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To bad that is not what's happening. REMEMBER: FREE is not always free.

Wiz - I so appreciate all you are and all you do. I'd like to add to your comments.

Here's my two cents' worth for what it's worth. And please, for the record, these comments are not directed towards, against or on behalf of anyone else. They are merely my interpretation, using the limited confinement of language, to respond to a somewhat complex discussion. These comments are offered with love and peace and compassion for all of us with the hope of increasing a kinder, gentler, more loving, respectful and tolerant experience as we continue to share our lives in this forum which was founded on the noble and valued concept of open-minded communication. Who can argue with that?

For me, what open-minded theoretically implies, is that we can share our ideas, our hopes and dreams, our beliefs, more openly without any fear of being mocked or ridiculed. We can all engage in conversations and carry on a dialogue or exchange of information and concepts without being judged and without the need to judge others. We can all co-exist in the same chatroom or in a wide variety of forum threads without being harassed, belittled, laughed at or silenced. We can just be here freely and openly interact with those we feel a kinship with on whatever level we enjoy and seek, and let others do the same.

Something akin to practicing the Golden Rule - do unto others... And what a perfect place to practice it, simply by consciously and consistently doing it.

What we each are given and long to express and share is in some ways, an innate and sacred contract between our individual souls and our unique and varied concepts of God. That definition and expression is, by its very nature, an entirely personal one which has great meaning to each of us individually. Yet there's a very fine line between what we hold dear to our own hearts as our truth, THE ultimate truth, and allowing our personal beliefs and experiences to infringe upon those of others. 

Let's face it - There's a human tendency to make assumptions that our individual convictions are the absolute ultimate truth and as such our convictions and beliefs ought to or do apply to everyone. And if someone disagrees, well they need to be educated or fixed. So it's easy to take the leap into trying to convince or fix others (set them right, so to speak) as our personal responsible. 

Language is tricky business. That's why it's so important that we be impeccable with our word. Often an intended message gets lost in translation, or we read context or implications into comments that the author did not intend. Language itself is a human construct so it can never convey absolute truth. Yet the clearer and more careful we are with selecting our words, in our use of language, without "wiggle" words or insinuating a bias or an agenda or a hidden meaning, the better communication becomes. And, since there's often very little opportunity to clarify a misunderstood comment, it is incumbent on both the author and the reader(s) to take personal responsibility for both their choice of words and their translation when reading others' comments.

We will never all agree entirely on every topic with every person, here or elsewhere. That's a given. Conformity and compliance in any social and cultural context is a means of creating hierarchies for control, submission, subservience, fear, division, confusion and "war". On the other hand, tolerance is a divine virtue which conveys the message of acceptance, respect, unconditional love, unity, harmony, empathy, compassion, and cooperation which in turn allows us to celebrate our blessings and shared community, to be in communion, in "brotherly love" in spite of our differences. And thru an attitude and display of tolerance and mutual respect we can in fact celebrate the richness of the diversity among us and which we represent. We truly are a microcosm of the microcosm. After all, it's likely we share far more and have more in common than the differences among us.

Again I only speak for myself and what works for me: I don't focus on the differences per se. Instead I seek others who communicate in a similar (not identical) fashion, who share similar (not identical) perspectives, goals, and visions and I focus my attention there. If a topic doesn't resonate, I move on.

At the same time I don't necessarily feel compelled to object to comments in chat that don't fully align with my perspective. I don't judge it or define it or seek to fix it. I just move on and allow others their experience. And I expect to have the same courtesy extended to me. And I seek to become a better version of myself thru every interaction.

It's not my goal or intention, in these comments or otherwise, to fix anyone or anything, not unless I'm invited to or specifically asked to or paid to give my input or evaluation or opinion.  (I'm a healthcare provider.) And even then I have a choice whether to engage or not. Otherwise, I zip it. And I trust others to know what's best for them, and then I also allow them to take personal responsibility for the choices they make.  

My trust in others is in equal proportion to the level I trust myself. So I respect others in the same way.

We ALL get to choose how to live our lives.

We all get to choose for ourselves what we believe and how we respond. To inject or force others to comply or to attempt to engage and silence others - either one - IMO, are counter productive in a free and open society, whether that's a small forum like this, the community in which we live, a society at large or even in other countries around the world.

A silenced society is a gagged, imprisoned, stifled, dysfunctional and weak society. But the freedom to speak openly also comes with the added responsibility of certain virtues, including tolerance and respect for others to also speak freely, even if we disagree. Taking comments personally and responding with ridicule is optional and almost always creates conflict. And we all know what happens then. What's good for one is good for all. 

Let's move forward and go in peace.

balance 1 wrote:

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I appreciate what you said about conscious choice.  As A Course in Miracles says, would you rather be right or happy

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 Absolutely. ACIM, I know it well  - would you rather be right or would you rather be happy. Profound words indeed!