Re: PAX PAPERS! AUGUST! COME! DANA! EUREKA!

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: : : : : : : : : : : : : : ring ring ring ring!
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : RING RING RING!
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : ringalalinga ling!
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : RING RING RIN RAINGLAINGA RINNGGGGGLIIINGNGNGNGNGNGNGN!!!!
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : COME ONE, COME ALL!
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : dROP YOUR HURONS, SWEETIES, SINS, ALL BY TH WAYSIDE!
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : come to the TOWNE SQUARRE!!
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : aFTER A long long hiatus
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : AFTER A LONG AWOL
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : AFTER A LOOOOOOOOONGGGG CINDERELLA LIBERTY!!!!
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : our writer, EDITOR
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : OF THE PAX PAPERS
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : mME TGAT QUEENIE LAINIE 
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : IS baaaAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : indeed the PAX PAPERS ARE THE 
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : PREMIER READING PAPERS IN LOTMLAND!!!!!

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : come one, come all!!!
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : RINGALINGLALIIIIINNNGGGGG!!!!1

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : cLINGALINLIGNARINGLIANAGLINENringlalingalink!!!

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : Breathless TowneCrier

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : Man, if the TowneCouncil still refuses to give me a raise, and a lantern and new satin duds
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : I dunno what else I may dooooooo!!!!

: : : : : : : : : : : : : Fellow Lotm'ers,
: : : : : : : : : : : : : Being a scribe myself, as well as a journalist, editor, erstwhile book-critic and editor... I must tell you that the current issue (August, 2000) of THE PAX PAPERS, the Premier Reading Papers of LOTMland, just crossed my desk for review, and herewith I shall post my review:

: : : : : : : : : : : : : GOOD STUFF.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : REALLY REALLY GOOD STUFF.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : Pertinent. Eminently readable. Timely.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : GOOD STUFF.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : Enjoy reading it, thinking about, and DEBATING IT in our usual, zesty LOTMLand Board fashion.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : Warm regards,
: : : : : : : : : : : : : Vita
: : : : : : : : : : : : : \\\ 
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : IS

: : : : : : : : : : : : 
: : : : : : : : : : : : "An EXCERPT FROM PAX PAPERS, BY ELAINE FEDERICI:

: : : : : : : : : : : : ....This brings us back to the real point of truth, the pertinent question of this article. No, the question is not 'What is truth?'  but 'Who cares?' Indeed, indeed ... who cares? This is the real meat of the matter. 

: : : : : : : : : : : : "Where you have a man, there you have a potential liar." 

: : : : : : : : : : : : So said Aristotle. He'll have no argument from me, either....."

: : : : : : : : : : : : Message from Vita and our Ye Olde TowneCrier:

: : : : : : : : : : : : Let's show LOTMers care... there is much to debate in this issue of The Pax Papers!

: : : : : : : : : : : : Cordially yours,
: : : : : : : : : : : : The Publicant 
: : : : : : : : : : : :  

: : : : : : : : : : : Okay.  Read it.  Provocative, thought provoking, and thoroughly worth debating.  However, not by me.  I'm still trying to get over the thinly veiled reference to "shopping around" for a suitable religion, and am still trying to live down (in my mind at least) the borderline intolerant comments I made about one religion in particular.  However, I whole heartedly encourage those of less volatility than I to read, think, and debate.

: : : : : : : : : : : Bill R

: : : : : : : : : 
: : : : : : : : : : Dear Bill,

: : : : : : : : : : No, no, do not skirt the issue. Really. Hey, I am what many would call a Pagan (or a Lady Dervishe, or what have you) myself. Not atheist, mind you, but Pagan and several other terms. The difference is that atheists do not believe in God, Pagans (and Sufist, or Mevlana followers,or Alewites, meaning those who come under many different terms/descriptions/classifications while still adhering to the One Supreme God belief) do, and Pagans are wronged many times over when they are classified under Satan worshippers.
: : : : : : : : : : I am not here to discuss Paganism, right now, I just threw that in as a metaphor. Though while we are on the subject of God, or Allah, or Dio or Yahweh, I would love to argue that God is <am and Woman combined... though my Mama would have begged to differ, she who was born Protestant, would butt heads with you that the Supreme Deity, Force is Mother Nature (well, to me, she was MY Mother Nature... may she reast in peace.)

