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Progressive Values Stories: Attica on Caring
Linked to groups: What are Progressive Values? Study Group
I met Attica at a house party in Oakland, California. Attica talked about the progressive value of caring about our friends, our communities, our families, our country, the world. I enjoyed hearing her childhood 'funny moment' story of learning about caring from her grandparents."Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." Leo Buscaglia
"Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community." Anthony J. D'Angelo
Attica: Progressive values to me are about people, and that people matter. People matter foremost. Of course, people are not the only thing that matters. Of course, we all need money, food and shelter, education and opportunity. We need a clean planet on which to live. Those are things that I feel progressives are interested in.
(more)
And people who don’t identify themselves as progressives? If they want those things, then they have progressive values. I think that’s an important thing, because a lot of people don’t identify themselves as progressive. A lot of people consider themselves to be conservatives, but they believe in those things too. And they have progressive values if they believe in that.
Edwin: Can you take it to an emotional level? What would you say are the emotions?
Answer: Emotionally, it’s about doing what’s right. It’s about a sense of integrity, about being humane and compassionate. Understanding – being open-minded enough to understand that we all have our own perspectives. But that that’s okay, and not only just okay, but that we need to have lots of different perspectives.
And just caring. Caring about our friends, our communities, our families, our country, the world. I think that’s the emotional level.
Edwin: Is that a value of yours, caring?
Answer: Yes. Absolutely.
Edwin: And how did you come to that value? When in your life did that become important to you?
Answer: I think it’s always been important to me, and I think part of that is how I was raised. I was raised to some extent to know that it was important to care about people, about important things. And to take a sense of personal responsibility, not just for myself but for the world I live in.
Edwin: Can you remember a moment where you had one of those reflections that it was important?
Answer: Here’s a funny moment, actually. When I was a kid, four or five years old, one Christmas I was very much focused on if I was going to get the things I had requested as Christmas gifts. Or am I going to get some things that I’m not really satisfied with, but they will do? That’s totally where my focus was. But Christmas I went down and looked at the tree, and there were three gifts under the tree, with a tag on them with the name of a child I didn’t recognize. So I asked my grandparents, “who is this kid?”. And they explained to me that there was a boy that they knew about who had otherwise not had Christmas gifts. And they wanted to give him some gifts. And I was kind of feeling like, “Well, is that your responsibility? Why does your Christmas budget have to allot extra for some kid I never even heard of before. Maybe I wouldn’t even like that kid.”
But you know, they continued to explain to me why it was important to them to give these gifts to that kid. And I thought, wow, that’s really nice of them. As a kid I couldn’t articulate compassion but I thought, “that’s really nice of them.” And I still got things that were really fine, but just the fact that they thought it was important enough to reach out to another that we didn’t have any relationship to, just that they cared. And that was a great example to me
More Resources about Caring.
From my 100 or so video interviews of people to date, I find the progressive value with the greatest emotional impact is caring. People will often become emotional and tear up when recounting stories about caring, having been cared for, or how they offered care to others. I see it as one of the most under represented progressive values. George Lakoff, from the Rockridge Institute, talks about empathy being the source of the progressive value system. While caring flows from having empathy for others, in the culture at large, the word people use most often is caring. I believe it is this energy that conservatives cynically tried to tap into by calling themselves compassionate conservatives. I've heard it said that using the term 'compassionate conservatives' in the 2000 election is what swung centrist voters to vote conservative.
Definition: caring
- showing a care; "a caring mother"
- feeling and exhibiting concern and empathy for others; "caring friends"
- affectionate: having or displaying warmth or affection; "affectionate children"; "caring parents"; "a fond embrace"; "fond of his nephew"; "a tender glance"; "a warm embrace"
- lovingness: a loving feeling
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Related Words
warmheartedness, warmth - a warmhearted feeling
love - a strong positive emotion of regard and affection; "his love for his work"; "children need a lot of love"
Some Questions To Ponder:
What questions would you ask to gain more insights into the nature of caring?
What are your insights and stories about caring?
How important is caring to you?
What is personally the most important progressive value to you?
Do you have a personal story or anecdote of how you learned some insight into this value?
How does this progressive value of caring differ from conservative values?
How has compassionate conservativism failed?
More Progressive Values Stories at:
http://progressivespirit.com/InterviewStories/ProgressiveValuesStories.htm
Edwin Rutsch
What Are Progressive Values? Documentary Project
http://ProgressiveSpirit.com
and Study Group
http://www.dfalink.com/group.php?id=2285
Cross Posted To:
http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/24706
http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_edwin_ru_080402_progressive_values_s.htm
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/2/122523/3791/286/488909
Tried to tell the old thread, with link, twice: didn't take either time. . . .
cockroaches swimming in your coffee. . . .
