Self-Development and the Obama Movement

This was emailed to me via my local Obama group, and I'm going to post it in its entirety so that I don't lose it. Great piece.

Self-Development and the Obama Movement
by Wade Hudson

Barack often affirms self-improvement, personal responsibility, and mutual support. His statements on these issues include:

• Children can't achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets.
• Alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga, a belief that we are all connected as one people.
• We understand our liberty in a more positive sense as well, in the idea of opportunity and the subsidiary values that help realize opportunity. The values of self-reliance and self-improvement and risk-taking. The values of drive, discipline, temperance, and hard work. The values of thrift and personal responsibility.
• It was here [in Illinois] we learned to disagree without being disagreeable.
• So long as we're willing to listen to each other, we can assume the best in people instead of the worst.
• Each of us, in our own lives, will have to accept responsibility – for instilling an ethic of achievement in our children, for adapting to a more competitive economy, for strengthening our communities, and sharing some measure of sacrifice.
• The time is now to shake off our slumber, and slough off our fear, and make good on the debt we owe past and future generations.

His most powerful statement on these issues, however, may have been his 2007 Commencement Address at Southern New Hampshire University. Following are some excerpts (emphases added):

• We become tempted to turn inward, suspicious that change is really possible, doubtful that one person really can make a difference. That's where the true test of growing up occurs.
• In both your own life and the life of your country, will you strive to put away childish things?
• It is a constant struggle, this quest for maturity, and as my wife will certainly tell you, I haven't always been on the winning side in my own life...
• [T]he first lesson of growing up: The world doesn't just revolve around you…. We should talk more about our empathy deficit – the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes…. As you go on in life, cultivating this quality of empathy will become harder, not easier….
• [T]he second lesson is this:  Challenge yourself. Take some risks in your life.... Listen to what's inside of you and decide what it is that you care about so much that you're willing to risk it all.
• [A] third lesson in growing up: Persevere. Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. It's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.
• Cultivating empathy, challenging yourself, persevering in the face of adversity – these are qualities that dare us to put away childish things. They are qualities that help us grow.

With these remarks, Barack touches on how the never-ending change we need is personal as well as social, political, and cultural.

My previous recommendations to the Obama for America national office for their ongoing planning process has touched on these issues by suggesting that our post-election movement (the "Movement for Change"?) should clearly encourage the development of "supportive friendships."

Prior to those recommendations, I had suggested that we explicitly commit to "self-development and mutual support." But some individuals resist affirmations concerning "self-development," whether the concept is expressed in terms of self-development, self-improvement, personal growth, or some other language.

Some believe that they have already matured as much as they can. Others believe that some perfect self exists separate from those aspects of their personality that they wish to change, so to talk about self-improvement negates that perfection.

Yet others claim that any talk of self-development reinforces American rugged individualism. In The Audacity of Hope, Barack eloquently counters this concern by pointing out that self-development and community development are not mutually exclusive. Rather, they can reinforce one another.

Nevertheless, the resistance to affirming self-development persists. So in order not to turn off those people who object to that language and include as broad a range of individuals as possible, I suggest advancing "supportive friendships." Language is weird. The same words carry different meanings for different people. I'm hoping that "supportive friendships" will be more universally acceptable.

I assume almost everyone wants to develop, strengthen, and/or sustain supportive friendships. And I assume that supportive friendships generally involve the same process to which I refer when I talk about "self-development and mutual support." Almost everyone wants to figure out how to deal with difficult situations more effectively. Almost everyone wants to reduce "down" times. Almost everyone wants to increase her or his effectiveness in the world. Almost everyone wants good friends who can assist him or her with these efforts. And almost everyone is willing to be a good friend to others by assisting them. So I believe that promoting supportive friendships implies promoting self-development and mutual support.

It may be wiser and clearer to make this belief explicit by affirming "self-development and mutual support," even if some folks exclude themselves as a result. I'm not sure, but for now, I suggest leaving it implicit in "supportive friendships."

Regardless, I consider it important that we somehow address these issues in our training materials and Host Guides. We might simply talk about "how to increase our effectiveness." But one way or another, we need to encourage each other to take time to evaluate our efforts, both individual and collective, reflect on ways that we could improve those efforts, and commit to undertaking improvements.

We need not prescribe for others exactly how they should proceed in this regard. Rather, following the harm-reduction model in drug treatment programs, we can encourage everyone to define their own goals for themselves and then support them in achieving those goals.

To some degree, friends naturally provide one another with this kind of support informally. Presumably, team members will do so to some significant degree, during shared meals, during meetings, after meetings, and at other times.

It's easy, however, to get caught up in the pressures of the modern world and the urgency of meeting immediate goals. So in order to pay more attention to these issues, some teams might, with some loose structures, decide to formalize their commitment to self-development and mutual support.

Those teams, if any, that decide to do so could, after pledging to keep their conversations confidential, go around the circle with each person first reporting on recent efforts with regard to self-development – whatever form that might take (as determined by each individual). Feedback from others could be minimal. Unsolicited advice could be discouraged. Mostly, others could simply listen carefully. Problem solving and conflict resolution could be addressed later as needed, perhaps informally. Benefits could include the increased self-understanding that comes from articulating one's reflections, as well as increased mutual understanding. Just slowing down and a break to reflect can foster forward movement. Team members could then go around the circle reporting on their political action and how they felt about it, and then their community service, followed by decision-making concerning their joint political action for the next month and other items.

