A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
According to a just-issued report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of hate groups across the United States rose in 2011.
The radical right grew explosively in 2011, the third such dramatic expansion in as many years. The growth was fueled by superheated fears generated by economic dislocation, a proliferation of demonizing conspiracy theories, the changing racial makeup of America, and the prospect of four more years under a black president who many on the far right view as an enemy to their country. The number of hate groups counted by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) last year reached a total of 1,018, up slightly from the year before but continuing a trend of significant growth that is now more than a decade old. The truly stunning growth came in the antigovernment “Patriot” movement — conspiracy-minded groups that see the federal government as their primary enemy.
The SPLC notes that because of advances in LGBT rights, the number of anti-gay hate groups has exploded even as those same groups focus their attention on immigrants and Muslims.
The gay-bashing Traditional Values Coalition, for instance, last year redesigned its website to emphasize a new section entitled “Islam vs. the Constitution,” published a report on Shariah law, and joined anti-Shariah conferences. Overall, the number of anti-gay hate groups in the United States rose markedly, going from 17 in 2010 to 27 last year.
If we attempt to explain the experience of 'being the question,' we can only talk around it. Because 'being' is an experience, and the moment we try to describe it we shut down around an idea. But perhaps we could attempt to describe it by saying that being the question has something to do with our ability to tolerate or bear witness to the full expressions of experience, rather than closing down around them and then reacting to them through our preferences.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2011) — The less people know about important complex issues such as the economy, energy consumption and the environment, the more they want to avoid becoming well-informed, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
And the more urgent the issue, the more people want to remain unaware, according to a paper published online in APA's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
"These studies were designed to help understand the so-called 'ignorance is bliss' approach to social issues," said author Steven Shepherd, a graduate student with the University of Waterloo in Ontario. "The findings can assist educators in addressing significant barriers to getting people involved and engaged in social issues."
Through a series of five studies conducted in 2010 and 2011 with 511 adults in the United States and Canada, the researchers described "a chain reaction from ignorance about a subject to dependence on and trust in the government to deal with the issue."
In one study, participants who felt most affected by the economic recession avoided information challenging the government's ability to manage the economy. However, they did not avoid positive information, the study said. This study comprised 197 Americans with a mean age of 35 (111 women and 89 men), who had received complex information about the economy and had answered a question about how the economy is affecting them directly.
To test the links among dependence, trust and avoidance, researchers provided either a complex or simple description of the economy to a group of 58 Canadians, mean age 42, composed of 20 men and 38 women. The participants who received the complex description indicated higher levels of perceived helplessness in getting through the economic downturn, more dependence on and trust in the government to manage the economy, and less desire to learn more about the issue.
"This is despite the fact that, all else equal, one should have less trust in someone to effectively manage something that is more complex," said co-author Aaron C. Kay, PhD, of Duke University. "Instead, people tend to respond by psychologically 'outsourcing' the issue to the government, which in turn causes them to trust and feel more dependent on the government. Ultimately, they avoid learning about the issue because that could shatter their faith in the government."
Participants who felt unknowledgeable about oil supplies not only avoided negative information about the issue, they became even more reluctant to know more when the issue was urgent, as in an imminent oil shortage in the United States, according the authors. For this study, 163 Americans, with a mean age of 32 (70 men and 93 women), provided their opinion about the complexity of natural resource management and then read a statement declaring the United States has less than 40 years' worth of oil supplies. Afterward, they answered questions to assess their reluctance to learn more.
"Beyond just downplaying the catastrophic, doomsday aspects to their messages, educators may want to consider explaining issues in ways that make them easily digestible and understandable, with a clear emphasis on local, individual-level causes," the authors said.
Another two studies found that participants who received complex information about energy sources trusted the government more than those who received simple information. For these studies, researchers questioned 93 (49 men and 44 women) Canadian undergraduate students in two separate groups.
The authors recommended further research to determine how people would react when faced with other important issues such as food safety, national security, health, social inequality, poverty and moral and ethical conflict, as well as under what conditions people tend to respond with increased rather than decreased engagement.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 154,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.
reprinted from materials provided by American Psychological Association, via Newswise. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above. Journal Reference:
Shepherd, Steven; Kay, Aaron C. On the perpetuation of ignorance: System dependence, system justification, and the motivated avoidance of sociopolitical information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Nov 7, 2011 DOI: 10.1037/a0026272
APA
MLA
American Psychological Association (2011, November 21). Ignorance is bliss when it comes to challenging social issues. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 8, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111121142446.htm
Sean Sutton, left, greets his boyfriend of 2 years, U.S. Navy sailor Jonathan Jewell, E5, with a kiss after Jewell returned from a seven month deployment aboard the USS Stennis on Friday, March 2, 2012 in Bremerton, Wash. The USS Stennis returned to its home port in Bremerton Friday, completing a seven-month deployment in which the aircraft carrier launched the last Navy air mission over Iraq and more than 1,000 flights over Afghanistan.
