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What is "Political Expression" ?
During the 1970s, an example of Political Expression was related to me about a reality in a Toronto, Ontario, Canada neighborhood, near where I was living. For a previous decade, individuals in the community had experienced repeated difficulties with their sewer connection backing up. Sinks and tubs would not clear, toilets overflowed, damages, inconveniences, and frustrations multiplied. Those affected complained to their municipal utilities department. Their frustration elevated to anger and hostility towards both the administrators and the workers. Communication within the neighborhood deceptively slowly degraded between neighbors into oversensitivity, over-reaction, anger, intolerance, abuse, gossip.
A cycle of abuse, negativity, and hate developed.
The homeowner became angry at the unexpected expenses and disruptions.
The administration became protective of its budget & slow to act.
The workmen became doubtful of the innocence of the complaints.
They became sceptical of the integrity of the sewer system.
Everyone began to disrespect and loath the other parties involved.
No one took responsibility for evaluating the extensiveness of the breakages.
No one sought an optimal resolution of the problems for ALL the residents.
Neighbors began to find other differences between each other to vent on.
With anger and hatefulness in the air, spouses became abusive to each other.
Those who were stronger, bigger, or more aggressive acted out upon the weaker.
Spouse against spouse, spouse against child, child against child.
Caring, self-direction, and self-respect began to decrease.
Despair, depression, drug use, and disrepair began to increase.
The "hood" began to slide towards a reality of a "slum".
A man reflected from his education and background.
He listened to what a number of homeowners were so angry about.
During the previous 10 years, 12 out of the 16 neighbors on his street had reported sewer problems.
Of the 12, ALL had reported at least 4 demands for Repairs.
Each had treated their own incident as Personal and individual.
Each felt victimized by their assumed singularity of their experience.
Many people do not broadcast incidents which they feel shame for.
Many of the neighbors did not want THEIR property to be labeled "a problem".
Many of the individuals were not aware that more than a few of their neighbors SHARED their experience.
So much destructiveness. So little unity.
The man organized a meeting of HIS neighbors.
He gave them an opportunity to SHARE the uniformity of their experiences.
They were humbled and astonished.
Their Personal experience was no longer a justification for their SHAME.
As a Group, they became unified in confirming what the underlying problem was.
Did they simply have incompetent utility crews?
Were the administrators enforcing the use of low quality parts?
Were some neighbors sabotaging the drains of others?
Were they each doing something that led to plugged drains??
How could so many SHARE the same problem?
The homeowners needed more ANSWERS.
They called upon the workers to come and speak to them.
What did the workers have to say in their defense?
Were they being given good parts?
Did they have adequate training?
Was the administration frustrating their efforts?
What was their frustration with the homeowners?
In many of the cases, the "political" man had to interview the workers and report back to the neighborhood association. There was too much animosity between the homeowners and the individual workers.
The Report of the Utility Worker's responses was consistent.
The sewer pipes were rusting out. They were 50 years old.
The workers knew that their repairs were, at best, temporary.
Every time they dug up the street to effect a repair, soil was disturbed.
The foundation of gravel which encased the pipes became more movable.
More movable and more porous, the rains and water runoff added problems.
Patched pavement was a temporary protection to the road ...
Like cardboard over a hole in one's roof!
Water infiltration below the surface would move the soil and the pipes.
Slight movements in the piping would accentuate breaks in rust wekened pipes.
Pipes WOULD crack, leak, break, and become clogged.
More ANSWERS were required.
Why was the Administration not addressing the problems the workers had noted.
The Administration was not listening, and, they were not told.
They never asked. They just did their job. Accounting and assignment.
They had a budget. If they remained within budget, they were employed.
No one had noticed or noted the frequency and density of pipe blockages.
No life expectance had ever been considered for the sewer pipes.
The installation expense for the sewer system had been paid off.
Paid off for 30 years.
Maintenance costs had been Rising EVERY year for the past decade.
