• The Teacher

    The Teacher

    The Teacher
    from 10 reviews.
    Commentary and Philosophy  Non-Fiction

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    Illicit Lure

    The evils of corporate greed
    from 25 reviews.
    Commentary and Philosophy  Poetry

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    Feeling

    The path to healing
    from 18 reviews.
    Commentary and Philosophy  Poetry


Bananafish308: "Fear of ideological defeat is no match for the fear of imminent death."

-Charles M. Blow


Bananafish308: "People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."

-Søren Kierkegaard


Bananafish308: "To see life through the prism of a White American male is the most infinitesimally narrow of viewpoints."

-Me (A White American male)
    Carlos' girl: so quit your job, move to the projects in rhe bronx or harlem, collect welfare or deal drugs for a living and feel enlightenwd lol -
    CD Richards: Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than speak and remove any doubt.

    -unknown

    Merry Christmas, Bill. -
    Bananafish308: Merry Christmas to you, too, Craig.

    Your response says it all, my friend. While I know I shouldn't waste another moment on such a ridiculous comment, I will take it as an opportunity to thank this person for giving me this chance to reiterate a point I have made repeatedly in the past.

    The current divide in this country is not about politics. It is about something much more profound and disturbing, as demonstrated by this comment.

    So, to reluctantly address the comment, it is not necessary for anyone with reasonable intelligence and a shred of humanity to understand the plight of another without actually having the same experiences.

    It is called having BASIC HUMAN DECENCY - something totally alien to a significant segment of the population. This comment was a stark reminder of how this particular segment castigates those who advocate for compassion and tolerance and therein lies the TRUE divide.
    -


Bananafish308: "Only the weak are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong."

-Leo Buscaglia
    mrsmajor: The strong are real, they are comfortable with themselves, and most often don't feel the need to fear others, gentleness is an inevitable trait...Victoria
    The weak are filled with fear, the ideal of sharing isn't acceptable, and from that fear often comes cruelty and violence...Victoria -
    mrsmajor: Bill,
    I not only believe, I do know, for sure, You are one of the Strong, and so am I...I know who and what I am, and though it's difficult at times to accept those that show their weakness, through criticism, and resentment of those around them, Actually we should feel sorry for people that cannot see pass their own frailties...Though perfect I will never be, often I can see just through their own words, those that are weak, and fearful...(Does that make sense to you).. -


Bananafish308: The Teacher

The man was small in stature, but his words thunderous in their implications. He spoke with a calm, quite dignity. He taught me about the symbiotic and paradoxical relationship between teacher-pupil, pupil-teacher. He taught me about the duality of a true learning experience, in which one is both pupil and teacher simultaneously - teaching oneself and another. As I listened and learned from him, I also listened to the lessons I was teaching myself. In turn, the teacher learned from me. I explained to him the invaluable lessons he taught me and he gazed upon me with a gentle smile.

The man was not real in a physical sense, but he was more real than any mortal person. I dreamed about him. He is the Teacher. I remember little of what he actually said in the dream, just the essence. I remember the inspiring feelings he stirred within me. The unique, indescribable feeling one gets when they feel they have been privy to profound insights. Above all, though, the teacher gave me hope. Hope in one's ability to transcend the primal human impulse to resist learning and seek refuge in the comfort of one's own predigested worldview.

In reality, we are our own teacher. We create the lesson plans. We decide what is true and what is fact; what is important and what is irrelevant. We choose whether or not to listen - to others and to ourselves. The ability to listen is the true lesson in life, to really listen. The ability to listen to ourselves while listening to another, but to ourselves, first and foremost. If we listen close enough to ourselves, we will learn all there is to learn. We can listen to the greatest thinkers the world has known, but the words will be empty if we do not give them relevance. Each one of us is the Teacher.
    jlsavell: Bill, you should promote this exceptional essay with such a depth of meaning.

    There is an art and a discipline to truly listening. If we fail to master this art, our growth is stifled , therefore, how we listen proceeds how we relate to others. To be so absorbed in ones own world as if it?s the only one that matters creates a superficiality which distances others.

    Beautiful essay. -
    Bananafish308: Thanks Jimi! Couldn't agree more with what you said.

