Positive schmositive!

Reasonableness, humility and compassion cannot exist in the modern world of politics because there isn't a single politician in the western world who is qualified for the job. Experience over the last few years has shown that politicians no longer get ellected for what they can do but for what they can spend in buying votes. Once they are elected they go into "snout in trough" over-drive and grab every single pecuniary advantage that they can - no matter who suffers. Neither idealist nor pragmat

Idealists and pragmatists are not the opposite side of a single coin. A pragmatist accepts what is if he has no power to change it. A prisoner, for example, cannot live in the free society and he will accept it if he is pragmatic. An idealist is a dreamer. He wants everything to fit in with his idea of perfection. Idealists do tremendous damage because they are ignorant of the simple rule of cause and effect. To make a single person the president, for example, denies the effect of concensus. Thi

"This is true but it rather hard to bridge that gap when one party is determined to impose their will on others." Cheryl, both idealism and pragmatism have to be tempored with reasonableness, humility and compassion or both become destructive and dehumanizing. Without Love all belief systems or mindsets are nothing more but "sounding brass and tinkling cymbals".

This is true but it rather hard to bridge that gap when one party is determined to impose their will on others. The Native Americans, helped the first settlers to survive on these shores and how did the settlers pay them back? Not by respecting their culture, they paid them back with the theory of 'Manifest Destiny and destroyed civilizations that were way more advanced spiritually and in the conservation of Nature than the European Settlers were. The problem is that idealist in order to trul

Cheryl, my point is there needn't be this animosity between idealists and pragmatists. Had the humans in "Avatar" respected the Navi world and worked around their "Sacred Tree" both Navi's and Humans would have benefited. When idealists and pragmatists work together and learn from one another, great things can be achieved. Idealists need pragmatists to keep thier feet grounded in Reality and pragmatists need idealists for motivation to "reach for the sky".

How many species have been driven to the brink of extinction by human greed? We are killing ourselves through idealism. I'm not a tree-hugger, but you don't need to be to see the results of greed destroying our world. We ARE killing our mother because we ignore/do not understand the law of cause and effect.

That does paint a ver flattering picture of idealists does it? The Navi; like Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Africans, Inuit and other societies inveded and destroyed by European Conquest; all had highly evolved societies that had achieved the goal of providing for their needs while respecting and living in harmony with nature. The humans, because of greed had every intention of destroying Pandora as they had already destroyed Earth. Think back to the scene where Sam is talking to Ewah.

Hey, Arthur, I see you finally saw "Avatar"! I love that movie. As I pointed out in Cheryl's more recent article on positive thinking, the core difference between me and you is I am an idealist and you are a pragmatist. The idealist never accepts Reality as the ideal and the pragmatist accepts Reality as the ideal. In the movie "Avatar", Sam was the crippled pragmatist who found his Ideal in the world of the Navi. The ironic thing is the Navi were pragmatists fighting for their world to survive.

Avatar simply pointed what has been historically done since the beginning., turn the native population into savages and then take what you want. Look at the image the native American had for years through the reinforcement of 'savage injuns' idea.

Found out! The film "Avatar" is a great story and exposes mankind for what it is. A particularly nasty comment on us is made when the troops are being briefed after having destroyed the "Home Tree" village in a massive display of WMDs. A build up of Na'vi is seen as a great threat and the statement "we will fight terror with terror" is not only ironic but a major comment on the state of the world today. Self defence is now terrorism!

Arthur Webster! Got it! Much better than "The Old Coot"! LOL!

W-h-o-a-h! I love that "negative pole of your car battery" analogy, Old Coot! And like you, I concur with your assessment of us humans as "polar beings" full of positive/negative influences, contradictions and paradoxes but that is the awesome beauty and mystery of being human. In the movie "Avatar", the alien Navi had the expression "I See You" to express the true understanding and appreciation of another. With this article I now, "see" you, Old Coot. (What the hell is your real name, anyway

Hi, Roosevelt. I am a very comfortable person but like all polar beings, I am aware that to function correctly, I must have both positive and negative influences. Disconnect the negative pole of your car battery and see how far it will travel using the engine.

"I am not a positive person, nor am I a negative person, I AM COMFORTABLE WITH REALITY." Old Coot, Gautama Buddha would be proud of that statement! LOL! However because you are "comforable with Reality", you are indeed a "positive" person underneath the facade of cynicism you perpetrate. William Blake, a great theologian and mystic said, "Imagination is the real and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow". Hold on to your imagination Old Coot!

Hi, Cheryl, I am beginning to wonder if the latest, greatest proceedure at Apsense is the frontal lobotomy! The level of converstaion was quite good, once, but now it seems that unless they are promoting (by copy and paste) their latest rip-off bizz-op, members have nothing to say. What on earth is going on? I would expect some sort of reaction to posts with which members don't agree but it seems that it is all too much trouble or maybe it hurts when they think. To try to pass Apsense off as a s

Yeah, people tend to shoot the messenger when you tell them things they don't want to hear. But my guess is you are bullet proof Arthur. LOL

You won't get any responses other than from a handful, I'm quite sure that their feelings are hurt because you have pointed out that they are living in LaLa Land. In order to discuss reality you have to have a grasp on the concept. However those who refuse to see reality are living on borrowed time because reality will jump up and bite them in the rear end when they least expect it and they will be sitting their with a completely moronic look on their face.

Hi, Paula, dealing with hurdles is positive whether you leap over them, find a way round them or simply give up and return whence you came. One of the most important aspects of European languages is that they cannot express a negative. The term "negative statement" is an oxymoron. The way PMA has been used to make people feel guilty about how they view reality is one of the great results of ignorant propaganda. In Spain and in the UK people are said to have their feet on the ground if they deal

Nice one Arthur. Here in Holland we call such people "goat wool socks wearers". people always walking with their heads in the clouds. I am also in favor of reality although I have a positive approach in dealing with hurdles.

I know it is sad.