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How to
Resist the Incivility Temptation (Top Posts - Philosophy (FREELOVER) - 071908) - - - I have, for quite a long time, tried to be an advocate for civility. However, in all honesty, I must say that in many instances, when faced with inciv- ility, my initial instinct has been to react in a similar manner. Simply put, by having civility as an ideal, that's enabled me to resist the temptation to be incivil in most cases, or to at least modify my responses to attempt to raise the level of civility beyond what it would otherwise be. Recently, I developed a method of dealing with that incivility temptation, that being as follows: 1) Stop sign. Whenever I am having nega- tive thoughts towards another or others, I use the mental trick of popping up a large stop sign, with red flashing lights, which stops me from having those nega- tive thoughts. Simply put, recognizing the risks/dangers there, I simply choose to stop that negative emotional process, turning it off. Sometimes, when the temp- tation is strong, I must use the stop sign multiple times. 2) Recognizing anti-humanism towards any- one not me as enemies of me, recognizing that eliminating those in my own heart and mind, whether they be the anti-humanism of Hatred or the anti-humanism of Anger or whatever other anti-human instinct pops up, recognizing those are enemies that can- not be allowed to exist in myself, that noth- ing good can come from allowing *any* anti-humanism to exist within myself, doing my best to make sure they're not around in my head or heart. 3) Trying to be positive towards a person who provided the stimulus that resulted in '1' and '2' above, recognizing our com- mon humanity, recognizing the resultant nature of all that happens, knowing that were I in another's shoes, I would, like them, be having the same results that that they are having, knowing that only by being pro-human can I maximize the odds, however slim they may be, that another or others can escape whatever anti-human temptations they've been unable to escape thus far. In any case, recognizing the good that comes from pro-humanism, recognizing that pro-humanism is not something other people earn, it is, instead, something that I can choose to give, it's my *choice*, that is both compelling and empowering. I've had great success, thus far, in utilizing '1' and '2'. Step '3' is the most challenging, and thus far I've had the most success with it from an intellectual standpoint, with logic and reason offering compelling reasons to utilize it. However, when mired in the quick- sand of deeply felt hurt or pain, it can be quite difficult to achieve as much pro-human- ism as I aspire to, and I hope to improve in that area, with practice. This very post, that last paragraph above, I feel that has been helpful, and I feel, at this moment, closer than I've ever been to my goal. Thanks. Of course, I won't know if I'm bet- ter at '3', really, until faced with a challeng- ing situation, but right now, I do feel I've improved at that. Any suggestions you, or anyone else, might have, regarding step '3', would be welcome. - - - |
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