Civil conversation and listening and acting

There's an invitation to participate in "Civl Talk" at someone's home in Old Mountain View with a focus on listening.

I've had pointed out in several blogs i read a certain writer's journal post which expressed the opinion that homosexual relationships were immoral in the context of the criticism of a cable network that network's response.

I'm aware of "death panels" health care misinformation/propaganda (and found a review of the most egregious lies and distortions linked to the bill text).

I'm aware of the plans to build military bases in Colombia, further leading to the polarization between Colombia on one side and Ecuador and Venezuela on the other (and i've deeper concerns about civilians in Colombia, independent of the building international tensions).

I'm aware of many things like these, and have strong beliefs about right and wrong that have developed over years of listening.I know i need to continue to learn and listen, but i recognize that my choices for listening are guided by already strong values. This morning i wonder at the fact that i don't write much about my feelings and opinions about these issues that affect the immediate, national, and global communities. I suppose the most honest expression of my feelings would be to say i need to grieve over them. When i listen to others' despair, while sympathetic, i wonder at some of the aspects of inner life that are revealed in the forms of despair. When i listen to others' anger i try to learn from it, i try to hear the pain and fear behind the anger. When i listen to righteous indignation, i know my values come into play: i respect the strength and the willingness to be out there of someone who shares my values, but when confronted by someone who has different values and understandings, leading them to put forward a position that harms others, i feel a futility, a sense that that that mantle of righteousness keeps them from listening.

I find myself constantly accusing myself of passivity, of focussing on my own narrow life, and not contributing to my community. And then i think of the hubris of self flagellation.

I have to trust that i do keep my eyes lifted up from just focussing on each single step, that i do stay aware of when my path offers choices.