Mindful of Trump
Dhammika
Veteran
Thoughts on this welcome. Excerpt of piece by Robert Wright:
"I hope it’s clear that mindful resistance isn’t passive resistance — that the idea here isn’t to comply with the unfair stereotype of Buddhism as just a recipe for accepting the world as it is. There are plenty of times when Trump should be criticized and plenty of times when moral indignation should be expressed and amplified. But indignation is a resource to be deployed carefully, on occasions when its importance outweighs its tendency to reinforce Trump’s self-serving persecution narrative. And the more indiscriminately indignation is indulged, the less attention it will command on these occasions when it is truly needed.
"The other reason mindful resistance isn’t passive resistance is that it can be literally very active. One thing you can do with the time saved by fuming less on social media is the kind of thing resisters have long done: figure out what causes deserve your support and support them. Call the congressional switchboard, show up at town hall, show up at protests (where you might be surprised to find a contingent of committed Buddhists) — even, if necessary, engage in civil disobedience. And spend your social media time spreading the word about these things, rather than spreading facile outrage or arguing futilely (at best) with Trump supporters."
Comments
Before Obama left office the military conducted a training exercise here in Texas. It brought together the special forces from each branch. Some residents believed the exercise was a cover. President Obama intended to overthrow the Texas government and establish marshal law. Absurd, right? The governor deployed the national guard to monitor the exercise. Just in case.
I'm a bleeding heart liberal in conservative Texas. I'm sure that article and his book I recently bought will come in handy as the mid-term elections approach next year. For now and since a week after President Trump's inauguration, my mindfulness in relation to him and his supporters, which includes friends and family, extends only to keeping my mouth shut.
just gonnae no.......
I’ve seen some quite serious institutions challenge his mental competency. Personally I think he is a dangerous buffoon who should never have been left in a position of power. He seems to be obsessed with undoing as many of Obama’s achievements as possible. His war of words with Kim Jong Un has brought the world as close to a nuclear war as it’s ever been.
I agree with you that Trump is unfit for the presidency, he is a complete narcissist and disconnected from reality as well as having undemocratic authoritarian tendencies.
I think when criticizing him it's important to be fair and avoid hyperbole so that criticism isn't dismissed out of hand as well as just for historical accuracy. So saying that "His war of words with Kim Jong Un has brought the world as close to a nuclear war as it’s ever been", is really quite far fetched. Off the top of my head I can easily bring to mind the Cuban missile crises and I'd wager that there are other cold war examples where we came very much closer to a nuclear war.
Perhaps, but I think there is a world of difference between Trump and JFK with their fingers on the nuclear button.
Can't help it....my facile rage has temporarily taken me over.......
This atrocity is an evil clown, a loathsome narcissistic game show host who impersonates a human being when the camera's are on - as when he pretended to care about a young hurricane victim.... clutching her with his baby hands.....but checked first to make sure the cameras were poised before he kissed her cheek. What a phony, not to mention pathological liar, cheater and racist.
President Donald Moron Trump, as his cabinet and congress refer to him privately is essentially an act on "The Gong Show" and calling himself a politician. Somebody hit that gong, please.
https://www.salon.com/2017/10/14/the-entertainer_partner/
I heard there was a psychologists march to protest his presidency in NY yesterday.
Today, Hustler mogul Larry Flynt took out an ad in the Washington Post offering $1 000 000 to anybody with information leading to Trumps impeachment.
Such a dark and tragic comedy but it is always darkest before the dawn.
Those are all solid points, @person. I agree with and appreciate your points on accuracy. But I also want to add some emphasis to @Kerome’s statement. Like plenty here, I was born into the Cold War, late enough to have known nothing else and early enough to appreciate it's ostensible end. When the Berlin Wall came down, yeah, I teared up.
In D.C. I visited the National Air and Space Museum. The inside is breathtaking in its size. It houses countless aircraft from a space shuttle to a jumbo jet to fighters to the Wright brother's “flying machine”, and everything in between. A grate iron catwalk gives a better view of the planes hanging from the ceiling. Turning a corner of this catwalk, I encountered one that sucked all the fun and wonder from my visit. It was a WWII bomber. It's name? The “Enola Gay”. It's one thing to cringe at black & white footage of what was done with this bomber. It's quite another to stand in front it, to grok those bombs were as real as this plane.
