a culture of love. . .

[stellanoir]

After over three weeks of getting bombarded with this plethora of hollow rhetoric wherein all these psuedo conservatives have been prattling on about "a culture of life," while they profit from an illegal war, hoard their unnecessary tax cuts, advocate for the death penalty, cut benefits to the needy, the veterens, the schools, etc, I've just about had it.

I wish all progressives in this country would promote liberalism as what it really is based on. . .caring that those less fortunate have some assistance in improving their quality of life.

That altruism is based on a basic human kindness and a love of humanity.

It is only way to argue against the idiotic way that they're framing the national dialogue. That the Pukes are "for life", infers that the Dems are for it's antithesis. As if. . .

Does anybody else think it would be a good idea to try to get the onus of negativity off liberalism by promoting the notion of a "culture of love?"

It may sound a bit Hallmark-esc but I still think it's a good response because their "culture of life" notion is an attempt to obfuscate the fact that their agendas are totally self serving and at the expense of everyone else.

I'm really serious about this as I feel that this country is suffering from an acute spiritual sickness in so many ways.

[coloradodem2005]

1. There is no culture of love.

Not in this country.

And personally, the word "love" rings very hollow to me.

[stellanoir]

4. I'm really sorry that you feel that way

and I know what you mean about the prosaic use of the word "love."

I still see and feel a lot of it in certain communities and circles believe it or not.

Do you have an alternative slogan?

[coloradodem2005]

8. Alternative slogan?

No. It's not just the word, it is the concept of love that rings hollow to me.

[stellanoir]

23. there is truly no force that can get one

higher or lower than love on this sphere. Here's hoping you have a mood altering experience very soon.

[coloradodem2005]

34. Well. There's always drugs.

:P

[MuseRider]

2. How about

the culture of good life for everyone? I don't know. I agree with you completely but I am at a loss how to deal with their little names for everything. Personally, I just don't respond to it but that has not really been successful either except to help my blood pressure. This is a very sick country.

[tx_dem41]

3. This forum is so awash....

..with "hate" and "bitterness" lately, so I don't hold much hope for your proposal. But, I can dream.

[undergroundpanther]

5. Inequality

builds mistrust.
You cannot promote a culture of love in a in an unequal society.Inequality of income creates a society that will not trust each other enough to bond together and share the wealth.A culture of love needs to care and to PROVE it is trusted by giving getting involved,participating,and helping before the culture of love can happen. Trust in people that may not be good would require a person to take risks on an interpersonal level not too many people are willing to take in this violent culture,to reach out,associate with the poor,give,share,make a relationship with someone you might not ever talk to,.. that kind of risk would reduce the chafing of painful inequality that makes the neocons appealing to so many scared,violent,stressed out,lonely people trying to make it all by themselves..

[stellanoir]

7. well

perhaps a "culture of equality" might be a better sell.

thanks

am going to ruminate on this one for a while.

[undergroundpanther]

14. Ironically

Why Is it almost only churches and organized charities who are sending people out in the world, risking going to the poor..feeding people?.

I know people do this to the poor as a bribe to evangelize the world..Than tell me who in person is going out and helping the poor without the evangelizing?
How many people with stuff to spare bother to get off their ass, turn off the TV,go down to where the homeless are in your town and give it away to them personally,who stops to listen to them and hear them?

If fundies are the few people on the street doing it...they are outstripping the secular groups no wonder the fundies feel so emboldened.
I know there are groups like Food not bombs..and they often get arrested for feeding the homeless for free.I wonder if the Evangelists get arrested for their rice Christian style manipulations of the homeless?
Where is the grassroots compassion and the willingness of individuals to risk going out and giving of themselves and stuff they have extra in person just to care? That interaction builds trust that leads to a culture of love you know.
It's easy to do it without being there,ship it all to purple heart or send it to some charity to do the face to face work.But that is impersonal and it does not build trust or community.
WE need to be there for each other..when the chips are down.

A woman in Baltimore Bea Gaddy ran a soup kitchen for years. When she got breast cancer the HOMELESS people gathered money for her medical treatment.This is love.
The homeless people and Bea in this case, showed what giving to the 'weak' and trust building can do to create a culture of love.

What is missing in the "compassion"is the heart and desire to BE there..

[stellanoir]

6. you know

I keep seeing posts about the hate and bitterness but really haven't witnessed it. Maybe I'm not paying close enough attention though.