9:57 PM EDT
first it was former right-wing Australian PM John Howard who criticized Obama --
now it's right-wing Colombian President Alviro Uribe:
http://www.dailymail.com/News/200804020705
Colombia's president criticizes Barack Obama on trade stanceBOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Colombia's president sharply criticized U.S. presidential contender Barack Obama on Wednesday for opposing a trade deal with his country, calling the Democrat out of touch with the realities of the South American nation.
The White House is urging Congress to approve the agreement, which would remove most tariffs on American exports and cement Colombia's preferential trade status with the United States.
But Illinois Sen. Obama said Wednesday he would oppose the deal.
...
"I will oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement if President Bush insists on sending it to Congress because the violence against unions in Colombia would make a mockery of the very labor protections that we have insisted be included in these kinds of agreements,'' Obama said Wednesday at a meeting of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in Philadelphia.
38.
* rdorgan
Wed, 04/02/08
8:53 PM EDT
http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle...
03/26/2008
New PAC To Offer Pols A Dovish Mideast View Aim of ‘J-Street Project’ is to counteract AIPAC lobbying on Capitol Hill.
===================
nice find - I put it in favorites and will read it later (pretty noisy here right now)
You're expecting too much out of this Mickey Mouse pathetic unblog, puddle.
It isn't legitimate.
Never has been...never will be.
No, not 4 1/2 yrs.+
Sound like a concept?
10:08pm EDT
♥ REED! ♥
Many thanks to you for lighting a candle for my grand niece, Ally! ♡
She begins Chemo 3 on Friday.
Updates are available daily at:
http://eatapyzch.blogspot.com/
10:11pm EDT
Oh, I should have made that link clickable.
Here you go:
Full list of Soapblox's features (unlike this piece of juvenile crap).
Reed
politics is never too important to keep me off the river once in awhile, and our former Speaker of the House is a guy I bump into in one of the other boats beneath the Locks, and he was the guy that carried around a copy of the platform in a coat pocket when he ran the place, and passed the laws
keep your priorities in place, and time fishing doesn't count in the Universe's space/time interaction with human activity anyway
if God hadn't meant us to fish he wouldn't have created fishing poles and then gave us a whole day to use them
Remember when Howard did the top 10 on Letterman and #1 was him saying, "No more red-faced, angry rants"?? (Even though it wasn't.)
Well, looks like that should have been Bill Clinton talking instead:
http://tinyurl.com/33ebvy
Shocking, indeed.
Nite all!
-- volney
"Set the publish time of your post, write it at midnight, but have it "go live" at 6 AM" wow!! A clock on a blog??? Say it ain't so!!
10:46 AM EDT
Bloomington, Indiana:
http://www.wishtv.com/global/story.asp?s=8110491
Dave Matthews to hold Bloomington concert on behalf of Obama
Posted: April 2, 2008 10:21 PM EST
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) - Grammy Award winning singer and song writer Dave Matthews will perform at Assembly Hall in Bloomington on behalf of the Barack Obama campaign.
Hundreds of students lined up outside Barack Obama's campaign office in Bloomington to get registered to vote and to get their hands on tickets to the free concert.
...
Blogging in Denver?
Blogger Credentialing Process
The DNCC announced its blogger credentialing process for the 2008 Democratic National Convention — including an expanded blogger pool and the introduction of a brand new state blogger program. Check out DNCC blogging credentials information for complete information regarding blogger credentialing and how your blog can apply.
listener...if my lighting a virtual candle can in any way help those going through something no one should go through, it's the least I can do. Each time I light the candle it does bring a tear to my eye just thinking of why I'm doing it and my thoughts are with you.
Phil...I hear you about fishing, it was a refuge for me in my youth that turned into a passion. Now for me it's time spent that is good for the soul but gardening is also one of my loves that is oh so rewarding. Being the practical person that I am...it's not that hard to meet new priorities as they arise. Makes me appreciate what I enjoy all the more once I get to do it ; )
I'm yawning so I guess it would be practical to go zzzville.
Senator's husband admits paying for sex By NATASHA ROBINSON and KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writers
Wed Apr 2, 8:06 PM ET
TROY, Mich. - The husband of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow told authorities that he used the Internet to arrange a $150 sexual tryst with a prostitute at a metropolitan Detroit hotel, police said Wednesday.
Thomas Athans, 46, co-founder of the liberal TalkUSA Radio network, was stopped by police who were investigating prostitution...
Stabenow, 57, has two adult children from her first marriage to Dennis Stabenow. The couple divorced in 1990.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080403/ap_o...
