"INTERNATIONAL ENOUGH DAY"
an article by Afshin Levy 9/12/02
www.iranian.com/Opinion/2002/September/Enough
This writer protests the President's and Cogress's decree to make 9/11 "PATRIOT DAY". This author would like to see it called, "INTERNATIONAL ENOUGH DAY:"
".....There should be no PATRIOT DAY, no day for further emphasizing that we're different. Instead, let's say ENOUGH! ENOUGH of putting the interests on any one nation above the interests of the human race. ENOUGH dwelling on small differences...ENOUGH killing each other over them. ENOUGH, hate, enough fear, enough hunger, enough violence, enough bombing, enough, ENOUGH...." (!!!!)
[Personally,*I think he should be using the phrase: "SAY ENOUGH to..."]
************************************************
"IN THE LIGHT---9/11"
MAYBE WE SHOULD BE THINKING OF 9/11 BEING
"LIFE FORCE AND LIGHT ENERGY DAY" BESIDES BEING "PATRIOT DAY"
In my opinion, this article offers insight into a more realistic global perspective of our American culture and how our American Image and American Spirit could use some global quality assessment. Gathering a perspective of other global minds and cultural value opinions is a good reality test for all Americans and the American Spirit as well. A global perspective helps to bridge human integrity, feedback and empathy into the corporate cultures and corporate agendas around us. It helps to (democratically) assess where our basic levels of humanity and humanistic values are going both politically and culturally globally. Information gathering and sharing (which is information power) are universal keys to good self esteem and emotional and spiritual intelligence both individually, and as a people, who honor their ties to their country and countrymen.
Having 9/11 called "PATRIOT DAY" personally, I feel, may not be a great idea at all---culturally or politically. The PATRIOTISM that comes out of a PATRIOT DAY may not promote valuable cultural exchanges in a global arena where we have been losing thme all along. I think we have to review and reassess (audit) ( or SWOT analysis) our own corporate and cultural values first (especially of our own media and advertising policies; of the genetic bio-tech engineering in the medical arena) before we set such a high agenda naming a day like that---realisitically---first. Second, we should have had a vote of all the people, a democratic majority, of how we should name this day--- and honor the day, instead of assuming it from the President and Congress alone.
Again, about having a PATRIOT DAY, and on the perspective of PATRIOTISM in our own country---we did have a time of it protesting for our liberal values and all our freedoms, and our principles of patriotism, as a people in the 60's. The movements were about protesting the corporate powers of the time; protesting death in the war; and protesting the nuclear power agendas that were riding all along on the back burners of political and corporate turmoil, and the social unrest of the central Jersey Shore area I came from. All these movements appeared to be about liberating our LIBERAL VALUES of PATRIOTISM as free thinking, freedom loving people---and was a long time coming.
However, out of all this protest---we lost some of the greatest thinkers and leaders of strong liberal values we have ever had in our history---with the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy. This losing of these leaders---these great minds---these great men---these strong leaders----we lost some of the greatest minds for leadership values, and again, our liberal intelligence as a people.
I sadly believe this has affected the quality of leadership in our own country for quite a long time now, and blindly we go on, though we are an intelligent people.
We have lost so much with our own corporate turmoils still with bio-tech industries and porcine genetic tampering on the back burners and nuclear power agendas at bay---and the cover up "Politics of Blame" cultures of the times...
We have benefitted so much with the sharing of cultural values in cultural diversity in our own country---especially in our media---with the influence of great leadership overseas. In India, for example, we have so many great words of wisdom from both Gandhis, as with some of the other eastern religions. We have shared some of the greatest non-violent principles of protest and urging reform in our system through the concepts of PATRIOTISM from these other countries.
PATRIOTISM is such a strong part of our American values and our spiritual integrity as a people in this country. However, it too---has to evolve and develope into a more flexible consciousness in the people---one that promotes more self-awareness in our perception and service in the life around us---and not self-righteous arrogance. We also have to look at patriotism as needing more emotional and spiritual intelligence support in the consciousness of the people. We can sink to levels of absolute self-righteous indifference in any prompted ideas of patriotism in the cultures in our communities. We do, however, need more EMPOWERMENT as a people and more EMPOWERED GRASS ROOTS ORGANIZATIONS ( EMPOWERMENT drop-in centers ) that encourage good information gathering and sharing---that share information of what empowered principles ( assertive skills, good communication skills ) and whatr emotional intelligence is in the cultures around us. An American Cultural Empowerment movement would encourage good question asking---timely, relevant information sharing in the social attitudes and cultures around our communities. Information power---perception as a valued gift---should be in the minds and consciousness of the people---instead of cultures that use suppression and power of the politics of blame and cover up in the communities. Our democracy and our system of government is the best the world has ever seen. I do take pride ( and full measures of social esteem) in our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, and that we have good reason to fight for our freedoms, even here in our country. We have to remember,
at times of remembering 9/11 though, we also have civil rights to protect our liberal values, liberal leadership skills, and creative liberal intelligence in this country.
