And a clear perception is actually possible?... Or is it an illusion?
I find this topic of improving the future to be very thought provoking... I must profess my ignorance as to what E-prime is, if it's simply the realization that most of the things most people say are subjective and time sensitive, then, yeah, I can understand that. I agree with you, Dok, there's a time for stepping on toes, getting in peoples faces and letting them have it full force, but my personal preference is to reserve this tactic as a second to last resort, and instead attempt to understand my enemies, why they may be mad at me, and attempt to correct the issue, for when I make a friend of my enemies, do I not destroy them? (Was that Lincoln who said that? Or did something get scrambled somewhere?)
Whenever I encounter a situation where I feel I am treated unfairly, I start with the assumption that I did/am doing something to provoke the unwanted treatment, and begin going over my memory of what I have done, rather than searching for the problem in other people. More often than not, I'll realize I did something stupid, and I'll attempt to correct it, this usually fixes the problem. If this phase of my problem solving strategy returns nothing, then I will usually ask the parties from whom I perceive as the source of my mistreatment if I did something wrong, or something to upset them, and if there is a way this can be corrected.
If this reply is a stupid, irresponsible, blame everyone else but me kind of reply, guess what, out comes the shotgun, but more often than not, it turns out I overlooked something. In this way, I attempt to encourage peace and harmony among my coworkers and managers, and customers, and they notice, and when someone attempts to slander me, I have allies who stick up for me, make them feel stupid, and reveal them for what they really are.
I can really not afford to conduct myself in any other manner. There are times, yes, where I will get in a superior's face and tell them just how stupid their plan is... Usually, this is actually respected by the superior, and they will make efforts to change their behavior, but this is not a strategy I approach any problem with right off the bat.