[Desertrose]

9. Its sad but I think we have a way to go before this would be accepted..

A really long way to go...but I like the idea for sure!!! :hi:Stella

I think "culture of love" would however, be turned against us....peaceniks, love fest, free sex..you know all the cliches. Breaks my heart but I 'm pretty sure the neocons would/could easily do it.

I do think the idea is great though and we have to work on the wording....like maybe "culture of fair life for all" ...ooh, thats bad...I'm sure there's much better wording...

Libs do want a GOOD life for everyone....how can we get that across and why should it be so hard??

:hug::loveya: Stellanoir
DR

[undergroundpanther]

16. Culture of trustworthiness.

[Just Me]

41. "Culture of truthfulness and honesty".

Without trust, love is tough and ugly.

[stellanoir]

22. Hey DR !!!

LOL. . .long time no PM. . .

Yeah I know. . .it sounds hippie-esc but it cuts to the core and I feel there are enough idealists, over aged hippies, and spiritualists on the planet to note the distinction.

Silly me.

[GreenPoet64]

10. LOVE it . . .n/t

[seabeyond]

11. to my father, brother, friends people that say hi how are you

every single day. you dont get to call me a culture of death. you just dont. how dare you. what the hell do you think you are doing. suggesting i am culture of death. knock it the fuck off

and this is what i now say to those i love, dont love, dont know and know

[impeachthescoundrel]

12. Yes we are suffering

And all of Anerica will continue to do so as long as those thieves remain in Washington. Even members of my own family which have been poor for my whole life voted for the little bastard even though they did not dare admit it to me.

But that makes no difference. Not because they are my family, but because the election was the biggest imaginable sham, and if they had voted for Kerry, it would not have mattered anyway.

But the speech by Hillary Clinton last night was one of the best in recent memory. It gave me hope for us all. You see, those asswipes cannot stay there forever. That is all that gets me through the day. Promises to reform elections HERE.Promises of affordable health care for us all. Reminders of the 90s whan things were tolerable even for those of us who were poor. I watched it twice last night.

It will be shown two more times on CSpan although I am not sure when. It surely made me feel better.

[lonestarnot]

13. Will watch for it and thanks.

[Desertrose]

15. The best way of course is to LIVE it....to not give in to the hatred..

anger and fear.

To live the example we want to show the world.

Hard to do I know...but it can be done & has to start somewhere......


(Glad you brought this up :):hug: )

[RevCheesehead]

38. AMEN, Rose! n/t

[sundancekid]

17. my heart is totally with you, but my head (working thru framing) went to

"a culture of good works, because a culture of life is simply not good enough"

what do you think?

on edit: corrected one word

[GreenPoet64]

18. Good but "good works" is a Christian buzz word/ phrase

that refers to people who do not believe in God, but "try to get to heaven with good works." Very negative connotation among religious types.

Great ideas here though. I think we all agree that we need to counter the "Culture of Life" bullshit.

[stellanoir]

25. perhaps a

culture of altruism. . . ?

[omega minimo]

19. Love and Loathing on DU

Big picture: this sunny Sunday morning, two threads are side by side, created and kicked at the same moment. One comments on the dishonesty of the Wrong Wing slogan "Culture of Life. The other reflects "all the hate" the poster perceives on DU. Balance here? Love and Hate intertwining on DU.

"Sometimes I loathe DU"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3458022

Stellanoir points out "you know I keep seeing posts about the hate and bitterness but really haven't witnessed it. Maybe I'm not paying close enough attention though."

But you are paying attention, Stella! Your comment points out how we perceive and co-create at DU, gravitating to like minds and expressions, or bumping into irritants....like Life.

DU is what it is. Recently, I have questioned the prevalence of sexist language on DU. Pointed out that it is distracting and divisive; limits discussions, limits participation, limits possible solutions. It seems inconsistent with DU rules and Democratic values.

DU is what it is. Nearly 70,000 voices in a digital tin can, with lots and lots and lots of threads to select from.

So about the time I realize it is a waste of time to nudge DU to be what it isn't, but time to gravitate toward positive threads, this morning provides a synchronicity of Love and Hate to underline the point.

BTW Stellnoir, you are absolutely on the right track. And here at DU you may hear from the "no Balls" and "pink tutu wing" naysayers, who insist on repeating the cliches and age-old mistakes of the regime that needs to change.

