Drill-Down: Being Positive
Now that I’ve done the outline of how I plan to live moving forward, there are certain areas that upon further reflection need to be fleshed out a bit more.
In the Philosophy post, I talked about how I avoid writers groups in San Francisco, because I think they have all bought into the community versus commerce angle, and decided it is necessary to love writing because you’ll never make any money at it. I think that often goes one level deeper and there are books written specifically for the market it is assumed will end up supporting that work.
Personally, I don’t think there is any writing that insular by its very nature. But I think a lot of people get tainted by that thinking and end up writing in a way that plays into the reality they have created. I think there is a possibility of a book about a gay, vegan, Buddhist sex worker that would be on the bestseller charts, and there is the same subject matter that will be a cheap trade paperback that barely moves any units.
David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs (I’ve only read the former at present) write very gay essays that are read by very large audiences, and I’ve yet to ever think Sedaris was watering down his life for the sake of appealing to the mainstream. In no essay has he ever written about detailed oral sex from his boyfriend, but I’m guessing that is because, up until this point, no humorous story has required it. As soon as it does, it will be in there.
But I’m not really writing about demographics today. It is about the law of attraction, and thinking positively, and projection, and visualizing a future you set out to make happen. Far too often, people take the first step of amazing journeys with defeat already lodged in their hearts.
I am doing all I can to avoid those pitfalls. So, for now, no writing groups. Honestly, I don’t really see that changing any time in the future, either.
But the area of positive thing extends further than writing. It is shaping the way I view a lot of issues in the world.
For example, I really think positive thinking is the piece of the puzzle missing from the Democrat’s strategy to take back Congress next month. Their entire strategy is being against Bush, and I think the absence of a positive message hurts them. Because, misguided as I think their strategy is, the Republicans believe they are doing the right thing. So, Republican voters get to vote for something, and Democratic voters hate to vote against something. It will always be more energizing to vote for something, because we gravitate to positive energy by our nature.
I honestly can’t say specifically what the Democrats are for as easily as I can say what they are against, and that is always going to be a problem.
That is also the case for a lot of left-wing politics. When I am going around San Francisco, there are constant cries to sign a petition for something or other. And, as I’ve been paying attention for the past few months, every left-wing-sided petition has asked me to contribute negative energy to their cause. I have been asked to stop, oppose, and stand up against things, and I’ve refused to sign them all.
I feel that things always move forward. Things do not stop. So, to have a ballot initiative that supports stopping something, with no alternate plan, goes against our natural instinct. When Gavin Newsom was running for mayor here, his plan to address the homeless issue was criticized broadly, and I voted for him. Because every other Democratic candidate (SF mainly picks between left- and right-wing Democrats, heh) had no plan, or said it needed to be studied. I decided it was better to go in a wrong direction than no direction, because then even if Newsom screwed up, his opponents would have to react with a plan to fix his mess. Anything that tries to stop development, capitalism, someone profiting, or anything else, with no alternative plan to also continue forward momentum, is doomed.
It is similar to why I have avoided all marches against the war. First of all, it is ridiculous on its face, because to me it is like a walk against cancer. There are no walks for war or cancer. That said, I would be far more likely to march for peace (knowing full well that the same crowd would attend, with the same Free Mumia, Show Your Breasts for Liberty, Join the Communist Party splinter groups, all shouting anti-Bush slogans). OK, the more I think about it, I’d still stay home unless it was organized to deter that negative element.
And, as with most things, the people on the left believe their heart is in the right place, and they are passionate about what they are doing. But, as soon as we go negative, we say we are superior to them. And, despite what we may think about the Republican leadership, the people who largely vote for them are also voting with their hearts and their values.
So, I think it is important to claim your territory more directly. If the Republicans got us into war, we need to be for peace, not against war. It sounds similar, but it’s not. Remember, the opposite of war isn’t peace, it’s creation, according to Jonathan Larson.
I just think there will always be a disconnect when, in the ballot box, I feel good that I’m not voting for Bush, rather than getting a positive vibe from who I am supporting. But how can I feel good about someone if the messages I hear most often (and I admit a lot of this is the media focusing on these divisive issues) tell me more about what they are against than what they are for.
Until we get to go to the ballot box with a pure desire to make positive change because of the beliefs and promises of our candidate, there is always going to be an uphill battle, because our core being gravitates to positive energy, so Republicans will always be more positively motivated to vote under this current system.
Let’s just hope this deficiency doesn’t cost us in November.