    I actually ended up promoting it yesterday.

    Take care! -


Bananafish308: "He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion... Nor is it enough that he should hear the opinions of adversaries from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them...he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form."

-John Stuart Mill
    Gloria ....: Excellent point, Jimi. So true, that if you don't know about any other POV but your own, then you really haven't taken a side, you have merely pulled up a seat in the great auditorium of an ocean of oneness. I always enjoy your philosophical comments. -
    jlsavell: Ahhh! Gloria, you must be thinking about me.

    I think Bill, you, and I are quite philosophical in nature.

    Love this post, Bill

    Jimi -

    jlsavell: Bill, thank you for sharing. This young man is brilliant. -
    Bananafish308: He sure is, Jimi. The encouraging thing is that this is the kind of wonderful stuff that SOME educational institutions are showing their students. My son is in high school and he is taking a college level psychology class. His teacher had the class watch this speech the first week of class.

    My mother-in-law is a college English professor. She also shows this speech to her English 101 and 102 classes.

    There IS hope for this country, yet, if we continue to produce such wonderful educators! It is beyond shameful that we can't rely on those currently in positions of power and influence to provide this type of positive inspiration!! -
    mrsmajor: Thanks for sharing this with us Bill, it was a well worth taking the time to listen to the entire talk. The teaching of what to think about, and how to begin to really learn about life, not only how to count, spell, or read, should start early. Life is more than what one learns in their home, or classroom. There is a real world outside of one's self, and life is a never ending lesson.
    We can learn something of value, as long as our minds are open, and receptive...Yes, I would have had my students read, and discuss this post without question.
    Victoria -
    jlsavell: I didn?t know if anyone was aware that this young man died at 46. David Foster Wallace -


Bananafish308: "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.
    mrsmajor: Sadly, Bill, ignorance is still truth to some. -
    Colin John: I wrote a poem on the great man, going to heaven as a black angel, and living happily with all the white angels. That's only right as he was a deeply religious man. Good quote. -
    mrsmajor: Thanks Bill. I'm doing pretty good, (for an old lady) lol...
    Stay safe my friend, and all the best for your wife, and children...Hugs -


Bananafish308: "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."

-Isaac Asimov
    CD Richards: Not exclusively in the US, Bill; although it does seem to do it better than most. -
    Colin John: "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion." -


Bananafish308: When did Tom institute a ban on political comments on the profile thoughts page??? I never saw it.
    nor84: It's recent, maybe in the last six weeks or so. Apparently, things were getting ugly in those forums. I never participated in either.

    I believe Dale Carnegie, who wrote in his book something to the effect of: Never discuss your politics or religion with others. Their position is set, and you aren't going to change it. -
    nor84: This is what is supposed to be on Profile Thoughts forum: "Displaying recent comments written in profiles."

    However, if this becomes another 'political forum' I think we can expect Tom to do something about it. The Political Forum and the Religious Forum no longer exit.
    -
    Sarkems: I thought the other forums were created in the first place to stop political stuff appearing on these pages. I'm fairly sure the 'Religion' forum was started after people kept witnessing on profile thoughts. So I'm guessing it's spilled on to here again and Tom's put a stop to it. -
    CD Richards: I don't recall seeing such a ban, either. Sure we aren't just imagining it? I wouldn't be sad to see such a decree, the problem is, it's just never going to hold up, because some people can't resist. It doesn't occur to them their opinions are political, they are just "truth". -
    nor84: The Political forum existed when I came here in 2006. The Religious forum was, as Sarkems said, set up to keep the other forums free from religious rants. Now neither of those forums exist. This forum, as I said earlier was supposed to be what people put in their 'Profile Thoughts' and now I suppose we're going to get both politics and religion here and in the other forums. If people acted so badly to one another in the religious and political forums that Tom had to do away with those forums, we can look for bad behavior to occur in all the other forums, I suppose. -


Bananafish308: "The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it."

-George Orwell



Bananafish308: Saw this on Facebook. So perfectly said:

"'Agree to disagree' is reserved for things like 'I don't like coffee.' Not racism, homophobia, and sexism. Not human rights. Not basic common decency. If I unfriend you during this, it IS personal. We do not have a difference of opinion. We have a difference in morality."

