Frank,

<< The same activity can be perceived to be greedy or careful planning. It is
a matter of perception. >>

I think we're just defining greedy in different ways. I define greedy as
taking more than one's share, at anothers' expense. It sounds like you define
greedy as storing for the future (which would make squirrels greedy).

(By the way, there IS a reason I'm dwelling on this seemingly petty detail.
The reason is that I think people confuse the two definintions, and sometimes
think that it is necessary to accquire NOTHING, in order to not be greedy. I
have family members like that, who immedieately give away any bit of cash or
food or anything that they get, at their own expense, because they just can't
stand to have, when other people don't have. I wish I could explain somehow to
them, that they deserve to have somehting out of life, too, that they deserve
to eat, or have a little extra cash to spend, etc. But they view this as
greedy thinking.)

<< The greedy persons survival behavior got out of control. >>

Again, this may seem like a technical or just semantics difference, but it
seems important to me to differentiate between what I think of as a healthy
instinct - the instinct to survive; and what I think of as irrational and
warped behavior - greed. I don't think one grows out of the other, I don't
even think they have anything to do with each other. And I think the
difference is important, because I would like people to understand that it is
not inherent in human nature to be greedy. It IS inherent to want to survive -
but the word "survival" means "survival of the species" or "survival of the
group." It does NOT mean "survival of me, at anyone else's expense." For
someone to be thinking "survival of me," that person would have to be pretty
messed up.

Why is it important to me to differentiate? Because people tend to assume that
deep down, either they themselves, or the people around them, are inherently
selfish or greedy. This is not true. Something has to happen to make people
act this way, to distort their true nature, and it is a better approach, in my
opinion, to try to figure out what's gone wrong and "fix" it.

<<  I have know a number of rich people who felt they were poor.>>

;-))    I know LOADS of rich people who feel like they're poor!!!  Most rich
people, in fact, feel like they're poor, or about to be poor any minute, and
they're scared to death of "falling."  ;-))   This fear is exactly what drives
us to be greedy! ;-)  'Cause we see poor people all around us, and it ain't
pretty. It does not look like much fun at all, to have nothing. Nor to have
any resource or any way of ever getting anything more than nothing. And if you
ever manage to climb out - wow - then you SURE don't ever want to be back
there. I think greed is fueled and driven precisely by this very fear.

<< Greed is not an evil attribute of a person, it is one persons perception of
anothers. >>

I don't think I understand this comment. If you are saying that there are no
greedy people, but that we only mistakenly see them this way, then I would
definately have to disagree with you. I think there are plenty, plenty, plenty
of horribly, wildly greedy people. It is rampant. It is the source of all the
world's problems, as far as I'm concerned.

It's not inherent in people's nature, that fact I can agree with, but that
doesn't mean  greee doesn't exist as a real problem (the biggest psychological
problem we have to face, as a species).

<<I  think we can make more progress in the world by viewing a greedy person
as a sick or confused person who needs education. >>

That's more along the lines that I'm thinking, but I probably take a meaner,
harder view than you, it looks like.  Yeah - it's not their fault - yeah -
they got messed up in a major way somewhere along the line - yeah - they need
help and compassion etc etc blah blah blah ......... but in the meantime they
are vicious and hurting other people - sometimes huge numbers of people - and
they need to be stopped, immediately, now, no questions asked. I have no
patience or tolerance for cruelty, greed, intentional dishonesty. I say put an
end to it immediately, then deal with helping the perpetrator later, (if you
want to - you're certainly not morally obligated).

In fact, I can't stand the namby-pamby overlooking of obvious wrong-doing,
which in my mind is just timidity posing under the false pretense of
"tolerance" or "giving everyone a chance," or "there are lots of different
ways to do things in the world." or "maybe they're not perfect but they're a
person too," or phoney ineffectual nonsense such as that. I'm thinking of the
corrupt NFL group.

Hope this has not strayed too far from a discussion on raw food. I guess its
connected to zealotry, dishonesty, fanaticism, and maybe why we eat the way we
do, and how we tell other people about it.

Love, Liza
[log in to unmask] (Liza May)