XPost: alt.books.cs-lewis, rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: donnellaf@gmail.com   
      
   Joseph wrote:   
      
   > I'd just like to add that not everyone has to share the same appreciation   
   > for forests versus trees but we should all be able to respect and tolerate   
   > each others' different perspectives. Some people appreciate the tiny   
   > delicate ferns which poke up from the moss at the foot of the trees' gnarly   
   > roots. They shouldn't denigrate those who would rather admire the broad   
   > sweeping panoramic vistas from the vantage point of a mountain peak   
   > overlooking the verdant valley below.   
      
   That analogy is perfectly fine, but I don't think it actually fits the   
   discussion (lots of analogies flying around this thread, I wonder if   
   we're really actually saying anything through them all).  When somebody   
   is perceived to be out of synch with reality (defining "reality" rather   
   loosely), people often want to correct him.  When the person who thinks   
   he is seeing a verdant valley from his vista is, in reality, overlooking   
   a barren desert, it is natural to point this out, because we know what a   
   real verdant valley is, and that it makes a much better view, so we want   
   to do the person a favor, not out of a mean spirit, but because we want   
   to share the beauty that we know.   
      
      
      
   Andy   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)