Hi Dick,
I will reply more fully in within 48 hours to
that thoughtful post.
What concerns me is intentional deception, where
no amount of effort can lead to good communication
because one party is betraying the other. We have in our midst certain persons who deliberately distort their information only when communication with certain others they perceive as "deserving it." This can proceed from PC forms of learned history...for example, the
"self-evident fact" that I personally oppressed a whole group of persons for hundreds of years seems self-evident to some persons, so naturally "I" deserve to be deceived -- whether this group be of African descent, or early residents of North America, or persons who look just like me but have a markedly different religious or political theory that says I must not associate with certain parts of society because they oppress us.
If I have empathy with persons in any of these configurations, the deceptive way of thinking will merely assume I am making up for past misdeeds.
But in truth, neither they nor I are the person who lived through the what matters is their mind is so screwed up they have reasoned their way to where deception is
the rule. This condition renders all our
models of communication moot.
Then, when we say something to the effect that
truth is not simply truth, since they are not thinking clearly, they might begin to assume that we too are being deceptive.
How does this fit into your model?
Will reply to your thoughtful post soon.
Not sure what "cross posting" is, btw. Does it make the typeface hard to read?
Sincerely
(Andy Rooney said this is the best way to close letters, but I promise not to make it a rule),
Mike
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