* Second Victoria Wisdom Council *

2007-06-30

Richard Moore

Friends,

I'd like to extend my congratulations to George 
Sranko and all the folks in Victoria who have 
recently convened their second successful Wisdom 
Council. (George's announcement message is 
below).  Congratulations as well to Ian Dakers 
and the folks who have put together an excellent 
website describing the event, with several video 
clips that show us the energy and excitement of 
the Council and the public meeting that followed 
- <http://www.WiseDemocracyVictoria.wetpaint.com>.

The facilitator was DeAnne Martin, of the Center 
for Wise Democracy, 
<http://www.wisedemocracy.org/>. The convening 
organization was Wise Democracy Victoria, 
<http://www.WiseDemocracyVictoria.com>. For them 
this was a milestone event in their ongoing 
efforts to facilitate the emergence of grassroots 
democracy in the Victoria area. But the 
significance of this milestone extends beyond 
Victoria and British Columbia. The folks in 
Victoria are pioneering for the rest of us, 
exploring the democratic potential of the kind of 
dialog tools that have been developed by Jim 
Rough and others.

Already a third Wisdom Council is being planned 
for the Fall, and there has been good coverage in 
the local press as this process has unfolded, 
<http://wisedemocracyvictoria.com/media/>. We 
should all be grateful to the fine team at Wise 
Democracy Victoria, who do indeed seem to be 
showing wisdom as they carry out this work on 
behalf of all of us. They are doing a very 
professional job, with care taken at each step, 
and they are doing an excellent job of 
documenting their work on the web.

Democracy is not about a form of government, it 
is about the awakening of our consciousness as 
communities, as societies, and as a species. When 
people use language like, "We should take better 
care of our forests", we all understand what is 
meant by such a sentence. We have this notion in 
our heads that 'we', as societies, should be able 
to make rational decisions 'for the whole', for 
ourselves, for our general well being. Isn't that 
just common sense?

Democracy is about realizing this universally 
shared common-sense notion of 'we' as a conscious 
entity. The excitement of a Wisdom Council arises 
from this notion being realized in microcosm, a 
bit like a dream coming true. For in truth, in 
our current societies, we are only daydreaming 
when we say "We should do this", or "We should do 
that". The fact that such language makes sense to 
us means we all share in that dream. It is the 
dream of freedom, of participation in 
sovereignty. That dream can also be seen as a 
collective memory of our aboriginal experience. 
There's a lot of latent psychic energy here, 
probably more  than any of us can now imagine. I 
recommend having this in mind when looking at the 
video clips - 
<http://www.WiseDemocracyVictoria.wetpaint.com>.

Tom Atlee has said that we are at the "Kitty Hawk 
stage" of learning how to govern ourselves. I 
believe he meant this as, "These are very early 
days". That is true, from the perspective of 
aeronautic engineering. But from the perspective 
of human progress, Kitty Hawk is a very late 
event, the dawn of aviation, only a century ago. 
In that sense, to say we are at the Kitty Hawk 
stage is very exciting indeed. If it is true, we 
are on the verge of the 'age of flight' of our 
democratic spirits. The Wright Brothers were 
serious engineers, and imaginative innovators, 
and their work can be seen as a gift to humanity. 
The Victoria team carry on this honorable 
tradition with comparable dedication, pursuing a 
gift of much greater potential value.

From another perspective, we might say that 
humanity, us, is beginning to wake up, becoming 
aware of itself, a little at a time. The 
"Victoria part of us" is experiencing an "early 
twitch" in this shared waking up process. The 
propagation potential of such 'twitches' is 
promising, because the process of waking up is 
inherently contagious in a face-to-face context, 
as we can see in the response of the audience 
when the  Council participants give their 
presentations.

The well-done web presentation, with the video 
clips, enables anyone to share in that 
experience, almost as if they were part of the 
original face-to-face audience. By such means, 
the Internet has the potential to serve as a 
'neuro-transmitter' of wake-up signals to 
humanity as a whole. Modern technologies / 
environments like YouTube and mySpace enable 
'face-to-face, reality experiences' to be shared 
on a mass basis with multi-media 'presence'. We 
are at a fortunate historical moment in the 
McCluhanesque cycles of media, a moment when the 
democratic potential of electronic media is 
expressing itself in countless creative ways, and 
millions of people tune in daily on different 
interlinking (neuron-like) 'channels'. What 
better moment for there to emerge a liberating 
and contagious message worthy of sharing?

As Tom says, we're still at an early stage, and 
what's happened around Victoria so far is not by 
itself going to launch a transformation of 
society. But I see here all the right elements 
coming together in a well-considered endeavor, 
just as at Kitty Hawk. We are perhaps now at the 
point where wind-tunnel trials have been 
successful, and the propeller design is 
understood. The signs are promising for a 
sustained flight 'soon'. In democracy terms, a 
'sustained flight' happens when a whole community 
(eg, the people generally of Victoria City) feel 
involved in the awakening process. With the 
ongoing series of Wisdom Councils, and the 
attention given to media coverage, our own 
'Wright Brothers' are giving the 'craft of 
democracy' every chance to achieve this kind of 
sustained flight. And our modern media 
environment has the potential to flash that kind 
of 'reality experience' around the globe, the 
modern equivalent of the headlines that conveyed 
the message of the aviation breakthrough.

