joy, joy, joy, unabashed and uncynical joy. That's what I saw on those happy faces out of Egypt on 2/11/2011 (thanks for pointing out the numerology of the date, Libra). Folks on the street kept saying, "I love my country" and "I'm proud to be Egyptian." Hmm, love and pride of country, sounds like something most Americans could understand. Pundits were talking about how America can help guide Egyptians inthe process toward democracy. That may be true, but I can't help thinking that the Egyptians might be able to teach us, here in lobbied up America, something about democracy that money just can't buy.

FWIW, this morning I heard snippets on TV about Obama's "amateurish" foreign policy, which according to all the head bobbers on Morning Joe, is dangerous, lacking in a cohesive, long term strategy, and almost as bad as Bush's foreign policy. The Obama administration is like the three bears' house and everyone is Goldilocks: too this according to some, too that according to others, and every once in a while: just right. The belief that some people have that we should be able to predict, manipulate and control another country's policies is laughable to me and a sign of our collective insanity as a nation. I wish the Egyptians luck with there fledgling democracy just as I wish us luck with our potential floundering one. (Rant over.)

"Would Plath, Sexton, Thomas (Dylan) or for that matter, Jim Morrison, be as fondly and fervently remembered if they hadn't died young and tormented? The fact that their biographies over-shadow their creative accomplishments; the conflation of personality and work. That really bothers me."

For that matter, would they be as fiercely and fervently dissed if they hadn't died young and tormented? Yes, the conflation of personality with the work as well as the conflation of creativity with mental illness are often rum deals.

Feb/14/2011, 12:28 pm Link to this post Send Email to Katlin   Send PM to Katlin
 
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


I've been hanging back, debating with myself, trying to decide if I want to enter into the discussion.

First, the issue of mental illness and creativity. Something I know a little bit about first hand.

Yes, the term is often, too frequently and too loosely used. How else do you suppose the mentasl health industry can drum up business? Are creative types vulnerable to, say, depression; something considered in the spectrum of mental illness? Sure they are. But artists can be cagey. They give it a name, call it the blues, and mine the dark and manic side for all its worth. I am one firmly convinced that without the courage to tap into the dark experience there is no depth in art. The problem is not so much there are manifestations of "mental illness". The problem is that an Apollonian order in over-drive, which is ours, cannot pull in the dark and Dionysian side of experience. Thus such loosely applied labels as mental illness. By the order's standard most of the music called rock n roll has to be the product of some form of mental illness, as would the paintings of Bosch, Van Gogh, even Delacroix, and certainly the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Rimbaud. In all cases I see something different. I see the depth experience brought back to the surface of things, what some might call duende. I could go on, but this is enough of an indicator.

On the other hand, and keeping in mind the brain is an organ, there is mental illness organic and in the organ's hard wiring, so to speak. I get kind of touchy on the topic, so I apologize in advance. Schizophrenia is a quantifiable, geographically locatable, pin pointed disease. It is localized in the brain and it involves a misfiring of neurons playing havoc on synaptic nerves. Not environmental. Not behavioral. Organic and bio-chemical in the same way cancer is. I know this for a fact because I lost my daughter to the disease in '98. It forced me to do a whole lot of research.

So that is what I know or, at least, think. The term is used loosely. Often it is used by some dominant group against its dissenters; such as in Germany once, in Russia (Soviet Union), and here. But there is also the organic, bio-chemical side to take in.

As for Kat's last comment, I too think there is nothing America has to teach the Egyptians. America doesn't have a democracy anymore. Only a plutocracy.

"Shine on O vanishing Republic."

Tere
Feb/14/2011, 8:11 pm Link to this post Send Email to Terreson   Send PM to Terreson
 
libramoon Profile
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


I guess I have a hot button on over-medicalization, on taking a pill to change your mind. I am not saying there are no diseases of the brain. Rather, that these are not the same as mental anguish or even hypersensitivity.
Feb/14/2011, 8:31 pm Link to this post Send Email to libramoon   Send PM to libramoon Blog
 
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Re: remember, remember the 11th of February (raos)


Agreed.

Tere
Feb/14/2011, 8:51 pm Link to this post Send Email to Terreson   Send PM to Terreson
 


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