[CRNMC] Another direction in which to go

[Tammy Davis]

Hello Everyone,

I have not been a regular participant in the CRN discussions of late, 
but I have been attempting to keep up with the conversations in general. 
I would like to share my perspective on the discussion of other possible 
directions or how to proceed.

I stumbled upon this story while forwarding a link to one of my favorite 
websites to a friend. This story does also  explains why I gravitated 
more toward the Transition Towns movement a couple of years ago...


    The New Language of Social Change

The increasing number of voices articulating a positive vision of the future are a welcome antidote to the ‘anti’ approach,
reports Lucy Purdy. 
The general mood during The People’s Assembly Against Austerity march held in London this June felt 

engaged, but largely ‘anti’. This was about anti-austerity and angry placards. Music and togetherness yes, but it was all 

against something, not for something. Last to speak on a line-up of mainly trade union leaders and stalwarts, it was uncertain
how British comedian Russell Brand would relate to this crowd. But he did.

“I know there are no answers in fame, fortune or superficial pleasures,” he said. “I know that the answers and happiness come
when we connect with one another, when we join together to look after one another. It’s time for us to take back our common
unity. This will be a peaceful, effortless, joyous revolution.”

Several of the other speakers anticipated Russell’s focus on the positive. Disability rights campaigner, comedian and author 

Francesca Martinez said: “We need to redefine what is sacred. To me, life is beautiful and precious. We are not economic 

commodities. We are all here for, and we have an equal right to, happiness, health and opportunity.” “We must have a message
of hope, of courage and of solidarity,” added author and political commentator Owen Jones. 
"Many people seem to exist in
this precarious spot: feeling a profound love for our world, but with horror and fear often eclipsing their joy."

Russell helped cement this vocabulary, and in doing so, he changed the tone. He reinstated the importance of having a positive
vision for the future, not simply a denunciation of what we’ve got. He wasn’t ignoring people’s suffering— Ann from Cardiff 

who told me her benefits had been cut, or Angela from Liverpool whose son can’t afford the bus to college—but actually 

coming at the problem from the most human of angles. The best way to reject a system that allows these things to happen is to
  envisage a new and better one, and nurture the values that will underpin it.

It isn’t just Russell and others from the anti-austerity march who are making these connections; the language of change is
shifting. Author and environmentalist George Monbiot proved himself capable of painful self-reflection recently when he said 

that saving the world should be based on promise, not fear. “I’ve been engaged in contradiction and futility. For about 30 years,” 

he wrote. “Almost everyone in this field is motivated by … the love and wonder and enchantment nature inspires. Yet, perhaps 

because we fear we will not be taken seriously, we scarcely mention them. We hide our passions behind columns of figures.” 

Whipping up people’s fears, George explained, triggers an instinctive survival response, nurturing self-interest instead of the 

common good. He now realizes that hope inspires people and is most likely to prompt positive action.

What a simple, yet game-changing shift. Because this negativity epidemic is evident in so many areas of life: in the mainstream
media, in a political system which seems incapable of articulating any sort of positive vision, even in schools, when the food 

chain is taught in terms of the accumulation of pesticides instead of the beautiful diversity of life and where waterways are 

taught through our pollution of them.

My own experience tells me this is true. When I think about a lot of protests, the aims of which I often share but which hang 

heavy with the language of rejection and anger, I feel hopelessness. When I think about things I love, walking in beautiful 

woods or being outdoors with friends and family, I feel hopeful and excited about the future. Many people seem to exist in this
precarious spot: feeling a profound love for our world, but with horror and fear often eclipsing their joy.

Russell is not the answer, but he might be a fast-talking, hip-waggling conduit to an answer for some. But for most, the shift to 

believing in a more beautiful world will come from deep inside ourselves. From doing what we love, from cherishing the people
and the planet we hold dearest—and from acting from our most human and intrinsic values.

More Information:
...........................
Story from Positive News UK 
<http://www.positivenewsus.org> - http://www.positivenewsus.org/new-language-of-social-change.html
Posted October 2014




I think we need to connect with each other, face to face, as friends, as 
neighbors, as communities, who share the same desires to help build a 
better future.  We need to be on the ground and getting systems in 
place, or at least beginning the processes, now and not some time in the 
future. If we run into regulatory or municipal code conflicts along the 
way, a cooperative/collaborative approach to find solutions is of course 
the way to go. However, we can be proactive in our actions while 
asserting our inalienable rights. Wherever rules are no longer valid and 
do not allow for the basic needs of people to be met, the rulebook must 
be rewritten.

I also think we need to empower local youth to go into the community and 
begin making changes to things that will directly effect their lives. I 
suggested to Lindy Peters that I think at least 2 high school students 
should be elected by their peers to serve a year on City Council in the 
capacity of representing a youth committee, or something of that nature. 
He was very receptive to the idea and he agrees that there is a need for 
a more responsive government that works to serve the people.

  I also think we should strongly advocate self-directed learn as an 
alternative to compulsory k-12 education. A shared learning program that 
utilizes benefits like those offered  by both /*Mendo Free Skool */and 
/*Mendocino Outdoor Science School (MOSS) */could provide some much 
needed progress and the students could be charged with promoting the 
idea to the community.

  By providing for our own needs using "local" resources, we reconnect 
with the natural world and each other, and we stop supporting the 
industries that we are trying to dismantle.  I have many ideas for 
projects (some of which I am incorporating into my permaculture design 
project) such as local foods, social enterprises in renewable energy, 
time banks, tool libraries, ride share, bike kitchens, late harvest 
glean teams, and I am planning to build an aquaponics system myself.

Oh, and thank you Carrie for forwarding the link to 
TheAllianceforDemocracy.org. The site is loaded with great information 
and resources.

Thank you all for your dedication and insight - you keep me on my toes.

Tammy
P.S. I have attached a document that I feel has a very strong and 
important message

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