---

We are all in this together, and we all really 
want the same things, deep in our hearts. Only 
because we think we are alone, and that we can't 
have those things, do we spend our time competing 
for what we think we can get, a piece of the 
elusive pie, and two weeks a year experiencing a 
glimpse of freedom. The idea that we can find our 
common identity and opt out of this matrix game 
is a powerful idea. We accept the idea when we 
say 'we should do this or that'. Yet it would be 
wrong to say that this an 'idea' whose time has 
come. Rather, this is an 'experience' whose time 
has come. The technology around this experience, 
in terms of process and propagation, is in place. 
The game, my dear Watson, is on.

rkm

--------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:26:16 -0700
From: George Sranko <•••@••.•••>

Subject: Congratulations & Debriefing Session for Convenors Now at Fernwood NRG

Hi Everyone

CONGRATULATIONS!!  Wow, we did it once again. 
The Second Victoria Wisdom Council was a great 
success, thanks to the energy and dedication 
contributed by each and every one of you.  In 
some ways it felt like a barn raising with meals 
and rides and a thousand and one details managed 
successfully... and it wouldn't happen without 
such a fantastic a group effort. And special 
thanks to DeAnna for her facilitation skills and 
willingness to travel to Victoria on our behalf.

...I've posted a copy of the WC2 statement on our 
website [see below -rkm].  Please email widely to 
encourage discussion.  There is also a link to a 
customized online feedback instrument kindly 
provided by John Spady of the Forum Foundation 
(link at bottom).  I really encourage you to fill 
out the Opinionnaire(R) because it provides us 
with a valuable means of gathering online 
feedback.  John is also interested in receiving 
feedback on the instrument itself... please send 
any comments to •••@••.•••.

And a big thank you to Jim & Jean Rough, Tom 
Atlee, and Richard Moore for your help in getting 
the ball rolling in November 2006 and for your 
support and inspiration over the course of two 
Wisdom Councils.

All the best,
George

<http://www.WiseDemocracyVictoria.com>

<http://www.WiseDemocracyVictoria.wetpaint.com> 
(see some great video clips of both Wisdom 
Councils - thanks to Ian Dakers)

____________________
Original source URL:
http://wisedemocracyvictoria.com/statement-of-the-second-victoria-wisdom-council/

Statement of the Second Victoria Wisdom Council
June 23, 2007

The future is going to be more and more 
challenging if we don't recognize the long-term 
implications of our actions today. We need to 
accept and embrace that society is rapidly 
changing because of developments in technology. 
We need to manage change so that we keep the 
positives of the past - our humanity, family and 
community connection - while recognizing and 
benefiting from the opportunities and avoiding 
the pitfalls this change creates.

Things will change for the better if we can 
increase public participation in government 
decision-making, thus reversing the current trend 
of less participation and apathy. We aim to put 
our talk to action.

We want a government that is chosen by, 
accountable to, and representative of the people. 
A government that:

      * is elected by the people, accountable to its promises, and transparent;

      * enables all to have equal opportunity to 
benefit from our wealth and resources;

      * is easy for the individual to participate 
in, is accessible, where everyone has an equal 
voice and impact.

We can start to create this government locally, 
here in Victoria. Victoria can lead by example.

      * Locally: require city council to mandate 
more referenda to put important issues to the 
people;

      * Regionally: make the Capitol Regional 
District (CRD) elected, transparent, and 
accountable;

      * Nationally: direct the Prime Minister to 
only appoint people to the Senate who have been 
elected by the people thereby creating a 
representative Senate.

A key issue for us is how to balance individual 
and collective rights and responsibilities.

Solutions need to be implemented on many levels, 
reflecting a holistic approach:

      * Enhancing opportunities for individuals to 
grow and develop into fulfilled members of our 
community. Increase public awareness of the 
opportunities so they are accessible to many.

      * The education system should awaken people 
to the opportunities that do exist and encourage 
them to define and achieve their goals, while 
reducing the barriers that keep people from doing 
that.

      * Recognizing that children learn by example 
from their parents, remove barriers and create 
support for parents to be the best role models 
they can be.

      * Ensure that government action does not 
weaken the family, instead it enhances and 
supports the family.

      * We agree in the principle that laws that 
limit individual freedom should be based on a 
transparent and demonstrable analysis of the 
cost/benefit to society. Costs and benefits need 
to include tangibles [dollars and scientific 
evidence] and intangibles [liberty, justice, and 
compassion].

What can YOU do to make this vision possible?
***

Continue the conversationŠ discuss this statement 
with your family, friends and neighbours.

Please let us know if this statement reflects your views by going here:

   http://opn.forumfoundation.org/index.php?pid=30

Write a comment
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