The Struggle for the Soul of America

[Nick_A]

https://www.google.com/search?q=adgio+f ... e&ie=UTF-8

Samuel Barber's Adagio for strings for 9/11. It says it all. Is the soul of America worth it?

[Harbal]

But his description of the progressive mind as compared to the religious mind is worth contemplating. He suggests that the religious mind has consciously experienced the vertical psychological path to truth the secular mind is yet to experience. If true, it explains a lot

What are the characteristics of a progressive mind?

[henry quirk]

Malcolm Muggeridge Through the Microphone (1969)
One of the great weaknesses of the progressive, as distinct from the religious, mind, is that it has no awareness of truth as such; only of truth in terms of enlightened expediency.


The greatest threat to the soul of America is its gradual descent into the secular mind. Respect for the eternal values which make liberty possible are being sacrificed to the belief in "enlightened expediency" Will there be enough remaining who remember the direction from which the soul is drawn to in order to make a difference? I don't know.

have faith, Nick: the fat broad ain't sung yet

dark times are on us, have been for decades...however, I believe a reckonin' is at hand

let's say the shit does hit the fan and we lose: 'murica dies, the commies rule the roost, the devil dances a joyful jig

what's to be done?

we carry on...teach our kids what's right...resist...bein' free is a durable notion, a spirit that won't be shut up easily or for long

[Nick_A]

But his description of the progressive mind as compared to the religious mind is worth contemplating. He suggests that the religious mind has consciously experienced the vertical psychological path to truth the secular mind is yet to experience. If true, it explains a lot

What are the characteristics of a progressive mind?

The progressive mind and the secular mind are really the same.

The secular mind is a duality based. It is the struggle between the two forces such as affirmation /denial, yes/no, for example We respond to a dominant desire. Another side of ourselves resists it.

Suppose a person has the dominant desire to lose twenty pounds. His attraction to box of chocalate chip cookies resists. A person continually changes directions but the struggle between these two forces governs animal life.

Now for some reason a person comes to experience that the two forces of yes and no can be seen together from a higher conscious perspective. A person isn't living life but actually life is living them. This is the beginning of the third force which reconciles duality.

The secular mind has yet to experience it and reacts in accordance with habits acquired by reacting to the struggle between desires and resistance. The non secularized religious experience is the experience of the vertical third force reconciling horizontal duality from a higher perspective and opening the psychological path leading back to our source,

[Nick_A]

Malcolm Muggeridge Through the Microphone (1969)
One of the great weaknesses of the progressive, as distinct from the religious, mind, is that it has no awareness of truth as such; only of truth in terms of enlightened expediency.


The greatest threat to the soul of America is its gradual descent into the secular mind. Respect for the eternal values which make liberty possible are being sacrificed to the belief in "enlightened expediency" Will there be enough remaining who remember the direction from which the soul is drawn to in order to make a difference? I don't know.

have faith, Nick: the fat broad ain't sung yet

dark times are on us, have been for decades...however, I believe a reckonin' is at hand

let's say the shit does hit the fan and we lose: 'murica dies, the commies rule the roost, the devil dances a joyful jig

what's to be done?

we carry on...teach our kids what's right...resist...bein' free is a durable notion, a spirit that won't be shut up easily or for long

Society is constantly changing. It is either on an evolutionry or devolutionry path. My concern is for the devolutionary path we are on.Where does it end? Does it end in tyranny? If so, freedom will have been sacrificed with no way of getting it back without first hitting bottom. Nothing to look forward to.

[henry quirk]

Malcolm Muggeridge Through the Microphone (1969)
One of the great weaknesses of the progressive, as distinct from the religious, mind, is that it has no awareness of truth as such; only of truth in terms of enlightened expediency.


The greatest threat to the soul of America is its gradual descent into the secular mind. Respect for the eternal values which make liberty possible are being sacrificed to the belief in "enlightened expediency" Will there be enough remaining who remember the direction from which the soul is drawn to in order to make a difference? I don't know.

have faith, Nick: the fat broad ain't sung yet

dark times are on us, have been for decades...however, I believe a reckonin' is at hand

let's say the shit does hit the fan and we lose: 'murica dies, the commies rule the roost, the devil dances a joyful jig

what's to be done?

we carry on...teach our kids what's right...resist...bein' free is a durable notion, a spirit that won't be shut up easily or for long

Society is constantly changing. It is either on an evolutionry or devolutionry path. My concern is for the devolutionary path we are on.Where does it end? Does it end in tyranny? If so, freedom will have been sacrificed with no way of getting it back without first hitting bottom. Nothing to look forward to.

nuthin' is forever...if tyranny comes, we endure it till we can break it (again)

there's everything to look forward to

[Harbal]

Suppose a person has the dominant desire to lose twenty pounds. His attraction to box of chocalate chip cookies resists. A person continually changes directions but the struggle between these two forces governs animal life.

