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      %COMMUNALLY ACCEPTED INTEGRATIVE AFFIRMATIONS 880513

     Communities  which are engaged in collusive games  of
mutual   self    deception  cannot     publicly     accept
integrative affirmations, for to do so would violate their
collusive   games   of  mutual  self   deception.     Such
"communities"    attempt  to  achieve  unity  through  the
promotion  of  conformity to conventional  definitions  of
what is proper behavior.  Affirmations of truths which are
contrary  to conventional knowledge  of good and evil  can
not   be  publicly  accepted   without   threatening   the
collusion.

     Questionable  private   affirmations of truths  which
are  contrary  to  the  collusions of a community  can  be
tolerated,    but   not   public acceptance  of  the  same
affirmations  of  truths.    By  their  nature  collusions
cannot   tolerate  public discussion  of  the truths which
are  violated  by the  collusion.     To publicly make  an
issue  of  private   affirmations   of  truths  which  are
violated   by   the  collusion  would   occasion    public
discussion   of  the  repressed  truths.     Such   public
discussion of repressed truths (even to deny them overtly)
would not serve the purpose of collusive repression.   The
collusion     is     better    served    by     tolerating
questionable  private  affirmations   of truths which  the
collusion   denies;     while    not   permitting   public
affirmations  of the same truths.       They  are  treated
tacitly  as  of questionable character as are the  persons
who make such questionable affirmations.

     The tolerance for private affirmations of such truths
helps to  conceal  collusions and the ways  in  which they
deprive  affirmations  of  communal  power.     Collusions
conceal  from public recognition the  importance of public
acceptance  of public affirmations of integrative  truths.
Such  concealment  leads  members of the  "community"   to
uncritically think that tolerance of private  affirmations
is equivalent to public acceptance of public affirmations;
and so to be blind to the repressions of the collusions.

     Collusions  will tolerate many levels of  affirmation
of truths which might seem to be public affirmations;  yet
manage  to  deprive such affirmations  of  genuine  public
acceptance and affirmations.    Affirmations made publicly
by   individuals   can  be deprived  of  power  by  public
ridicule,  criticism,  or  indifference towards those  who
make the affirmations.   The  tactics  avoid  dealing with
the  truths  which are affirmed,    focusing  rather  upon
discrediting  the  messenger  in  any  way   which    will
deprive   the  messenger   of   credibility.    Collusions
can withhold public acceptance of affirmations  of  truths
by  tacitly  discrediting the non-conformists   who   make
public  affirmations  of dangerous truths.    Crazy people
can   be tolerated  so long as everybody agrees that  they
are crazy people, and that what they affirm does not  make
sense.

     Collusions withhold public acceptance of affirmations
of  dangerous truths by means which do not deal  with  the
dangerous truths in any way.  Dangerous truths can be made
to appear dangerous to all, by increasing the fears of the
implications  of  acceptance of the truths.    It  is  not
necessary  to  discuss  the truths at all.    It  is  only
necessary to make it so painful to accept the truths, that
only  non-conformists  who  can  be  discredited  will  be
willing to accept the truths.   The logic of such pain and
fear  does  not need to be spelled out,  it  is  the  more
powerful  the more tacit and vague it is.   Ambiguity  and
confusion serve collusions well.

     For a community to promote both personal and communal
integrity   it   needs  to  celebrate in open  and  honest
public  events  the  truths which are essential  to   both
personal   and  communal   integrity.      Such   communal
celebrations   of   integrative  truths  can  serve  as  a
first  line  of  defense  against  the   development    of
disintegrative   collusions.      In   such   celebrations
the community can affirm those truths  which  are   worthy
of   respect,    and  worth the time it  takes  to   grant
their  affirmations public acceptance.     In the  absence
of such  celebrations,   communities   tend    to    drift
towards  collusive  behavior because of the human tendency
to   want to  avoid dealing with painful truths;     e.g.,
to avoid dealing with limits inherent in being human.

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