This is http://www.essayz.com/a9712271.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.} ========================================================== %TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE REJECTION OPEN HONEST DIALOGUE+971227 %ALIENATION EXCOMMUNICATION CONDEMNATION SIN EVIL+971227 %COLLUSIVE GAMES MUTUAL SELF DECEPTION OTHER FAIL 971227 Many communities are defined by what the TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE are into open and honest dialogue within the community. People who do not fulfill the pre-requisites are not accepted into open and honest dialogue. People who may have been accepted conditionally into the community of open and honest dialogue may be judged to have fallen in qualifications for continued acceptance within open and honest dialogue --- and so be judged, condemned, rejected and excommunicated from continued participation within open and honest dialogue with members of the community. Membership grants privileges which may be withdrawn if the terms of membership are not maintained. Usually TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE are conformal in nature; i.e., people who do not conform themselves to fit within some communally accepted range of characteristics --- are rejected. Excessive differences are not tolerated ---for differences are perceived as threats. Differences undermine the possibilities of understanding, prediction and control --- which are, of course, the foundations for the elimination of vulnerability and insecurity. Excessive differences cannot be tolerated without undermining the good order of the community. Thus the TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE are conformal in nature --- to eliminate differences which are threatening to all insecure members of the community. The TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE within insecure communities are defensive in character. The TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE are designed to defend the community against whatever may seem to threaten to undermine the good order of the community. Order must be maintained by maintaining standards. People who do not maintain standards and/or do not respect people who maintain standards --- are likely to be traitors, and should not be trusted as participants in open and honest dialogue. They are likely to take community secrets across enemy lines, and so enable the enemy to attack and destroy the GOOD-ORDER of the community. Thus, it is essential to be on the defensive at all times, and so to detect the presence of unfaithful "members" of the community who are critical of any aspects of the GOOD- ORDER of the community. Suspicion and distrust are essential to the GOOD-ORDER of the community. Perceptive people, who can best recognize the least faithful "members" of the community, are best qualified to be in positions of leadership and power --- for they can easily expose to public view any lack of enthusiasm, dedication, and certainty regarding the GOOD-ORDER of the community. Care must be taken to assure that such unfaithful people are kept out of the important discussions of community leaders who are entrusted with defense secrets. Only the most faithful members of the community should be entrusted with defense secrets within open and honest dialogue among leaders. Leaders who show signs of doubt, uncertainty, ambiguity and lack of faith should be removed from office lest they undermining the GOOD-ORDER of the community. In many instances it is risky to permit many people to gather together in open and honest dialogue --- for through lax security measures some of the many people may not be faithful members of the community. The larger the gathering is --- the more likely it is that some faith- less "members" of the community will be present and infect others with their perceptions. Thus, community leaders must take steps to prevent large public gatherings in which people engage in open and honest dialogue which might undermine the GOOD-ORDER of the community. Only officially planned and controlled public meetings should be permitted in order that the GOOD-ORDER of the community can be maintained without fail. In recent years, the terms of acceptance in the community have grown lax. It is time to tighten the standards for acceptance into our community and the standards for continued presence within our GOOD-ORDER. We must protect our secrets against possible revelation of them to the traitorous members of our community --- who would be willing to leak such secrets to the enemy through open and honest dialogue in public places. (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================