Werner Erhard was and still is a terrible man: egotistical, demanding, an energy vampire, cunning, manipulative, well-groomed to the point of unpleasantness, hierarchical, greedy and very status conscious in an almost fascist way. That doesn’t stop him being the greatest natural, untutored ecologist of the human condition that ever lived any more than our quirks would render us without value. But to compare him with religious fanatics whose mission is to drown the human soul in lies is simply misleading because the soul of Erhard, the part that is not a go-getting American grade 1 Asshole, is extremely pure in it’s dedication to truth, so much so that he has often tripped over and torpedoed his own best interests to pursue it. In his later talks, for example, he completely sabotages the idea of the possibility of any easy human happiness or even any choice in the matter – and not a single person in the audience understands him as his own meaning slips away from his controlling mind even as he speaks, repeating himself in a desperate drama that can only have one outcome, a victory for truth over hope. To hear this is very beautiful and the courage involved is spectacular.

But, like cancer and wealth, success, poverty, grief, love and ecstasy – you can have no working understanding of the thing unless you have personally experienced it. You can’t second guess anything that matters with mere intellect and to compare, confuse and contrast something with other apparently similar things is a bankrupt method of exploration.

But legionnaires signed on for five years and the penalties were severe if you deserted or even responded insolently to a superior. In the ashram, the guru may treat you like dirt but you believe he will show you the door to enlightenment, so you take it. In other words, those who put up with being called assholes have a pretty powerful motivation to put up with it.

I’ve heard people speak negatively about Werner Erhard. In fact I thought I had heard this from you. It seems he had no difficulty in attracting those who would benefit from his methods, but I cannot see why this topic is introduced here on this site. The conditions are not right for this kind of bullying (whatever wonderful ego-ridding effects it may have had for Erhard). I make an effort to respond to your post, in order to offer the feedback; but really this kind of thing doesn’t interest me at all.

I would go further and say that it is almost an essence of what is wrong with the world. Al Qaeeda have in mind the same kind of cleansing effect on the filth of America and its allies, when they plan their atrocities. George W Bush had in mind the same kind of cleansing by truth (truthful violence) when he tried to eliminate the axis of evil.

But do as you will, be a prophet, gain converts, bully them into egolessness if that is your mission. I have faith that the world is resilient enough to survive your onslaughts.

Surely that is the brutalising method used by the military everywhere to mould their recruits into their predetermined model of what a well trained , well functioning soldier should be.

Trees and Flowers bloom natually – the display Bonsai and exhibition blooms that are trained and restricted according to some external rules and codes may be magnificent specimens but for me they do not hold the same appeal as the well worn, perhaps tumbledown and definitely imperfect examples that we see growing wild.
Its the same with people
In this life everyone will roll along and encounter events and people that have lasting effects on their self image and their persona. The justfied encouragement they receive helps them to grow – but brutal pruning and psychological power trips can leave people damaged and scarred for a lifetime. (There is no other way?)

encountering the ones that still manage to bloom, however damaged they have been and however they have had to reform and re-balance themselves and their nature to allow for the hard knocks is often an enriching and uplifting experience.

Isn’t your own personal history and your self aware analysis of your true character an example of this. The credit should be yours, personally rather than be assigned to the guru or the method..

Blanket attribution of the status “Asshole” to eveyone smells too much like the “original sin ” guilt trip that some christian sects like to lay on their subjects.
If we are compelled to be instantly judgemental when we meet people then as a starting point I prefer the “Not Proven” option rather than the summary “Guilty” verdict.

Michael