: : : : : : : : : : OK, Bill, LOTM'ers care, right? 
: : : : : : : : : : Roll up your sleeves, dust off your already-spic span polished keyboard, and join the debate!!!
: : : : : : : : : : Vita

: : : : : : : : : Well!  It seems I have mis-assumed, and you have mis-assumed.
: : : : : : : : : I never would have guessed that you were pagan, and your guess about my squeeky clean keyboard is totally wrong.  This board is older than I am.  It has enough dirt on it for a good sized garden to flourish.

: : : : : : : : : Debate?  Okay.  One thought.  What is truth?  Is truth not that which never changes because it IS truth?  And if that is so, then man's religions, though meant to provide us enlightenment, must have little to do with actual truth - as religion evolves (changes) and therefore cannot BE truth itself?  Only an attempt to understand truth?

: : : : : : : : : Bill R

: : : : : : : : ************

: : : : : : : : Oops!  Pardon me!  Am I in the middle of this thread?  I was just looking for my dictionary.  Don't mind me.  Please, continue.  I'm headed back to the Pax Papers.  Wooohooo!  I'm on the second paragraph.  I can keep up.  Really.:) 

: : : : : : : : Later...

: : : : : : : : Dana S.

: : : : : : : Dear Dana,

: : : : : : : What say you re. Truth Having Many Faces? As many Truths as there are vantage/view points? an apple in the center of the table, being viewed by diners gathered around the rectangular table, does present different aspects of its being, does it not? I mean, at one angle, you see the spot with the worm peeping out, at another angle, you see its smooth shiny polished surface... at yet another, you see the green tinge on its peel, on the other, you spot the reddish blush....
: : : : : : : After we debate Truth and Unity, and how Truth is being Manipulated, Morphed, Disguised, used as a Guinea Pig, used to clone imperfect copies, etc etc.... 
: : : : : : : well, Pax Papers' this paragraph, really grabbed me and I am repeating it:
: : : : : : : ....Unity, from what I gather, is the ticket. That's the contemporary ideal, the cat's meow. But how? When? At what cost? We all quickly say we're all for unity, for no one really wants to say they're in favor of disunity but this unity remains undefined, meaningless and unchallenged. It's like saying, 'I'm against breast cancer' ... no one is actually for breast cancer but it feels good to buy anti-breast cancer stamps and declare we're against it.  It doesn't mean all that much really. What is it we really aim to achieve? It seems to me, in my stubborn way of seeing things, that what we're really thinking is this; I want to be your friend and feel good about this friendship so, please don't bring up things we might disagree upon because though I like to call myself enlightened and open minded, the truth is, I won't forgive you for holding a differing opinion which will lead to my not really liking you, and of course, I might find myself to be less open minded than I care to admit. Can't we just be friends? Is this the real unity we want? Isn't this what we really mean when we speak of being tolerant? I'd much rather have my viewpoints challenged, probed, and tested than neatly, kindly tolerated without examination. .."

: : : : : : : There is much to debate in TGAT L.'s "Papers", every paragraph is an individual springboard into "Debate" but this one, is sure to be a favorite...
: : : : : : : And yes, here is another Truth: "....please don't bring up things we might disagree upon because though I like to call myself enlightened and open minded, the truth is, I won't forgive you for holding a differing opinion which will lead to my not really liking you...."

: : : : : : : It is 'political correctness," as well as... hmm, there is also goodwill in that statement, for while we are being politically correct, we are also trying not to light up the tinders upon the stake, we are also trying to I'd say, love each other without being interfered by The Truth... or ... hmmm, and this is a radical point: we are being chickens... 
: : : : : : : hmmmm....
: : : : : : : No, I say we are trying to be peaceniks. You go worship Buddha or the fire God in your hearth, or the tree in your garden, and if I do not see it your way, I rather don't know about it so that I am not provoked by my very human weakness of torching you for your different views...
: : : : : : : Hmmm...
: : : : : : : Yes, the key to our survival as a species upon this planet, is Unity. How best to achieve it?

: : : : : : : Scratching my head vigorously, I remain 
: : : : : : : Yr Hmbl and Obdnt Srvnt, Ye Olde TC

: : : : : : ************

: : : : : : How do we achieve unity?  Well, let's see...  Maybe we should have a common goal.  A common goal unites people, right?  If we want permanent unity, we will need a permanent goal.  What 's the most permanent thing we can think of?  Something unchanging, say, truth?  Woops.  There we are again.  What's Truth?  And is it THE Truth?  Our Truth?  Your Truth?  My Truth?  Well, let's say we agree on a main truth.  Let's say it's that there is God.  If we all agree that there is God, then why aren't we united?  What exactly is it that keeps all those who believe the main truth form this unity?

