Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Shifting the Context for Community
As I watch the morning news I'm reminded again of how much politics and in particular, politicians, are so removed from their communities - us. They talk about raising money to get elected, to make changes, to help Americans live better lives. I would offer that they largely fail because their primary focus in on the money and not the change. This is their theme, over and over. Peter Block says the following in his book: Community To make a difference in our community, we must begin by naming the existing context and evolving to a way of thinking that leads to new conversations that produce a new context. It is the shift in conversation that increases social capital. Every time we gather becomes a model of the future we want to create. I don't hear any new conversations coming out of politicians' or news broadcasters' mouths. It is imperative that "we", the public, continue to push our agendas and pursue the change. Let the revolution begin!
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New conversations that produce a new context? I agree! In his introduction to "Common Sense" Thomas Paine wrote... "A long habit of not thinking a thing WRONG, gives it a superficial appearance of being RIGHT, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom."
ReplyDeletePoliticians raising money...as long as special interest and lobby money is needed for political campaigns...politicians will legislate in the best interest of the lobby interest, not the people. And oh ya...the lobbied for tax breaks, subsidies and entitlements legislators vote for in the middle of the night...add to the deficit.
Don't blame the lobbyists...they are good at what they do! It is the politicians that are spineless.