Well actually, before you judge and discard the idea of Thinking About Thinking, this is a brief history of my political/philosophic journey. You can best classify me as a disillusioned idealist who still believes that democracy has the best potential to create a better society, if people will simply think about what they say and do.
An idealist because I deeply want and believe that together we can make our world a better place. When I look at the long arc of history I see that over time there are now more people with hope and options than ever before. True this ebbs and flows, however, over time the benefits have accrued to a greater percentage of the population than ever before. [Don’t misinterpret this statement. The bad times and the places where ideals and principles are abandoned to bullies and sycophants are also worse than ever before.] The arch of inclusion and blessing is still advancing and being demanded, especially where it is not being experienced.
Disillusioned because change is such hard work. And as humans we have an innate tendency to select “easy” instead of “thinking” and looking not only at the moment, at self, but also at what we are wanting and how to create that in a lasting and sustainable way.
I am reminded that “If you don’t stand for something – you will fall for anything.” The challenge is that what we stand for is not static. It is dynamic. It must be applied to every experience, person and situation we encounter. Therefore, how we use the principles and values we claim to hold must evolve and be refined in order to assure that they are appropriate so we may transform the impossible into the desired potential.
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