[Ailist] Appreciation vs. Cynicism

Sat Mar 8 13:21:56 MST 2008

It is curious to me that we've now had a couple of discussions circulating
on the listserv that point to the polarizing effect of labeling or
categorizing.  

If there is some value to be gained by raising the concepts to explore them,
it might be valuable to lift the concept in question up off the individual
in order to learn together.

For example, with Steve Jobs--some valuable questions from my vantage point
would be:

*    What exactly is arrogance? Is it in the person or in the dynamic
between people, in which case-what part do I play in the creation of
arrogance when I judge that in another person?

*    Behavior that might be judged as arrogance from within one paradigm may
not be judged as arrogance from within another paradigm. What if the other
person is coming from a totally different paradigm than me?  We more readily
see this when it occurs between different cultures-and we excuse it as
cultural as soon as we understand it.  Might the same thing occur for people
who appear to live in the same culture, but actually exist in totally
different value memes (Spiral Dynamics)?  And if it seems like arrogance to
me, but its not, then what is it? How do I make sense of the other? How do
we learn to go on together (presuming that we want to!)

With Ms. Obama's quote, some questions that beg to be asked for me are:

*    What does she mean by the 'US'-is she talking about all the individuals
who collectively make up a country that is called the US?  Is she talking
about how the US is seen by others in the world? Is she talking about the
collective impact the US is having now (for itself and in the world) as
compared to say 1776 or 1965 or 1990?

*    Who was she speaking to and what was her intent? Was she 'right on' for
her audience, but way off base for the collective whole-which has people
from all over the map listening, each from their own frame and value
perspective?  Or did she miss the mark on those folks she was speaking to?
Context is so much of communication.  

Each of these topics stimulate so many questions for me that have nothing to
do with the individuals associated with the concepts.  What difference would
it make if we learned to consistently just address the issues, concepts,
questions, etc., without labeling the people who have raised them? How would
this impact our organizations?  Communities?  Families?

Cheri

-----Original Message-----
From: ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu
[mailto:ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Lionel Boxer
Sent: Saturday, March 08, 2008 12:10 PM
To: kervick at comcast.net; ailist at lists.business.utah.edu
Subject: Re: [Ailist] Appreciation vs. Cynicism

Having grown up and lived in Toronto from 1957 to 1987 I tend to agree

with Ms Obama and I think her approach is appropriate.  The great ideals

that started out in 1776 have been lost, but they were lost well before

Ms Obama was born.

This is why AI is so important.

Lionel Boxer CD PhD MBA BTech(IndEng) - 0411267256

Associate of RMIT University - lionel.boxer at rmit.edu.au

Graduate School of Business

What's up?: http://intergon.net/events.html

The Sustainable Way: http://intergon.net/tsw

>>> "Kevin Kervick" <kervick at comcast.net> 09/03/08 1:39 AM >>>

>From Michelle Obama in the New Yorker magazine:

Obama begins with a broad assessment of life in America in 2008, and

life is 

not good: we're a divided country, we're a country that is "just

downright 

mean," we are "guided by fear," we're a nation of cynics, sloths, and 

complacents. "We have become a nation of struggling folks who are barely

making it every day," she said, as heads bobbed in the pews. "Folks are

just 

jammed up, and it's gotten worse over my lifetime. And, doggone it, I'm 

young. Forty-four!"

----

The conventional wisdom among some political observers is that these 

comments may be unhelpful to say out loud but they are true. My

contention 

is they are not true and they reflect misguided and cynical all or

nothing 

biases that are not supported by the facts.  Unfortunately there is much

support for this line of thinking among liberal people, which may

explain 

why liberals tend to be less appreciative and less happy than

conservatives.

Not much appreciative inquiry here. If Ms. Obama is going to go on a

reality 

tirade she should get it right.  I like Barack Obama's message of hope

as 

long as it also includes appreciation of the essential goodness of the 

United States. Could she have made her point in a more appreciative way?

I have more on the Catalysts for Change blog at 

http://catalystsforchange.blogspot.com/.

Kevin Kervick

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