Classroom Talk
Fall 2002 Archive
Applying some understandings about *understanding* to the news. Posted by John on October 01, 2002 at 13:20:15:
Those U.N. arms negotiators in Vienna have just come up with a wonderful agreement with Saddam's representatives . . . . . if only . . . . . if only
George will go along with it!
What d'ya say, George??? Will ya give peace a chance?
The agreement says that U.N. inspectors will have unfettered immediate access to all sites in Iraq in looking for weapons of mass destruction . . . . but .
. . . the huge grounds and complexes of buildings and palaces of Saddam's "Presidential Sites," will be excluded from this, and can only be visited by
special arrangements.
Of course, the Americans are already raising a howl about this exclusion on cable news programs that go around the world.
Saddam is, first of all, a "Dictator," by our diagnostic system. Dictators demand respect. (Think of the "Godfather-characterization" in the movies.)
They *live for* that respect! Dictators demand that you show them abundant respect. From their point of view, unless that demanded demonstration
of respect is given, it is "the Dictator's code" to have to fight you.
The U.N. has offered Saddam a way to surrender with respect. And that is going to give him exactly "the out" that he needs in this dangerous,
difficult situation—both in terms of needing respect, and strategically, in giving him power, that he lives for. Once the inspectors have surveyed the
whole of the country, finding whatever they find of chemical and biological weaponry, and whatever is being done to develop nuclear weapons, the
inspection will be "over." Saddam's son was quoted on CNN as saying that could be completed in six months.
Then . . . . heh-heh . . . the Americans would still be fuming about the uninspected Presidential Palaces. And *Sadam* would be in the position of
controlling the whole situation. This is exactly what all strategies of Dictators are militating for. He would then be in the position of wheeling and
dealing with the rest of the world from a position of power—which is all he ever dreams of.
You may not have noticed, but the main complaint of Saddam's diplomats in the U.N. over these years has been that they are never in a position to see
a light at the end of the tunnel. They have been powerless in the timetable of arrangements. They can never know (and be in control of) when they
will finally be completely free of the sanctions and the no-fly zones. (Why do the Iraquis keep firing at American planes in the no-fly zones? Because
these flights don't show respect for Saddam. And he *has to do that* when people don't show him respect. He doesn't know anything else!)
Now, if his son is right, and they purge the whole country of weapons of mass destruction in six months, Saddam will be in a power position to relate
with George (and the world) by *demanding* again! That is by far the most conditioned habit and the favorite manipulation of choice of all Dictators,
great and small.
Saddam can say, "Okay, you can start inspecting the Presidential Palaces" now, one at a time. And for my giving you permission to do that, I *
demand* that you start lifting each of the sanctions and intrusions on my sovereignty, one at a time, as these sites are being inspected."
He would be in power again! He would have his time-table. He would be calling the shots. Everything in his behavior militates towards being in this
position. That is the *automatic* game plan of this man's whole unconscious life. And the U.N. is now in a position to be *giving that to him*. Heh-
heh. That's world-class diplomacy, in my book!
It is giving the man's ego what it wants—harmlessly, I say, if everybody keeps cool throughout the whole peace process. And at the same time, it is
creating a narrow space in which the authentic aims of one's true Being are capable of being realized.
Maybe this inspection of Saddam's Palaces could be accomplished in another six months, or even less. There would be peace instead of war. Perhaps
thousands of people wouldn't be killed. And within less than a year's time, George could have an Iraq without anxiety-provoking threats of mass
destruction. And, Saddam could have what his ego wanted in the end, to remain in power and have been treated by George and the U.N. with
respect . . . . . . . . . . until his own people would eventually probably get him for going ahead blindly, going too far with his truly horrible brand of
conditioned excesses. Don't underestimate the liklihood of this bad actor being overthrown by the Iraqi people. Note that that outcome is even *
predicted* in the final wheelbook personality pages on the Dictator type. He is already at the stage where he fears assassination every day.
And remember, Kiddees, he can't help it. In this sense he could be forgiven. He goes around asleep, on automatic pilot, acting-out the conditioned
knee-jerk-reactions and manipulations that he has to do, because he has grown up being conditioned to keep being that selfish way . . . . . without
even knowing (or caring) that there could be any other way to be.
What d'ya say, George? Can you soften what you're saying to Saddam enough to leave him enough wiggle space to do, under his own power, what
you are trying so hard to get him to do?
.........................................................................
Someday perhaps in this new century, there may be awareness game (or other such) trainings for world leaders. And they will learn to understand
how valuable it is to understand the personalities of their enemies. And they will be offered class exercises in finding out whether or not softening the
rhetoric, and yielding to each other's conditioned ego-needs in clever ways in the bargaining process may help to smooth things over in dangerous
times when war is being threatened. If they do the exercises, they will see what happens, and understand.
It's not selling out! It's not surrendering one's honor or one's principles to defer to the other's ego. (They are *their own punishment*, after all is said
and done.) It's not being unpatriotic to one's country! It's not being whimpy to defer to the other's ego. It's simply being clever enough, by
understanding what's going on, to recognize how one can leave a big space for bad actors to bring their own Selves down by their own excesses,
without becoming entangled in it . . . . . while keeping one's eye on the ball where it comes to spotting the narrow space where decisive moves in
behalf of authentic heart-felt aims can be made.
We don't have to become entangled in their wars with their own Selves. Our own Declaration of Independence says as much.
And, of course, sometimes war between us may have to be waged for honor in the course of human events—when the worst catastrophic blunders
are made—as, apparently when Iraq invaded Kuwait. That shouldn't have happened in the first place, darn it, yet, once it had, the world community
was stuck with it.
This is how to balance this out, in the awareness game view of strategies for relating with other people:
The best we can ask of our Beings is to keep on understanding as much as we can of human nature, and, as that great human understander John
Lennon once put it: "Give peace a chance." Doing this on purpose is the mindful warrior's best move. Sometimes the chance is slim—as now between
Saddam and George. But, in my view, as a coach of this game (which is, fundamentally, a game designed for playing on purpose for peace and
harmony), I'd say the U.N. has done a darned good job in coming up with a realistic game plan that *might work*.
Coach
Student John and Eddie . . . . . I'm workin' on it. Whew! You two have laid out a whole lot of work for me there. But . . . . heh-heh . . . . that's what
I'm supposed to be here for. "Confusion" will be my next coaching topic . . . if I muster up the strength and can clear my ol' head enough. I'm
confused, too, you guys. We're all confused. Heh-heh. Klaus, I don't know what you may be thinking about all this confusion in class, but I hope
you're hanging in, in good spirits. This training is *supposed to be* much simpler than it seems to be these days.
>Heh-heh, "The Not-So-Kind Helper".
Love it!!! Love it!!!
Oh yeah, Eon! I got your mailing address. I'll get out to the Post Office in a day or two (to find out the correct postage from here to Macedonia).
Thanks, pal. Sorry you've had to be so patient with this. Ha! I'll bet you do get a kick out of that photo when it arrives. "Old Man Sitting on a
Bench."
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