I'm sure this applies to religious and non-religious people alike. Are you saying that religious people are never tempted to eat too many cookies, or are you saying that they don't bother to resist the temptation?

Now for some reason a person comes to experience that the two forces of yes and no can be seen together from a higher conscious perspective. A person isn't living life but actually life is living them. This is the beginning of the third force which reconciles duality.

The secular mind has yet to experience it and reacts in accordance with habits acquired by reacting to the struggle between desires and resistance. The non secularized religious experience is the experience of the vertical third force reconciling horizontal duality from a higher perspective and opening the psychological path leading back to our source,

I don't know what "higher conscious perspective", "vertical third force" or "horizontal duality" are, they sound like made up things to me.

[PeteJ]

I think my comment to you guys over there would be 'get over yourself'. You're just another nation trying to sort itself out. It's believing you're special that causes most of the angst, and most of the trouble for the rest of us.

[henry quirk]

nah

we're 'muricans: self-absorbed & nasty

we can't get over ourselves any more than we can stop breathin'

[Nick_A]

Here is a typical expression of five American ideals. Most fall short of ideals but to have them is a guide to what is possible. The fact that America has these unique ideals makes it an exceptional country. The fact that so many want to take them away proves the danger America is in.

The 5 American Ideals

When America was founded as a new country, the Founding Fathers wanted to base the foundations of the country off of five ideals. The ideals were for making the country thrive and the people happy. For the most part, this has worked for over 200 years! These ideals that the Country was based off of are called the Five

American Ideals today.

Democracy

Democracy is one of the Five American Ideals. The definition of Democracy, in my own words, is a government controlled by the people.

Rights

Rights is (are?) another one of the Five American Ideals. My definition of Rights is a person's capability that of doing or having something that cannot be taken away. Americans are born with three unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Liberty

Speaking of Liberty, Liberty is another one of the Five American Ideals. My definition of Liberty is freedom. Wether it is freedom from rulers or one of the Freedoms in the Bill of Rights, every American has Freedom.

Opportunity

Opportunity is yet another one of the Five American Ideals. Opportunity, in my own words, is the chance to do something. The Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion are both examples of how early Americans used their Opportunity.

Equality

Equality is the Fifth and final American Ideal. My definition of equality is everyone being equal to one another. Another definition of Equality, though not my words, is this famous line: all men are created equal.

[Harbal]

Here is a typical expression of five American ideals. Most fall short of ideals but to have them is a guide to what is possible. The fact that America has these unique ideals makes it an exceptional country.

Not really exceptional as far as those "ideals" are concerned; they are regarded as basic principles throughout the Western World, and that includes quite a few countries.

The fact that so many want to take them away proves the danger America is in.

Who, with any credible chance of succeeding, wants to take them away?

[Nick_A]

Harbal

I don't know what "higher conscious perspective", "vertical third force" or "horizontal duality" are, they sound like made up things to me.

An animal is a creature of reaction. It functions by dualistic reactions to the external world according to the quality of its being. Animal Man lives in dualism reacting to the two forces of Affirmation and denial. Man is unique since it has the potential to live by three forces: affirmtion, denial, and what consciously reconciles them or a quality of consciousness in which they are seen as one

It is liker a mother watching her two kids plying in the sandbox. They may fight but she sees them as "one" from a higher perspective looking down on her children.

[Harbal]

An animal is a creature of reaction. It functions by dualistic reactions to the external world according to the quality of its being. Animal Man lives in dualism reacting to the two forces of Affirmation and denial.

Affirmation and denial of what?

Man is unique since it has the potential to live by three forces: affirmtion, denial, and what consciously reconciles them or a quality of consciousness in which they are seen as one

And when they are seen as one, what do they look like?

[Nick_A]

Here is a typical expression of five American ideals. Most fall short of ideals but to have them is a guide to what is possible. The fact that America has these unique ideals makes it an exceptional country.

Not really exceptional as far as those "ideals" are concerned; they are regarded as basic principles throughout the Western World, and that includes quite a few countries.

The fact that so many want to take them away proves the danger America is in.

Who, with any credible chance of succeeding, wants to take them away?

Start at the beginning. The concept of democracy asserts that the government works for the people. Is that what is happening now or has the concept become so corrupted people now work for the government?

[Nick_A]

An animal is a creature of reaction. It functions by dualistic reactions to the external world according to the quality of its being. Animal Man lives in dualism reacting to the two forces of Affirmation and denial.

Affirmation and denial of what?

Man is unique since it has the potential to live by three forces: affirmtion, denial, and what consciously reconciles them or a quality of consciousness in which they are seen as one

And when they are seen as one, what do they look like?

Affirmation and denial is the same as yin and yang. The universe is governed by the interactions of these two elemental forces: "the meaning of yin and yang is that the universe is governed by a cosmic duality, sets of two opposing and complementing principles or cosmic energies that can be observed in nature."

Watch a movie. You can observe the characters and together they create the movie. Life is the same but we are too attached to what is taking place to experience it as one but instead as unrelated parts..