Sancho23
08-24-2008, 03:18 PM
(This was originally posted at dailypaul.com and has gotten some good feedback going, so I figured I'd pass it along, feel free to do the same. . .)
It should be readily apparent to all of you that what we need most in this country is a truly Active Population. The lack thereof is what has gotten us into this mess in the first place.
While people in the early 20th century were busy making slave wages and marveling at such technological innovations as radios and combustion engine mobiles, great political forces were at work with plans to "enslave" future generations - a torch that has been passed down to this very day. All the while, the average citizen became more and more distracted with "everyday life" to the point that now large sections or our population do not even vote!!!
We know that this is all going to change, and we will be the catalysts. Not Ron Paul, but US, we are the creators of a new type of political involvement that goes beyond Partisan Dues and Demonstrations.
But one thing I see way too much of in this movement is a sense of dis-empowerment and lack of effectiveness. What I mean by that is so many people focus on the problems and aren't able to counterbalance those problems with equally powerful solutions.
Sure, we have our experience with the Paul campaign to thank for getting us really going and started up, but we must be honest with ourselves and realize how truly small this work still is in the big picture. We are no threat to the establishment just yet, and all too many of us get distracted with a sense of what I call "Revolutionarie's Ego" to realize that while we are becoming active ourselves, our methods are not as effective as we'd like them to be. By comparison we are far beyond the average citizen, but that is saying very little.
So, anyway, my focus is always on what gets results and has a truly powerful effect. Let's cut to the bottom line: Adversarial activism such as we are engaged in is NOT the most effective way for us to create and promote the change we all want to see!
It is just isn't. While Adversarial Activism has it's place and purpose, it is not at the top of the efficacy ladder if ever one were determined!!!
What I'm talking about is something so very new and largely unknown by the people that need it most, and I'm talking about Social Process Activism. Going beyond a particular issue and trying to fight opposing forces, and instead going right to the population, the people, and providing/encouraging/enhancing ways in which the common citizenry can become effectively involved in the political process, and decision making in this country!!!
This is new, powerful stuff, breathe deep.
So, instead of outlining how the Rockefellers are screwing you, or how political parties warp and manipulate our Republic, I'm going to simply provide you with some things which you can simply go ahead and "Google: " that will open you up, bit by bit, to methods and philosophies that will help you see more of this larger picture that I'm talking about. The picture that shows the way to creating a truly Active Citizenship that brings together ALL peoples from ALL walks of life and seeks to engage our wholeness towards creating a more positive, powerful, peaceful future and present.
Co-Intelligence
Citizen Deliberative Council
Consensus Process
World Cafe
Open Source Intelligence
Dynamic Facilitation
Danish citizen technology panels
feedback systems
learning organizations
Participatory Democracy(replace with republic if you like. . .)
Living Democracy(again)
Conscious Evolution
Social dreaming
systems thinking
Wisdom Councils
Noosphere
These are a few among many ways that we can co-create the world we all want, all people working together.
This stuff, especially the Citizen's Deliberative Council, goes WAY beyond any type of activism we're seeing today such as picketing, protests, etc. These are routes towards creating a truly Active Citizenship, the cornerstone of any free society.
No matter what, we need to focus on a broad sense of empowerment that goes well beyond the traditional "Us vs. Them" mentality and into something that is much more centered upon wholeness, interconnectivity, co-creation, and individual and collective intelligence. We cannot keep banging our heads against the helmets of the state and expect to one day win against it's vast machine. You don't fight tanks with sticks, you dig out the ground from underneath them when they aren't looking. . .
I hope you learn something from this. . .
It should be readily apparent to all of you that what we need most in this country is a truly Active Population. The lack thereof is what has gotten us into this mess in the first place.
While people in the early 20th century were busy making slave wages and marveling at such technological innovations as radios and combustion engine mobiles, great political forces were at work with plans to "enslave" future generations - a torch that has been passed down to this very day. All the while, the average citizen became more and more distracted with "everyday life" to the point that now large sections or our population do not even vote!!!
We know that this is all going to change, and we will be the catalysts. Not Ron Paul, but US, we are the creators of a new type of political involvement that goes beyond Partisan Dues and Demonstrations.
But one thing I see way too much of in this movement is a sense of dis-empowerment and lack of effectiveness. What I mean by that is so many people focus on the problems and aren't able to counterbalance those problems with equally powerful solutions.
Sure, we have our experience with the Paul campaign to thank for getting us really going and started up, but we must be honest with ourselves and realize how truly small this work still is in the big picture. We are no threat to the establishment just yet, and all too many of us get distracted with a sense of what I call "Revolutionarie's Ego" to realize that while we are becoming active ourselves, our methods are not as effective as we'd like them to be. By comparison we are far beyond the average citizen, but that is saying very little.
So, anyway, my focus is always on what gets results and has a truly powerful effect. Let's cut to the bottom line: Adversarial activism such as we are engaged in is NOT the most effective way for us to create and promote the change we all want to see!
It is just isn't. While Adversarial Activism has it's place and purpose, it is not at the top of the efficacy ladder if ever one were determined!!!
What I'm talking about is something so very new and largely unknown by the people that need it most, and I'm talking about Social Process Activism. Going beyond a particular issue and trying to fight opposing forces, and instead going right to the population, the people, and providing/encouraging/enhancing ways in which the common citizenry can become effectively involved in the political process, and decision making in this country!!!
This is new, powerful stuff, breathe deep.
So, instead of outlining how the Rockefellers are screwing you, or how political parties warp and manipulate our Republic, I'm going to simply provide you with some things which you can simply go ahead and "Google: " that will open you up, bit by bit, to methods and philosophies that will help you see more of this larger picture that I'm talking about. The picture that shows the way to creating a truly Active Citizenship that brings together ALL peoples from ALL walks of life and seeks to engage our wholeness towards creating a more positive, powerful, peaceful future and present.
Co-Intelligence
Citizen Deliberative Council
Consensus Process
World Cafe
Open Source Intelligence
Dynamic Facilitation
Danish citizen technology panels
feedback systems
learning organizations
Participatory Democracy(replace with republic if you like. . .)
Living Democracy(again)
Conscious Evolution
Social dreaming
systems thinking
Wisdom Councils
Noosphere
These are a few among many ways that we can co-create the world we all want, all people working together.
This stuff, especially the Citizen's Deliberative Council, goes WAY beyond any type of activism we're seeing today such as picketing, protests, etc. These are routes towards creating a truly Active Citizenship, the cornerstone of any free society.
No matter what, we need to focus on a broad sense of empowerment that goes well beyond the traditional "Us vs. Them" mentality and into something that is much more centered upon wholeness, interconnectivity, co-creation, and individual and collective intelligence. We cannot keep banging our heads against the helmets of the state and expect to one day win against it's vast machine. You don't fight tanks with sticks, you dig out the ground from underneath them when they aren't looking. . .
I hope you learn something from this. . .