This is http://www.essayz.com/a9804171.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.} ========================================================== %GUILT SHAME BLAME JUDGEMENT CONDEMNATION EVIL SIN+980417 %REPENTANCE TURN AROUND CHANGE GROW LEARN TEACH GOD+980417 %COMMUNAL PERSONAL INTEGRITY HEALTH RECOVERY PEACE 980417 Often when things go wrong people focus primarily upon placing the burden upon some person who is blamed, shamed, judged and condemned. Often it is not possible to localize the blame fairly upon any one person or a few persons --- for the whole community has played an important role in creating a context in which a few have acted out the consequences of the communal context. Yet, many communities in such situations behave as if placing the blame on one or a few "as an example" will motivate people not to do what the pervasive communal context tells them is "natural" to do. To some people is it not even important that the correct person be blamed, guilted, shamed, condemned and punished. What is important is that some scapegoat be used to send a message to all potentially "bad" people that they had better conform to the communal expectations --- regardless of any contradictory signals which the community may pervasively be sending. Usually it is likely to be productive to focus upon what changes might helpfully be made in order not to repeat the tragic sequence of events which has recently occurred. The question is: What may best be learned by by individuals and the community as a whole --- from the tragic sequence of events. Learning entails changes. In the absence of changes there is no learning. People can rarely be forced to change in ways which make no sense to them; which they resent, which they wish to avoid. (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================