Posted by alexandra_k on November 6, 2005, at 22:56:40
In reply to Re: Sorry Dinah, posted by verne on November 6, 2005, at 22:44:16
> How did the meditating go? Hope all's well.
Hey there :-)
I'm glad you are still talking to me :-)
I forgot to do the meditating. And I promised too. Crap. I shall have a go tonight. Are you going to have a go too???
> You've been working hard on this rephrasing without any feedback so I thought I'd give you my perspective.Thanks. Yeah I really have been trying.. Really. But I'm not doing such a good job :-( I can tell that. I think... Maybe I should have just said 'sorry' and left it at the first post. But I wanted to try and rephrase it properly... I'm sorry.
> You wrote, "personally - I don't think that is fair. Thats what frightens me about american individualism. That attitude. I don't think that is acceptable."Yeah. Though I was trying not to repeat it ;-)
> There may be nothing wrong with saying "american individualism" if there's no negative judgement attached. The rub may be in suggesting that it isn't "fair" or "acceptable" and "frightening".Yeah. I don't think there is anything overtly negative or anything in 'american individualism'. It is just if you really unpack what that is about... That you end up with something that I am opposed to. Because I don't think it is fair. And I don't accept it because of that. And I do feel frightened by the unpacked view. I do. But I should have sympathy that other people don't necesarily unpack the view in the way that I have. And they don't necessarily endorse the way that I have unpacked it....
> I think when we talk in terms of national "traits" we find ourselves on thin ice. One nationality may be known for thriftiness, another for arrogance, yet another for being too emotional. Come to think of it, most national traits are negative, and best left unrepeated, lest we insult people of that particular national persuasion.I guess I wasn't thinking so much of national traits so much as a political ideal that most people in the nation embrace. But perhaps that does blur into national traits like you say... But I don't know. I'm not really trying to say anything about the particular people and their beliefs. I'm not really trying to say that if you did a survey then this is the finding you would expect. Maybe the problem is that I"m not so sure what I'm saying. I think... I take yourpoint. I agree. I suoldn't have started talking about 'amercian individualism' in the first place.
I'm sorry.
> Perhaps, I'm missing something. Babblespeak isn't my native tongue.Thanks for trying to help me out.
Take care.
poster:alexandra_k
thread:574039
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20050924/msgs/576222.html