I don’t believe in tolerance …

I don’t believe in tolerance …

I believe in respect.

After all, do you want to be “tolerated?”

Wouldn’t you rather be respected?

Tolerance doesn’t go anywhere near far enough. We need to respect other people.

And if I want you to respect me, I’ve got to respect you first – to earn your respect, because it’s worth something to me. Respect isn’t cheap.

Funny thing, though, is that most of American culture is built on disrespect: just about everything we think is funny is some form of ridicule or derision.

But here’s the silver lining: In this context, showing just the tiniest bit of respect for another person stands out like a blazing light in a darkened room. People always notice when you treat them with respect; in our culture, you can’t help but notice. It’s amazingly refreshing to the human soul.

So I encourage you to join me in going beyond tolerance – rain some respect on a thirsty soul today!

Originally posted June 20, 2009 on White Tree Ideas

gathering the scattered pieces

It’s time.

For several years now, I’ve had an online presence, but I’ve been compartmentalizing it into neat, topic-based segments. Nice and tidy. Organized.

But life – real life – isn’t neat and tidy like that. It’s messy. Things get jumbled up. Unrelated stuff collides and interacts.

And sometimes that’s where the creativity – the sparks of genius – occur. Need evidence? Try searching for “Jef Staes red monkey story.” Fascinating ideas!

So over the next few months, I’ll be pulling together the bits and pieces I’ve been leaving around the internet, and collating them here.

Plus building a body of new ideas and questions and ponderings.

I’m still deciding how to handle Comments – whether to allow them only sometimes, or what-not. Wisdom is wise, here on teh interwebz.

There’ll be things you won’t agree with. There’ll be things that might surprise you. There’ll be questions that it’s just good to ponder, and settling on an answer isn’t even the point.

But no matter the topic, my goal is to write with respect and civility. Those of you who know me can attest that I really, sincerely like people – folks who are like me, folks who are nothing like me, and everyone in between. This will be a friendly place.