:evilgrin:

[tx_dem41]

20. The spirit of HST is alive and well.

:)

[undergroundpanther]

24. Be positive

To positive people

BUT have boundaries against negative acts.
Call a negative thing WRONG. Call abuse evil.

You cannot just be positive it will not work you run out of cheeks to turn and the abusers get the idea they have permission to abuse.

Saying no to abusers of trust in any way is VERY important if you want things for positive people to be positive.

You cannot make excuses for abusers of trust,compassion goodwill and ethics in the name of loving THEM.

When you do the people who need help are betrayed.
You think about it fox news screams fair and balanced but we all know they are not.

Once you treat authoritarians,bullies,abusers and sociopaths who are by default always AGAINST equality as your equals they will seek to dominate you and betray trust to get power. You cannot ever give authoritarians your trust or love or support like you would a non authoritarian.non sociopath personality. All authoritarianism be it political ,financial,military,or religious is incompatible with the ideals of fairness,democracy,compassion, equality and freedom and liberal kindheartedness and love itself..

Authoritarians come in all shapes colors and sizes,it's their personality that makes them dangerous they have NO conscience.They live to win because they cannot feel love.

[omega minimo]

30. Agreed. That's the regime that must change

That's why equating the courage, strength, clarity, and yes-- positivity-- with "having balls" is misguided, divisive and counter-productive.

Topdog, hierarchical, big daddy, abusive, violent, domineering, brute force, bully boy, rule by fear, has had its day.

[stellanoir]

27. thanks

we desperately need to refine our talking points far better than we have thus far.

like the old saw of "tax and spend" Dems to which I always respond, "so you prefer loot and waste?"

that always shuts 'em up.

they have mastered what I've been describing for years as "oligarchical hypnogogery" a la Goebbels for years and control the media all the while bitching about the presumed "liberal media" whenever they're caught with their pants down. (see DeLay for recent reference) which is a total corporate ruse.

Arghhhhhhh. . .

[omega minimo]

29. Oligarchical hynogogeryexpialidocious!

I agree with you and with undergroundpanther. Refining talking points to me means telling it, calling it for what it is. The less machination and manipulation, the better.

An added bonus, I love your phrase for the inherent, syllabically- induced HUMOR within the clarity.

Didn't Goebbels call it The Big Lie? Seems many folks want to point to think tanks and framing. I have been concerned about the complicity of The American People GOING ALONG WITH IT since Raygun's "landslide." Let's point to the simple fact that PEOPLE have to face their own bamboozlement. All the smartypants counter-framing on the planet will not counter the Bullshitmeisters, until people choose to not be hornswoggled.

IMHO :kick:

[undergroundpanther]

33. blame

Let's point to the simple fact that PEOPLE have to face their own bamboozlement. All the smartypants counter-framing on the planet will not counter the Bullshitmeisters, until people choose to not be hornswoggled.

And to admit vulnerability and the fact you have been used like an old condom requires an ENVIRONMENT of people willing to accept a person's contrition..a place where you can trust you will not be shamed or blamed(as in blame the victim) for being so used.

There are people who act like they have no conscience out of fear ,buying the manipulations,and misplaced anger.

Then there are people with no conscience who can fake having one very well..

We have to sort them out and remove the authoritarians and bullies and keep them away from people with a conscience..

[Tux]

21. My slogan

Culture of Divine Love

Considering the RWers call themselves the culture of life and call us the culture of death just because our views are near opposite, this would get them.

[stellanoir]

28. yeah I hear you

or perhaps Universal Love. . .whoops there I go with that hippie shit again

sorry

[XemaSab]

26. I used to love her oooh yeah

but I had to kill her
I had to put her
Six feet under
But I can still hear her complain....

[SoCalDem]

31. Republican love is TOXIC

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3453064&mesg_id=3453064

[CBHagman]

32. I think you're on the mark.

Some members of the media have been trying to exploit John Paul II's death by linking his legacy to that of -- get ready to hurl -- George W. Bush. I've been all over the Washington Post and its ombudsman about two recent articles by Jim VandeHei trying to do precisely that: imply that both Bush and John Paul II had a "passion" for spreading freedom and the "culture of life."

The Post seems to have forgotten that the fad last summer was attributing communism's fall to Ronald Reagan. :eyes:

At any rate, yes, this whole matter is values-based. I think a Bernie Sanders (I-VT) or a Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) represents the valuing of human life more than a corporation-coddling, tax-obsessed George W. Bush or Grover Norquist. You can't rush into war on one pretense and then retroactively claim it was for the good of a people whose lives you were willing to risk and even destroy. You can't worry more about taxes paid by the rich while turning a blind eye to all the people losing the social safety net.

