Follow-up to 'Haven't You Learned Anything!?'

Lack of comments speak to two different things. First, it could be the kind of thing that really causes people deep reflection on what has been said. It may even have some incredibly challenging perspectives that are difficult to swallow. Second, there could be a great deal of disagreement or even fear - although I certainly hope it is not the latter.

It was said to me that the comment by another user about the wounded warrior entry wasn't judgmental. If it is seen that I have singled that person out, then the point of the article is missed. Human-beings are judgmental by design - it's what we do. It even goes by different names. Discernment is having good judgment. To perceive is to sense and make sense of information, again an exercise of judgment is occuring. In writing my article and stating my observations, I too am exercising judgment. This isn't about pointing a finger at someone and saying, "na na nana na!" It's about seeing more!

Initially, in my response article Haven't You Learned Anything? I begin by saying the comment didn't sit well with me. That can mean many number of things. I go on to explain. I speak of how a simple statement is a broad brush-stroke and I agreed it does take some longer to learn. I also wanted to offer much more - a deeper and wider perspective. This is what the blog-entry is about.

I know some people who've been on the street and I know some people who are still on the street. I know what has happened in my own life and I know how close I came to being on the street. Society, the coddled members, are much more comfortable distancing themselves from responsibility for creating the messes we have in society. Instead, it is easier to point fingers and blame the individual who landed where they are. Some of the street people are there by choice, in order to be free from the shit we live in society. Others are there because they can't fight anymore. We could look at every segment of our populace and find out how easy it is and how much more comfortable it is to keep your head buried in the sand.

You see, people are quick to make assumptions about WHY things are the way they are. Laying blame on the person who is scratching the pavement looking for a rock is the easy way out. There is nothing in society that doesn't exist that isn't the cause of mankind --- not one man: It's our society, it's our rules of engagment, it's our rules of competition, politics, and free enterprise. There are many who don't care about the damage they create to get where they want to go. This was the motivation for writing Haven't You Learned Anything? and this follow-up.
Even last night, the movie Thank-you For Smoking inspired more thoughts on our FREEDOM of choice and instead of accepting the responsibility, so many of us in society point a finger and lay the blame. Interesting isn't it? Drugs, Cigarettes, Booze, Guns, Sex, Rock and Roll, Dieting, the foods we eat, the food that's packaged, the pesticides used, the trees burned and clear-cut, the environment wasted.... it's all their fault. None of it is mine. None of it is yours. I had no say in the matter. I didn't know any better. They tricked me with their media advertising. My parents smoked too. I didn't stand a chance. Neither did you.

In other words, I don't have a problem with what the comment said that responded to the wounded warrior. I had a problem with what it didn't say and that quite often, society will opt for the easy answer - the one that abdicates responsibility. Articles like this are a call for more social responsibility. Is that not clear in what I've written? We are at choice, we all have an impact, with words, thoughts, and actions.