Friday, September 12, 2008

The Twenty-One Greatest Ideas In Human Relationships (Text)

The Twenty-One Greatest Ideas In Human Relationships (Text)

Compiled And Edited By Rev. Bill McGinnis

Public Domain


HTML version of this page is located at =>
http://www.loveallpeople.org/the21.html


1. "LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."

This is "The Law Of Love," God's most important commandment for all
mankind.

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For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14 RSV)
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This is the starting point, the Scriptural Imperative given many times
in the Bible. (See also Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Romans
13:8-10, James 2:8, 1 Peter 4:8.)

And who is our neighbor? Every other person is our neighbor. (See Luke
10:29-37 for Jesus' answer to that same question.)

But sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we still don't like the
other person very much, or we still feel anger or resentment. What can
we do in cases like this ?


2. FORGIVE THE OTHER PERSON.

The most troublesome harmful emotion is the emotion of anger. You can
neutralize anger by making a direct conscious decision to forgive the
other person for whatever he may have done to cause you to feel anger
toward him.

("As you forgive, so you will be forgiven." See Matthew 6:14-15)


3. TREAT THE OTHER PERSON THE WAY YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED.

This the "The Golden Rule," our most important guideline for dealing
with other people.

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"So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for
this is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12 RSV)
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This is the most important rule in human relations. You can apply this
rule to almost any situation, and you will not be far wrong. The
Golden Rule puts The Law Of Love into action.

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The remaining eighteen ideas are specific applications of The Golden
Rule to different kinds of situations.


4. SMILE AND BE FRIENDLY.

You like it when people smile at you and behave in a friendly way. So
do the same to them.


5. BE COURTEOUS.

You like it when people are courteous to you. And you dislike it when
people are discourteous or rude to you. So be courteous in all of your
dealings with others.


6. BE TRUTHFUL, WITHOUT GIVING OFFENSE.

7. REMEMBER THE OTHER PERSON'S NAME, AND USE IT FREQUENTLY.

You like it when other people remember and use your name. So do the
same for them.


8. DON'T ARGUE.

Arguments are very negative. They poison good human relations. You
don't like it when someone argues with you. So don't argue with them.
And if you see an argument coming, take the appropriate steps to
neutralize the argument before it causes too much damage.


9. FIND AREAS OF AGREEMENT.

Relationships are much better when both people focus on their areas of
agreement rather than their areas of disagreement.

Most people agree on more things than they disagree on. So if you
focus on your areas of agreement with the other person, your areas of
disagreement will seem smaller and less important.


10. DON'T CRITICIZE.

Criticism builds hostility and bad attitudes. Criticism is poison to
good human relations.

You don't like to be criticized; so don't criticize other people. They
don't like it, either. And you won't help accomplish anything good by
criticizing.

As your mother should have taught you, "If you can't say something
nice, don't say anything at all."


11. SHOW HONEST APPRECIATION.

You like it when other people take the time and interest to recognize
and appreciate the good things you do. So do the same for them.
Everyone does some things worthy of appreciation. Find them, and
recognize them in the other person.


12. TRY TO SEE THE OTHER PERSON'S POINT OF VIEW.

You like it when the other person understands your point of view and
can see problems the way you see them. So do the same for him. Try
looking at the situation from the other person's point of view.


13. GIVE YOUR FULL ATTENTION TO THE OTHER PERSON WHEN HE IS TALKING.

You like it when people pay full attention to you when you are
talking. So do the same for them.


14. TALK ABOUT THE OTHER PERSON'S INTERESTS.

You like to have other people talk with you about your interests. So
do the same for them. Find out what things they are interested in, and
steer the conversation toward these things.


15. ADMIT YOU MAY BE WRONG.

This idea is surprisingly powerful and useful!

Here's what to say, whenever there is a disagreement as to a matter of
fact: "Now, I may be wrong about this. I frequently am wrong about
things. But this is the way it appears to me:" (And then state your
beliefs.)

By admitting you may be wrong, and by admitting that you frequently
are wrong (You are, you know. We all are.), you almost force the other
person to admit that he, too, may be wrong! Then, with your egos out
of the way, you can both search objectively for the truth!

And if you really are wrong this time, it will be much less
embarrassing for you than if you had been stubbornly insisting that
you were totally right!


16. LET THE OTHER PERSON DO MOST OF THE TALKING.

You like it when people let you do most of the talking. So do the same
for them. It won't hurt you, and you might learn something.


17. LET THE OTHER PERSON TALK ABOUT HIMSELF.

You like to talk about yourself, don't you? We all like to talk about
ourselves! But restrain the urge, and let the other person talk about
himself, instead.


18. LET THE OTHER PERSON TAKE SOME CREDIT.

If something has worked out well, don't grab all the credit for
yourself, even if you think you deserve it all. Spread the credit
around, share it with the other people involved.


19. LET THE OTHER PERSON SAVE FACE.

The expression "saving face" means to maintain dignity, or not to look
like an idiot or a worthless person. Sometimes people do things which
make them look like an idiot or a worthless person. If you can rescue
the other person in such a situation, and help him maintain his
dignity, you have done a very good thing.

And maybe someone will do the same for you some day, when you need it
most! "As you do, so shall it be done unto you."


20. HOLD THE OTHER PERSON, AND YOURSELF, TO HIGH AND NOBLE STANDARDS.

People tend to live up to the expectations others have of them. If you
expect a lot from someone, he tends to give you what you expect.
Likewise, if you expect little from someone, that is what you tend to
get.

So act honestly, and expect honesty from the other person; act
morally, and expect morality from the other person; act fairly, and
expect fairness from the other person.


