Monday, November 15, 2010

American Exceptionalism, 2

The Truth shall set you free. Is this so even if the truth is ‘negative?’ Even if we don’t want to hear it, or see it, or face it? I think so mostly because if we face the truth we can move on whereas if we’re denying it, lying about it, deluding ourselves and covering it up we’re stuck. Not only stuck, but the energy that might go into moving on and making things better is being squandered on the lies and cover up. Enough!

Is it true that people have to hit bottom before they’ll face the truth? Well, maybe not a complete ‘bottom,’ a total breakdown or bankruptcy, but a bottom somewhere, perhaps in their willingness to lie, keep their heads in the sand, cling to their illusions and ignorance, deny and cover up. They have to hit bottom with that, say Enough! to that, give that up, realize that doesn’t work [if it ever did]. They have to bottom out on the bull shit, say I’ve had enough and am not going to take it anymore, then choose to separate what does work from what doesn’t. It’s not all bad, just as its not all good. Actually, its mostly neutral and we’re the ones that label it good or bad. But we want to keep the baby, we do not want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

That’s what I’m trying to help myself and you, my readers, do with this discussion of American Exceptionalism, keep the baby, face the truth, and say enough to the ‘we’re #1 bullshit.’ The truth is [to me] that what we’ve been doing as a nation, perhaps for the last thirty years ever since greed became good, hasn’t worked real well, except for a few.
We’ve got to face that truth, free ourselves from the bullshit about why and how it’s not true - that our shit doesn’t stink, and move on. Just stop doing what’s not working and start doing what will work.

Don’t kid yourself; we know the difference, we do know what to stop doing and start doing. No cover-ups, no political games, no winners and losers, just Americans taking responsibility for their decisions and pulling together to build a world that works for everyone and everything. If the world we’re building only works for Americans, both rich and poor [which it clearly doesn’t], destroys flora and fauna and the planet, creates problems in Mexico and other countries, we’re not facing the truth, we’re clinging to our ignorance and illusions and insisting our shit doesn’t stink.

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