Activist Intentions

This article further explains what I meant when I noted that activists are angry, uncomfortable, unhappy people who will continue to be angry and to agitate until they convert everybody to their cause.
  As noted in my previous blog, the fact that Gay Marriage is now the law of the land will not make everything all better, and it will not make everybody happy.
  For example, did you notice how much energy, anger and vitriol Gay Activist spokesman George Takei invested in attacking the dissenting minority opinions of the justices who disagreed with the gay marriage ruling?  How much energy did he or anybody else in the gay activist movement invest in appreciating and congratulating the opinions of the justices who voted in favor of gay marriage?  How much time and energy did anybody invest in rejoicing and celebrating gay unions with those they love?
   Liberals and conservatives are all having a good time bashing Donald Trump for his Presidential aspirations.  Yes, he is brash, vain and arrogant.  His hair is odd-looking. But he is speaking some truth and focusing attention on serious political and cultural issues.  He is getting in the media's face when they try to undercut him.  He has lots of money, so he can afford to be outspoken.  He is making even more money at the expense of groups and companies that stopped doing business with him because people claimed to be offended by Trump's blunt political opinions. 
    I don't know if Trump would be a good President, but he is forcing attention on the root causes and serious cultural problems and not giving in to the activist agenda and the liberal media narrative.  For that I say "Bravo, Donald Trump! Keep up the good work!"
   Things in our culture will continue to deteriorate unless/until intelligent people of good will stop hoping that the government, the church or God will grant us all a comfortable, carefree existence where everything and everybody is "nice,"  all wishes are granted and nobody has to work hard or have responsibilities or consequences for anything.  We need to grow up and do the hard work of learning to think and reason for ourselves instead of just mindlessly accepting everything the media and our favorite politicians say. We need to be willing and able to stand up to activist bullies, push aside activists' agendas, take back our culture and exercise a little common sense.  

"It's not that the kingdom of God is unachievable, it's that humans just don't want to make the effort to achieve it."  --Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov

http://thefederalist.com/2015/07/06/the-new-totalitarians-are-here/

No, I Don't Want To Hug You

   As we were leaving a recent social event with some of our theater friends, an acquaintance walked up and reached out to hug me.  I put up my hands to ward her off and backed away.

   “You don’t want to hug me?” she asked almost tearfully.

   “No, I don’t want to hug you,” I said.  “I don’t believe in hugging everybody.” 

   I don’t dislike this person, but I don’t especially like her either.  I’ve known her for over 15 years.  We have worked on several theater projects together. She goes around hugging everybody all the time.  She holds up her arms and reaches out saying “I need to get my hug.”  It’s bad acting. It seems phony and artificial.  In my opinion she feels insecure within herself and is seeking affirmation.  In other words, she uses affection to steal other people’s energy because she cannot figure out how to generate her own sense of well being.  That’s part of the reason why I don’t want to hug her.

   I used to be like her.

   I grew up in a family that was not affectionate.  I saw my friends and neighbors getting lots of nurturing and encouragement from their families and friends.  I craved that kind of attention.  I developed a pattern of behavior to manipulate friends for affection.  I sought out church groups and other situations where everybody hugged everybody all the time.  My satisfaction in such relationships was fleeting. I know there were times people hugged me when what they really felt toward me was something closer to indifference or even hatred.

   I was over fifty years old when I finally understood that depending on strangers for my emotional security was precarious and often added to my poor self-image instead of making me feel better. Trying to build one’s sense of well being via the whims of casual acquaintances or total strangers is like pouring water into a leaky bucket.  It will never be filled. Confidence, understanding, respect and caring have to come from within if one expects to enjoy healthy, mature relationships with other people. A wise person once said that if you make friends with yourself, you will never be lonely.

      There are people whose entire being exudes a natural warmth, caring and a sense of kinship with all life.  I delight in them and enjoy their affection.

    Some people just don’t seem to know how to be cordial and polite without hugging everybody and pretending that every one they encounter is a close personal friend.

   Some folks use hugs as a form of communication because they really don’t know what to say.  I tolerate this some times because it is less troublesome than trying to force conversation.

  Some of my dearest friends are not “huggy” people and so I don’t hug them.

    Affection is a point of personal privilege. My choice to hug somebody is about me -- who I am, what I believe and how I want to interact. 

     If you don’t get a hug from me, don’t take it personally. Or do take it personally if you feel you must. But if that’s your reaction then you have probably identified the primary reason why I don’t want to hug you.  I suggest you grow up and figure out how to hug yourself – not as an act of self-indulgent narcissism -- but out of a sense of knowing that you are a child of God and designed to make valuable contributions in God’s universe.  Often the best way to achieve that is by minding one’s own business and trying to live life as a quiet, thoughtful, decent human being.