The Zen Dictator Speaks

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And that is all I have to say.

Oh wait, there is a bit more…

Anything I say right now will be seized on by somebody as proof of something. It will be, as so many things have been, see through the perception filters of whoever reads it.

As the nominal authority figure in a place where one of the things that DOES unite us is….a general lack of respect and a keen distrust of authority figures….all I can say is that perhaps it is time for us all to take a step back and a deep breath and try to let things calm down a bit. Let the intense emotional charges dissipate a little.

I know we all still have things that we will need to express, but…..we need to all take a break from the intensity, and regain our centers.

Someone needs to call a break, so we can all step back from the brink. And maybe get a fresh start from a NEW perspective, to take the lessons learned (and if we haven’t all learned some lessons about ourselves then this was truly just destructive) absorb them and let them work their way through us.

BREAK

Deep Breath

more BREAK

There, that’s better.

Now….

Let’s try again. Let’s try to focus on our commonality, not our differences… for a bit anyway.

Hey, it’s worth a shot, if only to break the stereotype of the liberal circular firing squad.

So yes, I will go ahead and say it, because it needs to be said, even though we know the answer….but maybe, just maybe, the exceptional people here can find a new answer, after seeing….again… how destructive the old one can be.

So…here I go….for what it is worth…the eternal, quintessential question  that needs to be asked…

.

.

Can’t we all get a lawn?

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72 comments

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  1. IF we choose to learn its lessons

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    And those lessons are about us, not them.

    And as always, I most definitely include myself and my behavior

    • k9disc on July 26, 2008 at 20:55

    I did yoga this morning.

    The public TV channel here in Branson where I’m doing shows for the summer really rocks.

    1st time. My girlfriend does Yoga a lot and has been trying to get me motivated. I think I’ll be doing it more often.

    Feels good!

    • nobody on July 26, 2008 at 21:27

    Is not the eternal tao

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    Om Tara Tuttare Ture Svaha!Om Tara Tuttare Ture Svaha!Om Tara Tuttare Ture Svaha!Om Tara Tuttare Ture Svaha!Om Tara Tuttare Ture Svaha!Om Tara Tuttare Ture Svaha!Om Tara Tuttare Ture Svaha!Om Tara Tuttare Ture Svaha!Om Tara Tuttare Ture Svaha!

    Repeat as needed.

    • Robyn on July 26, 2008 at 22:23

    …and hope that speaks loudly enough.

  3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

  4. …post a photo of an overly fertilized, overly pesticided, overly watered, overly manicured lawn? And encourage us all to replicate this greenwashing?

    Aiuyeeeeee.

  5. that we’re not the only on-line community to fact this challenge.

    I honestly was NOT looking for this today, but in my surfing, ran across an academic study of flame wars being done at NYU. Go take the survey and hopefully the results will illuminate.

  6. I didn’t figure you to be a manicured lawn dude….

    But in the interests of peace,unity, and beer I will celebrate your choice and flop on the ground next to you.

  7. I see clouds in the shape of calicos….. What a coincidence!

  8. …to step in the middle of this situation.  I would like to say, though, that I hope no one involved feels a need to leave the site.  I know some already have.  I sincerely hope they reconsider and come back.

    One of the reasons I enjoy reading Docudharma is the passion of the authors.  I find that I usually share your values, but I don’t have your passion or intensity, and I envy that in you.

    I expect that passionate people will have intense disagreements at times.  I expect that there will not be a resolution to these disagreements every time.  They will hang out there.  Does anyone among us not see the same thing every day with our family, friends, co-workers, etc.?  Can we reasonably expect a blog to be any different?

    I do not expect a dictator to step in to hold a trial and impose a sentence each time a dispute arises.  I can read RedState.com if I want that (they have a dictator who rules with an iron fist — skipping the “trial” phase of course).  I don’t have any problem with how you’ve handled the situation, buhdy.  The lawn looks lovely to me.    

    I just got back from a 6-beer lunch at my favorite German restaurant.  And they were good German beers, not the wimpy American (or soon to be Belgian) variety.  I apologize in advance if that contributed to my post being out of place.  I don’t participate enough here to have earned a right to lecture anyone.  It was not my intention to do so.  I just wanted to add a perspective from an occasional member of the community.

  9. This flame war episode.  It might have something to do with my company terminating the last vestiges of US productivity and my 22 year career in favor of greener profit pastures in China.  That has been sort of a major distraction but I still got to ride my Apocalyptic horse yesterday.

    There should be a general lust for contempt of authority.  Since I lean more toward the metaphysical I submit the esoteric Michael StClair.

    http://www.projectcamelot.org/

    “The right” wants me to “embrace” as fact “the surge” has indeed worked and that the primary threat of “Islamic terrorism is of prime importance, “the left” wants to take half my income via “carbon trading Wall Street credits” to subsidize China’s industrial gold rush boom and reduce me shooting Bambi to feed the family.  Yes in my book you both suck.  All of you ban me from your boards merely upon the utterance of an observation of ignorance.  This is my indictment of the constructions of what American society has become.  Is it our fault or is it the fault of people like this, the marketing gurus of mass media.

    http://www.scl.cc/home.php

    • Viet71 on July 27, 2008 at 01:57

    You make room for lots of voices, which I like.

    Keep it up!

  10. out because it seemed like a big waste. Flinging myself down on dirt and compost won’t work and all my neighbors lawns are toxic as hell. How about a hammock? Glad to hear the wizard speaking again and wisely. First part was really cool nothing like air to clear the mind body and soul.  

    • srkp23 on July 27, 2008 at 04:26

    During NN time? Or maybe I shouldn’t even ask.  

  11. …you’re not MY zen dictator man!  I march to the beat of my own damn zen drummer!

    That’s what I think of you and your RULES man…

    • RUKind on July 27, 2008 at 11:02

    Coincidence? Pass the pliers, please. 😉

  12. we don’t all get along. all the time.

    some in-the-end productive reason

    because maybe the really killing thing is too much cheerleading, too much admiration, and too much agreement. it produces perhaps a tepid harmony. not hot or cold. no edges. or horizon. maybe no light or dark. i don’t know. everything gets blurry and there’s too much that becomes exceptional, killing what may be really special. yeah. i just don’t know.

    tension is essential imo. how to manage it is certainly another question.

    • kj on July 27, 2008 at 16:28

    anyone can be a wizard on a mountain top, in my thinking, “we” need wizards in the world.  

  13. Can’t we all get a lawn?

    NO!

    * 6.7 billion poeple times 20 acres of lawn per person= ??

    * How much energy was expended to create this “lawn”?

    * How many natural niches were destroyed to create this “lawn”?

    Sorry to be the party pooper on the “ideal”, but the illusion is false.

  14. so sorry.

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