The cavalier way Trump speaks of nuclear war is disturbing. If we modify @Kerome’s statement to read “His war of words with Kim Jong Un has brought the world as close to a nuclear war as it's ever been [in my lifetime]”, then the horror of that statement isn’t exaggerated. Let's hope he's not too disconnected from reality. Those bombs are real. As an American, I hate to admit this, but if it came down to it, I would sincerely hope to see a military coup in the U.S. prevent him from launching even one of those missiles. It seems unimaginable, but those bombs are real.
This some may find is somewhat disturbing...
"Times may change but (some) people don't"
""This point is less an indictment of bad things that Americans have done in the past, than it is a cautionary tale about the bad things that we might do in the future.""
Whilst Britain had the likes of " Oswald Mosley"
Yes, but Mosley was nowhere near as politically dangerous as Trump is. The comparison is lacking.
From our good friend, the GGG/WIKI.
Understood.
I bet you could hug a demon. However what about the real demons? Hard eh?
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/shoshin-and-the-fear-of-others
Eight verses
http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Eight_Verses_of_Training_the_Mind
And now back to manifest trump demons ...
Dangerous times at the moment, Kim Jong un "rocketman" and Trump flexing their muscles, what will happen if one of them steps wrong, nuclear holocaust?
Ethics and Intelligence require we see things (and trump) as they are.
Just don't hate.
Indeed.
As someone who keeps pet Buddhas in a cupboards, I know the power of the wrathful manifestations of the benign. It is heavy and dangerous skilful stuff, only of use to those requiring quick resolution AND motivated by masks of kind intent ...
http://www.khandro.net/deities_wrathful.htm
As I said to Bodhi Toddler Trump only this morning:
How's hell dude?... usual twittering babble ensued ...
For now for me not hating is not seeing. "Just don't look. You know you're just gonna get mad."
@Snakeskin Okey dokey. If hate and clarity go together for now - whatareyagonnado? I would rather see clarity than peaceful stupidity in folks. (Stupid: The original boring!) Hope you get some grey tones - feels better.
Ignorance is bliss, sure, peaceful like a volcano. I’ve always read the news in the morning. After Trump’s election, I noticed the articles angered me. Bad way to start the day. I tried avoiding stories about Trump only to find he permeates everything. He's a global spider web. So, I stopped reading the news. I know it’s the worst time to disengage, but my participation has always been minimal anyway. I stay informed, discuss, vote accordingly and occasionally email representatives. After a little more than a quarter century, my voting history is mostly the history of who also ran and my advocacy amounts to a collection of boilerplate responses with official letterheads. That’s cynical, I know, but I can read the news or a sutta. One leads to contentious arguments with loved ones; the other doesn’t. Ignorance for now is preservation. If the world survives Tr… Ok, I’m just gonna stop there.
Now that that’s off my chest, I’m sure there’s more to “clarity”. Or should I just subscribe to the Mindful Resistance newsletter mentioned in the article?
Hopefully the last few days events means the beginning of the end for the Trump presidency.
Am feeling that way, too, @Hozan.
Trump is the logical conclusion of the last 10+ years of American politics. I sincerely was not shocked nor surprised when he was elected, so I didn’t really have a sense of immediate rage, although plenty of other actions by politicians (and Trump) of both parties have been huge practice opportunities in recognizing reflexive anger toward opportunism.
The news feed has been a really big source of anger as well. Not usually what is being reported, but the manipulative manner it is being reported. Which makes reactions to Trump’s statements about the media all the more complex, because he points out things selectively, based on how favorable it is towards him. All the while, the press continues to get more and more alarmist to the point that people are desensitized.
Trump is a zit... the natural outgrowth of an unhealthy body. Popping the zit won't solve the problem. The longer he is there then the starker the message to us that we have serious issues that we need to resolve. The worst thing that could happen now is a return to the status quo.
The funny thing is if Obama wouldn't have mocked him so much in 2011 its not sure he would have run fro presidency. So what we see now is a deeply wounded super ego. So tragic if such people get power. Like the pope in a TED talk said Getting power is like drinking alcohol, first you get ditsy than you loose balance and then you hurt others and yourself.
And such a man can push the button.
"Trump" ...Um now why does that name ring a bell ?????