Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 02:15:35 -0800
Subject: Re: [LaMystique] Millennial Slumber/forgiving is possible


Dear David,

One can be charitable with praise, or one can be charitable with assistance.
Letting go anquish is also charity for the self. Charity has not too much to
do with 'potlatch' or giving away a surplus. I can give away what I don't
need simply to keep my basement free of unwanted things, and I can give
praise on the street in order to enter buildings. Being charitable is more
than that. It has a dimension of reciprocity in that two or more are
benefitted. This is the rationale for charity, that without it there is no
net benefit. The Pareto paradigm states the same thing. 

Pareto optimality occurs when a decision does no negative impact any
individual as well it benefits the whole. I can only forgive people, not
their deeds if in fact the deeds are wrong. Shame the act, not the actor. 

Forgiving and giving are two seperate issues. I can forgive myself and I can
forgive others, even my cat. The criterion that I use to be 'forgiving are
my own'. One can forgive an actor, but the act if it is wrong cannot be
forgiven. There is a difference. 

I can give away every possession that I have and still not be doing it for
charity. 

I will forgive you for making personal comments about me for the time being. 

John