-corina@cdvaughn16
    jlsavell: Exceptional comment. It should be a banner across the world. -
    emmaysavage: Idon't think "let go of self" is the way to grow. -
    Bananafish308: I think taking a stand against racism, homophobia, and sexism, and speaking up for human rights and basic common decency is EXACTLY the way to grow. -


Bananafish308: Reprise:

"A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion."

-Proverbs 18:2


Bananafish308: "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion."

-Proverbs 18:2


Bananafish308: Jon Cooper:

"I just asked my neighbor why he removed the Trump sign from his lawn, where it had been since 2016. He replied, "I couldn't ignore his racism any longer. My son [10 years old] asked why I still support him, and I had no answer. If you lose your kid's respect, you've got nothing."


Bananafish308: "I dream of a world where the truth is what shapes people's politics, rather than politics shaping what people think is true."

-Neil deGrasse Tyson
    jlsavell: So very true.

    If only the two Trump supporters on the forum would realize this. -


Bananafish308: "A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be."

-Albert Einstein


Bananafish308: "MORAL COURAGE IS A RARER COMMODITY THAN BRAVERY IN BATTLE."

-Robert Kennedy

No bleeping shit!!


FanStory wrote to Bananafish308: A Call to Arms finished second in the contest "Political 5-7-5"


Bananafish308: "When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps."

-Confucius
    Gloria ....: So where do alternative facts fit into this then? -


Bananafish308: "Facts don't do what I want them to."

-David Byrne
Talking Heads
    Six-Star Writer: You have the right to free speech. As long as your not dumb enough to actually try it.

    The Clash -


Bananafish308: While we're invoking Roger Waters:

"And you didn't like school
And you know you're nobody's fool

So welcome to the machine

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine

What did you dream?
It's alright, we told you what to dream"

-Pink Floyd / Welcome to the Machine
    Six-Star Writer: And. I didn't listen to them-'the people who told me what to dream, that is--not Pink Floyd. Love PF.

    Saw the Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking concert in Oakland, CA. One of Water's solo efforts. Used to listen to PF in England in the 80s when the US when the U.S. military stationed Mr there. And in CA, as a teen. -
    Six-Star Writer: Sorry for all the typos. Hard to write on a shaky tractor trailer at 55 MPH. -
    Bananafish308: Haha, that would do it.

    I love PF, also. Saw Waters solo in NY a couple of years ago. Tried so hard to see the original "Wall" tour in 80-81, but, with only 12 shows in the entire U.S. (7 in LA, 5 in NY), it was impossible. -


Bananafish308: A little change of pace today. Some Aldous Huxley quotes on objective reality and similar pertinent themes:

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."

"You shall know the truth, and truth shall make you mad."

"The deepest sin against the human mind is to believe things without evidence."

"People will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think."

"The victim of mind-manipulation does not know that he is a victim. To him, the walls of his prison are invisible, and he believes himself to be free."

"Never have so many been manipulated so much by so few."

"Dictators can always consolidate their tyranny by an appeal to patriotism."

"One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them."
    Gloria ....: I like the one about the truth making one mad. LOL. Is that mad crazy or mad angry, or does it matter? -
    Bananafish308: Hey Gloria, I interpret it to mean mad angry. You see it all the time in the forums. People get angry when some of us insist on discussing facts and objective reality.
    -
    Bananafish308: ...and piggy backing on your post from a couple of days ago regarding fools:

    "There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true."

    -Soren Kierkegaard -
    Six-Star Writer: Yeah, there's a lot of that going on, BF. But it's nothing new under the sun. Heaven forbid people believe the truth. It's usually much more satisfying and safer to believe lies and propaganda. -
    jlsavell: Love all these quotes, Bill- so very appropriate for our times. Eh?

    Thank you for sharing.

    Jimi -


Bananafish308: ...and piggy backing on an earlier theme regarding fools:

"There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true."

-Soren Kierkegaard


Bananafish308: A little change of pace today. Some Aldous Huxley quotes on objective reality and similar pertinent themes:

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."

"You shall know the truth, and truth shall make you mad."

"The deepest sin against the human mind is to believe things without evidence."

"People will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think."

