Port Huron Statement Gus Koehler, Ph.D. President and Principal Time Structures, Inc. 1545 University Ave. Sacramento, CA 95825 916-564-8683, Fax: 916-564-7895 Cell: 916-716-1740 www.timestructures.com
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Merle Lefkoff Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 7:58 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Can you guess the source. Nicholas Thompson wrote: > > I am curious to know if anybody in Friam-land will recognize the > following passage. No Fair using google. > > It is NOT from the Gettysburg Address. > > *"Our work is guided by the sense that we may be the last generation > in the experiment with living. But we are a minority--the vast > majority of our people regard the temporary equilibriums of our > society and world as eternally functional parts. In this is perhaps > the outstanding paradox; we ourselves are imbued with urgency, yet the > message of our society is that there is no viable alternative to the > present. Beneath the reassuring tones of the politicians, beneath the > common opinion that America will "muddle through," beneath the > stagnation of those who have closed their minds to the future, is the > pervading feeling that there simply are no alternatives, that our > times have witnessed the exhaustion not only of Utopias, but of any > new departures as well. Feeling the press of complexity upon the > emptiness of life, people are fearful of the thought that at any > moment things might be thrust out of control. They fear change itself, > since change might smash whatever invisible framework seems to hold > back chaos for them now. For most Americans, all crusades are suspect, > threatening. The fact that each individual sees apathy in his fellows > perpetuates the common reluctance to organize for change. The dominant > institutions are complex enough to blunt the minds of their potential > critics, and entrenched enough to swiftly dissipate or entirely repel > the energies of protest and reform, thus limiting human expectancies. > Then, too, we are a materially improved society, and by our own > improvements we seem to have weakened the case for further change.*" > > > Nicholas S. Thompson > Research Associate, Redfish Group, Santa Fe, NM ([EMAIL PROTECTED] > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>) > Professor of Psychology and Ethology, Clark University > ([EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>) > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe > at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at > http://www.friam.org I was teaching in the sixties to put myself through grad school. This is definitely from that period, probably SDS or one of those groups. Does anyone remember the Port Huron Statement? I'm reaching here, and I don't remember the date. Hell, most of you probably weren't even BORN yet! Merle Merle Lefkoff Change Factors Santa Fe, N.M. ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
