London calling

[Raffi Aftandelian]

Paul,

I think what is most important for me is that although we have never
met in person, I count you as a friend. I count you as someone who has
taught me important things thanks to our common forum, this listserv.

And it means a lot to me that you (and many others) have a willingness
to engage deeply with me despite my (more often than occasional) sheer
obnoxiousness.

I look forward to any sessions not on muslims that you, I, or anyone
else may or may not initiate in Halifax (even though I am terribly
worried that I won't make it there!).

As for the Christian right arising in the US, all I can say that it
arose in part because someone/something did not feel heard. And to
this day they continue to thrive because many of us (whoever us is)
still do not hear them nor understand them (of course them is not as
monolithic as I imagine them to be).

And, it is thanks to Open Space that Funda and I might differ on our views
about what happened in Turkey/Armenian some hundred years ago, and yet
at the same time we seem to find the strength and openness within us
to think about a potential Turk-Armenian dialog project...

Warmly,
Raffi

Raffi Aftandelian wrote 10 июля 2005 г., 22:10:25:


> In a message dated 7/10/05 10:17:25 AM, raffi at bk.ru writes:


> And at the end of the day, all we have is Open Space, as banal as that
> may sound. So, I may butterfly into a session on muslims and read your
> report...




> Raffi, et. al.,

> There won't be any such a session led by me. Can't say anything
> for others.   If there is a conversation, it will be a private one
> between myself and Masud, presuming he is there and even wants one. 
> He may not.  

> I'm sorry if you assumed there would be a session on "muslims" at
> Halifax.   Never was in my mind at all.   I was surprised to see
> that it somehow arose in yours.   And I tend to agree with you that
> such a session would 'go nowhere', as I witnessed one such between
> Jews and Palestinians at the Practice of Peace here in Washington
> State a year or so ago.   Excellent points were made, ideas
> exchanged, lots of tension, correction, testy exchanges, etc., but I
> doubt any minds were changed.   No blows were exchanged, either.  
> And, as far as I can tell, which isn't far, nothing of substance
> changed in the situation, either.

> At that conference, a fundamental question arose in my mind and
> led to a joint session led by myself and Harrison, which was: "If we
> agree that war, violence and conflict is horrible and that we don't
> want it, why are we not already peaceful??"   My 'answer' relates to
> the Gandhian paraphrase in another letter on this thread, and that
> is that we are Unconscious in greater or lesser degrees.   Thus we
> still see the another person different from us as Other and they do
> likewise.  

> A second issue is that we don't have a way to live in agreement
> about what story is going to be 'told'; that is, what are the rules
> we are going to live by in our body politic?   Hence, we live in
> protracted conflict.   I don't see that ever changing until we get
> Conscious.   Therefore, I don't really know what the practice of
> peace means other than within my own self.   And there are days I
> certainly don't feel peaceful.    

> Here in the USA the rise of the religious right has manifested
> itself in the idea of teaching "intelligent design" in our schools,
> which is a code word for the Christian idea of all creation
> occurring five or six thousand years ago by God.   Never mind that
> the Universe is at least 14 billion years old, etc.   Especially
> that strong evidence exists for Darwinism in action.   That's to be
> ignored.   Ah, yes.   Anti-science, anti-reason, anti-logic again
> raising its ugly head.   We have seen it all before down through the
> ages.   Frightened people grasping at certainty in an uncertain,
> seemingly arbitrary world.   The death of Colin M. and 50 others in
> Britain is such an example of fate and chance from which we flee, to
> no avail.   (The Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex speaks to this dilemma). 
> It was ever thus in every religion and culture in the world.  
> (Although sometimes light breaks through, as in the US Constitution,
> and a new relationship of people and government is formed, more
> freedom is created, with all its messiness.)

> As for the MacDonald's comment---we never eat there.   But, one
> in six meals eaten out in the USA are eaten at MacDonald's.   I
> differ, rather profoundly, that such is brainwashing.   But, that's
> a whole other conversation about inner demons, projection, and etc.

> Be Well,

> Paul Everett   



-- 

 Raffi                          mailto:raffi at bk.ru

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