Keep those letters to the editor coming. Weigh in all around the media. Let's make this message get heard.

[jayctravis]

35. How about "Culture of Peace"?

"Culture of Love" would be derided as hippie-speak.

[stellanoir]

36. sadly, even peace

can derisively construed to be hippie-esc.

Let's keep trying. I think perhaps "culture of equality" might be the best so far.

Otherwise I would tend to get wordy with stuff like. . ."a culture of transcending idiotic religious prejudice," . . .or "a culture of transcending sheer stupidity,". . .or "a culture of reverence," or a "culture of enlightenment." OMG I think my head is going to explode.

This "culture of life" crapola is about as devisive as the "family values" BS. Like is anyone really anti-family. . . ????

Sheesh.

[stellanoir]

37. self serving kick

we're still looking in hot pursuit of the perfect catch phrase. . .

[RevCheesehead]

39. A Culture of Care.

Can't use "compassionate" for obvious reasons.

Personally, I prefer "A Culture of Love." I think it begs the obvious question: "what is the LOVING thing to do?"

Why, the loving thing is to engage in diplomacy before war, to care for the poor, to care for the elderly, to respect and value all life, leaving important decisions in the hands of those facing difficult choices, to provide education and opportunities for all people, to end racism, sexism, homophobia and bigotry, etc....

The word LOVE is one used by Jesus and the Church. Liberals have a lot to say about what love is, and (by example) what love is not.

Great post! :thumbsup:

[jayctravis]

42. "Culture of Mankind"?

[jayctravis]

43. Whoops. "Culture of Humankind"

[Just Me]

40. How's about a plan proving our love for and respect of life?

If we truly love and respect life,...we will demonstrate our willingness to care for all lives, including our own.

[Squeech]

44. Yeah, but

There's a lot that goes into this.

You're right that all the good monosyllables have hippie connotations. There is of course a good reason for this: the hippies knew what they wanted, even if they didn't have a real clear idea how to get there. "Love" is nice and ambiguous, which is why they adopted it as their frame, plus it has the extra added attraction of being what Jesus required of us. (We should take note of the times that the reich wing has actually used the word "hate," which they do to fire up the flock against really hot button sinners, like gays.)

I just erased a whole bunch of other stuff I wrote on this topic, because all I did was argue myself into the position that the big problem isn't so much the exact words we use versus the words they use, it's the attitude with which each side performs. They act like they have a monopoly on Jesus, and that their grasp on the Bible is so unassailable that no matter how wretched they behave, God will forgive them anyway. There's no good reason why anybody should believe that of them, their behavior is clearly much closer to the Pharisees, but they get a pass on it. We don't, even though every objective analysis would show that our behavior toward the poor and downtrodden is much closer to what Jesus clearly demanded. (I want a bumper sticker that says "Matthew 25:40.")

Maybe that's the ticket: we should speak in Bible verses, just like they do, only we highlight the texts they're scared to mention. And we can back up our faith with demonstrable works; let's see them match their Schiavo vigil against an actual hospital or food bank.

[scarletwoman]

45. How about a "Culture of Kindness"?

I see a post above proposing a "Culture of Care", which is similar to another thought I had about proposing a "Culture of Caring" -- I have a personal preference for the active verb form over the somewhat passive noun form.

Either phrase; "Culture of Kindness" or "Culture of Caring" are both euphonious and nicely succinct. As is "Culture of Compassion", of course, but -- most unfortunately -- the word "compassionate" has already been co-opted by the rethugs, which makes our using it somewhat problematical. (DAMN them for their Orwellian subversion of our language!)

"Culture of Kindness" sprang to mind out of my Buddhist training -- one of the supreme virtues and goals of Buddhism is the cultivation of "Loving Kindness" (as well as Compassion) toward all beings.

I reluctantly have to agree that "Culture of Love" is just a bit too hippie-dippy (and I'm an old hippie), and too vulnerable to mockery and snark. Therefore, I think that either "kindness" or "caring" are much less loaded words, yet still imply the essence of what we aspire to convey.

Thank you for making this thoughtful post!

sw

[scarletwoman]

46. Giving this thread a kick...

:kick: