i've been reading around the blogs, chris, and am confused about something. i see theresa williamson's catalytic communities listed in the 30000"grassroots" efforts. this makes a lot of sense to me. but i alsosee former president bill clinton and coca cola. i don't know verymuch about what clinton is doing, but the circles i'd expect a formeru.s. president to be running in don't strike me as 'grassroots.' you have coca cola's energy purchasing commitment listed, but i wouldthink you'd hold up cocacola as one of the leaders in globalizationrather than grassroots. again, i'm not very well educated on suchthings, but my guess would be that they've come a long way fromteaching the world to sing in perfect harmony. and as i scan down the list, i'm surprised to miss something like thisoslist. i wonder about other ideas like appreciative inquiry,non-violent communication, world cafe, and other such asset-basedmethods. i wonder about the 35 youth we got together some years ago,in open space, who then went off and founded an organization of 200+youth and did a bunch of 'sustainability' projects in racinewisconsin, teaching open space as they went along. what of the workthat chris corrigan is doing with native youth across BC? in my working definition, i'd think we'd need lots more than 30000 of'grassroots' initiatives like these latter ones i'm listing. and i'mnot sure i understand the inclusion of UN and cocacola and clinton in"grassroots". my own little foray in this direction, not nearly so ambitious as thework you're doing, is developing as a personal project and distinctstream in my weblog, under the heading of "small change news"http://www.smallchangenews.org is the link... which refers back intothe stream of my weblog where i've been working on this for about ayear and a half. smallchangenews is deeply informed by my understanding and practice ofopen space and then also shows up as the model for the Initiativesinvitation and page(s) that have begun to be developed in a new'marketplace' athttp://www.openspaceworld.org/news/open-space-initiatives/ i understand the central work is making connections between thesepatterns of opposition, poles like grassroots and globalisation. i'veno interest in siding with one or the other, so that's not my concernin picking out the examples i have listed above. but you say '30000grassroots projects for humanity', which seems to lean in the onedirection to counter the other. can you help me understand the definition of grassroots when cocacolais grassroots, and perhaps what you mean by 'globalization' as well. is there some label or working concept that hovers between or marriesthe two that can be useful working concept here? or is it just aboutbalancing? grassroots microcredit turns into global player grameenand cisco systems funds local vols? what's the unifying purpose andworking definition for the kinds of orgs and actions we're lookingfor? or is *that* the exploration that you're wanting to invite? michael
On 12/28/05, Chris Macrae <wcbn...@easynet.co.uk> wrote:> I feel this article came up with the wrong interpretations>> As a mathematician, I ask that people do not let their self-confidence in> integrity get bamboozled by words such as complexity and chaos. For starters,> I suggests entertaining the ideas that complexity is simplicity if you look at> wholes before parts;>> what people could start enjoy knowing is that:>> If people who study a phenomenon's future dynamics in parts come up with a> different consequential interpretation than people mapping whole, it is vital> to openly debate the two answers, however unconventional the whole's forecasts> may be>> It is not true that future exponentials are always unpredictable – see for> example these 1984 forecasts http://www.normanmacrae.com/netfuture.html#Anchor-> Changin-27687 or read Thomas Friedman's more uptodate future history> http://boards.charlierose.com/board/topic.asp?ti=15737>> BIG PICTURE SIMPLICITY> The relevance today is that like many 1980s systems thinkers -eg Buckminster> Fuller - we can be almost sure that globalisation (and all networking> connectivity) will compound one of two very opposite scenarios depending on> whether:> *Global decisions are mostly made in bits by a few superpowerful people>> *Or evolve with 2 million global villages each determining its communal> gravities but also interconnecting boundaries harmoniously>> The scenarios forecast that one will mean the end of most people two to four> generations out (sorry if this timing strikes you as imprecise but as a blip> in nature's world this is as precise as I can make it), whilst one will mean> the most harmonious and fulfilling time to be alive everywhere. Crucially to> me the chances of an in-between state 2 to 4 generations out barely exist – it> is one or other of these futures that will exponentially compound.>> I would suggest these are the key questions NOT to be bamboozled out of>> Which scenario is the end game of which type of governance?>> Which type of governance will we get unless a lot of people work to transform> the patterns that are already spinning?>> By when will globalisation's spin become almost impossible to turn round?>> If what I have tried to summarise matters to you there is more at> http://exponentials.blogspot.com and http://valuesystem.blogspot.com as well> as much more if we choose some contexts but that tends to be most quickly> mapped if you rehearse that biggest context which you see as one overall> invitational challenge to reconcile>> When I am being a tad more controversial I will stand up and say the way we> train or condition our children to think now is the war that horrifies me most> of all. Because - even the most ethical or religious people may never see the> choice that waved by us>> chris macrae wcbn...@easynet.co.uk>> ---------------------------------------------------> This mail sent through http://www.easynetdial.co.uk>> *> *> ==========================================================> osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu> ------------------------------> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,> view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu:> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html>> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist> -- Michael HermanMichael Herman Associates300 West North Ave #1105Chicago IL 60610 USAPhone: 312-280-7838mherman@globalchicago.netskype: globalchicago http://www.michaelherman.comhttp://www.globalchicago.net/wikihttp://www.openspaceworld.org Executive Facilitation ...gettingthe most important things done inthe easiest possible ways. * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
