This is http://www.essayz.com/b0205132.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.} ========================================================== %FEAR THREATENED BY DIVERSITY PROMOTE CONFORMITY+020513 %INHIBIT CREATIVITY CHALLENGES OPPORTUNITIES WISE 020513 Many people feel threatened by healthy-diversity. In "self defense" they seek to make other people conform to "standards of propriety" so that there will be less "threatening-diversity". It is dangerous to let mentally-ill-people set any "standards of propriety"! Creative people create diversity. Is it proper to set standards which will inhibit creative people who create helpful diversity? If so, then how will we respond creatively to new challenges and opportunities? We as individuals need to make judgements as regards whom we will respect, honor, support, trust and be willing to entrust power to; e.g., as voters. As individuals we may, and often should, use only informal standards of evidence and inference when we are making individual judgements about just whom we will respect, honor, support, trust & be willing to entrust power to. (In formal court proceedings of criminal and civil judicial processes, where the outcome can be the imposition of major punishments, fines and penalties --- there SHOULD be a required presumption of innocence until the accused is proven guilty.) In our informal personal relationships we should NOT presume individuals' behaviors to be truly worthy of our respect, honor, support, trust and more power --- until they prove themselves in ways which are gracious, gentle, honest, and honorable. In our informal personal relationships we SHOULD be aware of and beware of evidence that suggests that people's behaviors are motivated by considerations which are not truly worthy of our respect, honor, support, trust and votes; e.g., greed, lust-for-power, desires-to- dominate and/or be-in-control, imprudent- fears, anger, desires-for-revenge or to-get-even, envy, paranoia, and/or other considerations which demonstrate a lack of personal and communal health and integrity. The complaints lodged by people who are paranoid or otherwise mentally ill --- need to be examined carefully to discern and make known whether or not the complaints are truly legitimate; i.e., grounded in demonstrable unjust harm done or clearly threatened --- against the complaintants' own personal and/or communal integrities. Complaints which are lodged in support of some principle, ideal, value and/or rule --- need to be examined carefully to discern and make known --- whether or not the complaintants' own personal and/or communal integrities have been significantly harmed, undermined, or threatened; and to discern and make known whether or not the complaints will serve to promote both the personal and communal integrities of all those who will be affected by the complaints. The complaints of people who are powerful and/or wealthy --- against people who are weak and/or poor --- need to be examined to discern and make known --- whether or not the complaints are legitimate; i.e., grounded in demonstrable unjust harm done or clearly threatened against the personal integrities of the people who are powerful and/or wealthy --- by those who are weak and/or poor. Upon what laws, principles, values, and ideals are the complaints by the powerful and/or wealthy truly based? Will the complains promote overall personal and communal integrity; or promote the concentration of more power and wealth into the hands of the already powerful and/or wealthy? (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================