: : : : : : Dana S.

: : : 
: : : Yes, dear Dana, alas the elastic nature of Truth!
: : : : : Even God's Oneness, His/Her very existence, can be argued successfully within the confinements of Truth.
: : : : : I said God His/Her, because OK, God has created Man in his own image. Hmmm. Man is actually Man and Woman, therefore God is Man/Woman.
: : : : : I am not trying to be funny, here, though I might be digressing from the subject on hand.
: : : : : The subject is Unity, and the Truth is the means to achieve Unity.
: : : : : So we have to settle on a commonly seen, accepted Truth.

: : : : : By the way, re. Reagan. Good point,a subject for another thread. A once upon a time strongly union person, his administration was enormously successful in busting the unions. Indeed, a subject for another time, and yes, there is a Six Degrees to LOTM hook, too.

: : : : : So... Pax Papers.... any other interested parties in joining the discussion?

: : : : ************

: : : : Why do you say Truth is confining?  And "elastic"?  No.  I find the opposite to be true.  Not KNOWING the truth is confining.  I believe the opposite of truth is fear.  Fear is confining.  Not believing in anything, not trying to search for the truth causes the fluctuations in morals and...other stuff.:)  Remember, the main truth is agreed upon for this discussion.  There is God.  So what's the problem?  Is it in how each "free thinker" worships this GOD?  Is it in the worshiping that we are united or in the Truth?

: : : : Manohman, it's times like these that I wish I could string words together in some readable fashion...;)

: : : : Dana S.

: : : Dear Dana,

: : : You ARE stringing your words in a very readable fashion, and you ARE touching upon very good points.... even pulse points.
: : : As I said, I still claim that truth is elastic, for example, there was a time when it was the absolute truth that the world was flat.
: : : Masses and masses of people believed this to be the absolute truth -- from the highest to the lowest in the human hierarchy.
: : : We believe in God, OK. Here we have unity through our common belief, acceptance of a Truth we call "God Exists."
: : : Yet, there are many who will challenge this statement, with: The Existence of God is based on faith, in that we have agreed on believing, that there is God. But God's existence is not REAL, is not touchable by hand, seen by eye, therefore he is fiction rather than fact.
: : : OK, I happen to choose to believe that God exists. I have not seen God in physical form, but I choose to believe that I have seen God thusly: In the eyes of my mother. In the touch of my mother. In the embrace of my mother. In the memory of the divinely beautiful, peaceful moment my mother passed on from this world... to the other.... that which we call Heaven.
: : : Further, I choose to believe that I saw God when my son was born. When my husband gave me his hand. When I woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare and found my husband steadying my head and caressing my brow.
: : : So, because I saw humanity in its extraordinary range of beauty, I choose to believe in God.
: : : But there are those who will look you in the eye, and swear a lie thusly: "I swear on God I am telling you the truth. I swear on the head of my only child, that I am telling you the truth."
: : : Obviously, this person or others like this person, choose to disbelieve a God who is not right there, an immediate presence who is going to slap you mightily, strike you down with a thunderbolt, when you swear a lie, when you commit a crime, and when you kill. In the eye of this person and countless others, God is fiction rather than fact.
: : : So, to achieve the Unity we are talking about, how do we continue?
: : : Other than the faith in one Almighty, Omnipotent Omniscient God, what else is there to bring about unity?

: : ***************
: : Well, maybe it's in the search for that Truth.  I was willing to probe about Reagan.  Ilse was willing to answer, and share her thoughts.  There was no arguement.  I believed what Ilse had to say.  It was a fact.  That truth about Reagan had always been there, I just hadn't discovered it yet.  We are all searching for the Truth.  WE all know and discover different things about the Truth as we go through life.  Unless we are willing to probe and be probed without getting our dander up, we will never move forward together towards our goal.  Yeah, MAYBE the unity be in the searching.  Searcing for the Truth more than we search for the lies.  I think it's a long shot, but it could happen...

: : Dana S.

: Dear Dana,

: EUREKA! eureka! EUREKA!
: NOW HERE IS AGAIN SOMETHING I CAN RING MY BELL ABOUT!!
: " ...Yeah, MAYBE the unity be in the searching. Searcing for the Truth more than we search for the lies. I think it's a long shot, but it could happen..."

: Indeed, Dana, THE SEARCH for the Truth can be a great unifier.

: TC




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