PATRIOT DAY may still possibly sound like a name that could prompt more of the raging "Politics of Blame" to me....people...power brokers needing a scapegoat to cover up for their own raging need of power and abuse in their jobs---and self-seeking self-righteous work cultures in the communties around us.
Alot of our culture hinges on the levels of what we screen for, and hope to find in our social and cultural behaviors around us. We are greatly lacking in humanisitc values in our work place behaviors, because our state office jobs---which are highly prized---do not require integrity testing or personality testing in their employment standards and most people are led to feel they are above all accountability for their certain power and behavior problems in their work cultures. Blanket policies that support the Politics of Blame in the culture around them is not the poltical or healthy meritous solution, to the loss of good liberal innovative insight (spiritual integrity) in the quality of life issues in our communities. We have to put more spiritual integrity back into our work and our law policies and testing, attitude surveying and screening standards in our blue collar communties.
I like what the writer of this article suggest and I added a few more thoughts about "SAY ENOUGH TO:..."
~ SAY ENOUGH TO PUTTING ONE NATION'S INTERESTS ABOVE THE INTERESTS OF THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE
~ SAY ENOUGH TO ABSOLUTE POWER GAMES---AND THE POLITICS OF BLAME AND THE WORK AND CORPORATE CULTS WHO FEEL THEY ARE ABOVE ACCOUNTABILITY
~ SAY ENOUGH TO AGENDAS OF BLAME THAT DENY BASIC HUMAN EMPATHY IN THEIR POLICIES
~ SAY ENOUGH TO HATE, PRIDE, ARROGANCE, SELFISH DEMEANING ADDICTIONS AND INCURABLE PASSIONS---
~ SAY ENOUGH TO POLITICS OF BLAME COVER UPS, FOR EXPLOITIVE AND SICK KINDS OF POWER GAMES
~ SAY ENOUGH TO RAGE AND VIOLENCE AND SADO GAMBLING MARKET GAMES
~SAY ENOUGH TO SELF-RIGHTEOUS INDIFFERENCE
We should on this day find our own way of expressing grief for those who lost their lives on 9/11---and Hurricane Katrina and also grieve for the indifference in the quality of life concerns in all the communities around us in our nation.
Take time to celebrate life---a few moments of silence; reflections of the Spirit of God in our minds and hearts and our dreams; creative liberal spirit hopes we cherish and hold on to:
wherever we're from; whatever people we are; whatever we believe; whatever walk of life we come from!
WE ARE STILL HERE!
OUR SPIRIT WITHIN US IS STILL A GIFT!
OUR DREAMS AND OUR CREATIVE, INNOVATIVE VALUES ARE A GIFT!
OUR FAITH AND LOVE OF GOD IS A GIFT!
OUR PERCEPTION IS A GIFT!
OUR EMPATHY! WHAT THE LIFE SHOULD NATURALLY BE ABOUT IS A GIFT!
OUR HEALTHY, NON-POLITICAL ATTITUDES, WHICH NATURALLY HONOR THE LIFE AROUND US IS A GIFT!
OUR HEALTHY ATTITUDES THAT HONOR THE LIFE AROUND US IS A GIFT!
OUR HUMAN INTELLIGENCE, ALL OUR QUESTION-ASKING, OUR INQUISITIVE MINDS, ALL OUR INFORMATION GATHERING AND SHARING---INFORMATION POWER WORKING AMIDST US IS A GIFT!
OUR LOVE AND RESPECT FOR ALL LIFE, AND THE FREEDOM GOF INTENDED FOR US TO LIVE IS A GIFT!
OUR EMPATHY! OUR SELF-AWARENESS! OUR PERCEPTION AS ALL POWER...OF LIFE VALUES IS A GIFT!
We will remember to honor the Spirit of God in the life around us in thoughts of you! In our work day world, through all cultures of the world we may greet around us!
Maybe we should be rethinking this day as being a day to be conscious of Holy Spirit moving in our lives and in those around us; to be conscious and appreciative of our own life force and the light energy God has given us--for His guiding love and light and power and perceptive intelligence in our own lives...and look to better expose the behaviors that use raging blame and control policies, that seek to attack liberal values and liberal christian spirit in the perception of others in our own cultures---for the sake of those who do love God, and the God-given faith and insight only higher intelligence can give us.....
On Protesting our Rights to the 14th Amendment:
The 14th Amendment is the DUE PROCESS AMENDMENT TO ALL NATURAL BORN CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY---which is being denied to some of us to protest against the systems's discrimination, abuse and unjust policies of the medical and mental health systems........
[bible]Isaiah 10:1-3[/bible]
ISAIAH 10:1-3
[bible]1 Thessalonians 4:8[/bible]
1 THESSALONIANS 4:8