This is http://www.essayz.com/a9304091.htm         
Previous-Essay      <== This-Essay ==>     Following-Essay
Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words.
{Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.}
==========================================================
   %GOOD EVIL DICHOTOMY BLACK WHITE ABSOLUTE REJECT 930409

     Many people  believe  that the good  society  is  the
society which is regulated by moral absolutes which define
very clearly and  unambiguously what kinds of  people  are
good people and what kinds of people are evil people. Such
believers  choose  the  simplicity  of  sharp  boundaries,
simple  criteria  for making judgements,   and  clear  cut
condemnations   of   both   proscribed   behaviors,    and
instances  of  neglect  in the  case of required  actions.
Such  people  believe   that  good  people  should  be  in
control,   and  bad people should be punished.   They  are
highly critical of ambiguity,    relativism,    tolerance,
forgiveness,    and dialogue with evil people   associated
with  the  enemy. Alienation   and estrangement  from evil
people  are  normal conditions,   and accepted as part  of
being  good people who pass correct alienative  judgements
upon evil people.

     To enjoy both personal and communal integrity members
of  a  community need to transcend judgmental/dichotomous:
perceptions,   attitudes,  thinking,  ideals,  and values.
Combinations   of  judgmentalism,   dichotomous  thinking,
insecure   absolutism,    preoccupations   with   control,
presumably  sharp   boundaries,   exclusive   focus   upon
individuals  rather  than  relationships,   and  defensive
insecurity  all  lead  to  the hell of both  personal  and
are communal disintegration---they do not lead to heaven.

     Dichotomous thinking is dangerous, especially when it
serves the judgmental purposes of  alienative  people  who
presume  to  have the knowledge  of the difference between
good people  and  evil  people.   Personal  boundaries  in
relationships can never be drawn as cleanly between blacks
and whites  as  the boundaries between  blacks  and whites
appear  to  be in geometric images on  smooth  surfaces---
until   viewed  under  an  electron  microscope.   Careful
examinations of  the boundaries between colors on  fractal
images  can  be  very instructive  to honest  open  minded
people  who are considering how sharply  to  try  to  draw
personal  boundaries within relationships in the  presence
of judgmental people.

     It  is   dangerous to take seriously  the  presumably
sharp   prescriptive   boundaries   drawn  by  dichotomous
people  who are not open  and  honest  dialogue about  how
fuzzy   the  boundaries   inevitably   become---when   the
boundaries  are examined up close,  openly,   and honestly
by   those   people  most  intimately  affected   by   the
boundaries.

     It  is dangerous to be compulsively  preoccupied with
dichotomous prescriptive  boundaries which  are  drawn for
purposes of  trying to control relational realities  which
cannot be controlled in any integrative way.

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