The Management (political leaders) wanted re-election.
Homeowners wanted low or maintained tax levels.
The utility budget was stabilized against rising costs!
Management was becoming impatient with the Administration.
The Administration were becoming doubtful of the Workers.
The Workers had become skeptical of the homeowners.
Everyone was losing out.
Substantial CHANGE was the only indicated Constructive Answer.
To stop the bleeding expenses and the neighborhood hostilities ...
The sewer system would have to be replaced!!
Horrors to the current political management.
The tax increases would be horrendous.
They would do a study on the possibilities.
For 4 more years, management and administration AVOIDED the issue.
Perhaps it would go away if the delays were long enough.
Would the homeowners forget.
The "political" man grieved at the lack of responsibility being taken by the current Managers to resolve the long-term community problems of the homeowners they were being paid to protect and serve.
He offered to run for the position of management.
If elected, he would quit his job and serve the interests of himself and his neighbors.
He was elected!
He had already managed the definition of the utility problem.
His volunteer work had encouraged the neighbors to accept one another.
In accepting each other, they learned to work together for common goals.
They came to understand their financial responsibilites for the political benefit of having a safe, reliable, sewer system.
The neighborhood political advocate initiated the Sewer Project.
A better design was devised and approved.
A construction estimate was presented to the homeowners.
The work was approved and contractors were hired.
A new sewer system was installed over the following year.
A solid road base and a new and contiuous road surface was added.
Access covers to service the sewer pipes minimized road framentation.
All of the expenses were amortized to taxes over the next 30 years.
The new composition of the sewer pipes extended their lifetime.
Life expectancy was now extended for 100 years, 70 beyond cost.
The neighborhood anxieties and frustrations began to diminish.
Individuals felt that they had been listened to.
They had been given HOPE that better experiences lay ahead.
They were JOYFUL that their taxes and efforts were giving stablity.
Stability was required for Calm, Peace, Enjoyment, Acceptance.
Individuals had been accepted as part of a Community.
As a Community, each member cared about self and others.
Caring became an expression of love, self-respect, dignity.
People respected each other's and their own properties more.
Vandalism wnt down. Renovation went up.
The neighborhood was ReBorn.
Individuals had CHOSEN to work together.
The above is the LONG way to the Benefits of Political Expression.
If you want something to improve, or last, you have a CHOICE.
Work together NOW, with YOUR Community, or, Die slowly.
Why is Political Expression important?
Humans have a physical body capable of expressing emotions and given a spiritual basis of energy. A physical body has specific basic requirements for optimum survival. Much lower standards can afford a minimum level of continued life. Each person has a Reptilian Structure which are solely concerned with physical survival. Consideration of social acceptance and support or any form of consensual or community harmony is absent. Not because they are unimportant but because they are Conscious considerations.
Our Reptilian Structure is Unconscious, basic, breathing and heartbeat. To afford participation with other lifeforms, including other humans, we have Conscious expressions of Beliefs which are personal to the desires, fears, preferences, of our Self. These beliefs are the extension of our personal experiences, the energy blocks any traumas have imposed on us, the imprinting we have been prompted to assume, the education we have chosen to accept, and, the persuasiveness of others.
Political expression can be a strong imprinter.
When political expression is absent.
Here are a few examples that encourage movement into political expression.
- selfishness
- conflict
- stealing
- abuse
- violence
- murder
- fraud
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Examples of Joining In.
PERSONAL
- Respect for self and others.
- doing Listening
- doing Acknowledging
- doing Understanding
- doing self Limits
- doing Openness
- doing Balance
- doing Feelings
- doing Togetherness
- doing Compassion
- doing Empathy
- doing Love
- doing Gratitude
- doing Acceptance
- doing Encouragement
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GROUP Participation in ..
- singing
- praying
- shouting
- fighting
- petitions
- laws
- economics
- labor unions
- sports teams
- worship
- dining
- traveling
- schooling
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