This new feature length narrative indie film takes a look at the human cost of DOMA (Defense Of Marriage Act), the law that bars same sex couples full federal level rights in America. We're currently running an indiegogo campaign for finishing funds. You can check it out here.
The Pure Land is never apart from this world, and we have the ability to work to alleviate more of the world’s suffering. Thankful for the blessings we receive, we can try to be kinder, more open-minded, and more accepting of one another. And we can work to eliminate barriers between people, so that our togetherness is brought to light and honored.
RUSH: Other California news out there. We try to keep you posted on things that we discover while we are on location. Did you see that the poster couple for gay marriage in California are getting a divorce? You see that? It's true. It's two women, they were among the first 14 same-sex couples who got married on the day the ban was lifted in California back in June of 2008. I guess the national average, three-and-a-half years, is what their marriage lasted, maybe it's the California average. I'm not sure. But I wonder if they designated one of them the husband so that he gets all the blame and has to pay all the alimony. How does that work? I wonder if we'll find out as the news covers this groundbreaking event, the first divorce of the first gay marriage couple.
Make sure you check out the second column of the AMERICAblog home page where you'll find the current list of Limbaugh advertisers and their Twitter handles.
As same-sex marriage springs up all around him, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell says that it will come soon to his state too.
In an interview with Reuters Insider TV, Markell, a Democrat, said he expects that Delaware will take up same-sex marriage legislation "probably within the next few years." Delaware began allowing civil unions -- an institution set up to give the same rights as civil marriage, while reserving marriage for heterosexual couples -- last year. Markell noted that until three years ago it was legal in Delaware "to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation," and said the state was moving towards greater acceptance of homosexuality. "I think it's inevitable," he said of gay marriage.
"I believe that freedom of speech and freedom of religion go hand-in-hand in America. I should be able to express moral views on social issues – especially those that have been the underpinning of Western civilization for 2,000 years – without being slandered, accused of hate speech and told from those who preach ‘tolerance’ that I need to either bend my beliefs to their moral standards or be silent when I’m in the public square. In any society that is governed by the rule of law, some form of morality is always imposed. It’s inescapable." - Kirk Cameron, quoted by World Net Daily. Cameron adds that he's gotten support from "my gay friends" since the CNN interview aired.
NOTE: To my knowledge, not one person or organization has asked the government to silence Kirk Cameron. His freedom of speech and his freedom to be a batshit crazy fuckweasel has never been threatened.
Education and knowledge by themselves do not bring inner peace to individuals, families or the society in which they live. But education combined with warmheartedness, a sense of concern for the well-being of others, has much more positive results. If you have a great deal of knowledge, but you're governed by negative emotions, then you tend to use your knowledge in negative ways. Therefore, while you are learning, don't forget the importance of warmheartedness. - The Dalai Lama
May your spirit soar throughout the vast cathedral of your being.
May your mind whirl joyful cartwheels of creativity.
May your heart sing sweet lullabies of timelessness.
A campaign to add support for marriage equality to the Democratic Party platform has gained the support of 22 members of the U.S. Senate, according to the Washington Blade. “Two people who want to enter into a loving committed relationship should be afforded the same legally recognized rights and benefits I enjoy with my wife,” Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said in a statement. While the campaign has gained other high-profile supporters, it’s unclear whether the issue will make it into the party platform, which has traditionally opposed anti-LGBT initiatives while stopping short of offering outright support for LGBT causes such as marriage equality. Washington Blade (3/2), The Charlotte Observer (N.C.)
Sometimes when I’m asked to describe the Buddhist teachings, I say this: Everything is connected; nothing lasts; you are not alone. This is really just a restatement of the traditional Three Marks of Existence: non-self, impermanence, and suffering. The fact that we all suffer means we are all in the same boat, and that’s what allows us to feel compassion.
A rapidly growing number of Americans now live in states that grant the basic rights and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples. But DOMA prevents the federal government from recognizing any of these relationships!
If we are intelligent enough to understand the instructions and if we have the perseverance, then we can remind ourselves about how to really practice at any given moment during the day. The skilled practitioner is someone who goes to work and then while working also develops spiritual qualities.
Note from Joe: Robin McGehee is a great friend of AMERICAblog's. We're big fans. She's the amazing activist who helped organized the National Equality March on Washington back in 2009, then founded GetEQUAL. Last night, she was in the audience for AFER's production of "8, The Play." Robin's activism started with Prop. 8, so she sent us her take on last night's event (along with some photos.)
If you missed the live broadcast, watch it here. It's worth it -- and remember, the haters don't want people to know what happened at the trial. The play begins at 29:51.
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From Robin:
If you would have asked me a week ago if I was going to the American Federal for Equal Right's showing of "8" in Los Angeles - I would have replied, "I wish!" I am a full-time mom and professor at the College of the Sequoias in a small town called, Visalia, California. Although I am deeply devoted and in love with what AFER has done for the marriage equality fight in California, and globally for that matter, there is no way I could afford to get in.
According to a just-issued report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of hate groups across the United States rose in 2011.
