Title:  1.A Democracy-Hope

Session Date and Time:  Oct 5, 2010,  2-3:30 pm

Issue/Topic: So many people feel we live in a failed democracy and have given up hope that we can make change. How do we help people rediscover hope and a belief we can help bring about fundamental change in this country and deal with the addiction to war, policies benefiting the wealthy, etc.?

Convener/Facilitator: David Hartsough, Jan Hartsough

Notes-taker: Jan Hartsough

Participants:    Edwin Rutsch, Lenel de Emma,  Lenny Reiter, ??

We came together to discern about the question that was posed by David Hartsough:

So many people feel we live in a failed democracy and have given up
hope we can make change. How do we help people rediscover hope and a
belief we can help bring about fundamental change in this country and
deal with the addiction to war, policies benefiting the wealthy, etc.?

Deep hope was expressed by many in the group that people all over the
world have discovered the power of nonviolence and are engaging in
large scale nonviolent actions. We have the book and the DVD: A
FORCE MORE POWERFUL which chronicles many stories of movements and
actions worldwide where nonviolence has been successfully used to
bring about major social change and challenge violence, oppression and
injustice. Those who followed this path found a community of like-
minded souls and acted together to overcome huge obstacles.

A rhetorical question was posed: How much better would the world have
been if the U.S. were not the self-appointed policeman for the world.
The person shared the thought that American is ruling the world;
would the world be better if we weren't?

We all acknowledged that the problems in the world are huge and
complex. Given that reality, how do we rekindle the hope so that
together we can help form communities of "like-minded souls," who are
committed to a nonviolent path in facing and resolving these problems.

As seen in A FORCE MORE POWERFUL, having success stories can be a
great inspiration. It was also offered that while there are lots of
bad things happening in the U.S. we still experience a better
situation than most.

One in the group believed that nonviolence is a strategy and that hope
is a dead end. It has to be the beginning of an empowerment, that
follows through with some actions. She cautioned about hope and the
messiah principle being dangerous, and prefers empowerment to make a
difference.

She expressed concern that promoting "hope" brings a massive
manipulation and ultimately a helplessness that there is nothing that
we, as individuals can do....An example was given that in Australia if
you are legally able to vote, and don't exercise that right, you are
fined; the US calls itself a democracy, and yet our voter turnout is
extremely low because many feel powerless.

Another offered an alternate belief that the percentage of people who
vote is low because they feel the system is "rigged." He believes we
are "not on a level playing field." His perspective is that people
with money decide, and that we live in a "dollar democracy."

He continued by saying that Gandhi spoke about the voluntary transfer
of power. It is not based on voluntary poverty but voluntary
equality. Everyone has a fair share; we are all one family; no one
should have excessive amount of wealth. The whole society is one
large family and in a balanced society fair shares are based on
talents and participation.

Another shared a belief in core values as an important foundation for
approaching our challenges. He indicated a belief that there are
three ways to deal with problems:
    -- leave (ie: exit)
    - -ignore the issue
    -- address the problem: talk about it, air it, and determine the next steps

One said that we have many reasons for hope: technology, creativity,
medical science, etc. These show us what is possible with hope and
vision. He mentioned Paul Hawken (see addendum to the notes for those
who do not know Paul Hawken's work), and said that probably 2 million
organizations in the world are working for change, and are united
through technology.

Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist, and
author. Starting at age 20, he dedicated his life to sustainability
and changing the relationship between business and the environment.
His practice has included starting and running ecological businesses,
writing and teaching about the impact of commerce on living systems,
and consulting with governments and corporations on economic
development, industrial ecology, and environmental policy.

We heard about the SNCC's 50th anniversary gathering from David. The
students of the SNCC believed they could make a difference if they
worked together and the idea spread like wildfire throughout the
South. The students were definitely able to make changes by sitting
in at lunch counters and many other nonviolent actions. Could this be
a model for change today?

One was concerned that the expression "hope for change" are words that
can be co-opted for other purposes by Bush, and even someone like
Hitler. We, as a group are focusing on making COMPASSIONATE CHANGE.

Summary of Decisions made by the group:

1) Share stories through:

• videos ? i.e. develop groups to watch/discuss videos) (perhaps
  once a month in San Francisco Example: A Force More Powerful book and DVD.

• Podcasts

• SKYPE groups (for example, the METTA Center in Berkeley has a
  monthly SKYPE study group which discusses nonviolence, and is using
  Michael Nagler's book as a source for this). People all over the
  country participate.
  
  2) Developing more creative nonviolent actions to address injustices;
  act as a community. Examples: Flash Mobs, Yes Men
  
  3) Build a community of people where we live, nationally, etc, who
  share our vision of the changes we want to create and support each
  other in building these visions (empowering and supporting one
  another). (ie: Intentional communities)
  
  4) Use technology like SKYPE, etc. to build community, share stories,
  discuss key issues (like nonviolence), organize, support one another.
  
  5) Create a clearinghouse service to connect people to volunteer
  opportunities via websites and consultants (matching with
  organizations who need help). (Wealthy people who care but may not get
  involved beyond writing a check).
  
  6) Determine easy ways for people to get an immediate sense that they
  have made a difference; this will help build their enthusiasm and
  willingness to participate further. It also combats depression and
  hopelessness and a general sense that we cannot make a difference.
  
  7) Develop Circles of Compassion (this was proposed by John and will
  be addressed in detail in another discussion group.)
  
  Notes by Sherri Maurin and David Hartsough

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