In response to the Washington Post article by Ted Koppel: “Olbermann, O’Reilly and the Death of Real News”…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/12/AR2010111202857.html
I believe one of the central tribulations of our society is judgment; we consistently make ourselves and others wrong. We demand character and integrity void of all mercy. What we perceive as failure, is vital for growth. The more we condemn it, the more we are reinforcing “like-minded” behavior.
The human condition yearns for love and acceptance. Conforming is one way to meet that need even temporarily. Standing for truth, although courageous, is mostly met with heaps of opposition, whether it is our media, government leaders, or in our very own household. As Gary Zukav writes in The Seat of the Soul, “Our authentic needs belong to our soul; to love and to be loved, to express creativity, and to cultivate our spirit.” Without these, feelings of shame, discomfort, pain and suffering enter. Rather than working through these feelings naturally, we go to great lengths to dissipate them. Instead of creating a life that meets our needs, we form habits of merely coping. We reach for food, material goods, drugs and alcohol, work, television, etc. Never fulfilled, we strive for more and overindulge and then as Psychologist Marshall Rosenberg and creator of Non-violent Communication states “it becomes a tragic expression of an unmet need”. This IS the tragedy of our society. We are ALL conditioned to seek relief and comfort, and avoid pain. We are taught that “failure” or living in truth will create negative consequences; as it did for Keith Olbermann. Where is the motivation to change?
Change occurs best through self observation without judgment. We are all connected, so we need to be sympathetic to Olbermann’s plight, because it is also our own. As author Elliot Jackson writes “By acting on what is best for you, you end up doing what is best for others”. As leaders by practicing self-love and self-responsibility, only then can we live each moment in our own truth. Only then can we truly inspire change and truth in others…even in Keith.