21. GO THE EXTRA MILE.

You are pleasantly surprised when other people do more for you than
you had asked, or more than you expect. So do the same for them: "Go
the extra mile."

Compiled And Edited By Bill McGinnis, Written 1983-2000

Public Domain


* * *

HTML version of this page is located at =>
http://www.loveallpeople.org/the21.html


http://www.LoveAllPeople.org

Contact: bmcgin@patriot.net

Sarah Palin Would Allow Israel To Drag Us Into War With Iran

Sarah Palin Would Allow Israel To Drag Us Into War With Iran.


In her interview last night with Charles Gibson, Sarah Palin clearly showed that she would not oppose Israel if it decided to attack Iran, and thereby drag the United States into yet another war . . . even a likely World War III.

Here are the exact words, as reported by Fox News at http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/11/raw-data-palins-interview-with-abc-news/#comment-659260

GIBSON: Let me turn to Iran. Do you consider a nuclear Iran to be an existential threat to Israel?

PALIN: I believe that under the leadership of Ahmadinejad, nuclear weapons in the hands of his government are extremely dangerous to everyone on this globe, yes.

GIBSON: So, what should we do about a nuclear Iran?

PALIN: We have got to make sure these weapons of mass destruction, that nuclear weapons are not given to those hands of Ahmadinejad, not that he would use them, but that he would allow terrorists to be able to use them. So we have got to put the pressure on Iran.

GIBSON: What if Israel decided it felt threatened and need to take out the Iranian nuclear facilities?

PALIN: Well, first, we are friends of Israel, and I don’t think that we should second guess the measures that Israel has to take to defend themselves, and for their security.

GIBSON: So if we didn’t second guess it and if they decided they needed to do it, because Iran was an existential threat, we would be cooperative or agree with that?

PALIN: I don’t think we can second guess what Israel has to do to secure its nation.

GIBSON: So if it felt necessary, if it felt the need to defend itself by taking out Iranian nuclear facilities, that would be all right?

PALIN: We cannot second guess the steps that Israel has to take to defend itself.

###

"We cannot second guess the steps that Israel has to take to defend itself."


NOTE: She gave the same answer three times to three slightly different versions of the question, without actually agreeing to the precise words which were asked. By avoiding the exact question, she was able to reframe the question and provide a less chilling, more reasonable-sounding answer.

But sadly, the truth is that she would allow -- without "second guessing" -- Israel to drag us into a likely World War III, without even trying to stop it.

What she should have said is, "No."

We are the United States of America. The state of Israel is basically our child, because we created it in 1948 and we have kept it alive since then. Without us, Israel would not exist as a Jewish state today. Because of this, we are morally responsible for everything Israel ever does wrong in the world. Sometimes it seems like having a juvenile delinquent child. We cannot permit our delinquent child to attack a country and start a war without first receiving our explicit consent. An attack by Israel is an attack by the United States, and it would surely justify any warlike response against us that Iran and its friends might want to launch.

May God help us all.

Friday, September 5, 2008

The Long-Term Psychological Effects Of Torture

The Long-Term Psychological Effects Of Torture

An Overview Of Current Information

A Service Of LoveAllPeople.org
Rev. Bill McGinnis, Director

HTML version of this page, with more links,is at =>
http://www.loveallpeople.org/longtermpsychologicaleffectsoftorture.html


Using this Google search . . .

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&q=long-term+psychological+effects+of+torture&

. . . these are the main psychological effects we found:


Emotional Instability, Depression, Passivity, Fatigue And Disturbed Sleep

"After an observation period of about 10 years a follow-up examination was made of 22 Greeks earlier exposed to torture. All had physical symptoms and about 90% of the examinees had chronic psychological symptoms which had appeared after the torture experience, the most notable of which were emotional instability, depression, passivity, fatigue and disturbed sleep."

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4023668


Difficulty Concentrating, Nightmares, Insomnia, Memory Loss, Fatigue, Anxiety, Depression And Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

"Long-term psychological effects include difficulty concentrating, nightmares, insomnia, memory loss, fatigue, anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder."

Source: http://www.cvt.org/main.php/Advocacy/TortureisUn-American/EffectsofPsychologicalTorture


Depression, Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

"The psychological effects of torture can include major depression, anxiety, and the constellation of symptoms known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Survivors of torture and trauma may also experience feelings of shame, guilt, powerlessness or worthlessness, an inability to visualize the future, and difficulty connecting to other people."

Source: http://www.astt.org/torture.html


NOTE: "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened."

"Most people with PTSD repeatedly relive the trauma in their thoughts during the day and in nightmares when they sleep. These are called flashbacks. Flashbacks may consist of images, sounds, smells, or feelings, and are often triggered by ordinary occurrences, such as a door slamming or a car backfiring on the street. A person having a flashback may lose touch with reality and believe that the traumatic incident is happening all over again."

Source: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/post-traumatic-stress-disorder.shtml




The ANTI-TORTURE NETWORK is a group of people joined together by their common desire to oppose torture wherever it exists. The motto of this group is "Opposing Torture Everywhere." And we particularly oppose all torture by The United States under the Bush Administration.

Our main website is named The Anti-Torture Network and it is located at http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/anti-torture.html.

Our Group Headquarters is located at http://www.googlegroups.com/group/anti-torture-network, along with our Membership List.


If you want to oppose torture here and abroad, you are invited to join with us, by using the sign-up box below.

Membership is open to all people who want to oppose torture, and all members are allowed to post messages to the entire Group.


Blessings to you. May God help us all.

Rev. Bill McGinnis, Director - LoveAllPeople.org



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