"The victim of mind-manipulation does not know that he is a victim. To him, the walls of his prison are invisible, and he believes himself to be free."

"Never have so many been manipulated so much by so few."

"Dictators can always consolidate their tyranny by an appeal to patriotism."

"One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them."



Bananafish308: "Some assembly is always required."

-Robert Fulghum
    Six-Star Writer: Yeah, and when there is, it's a lot more fun assembling something when you throw away the directions. -
    Ms. Snyder: I think they should say hours on certain projects! -


Bananafish308: "It doesn't matter what you say you believe - it only matters what you do."

-Robert Fulghum
    Six-Star Writer: Actually, sometimes it matters what you say you believe, too. -
    Bananafish308: I think you might be misunderstanding what I believe he is saying. Another way of saying it might be:

    "It only matters what you SAY you believe, if your actions back up what you say."

    For instance, it is naturally very admirable if a person says they believe in equality for all. If, however, that person then turns around and discriminates against a certain group when hiring at his job, then it really didn't matter what he SAID he believed.

    -
    Six-Star Writer: Nope, I didn't misunderstand. And my original comment is still valid. -


Bananafish308: ?You may never have proof of your importance but you are more important than you think. There are always those who couldn?t do without you. The rub is that you don?t always know who.?

-Robert Fulghum


Bananafish308: Sometimes the simplest words are the most profound. This is the hallmark of Robert Fulghum. Every now and then I think about this wonderful man. His gentle, wise wisdom had a significant impact on me when I was younger.

I would like to try and post at least one quote of his every day. I will kick it off with the following:

"Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some."

"Play fair. Don't hit people. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody."

"I've always thought anyone can make money. Making a life worth living, that's the real test."

"Clean up your own mess."

"The examined life is no picnic."

"Share everything. Don't take things that aren't yours. Put things back where you found them."

"'Maybe.' There's our word. The wisest answer to ultimate questions."

"If you want an interesting party sometime, combine cocktails and a fresh box of crayons for everyone."

"And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world it is best to hold hands and stick together."

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!


    Bananafish308: A little redundancy there - "wise wisdom" LOL. -
    Sarkems: Got to be honest, I'd never heard of this man, so googled him. Wise words, indeed. -
    damommy: I have some of his books and read them often. My favorite it 'I Learned Everything I Needed to Know in Kindergarten.' -
    Bananafish308: I agree, Damommy. That is an awesome book. It is the one that introduced me to this man and I read all his ensuing books.

    My daughter just turned 18 and goes off to college in September. I plan on getting her this book. I think it is a wonderful perspective on life to pass on to any young person just going out into the world.
    -


FanStory wrote to Bananafish308: The World Turned Upside Down finished second in the contest "What If?"
    michaelcahill: Ahh ... Bill! I was wondering who wrote this stellar piece. Loved this. Too bad there weren't more entries, but great work anyway. :)) -


FanStory wrote to Bananafish308: A Perfect Microcosm of Society... finished third in the contest "Fanstory Review"


FanStory wrote to Bananafish308: Be Kind finished first in the contest "This Is My Life!"
    Ginnygray: Congratulations on a beautiful writing and win with, ?Be Kind!? -
    Bananafish308: Thanks so much, Ginnyray! Congratulations on your 2nd place finish with "This is Me." Such an inspirational piece.
    -


Bananafish308: This month is my ten year anniversary on FanStory. I'm not sure what to make of that. LOL.
    mrsmajor: Hi,
    Congratulations!

    It means you have enjoyed most of your time here..and that's a good thing...I celebrated 11 years last year (10/04)...but I don't think I will subscribe again... -
    Bananafish308: Thanks Vickie.

    I know what you mean. I keep telling myself I won't subscribe again, then another year goes by. If you don't re-subscribe, you will be sorely missed.

    Bill -


FanStory wrote to Bananafish308: All Our Children finished second in the contest "I Believe"
    djsaxon: Fantastic, Bill. Congrats :-) -


Bananafish308: "Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it."

-George Bernard Shaw
    djsaxon: Yeah, what a classic quote from the Prince of allegory and metaphor. Love Bluntschli's line in Arms and the Man when he likens a cavalry charge to "throwing a handful of peas against a window pane" :-) -