This is an excellent and challenging topic. People want to feel they are good and decent, and they want to feel safe. Unfortunately there is a lot of money being spent on media to tell us what righteous is and what safe looks like. Horrors are being justified and normalized. We are raised in the US in a capitalist society that relies on exploitation and we don’t have some basic safety nets. We have media that normalizes this exploitation and hides the crimes of the rich and powerful. And it trains us that those with money know more and know what is best for society. The two major parties spend obscene amounts of money on media to maintain the status quo.
Acknowledging this system and rejecting it is a first step. Then go watch truly independent media. It’s a very different perspective with new information. Watch eg Jeffrey Sachs. You’ll learn more about the US than you’ll ever get from the Globe or NYTimes. It’s like being deprogrammed from a cult. I know because I did it. My adult children also did it. Remember The Matrix, red pill and blue pill? It’s that.
Yes! These are wonderful guidelines for us all - no matter what size systems or organizations we are members of, or what positions we hold within them! Thank you Mary for your continued guidance across the decades!
Those are all great questions, but one stands out to me, "Are there people whom you think would support your decision to resist? Can you line up their support in advance?" It stands out because this is the way to shift the power balance in the situation, and that is the way to intentionally influence what is going on, rather than only figuring out how to react more effectively. I believe such groups can build confidence, improve tactics, gain momentum, demand to be heard etc. They may take time to build, but today's technologies enable the process to build faster than they may have done in the past. They can begin as Participatory Learning Networks (PLNs), rather than as protest groups. The learning is itself empowering. It builds a preparedness, to take tougher action if necessary, but such action may not be needed. Just being an organised group that is capable of making its voice heard may be enough to make those who seek "power over" instead of "power with" think twice.
What a thoughtful essay. If only law firms, businesses, universities, state & local governments, etc. asked these questions before capitulating to Trump's ceaseless and increasingly insane demands
This is an excellent and challenging topic. People want to feel they are good and decent, and they want to feel safe. Unfortunately there is a lot of money being spent on media to tell us what righteous is and what safe looks like. Horrors are being justified and normalized. We are raised in the US in a capitalist society that relies on exploitation and we don’t have some basic safety nets. We have media that normalizes this exploitation and hides the crimes of the rich and powerful. And it trains us that those with money know more and know what is best for society. The two major parties spend obscene amounts of money on media to maintain the status quo.
Acknowledging this system and rejecting it is a first step. Then go watch truly independent media. It’s a very different perspective with new information. Watch eg Jeffrey Sachs. You’ll learn more about the US than you’ll ever get from the Globe or NYTimes. It’s like being deprogrammed from a cult. I know because I did it. My adult children also did it. Remember The Matrix, red pill and blue pill? It’s that.
Yes! These are wonderful guidelines for us all - no matter what size systems or organizations we are members of, or what positions we hold within them! Thank you Mary for your continued guidance across the decades!
Those are all great questions, but one stands out to me, "Are there people whom you think would support your decision to resist? Can you line up their support in advance?" It stands out because this is the way to shift the power balance in the situation, and that is the way to intentionally influence what is going on, rather than only figuring out how to react more effectively. I believe such groups can build confidence, improve tactics, gain momentum, demand to be heard etc. They may take time to build, but today's technologies enable the process to build faster than they may have done in the past. They can begin as Participatory Learning Networks (PLNs), rather than as protest groups. The learning is itself empowering. It builds a preparedness, to take tougher action if necessary, but such action may not be needed. Just being an organised group that is capable of making its voice heard may be enough to make those who seek "power over" instead of "power with" think twice.
What a thoughtful essay. If only law firms, businesses, universities, state & local governments, etc. asked these questions before capitulating to Trump's ceaseless and increasingly insane demands