Working With Words
A weblog devoted to spurring a conversation among those who use words to varying degrees in their daily work. Hosted by John Ettorre, a Cleveland-based writer and editor. Please email me at: john.ettorre@gmail.com. "There comes a time when you realize that everything is a dream, and only those things preserved in writing have any possibility of being real." --James Salter
Sunday, November 15, 2009
About Me
- Name: John Ettorre
- Location: Cleveland, Ohio
I'm a Cleveland, Ohio-based writer, editor and writing coach, with more than 25 years of experience, including stints in Chicago and Washington, D.C. My work has appeared in more than 100 print and online publications, from the New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor to local and regional publications. My work has been recognized by awards (including an Emmy) from four journalism groups.
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9 Comments:
I find the human impulse to criticize and become alarmed, a totally natural phenomenon. I'm not even going to criticize my desire to be negative about negativity because it comes from the reptilian brain which has uppermost in its synaptical programing 'Fight or Flight.' Survival depends on our ability to be discriminating of all potential harm and this certainly falls under that category.
A lot of wisdom in that insight, Kass. Thanks.
Sometimes the brevity of a mere cartoon can tell it all.
How right you are, Diane. That cartoon swept me away with how much it said, and how well, all in a few panels. That's another kind of storytelling talent, but one I really respect, given that I can't even draw passable stick figures.
Mr. Scream needs more chocolate!
http://living.health.com/2009/11/13/dark-chocolate-new-antianxiety-drug/?xid=earthlink-hth-111609
I take it that's your preferred drug of choice, Britta.
I find the fight-or-flight reflex to be an animal reflex, which humans certainly are. but as humans, we also have the ability to override and overcome our animal instincts. Sometimes it's a bad idea, when people become too distracted and ignore their animals instincts in their bodies trying to tell them a survival-level message.
But the flip side of that is that we're capable of evolving, too, energetically and spiritually, and becoming MORE than the animal alone is capable of. This is the root understanding of every established religion that preaches compassion and love, from the very oldest to the current human potentials movement.
I grant that most of humanity seems to have no knowledge or interest in evolving past the animal. (Maslow's hierarchy of needs comes into play again: it's hard to imagine evolving beyond tribal conflict when your belly's empty.) I no longer find that acceptable, however. We all have the potential in us to be more than we are—all the world's mystical systems tell us that, and many also tell us HOW to evolve beyond what we are—it's a human birthright. Refusing to evolve is an excuse to stay wallowing in the mud.
This is the third time this morning that I've written out something exactly like this comment. That tells me there's some kind of convergence going on. It also tells me it's time to refuse to be complicit, either silently or practically, with the forces of anti-evolution in the human spirit.
Personally, I'm always shocked when people think socialism is a bad thing... are we really islands? Do we really exist with no connection to each other? Doesn't rising water lift all ships?
I naturally have some reservations about *how* to take care of everyone, but deep down, I just know it's the right thing to do, as a moral and ethical person. Why should I be scared to help my fellow humans?
I'm stunned when people pull all they have tighter and closer and refuse to share the abundance they have worked so hard for. Where is the joy in stockpiling when your neighbor is dying, homeless or hungry?
I suppose it's a good thing I'm not in charge, eh?
Sadly, American conservatives (and most Republicans) have become propagators of a political ideology that involves little more than giving in to our basest animal instincts, with little or no focus on evolving beyond that (because of course they don't believe in evolution). And Kim, I wouldn't be the first to note that some have referred to Dems and liberals as coming at life from the nurturing mom orientation, while conservatives and Republicans approach things from the standpoint of the need to toughen up the kids and preparing them for life's realities by saying no and setting limits. Of course in many families, the gender roles of the parents are exactly opposite.
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