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             %DESCRIBING TRANSCENDING DEFENSIVENESS 870404

     One  way  to help people  transcend  their  defensive
tendencies   is   to  clearly  and   accurately   describe
disintegrative  human behavior,  revealing its nature  and
consequences  in  spite of the multitude of masks it wears
to make it look like "good" behavior.

     It  is  foolish to respect behavior in terms  of  the
masks which are often put upon the behavior.   It is  wise
to  look  behind  the masks  and  see  the  disintegrative
consequences  of the behavior which hides behind masks  of
respectability.    This  requires  that we  learn  how  to
recognize the masks as masks,  and recognize how the masks
are used.

     When the mask of exclusivity is used to make behavior
look better than the behavior of the common people; beware
of exclusive schools,  clubs,  stores,  ideologies,   etc.
Exclusivity  is  disintegrative,   placing  masks  between
exclusive  people and the common people with  whom  masked
people fear to associate.

     Self  righteous  people  who believe  that  they have
succeeded   in  achieving  their  own  salvation   through
meritorious  behavior---often  practice exclusivity  as  a
mask  to hide  the disintegrative  consequences  of  their
approach  to  human  relations with people who are not  as
"good" as they are.  Often their masks of exclusivity make
use of legalistic systems designed to make themselves look
"good"  to others who do  not realize that what is seen is
just  a  mask designed to hide the disintegration which is
occasioned  by the use of masks.   The use  of  legalistic
systems entails much disintegrative  behavior to achieve a
communal appearance of moral righteousness.

     Moralistic systems are often devised to serve as  the
means  to  a  sense of  moral  self  righteousness.    The
advantages are often recognized by people who buy into the
system   for  what  it  offers  in  the  way  of  personal
advantages.   Such systems and those people who sell their
souls  to  buy into them are the fruits of  disintegrative
behaviors.    The  systems undermine personal and communal
integrity  as they divide  communities into "good"  people
and  "evil"   people  who  do  not  know  how  to  promote
reconciliation and conflict resolution.

                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
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