Tiny Party Shows Large Clout on Settlements
By Griff Witte
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, April 2, 2008; Page A09
JERUSALEM, April 1 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice left Israel on Monday having failed to persuade leaders here to halt settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land. But the setback for Rice was a victory for Rabbi Ovadia Yossef, the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party.
Within hours of Rice's departure, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was on the phone with Yossef to tell him that plans for building 800 new homes in the West Bank settlement of Betar Illit had been approved, according to two Shas officials, just as Shas had requested....
============================
So where are they going to build this other Palestinian State with the much ballyhooed "Two State Solution"??????
Olmert seems in no mood to endanger his coalition at a time when opinion polls show he would lose badly in new elections to Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu, a sharp critic of Annapolis who advocates greater military measures to counter threats of Palestinian violence.
=====================
Going from Olmert to Netanhayu would probably be going from the frying pan to the fire IMO
Regarding Hillary's comments to Richardson *He (Barack) cannot win against McCain*. Nothing is unintentional with the Clintons. They probably want this out there to plant that seed of doubt with the uninformed voting public. They're creating a narrative. I really don't like the Clintons AT ALL.
rdorgan, thank you for being the only one in memory who backs BO, even tho he's "imperfect." Now can you name just one imperfection? :-)
This is the best news I've heard in many months. I now have some HOPE that we can end the wars in the ME. Thanks, rdorgan.
********************
Aim of ‘J-Street Project’ is to counteract AIPAC lobbying on Capitol Hill.
by James D. Besser
Washington Correspondent
Almost a year after reports of an “alternative AIPAC” emerged in the middle of the Jewish political world, many of the same players are on the verge of announcing a revised initiative intended to get the message to politicians that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is not the only pro-Israel voice in town, The Jewish Week has learned.
Dubbed the J-Street Project — “K Street” has become a cipher for Washington’s lobbying establishment and “J Street,” missing from Washington’s downtown grid, has become a local “in” joke — the new project kicks off with a hush-hush fundraiser next Monday hosted by former Clinton administration official Jeremy Ben Ami and Daniel Levy, director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative of the Century Foundation. The group
will be publicly launched around the middle of April; organizers said they will not speak publicly about the group until then.
“For too long, the loudest American voices in political and policy debates have been those on the far right — often Republican neoconservatives or extreme Christian Zionists,” according to the invitation. “J Street aims to change that. We are the first and only lobby and PAC (political action committee) dedicated to ensuring Israel’s security, changing the direction of American policy in the Middle East and opening up American political debate about Israel and the Middle East.”
It also faces a political challenge because “AIPAC has been recognized by non-Jewish politicians as the voice of the Jewish community,” he said. An alternative voice “may be hard to sell to non-Jewish politicians who don’t want to be tarred as anti-Israel.”
Jews on the left, he said, are less likely to put Israel-related politics at the top of their list of giving priorities – something AIPAC supporters and supports of pro-Israel political action committees have traditionally done.
And the new group will face aggressive attacks from the Jewish right.
“I’m a realist; these people will get hammered and accused of being anti-Israel,” Wald said. “A lot will have to do with the way they actually frame their arguments.”
http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c39_a5882/News/International.html
...........backs BO, even tho he's "imperfect." Now can you name just one imperfection? :-)
That's easy, He doesn't get angry!
seashell :-)
Thu, 04/03/08
Reply to this
This is the best news I've heard in many months. I now have some HOPE that we can end the wars in the ME. Thanks, rdorgan.
=========================
An alternative voice “may be hard to sell to non-Jewish politicians who don’t want to be tarred as anti-Israel.”
Jews on the left, he said, are less likely to put Israel-related politics at the top of their list of giving priorities – something AIPAC supporters and supports of pro-Israel political action committees have traditionally done.
And the new group will face aggressive attacks from the Jewish right.
“I’m a realist; these people will get hammered and accused of being anti-Israel,” Wald said. “A lot will have to do with the way they actually frame their arguments.”
http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c39_a5882/News/International.html
==========================
Well it will be good to have some nice Jewish company when the right-wingers call us goyims "anti-Israel"
seashell :-)
Thu, 04/03/08
Reply to this
rdorgan, thank you for being the only one in memory who backs BO, even tho he's "imperfect."
======================
Yea, I remember charges of "Obamaspamming" to which I protested at the time. I now feel guilty I did not at the person behind the name [Obama] seriously until Iowa. Up to then I supported Biden, but really thought Hillary was the only one with a real chance. I wasn't happy about that either. So I was glad for an alternative.
The more I learned about Obama, the more I liked him.
new thread
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