Perilous...Optimism

[undergroundpanther]

The appearance of competancy must be upheld... especially when there is none.


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Human beings thrive on hope. Without some sense that our individual deliberate effort brings us closer to a fulfillment of our personal goals, we simply cannot function from one day to the next.

And yet, hope often betrays us, as it blinds us to clear and evident danger and leads us to courses of action and inaction that will eventually result in the loss of our property, our livelihood, our liberty, and even our very lives.

Pangloss is admired, and Cassandra is despised and ignored. But as the Trojans were to learn to their sorrow, Cassandra was right, and had she been heeded, the toil of appropriate preparation for the coming adversity would have been insignificant measured against the devastation that followed a brief season of blissful and ignorant optimism.

Throughout history, and most recently in the mid-Twentieth century, millions have perished due to stubborn and ill-advised optimism. For example, Hitler made his intentions brutally clear in Mein Kampf, yet neither the British nor American governments took heed until the Wehrmacht crossed the Polish border.
http://www.awok.org/perilous-optimism/

Regarding optimism and"self help...
Surprisingly, Empowerment subscribers are no better off in this regard. Empowerment preaches that you can achieve whatever you set out to achieve, that success is a function of desire and/or commitment. But there is an inescapable converse: that failure is a function of a lack of desire and/or commitment. In its purest form, Empowerment admits no circumstances that are unresponsive to the human will. Every shortfall in achievement must be accounted for somehow. And if it’s not the program’s fault, or the guru’s fault . . . then whose?

Smiley face on disaster..
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0430-25.htm
Delusional optimism
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/articles/article.jsp?articleID=R0307D&ml_action=get-article&print=true
http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/management/project/story/0,10801,83162,00.html
The "teacher" talked a lot about "manifesting" and making reality what you want; he also said that he had a strong connection to water (rain, that is) and it seemed to follow him wherever he went. I remember at the time thinking, "Then why the fuck don't you go to Africa where there hasn't been rain in a decade or so...you know, so they can grow some food?"
http://mikesweeklyskepticrant.blogspot.com/2007/02/heres-secret-blame-victim.html

http://www.emotionalcompetency.com/responsibility.htm


We are so much closer to dogs than we know. Subject to conditioning much the same way Pavlov’s pooches salivated at the ring of a bell. For us to take action, especially sustained and repeated action toward the attainment of any goal, we need to believe the outcome, no matter how remote, is on some level attainable. Without that belief, there is no action. And, without action, there is no accomplishment. And…Repetition fuels belief!

Repeatedly visualizing a goal as if you had already attained it conditions you to believe it’s possible. Over time, as that conditioning takes root through repetition, your belief in success leads you to act differently on many levels and take actions you’d never have taken.

Those actions increasingly deliver results and inspire you to believe your vision is attainable on a deeper level. Which inspires even more action. And, as people around you see you not only succeeding, but becoming more confident, they will respond to that confidence, too.
http://jonathanfields.com/blog/ive-got-a-secret-the-law-of-attraction-is-a-lie/

McCoy explained what “no touch” torture is;

The CIA’s psychological paradigm for “no touch” torture fused two new methods, “sensory disorientation” and “self-inflicted pain,” whose combination, in theory, would cause victims to feel responsible for their own suffering and thus capitulate more readily to their torturers.
http://www.mindjustice.org/wisdom.htm
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v3n2/justworld.html

Dialectical behavioral therapy emphasizes learning to bear pain skillfully.A.K.A.Denial.

The appearance of empathy must be upheld... especially when it's being exploited.

[mdmc]

1. kick