Those are some options that a team could use to nurture self-development intentionally. Any such teams that made this kind of commitment could affiliate with one another, perhaps in a Community of Home-Based Teams.

Though it's generally counter-productive to tell individuals how they should change, we can fruitfully talk about these issues in general terms, if only to offer points for folks to consider. So, recognizing that there are many individual exceptions, following are my observations about how we progressive activists need to improve how we relate to others in order to improve our effectiveness.

We need to become:

• More accepting and less judgmental toward others.
• Better listeners.
• Less power-hungry, ego-centered, and competitive.
• Steadier and less prone to burn out.
• Less wrapped up in ideas.
• More expressive with our feelings.
• Better able to offer constructive criticism.
• Less angry and more loving.
• More joyful.
• Less obsessed with results and more trusting.
• More attuned to how we work.

In short, we need to constantly become the change we seek. While there is much we can do on our own, we'll always need support from others at times. The higher the quality of that support, the more we can grow. And the more we grow, the more we can change the world.

Lawrence Britt: 14 Characteristics of Fascism

Ah, familiarity.

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism

Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights

Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause

The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military

Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism

The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

6. Controlled Mass Media

Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security

Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined

Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected

The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed

Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts

Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment

Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption

Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections

Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Palin's Idea of Freedom of Speech

Dear God. Palin is at it again, showing her ignorance and ineptitude by completely reversing the ideal of the First Amendment.

Perhaps she should read Democracy For Dummies. I heard that the new version is coming out around January 20th of next year. It's anticipated that it will greatly outsell How To Build A Fascist Theocratic Regime By Cheating, Stealing & Lying To The American People For Dummies. I've already ordered my copy.

You can order yours as well by going here: voteforchange.com

Freedom

A beautiful description of freedom, IMO. This was a comment posted on by imadis on 538... this closely mirrors my philosophy.

DECONSTRUCTING BASIC PHILOSOPHIES OF PARTIES ...

Basic Individual Rights:

1) Freedom ‘To’
2) Freedom ‘From’
3) Freedom ‘Of’

Defining Individual Rights:

1) Freedom ‘To’ is the right that most people think of when hears the term ‘freedom’. This is one’s right of choosing one’s own religion, freedom of speech, freedom to ride across America on a Harley. It also includes the right to choose your spouse, your vocation, where you live, where to send your kids to school, etc.

2) Freedom ‘From’ refers to protecting you and your property from harm. Most criminal statutes fall under this category. Examples include banning thievery and murder, protecting property rights and one’s own health. This right is apparently so important that even the THREAT of violating this right can result in penalties, by acts such as speeding, drunk driving, or wanton endangerment.

3) Freedom ‘Of’ is one’s freedom of opportunity, regardless of race, class, sex, religion, etc. Most civil rights laws fall in this category. Education being equal and available to all as well. I also believe that this encompasses the belief that if one works and contributes to society, he/she should be allowed to earn a living wage and provide for one’s family. NOTE: This does NOT mean equal outcome, just equal opportunity.


Comparing the philosophies of the two parties, the Republicans tend to put an emphasis on number one. The Democrats tend to weigh each individual case balancing the 3 rights. One side is more ‘cut and dry’ while one is more ‘nuanced’.

For people to have their rights ‘from’ and ‘of’ protected, we need a strong central government enacting and enforcing laws. There is no other way to do it. It would be great in the Republican's minds if we could just do away with government and let everyone be what they can be by self-determination. The problem with this is now the power moves to those with the $$$$.

When times are good, this problem is not as evident. The meltdown on Wall Street has recently exposed this problem. Whether they know it or not, the realization of this represents a tectonic shift in the thinking of the role of government. This is why it does not matter what John McCain does, he CANNOT change the circumstances we are now living in.

Capitalism is the most efficient economic system, but works best when there are checks and balances to protect individual rights. Even Alan Greenspan admits that complete free markets cannot police themselves. An economic system is there to work for society's needs, not the other way around.

It Ain't Over 'Til The $150k Wardrobe Sings

This is getting precious. Excerpts from a CNN article describing the blind ambition of Caribou Barbie Governor Palin:

(CNN) -- With 10 days until Election Day, long-brewing tensions between GOP vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin and key aides to Sen. John McCain have become so intense, they are spilling out in public, sources say.

Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN that they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin "going rogue."...

A second McCain source says she appears to be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign.

"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," said this McCain adviser. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.

"Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom."

In other news, Newsweek has already released a poll in anticipation of the 2012 election (seriously). Anyone sick of the polls yet?

Arugula Gets A Bad Rap

I admit it, I'm elitist. I live in San Francisco (the hotbed of commie marxist librul terrorists, you betcha), I drive a Prius, vote for the Democrat, eat mostly vegan, recycle and am a community organizer (*gasp!*) So it may come as no surprise that I was attacked by little starbursts when I saw the arugula winking at me in the Trader Joe's produce aisle.

Now, I've had arugula before, but I've never seen it in a package at my local grocer before. Of course, I just had to pick it up. I recommend you try it! It's highly NOMable. And quite good for you, too.

For instance, did you know that arugula:

* is rich in vitamin C and potassium?
* is considered an aphrodisiac?
* is used to create a liquor called rucolino?
* is only 2 calories per 1/2 cup serving?

I'd like to announce that I am officially beginning a campaign to Save Endangered Arugula. Will you join me? Here are some arugula recipes to get you started.

Wasssup!?

I hated the original, but this is just an awesome remake.