Being good when times are bad

Last night, I attended a lecture by Professor Anthony Long. The topic, Being Good When Times Are Bad: Stoic Questions and Responses, asks crucial questions about our responsibilities as human beings.

Who are we? Indeed, who are we, and what is our profession? We are human beings, our profession is to be human. As such, we are part of a larger whole - a community. Marcus Aurelius said "If intelligence is something we share, so too is the rationality that makes us rational beings. If so, we also share the reasoning that tells us what should or should not be done. If so, we also share law. If so, we are citizens. If so, we participate in a commonwealth. If so, the entire world is a kind of community."

Apparently, the Bush Administration forgets that we participate in a commonwealth. In Stoic thought, what matters most is HOW WE TREAT OTHERS, not how they treat us. What needs to temper our actions is Compassion. A compassionate heart will respond peacefully even when hatred would be an easier option. And that is what the Bush Administration lacks: a compassionate heart.

Stoic thought contends that as human beings we need the idea of a higher being, lest we succumb to our own arrogance. And it contends that the idea of God is not the same as belief. Bush claims belief in God - that God talks to him. And in my own limited opinion, this strikes me as complete arrogance and utter disdain for the idea of a higher being. Who is Bush to have a direct pipeline to a God? He's nothing more than a hateful bigot who spreads fear; who lies when the truth would be easier. He fuels a climate of fear and he surrounds himself with like-minded people lacking in compassion. And so we have been brought to the edge of disaster.

Earl at The Peace Train posted this powerful video in response to a thread over there - and it needs to be seen.



Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" moment. What, what, what have we accomplished?

Tech Support

TECH. SUPPORT: Yes, how can I help you?

CUSTOMER: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install
Love. Can you guide me through the process?

TECH. SUPPORT: Yes, I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

CUSTOMER: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What
do I do first?

TECH. SUPPORT: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located
your Heart?

CUSTOMER: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is
it okay to install Love while they are running?

TECH. SUPPORT: What programs are running?

CUSTOMER: Let's see... I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge, and
Resentment running right now.

TECH. SUPPORT: No problem. Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from
your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent
memory, but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will
eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called
High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and
Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly
installed. Can you turn those off?

CUSTOMER: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

TECH. SUPPORT: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke
Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and
Resentment have been completely erased.

CUSTOMER: Okay... done! Love has started installing itself. Is that
normal?

TECH. SUPPORT: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program.
You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the
upgrades.

CUSTOMER: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error.
Program not run on external components." What should I do?

TECH. SUPPORT: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up
to run on Internal Hearts but has not yet been run on your Heart. In
non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before
you can Love others.

CUSTOMER: So, what should I do?

TECH. SUPPORT: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following
files: Forgive Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge Your
Limitations.

CUSTOMER: Okay... done!

TECH. SUPPORT: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system
will override any conflicting files and begin patching faulty
programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all
directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely
gone and never comes back.

CUSTOMER: Got it. Hey! My Heart is filling up with new files. Smile
is playing on my monitor, and Peace and Contentment are copying
themselves all over my Heart. Is this normal?

TECH. SUPPORT: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually
everything gets it at the proper time so that Love is installed and
running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure
to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in
turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.