IMV

HOME | About Us | Communities | Contact Us | Contribute | Search | Links |

GLOBAL DIALOG PROJECT | PREVIOUS ISSUES: 4.Democracy, Civil Liberties, and Freedom 3.The 21st Century Question: What Next? 2. Ripples of the Events of 911 1. The Initial Vision

NEWS | QUOTES | INTEGRITYMETER | FREEDOM | HUMOR | YOUR VOICE

Precepts of The Global Dialog Project | I M V - In My View Valerie Gremillion, Ph.D Nov 9, 2004, 9:09 am MST Take heart! For this is the beginning of a new adventure Many Americans are sad and grieving over the results of the 2004 Presidential Election, the ill-feeling and polarization in our country, or both. Many do not have a place to speak to this grief and its deep underpinnings, its fears and anxieties about the future. Americans can find few places in our culture where we feel permitted to speak of our hearts or our spirits, of the profound or the intense, of our vision of the future or the path our nation is choosing. Yet our deep emotions are clear motivators for action in the world. We have seen emotion used as a reason to push on resolutely– witness the culture of fear we have experienced since the terrorist attacks of 911. We have also seen the results of anger driving our culture: polarization, inability to listen to or respect other views, and a ‘With Us or Against Us’ mentality that has damaged the world’s opinion of the United States. But grief is a different kind of emotion than either fear or anger: it is an acknowledgement of the reality of an ending, of death. It is important to allow the mourning it brings - because something has indeed died: the old world we lived in. The world that shaped humanity’s progress, the world that shaped U.S. and world politics, the world that established 'values' of aggression, greed, arrogance, hypocrisy, and dominance – this world is dead, and a new way has been born from the old. We have simply not seen it yet. The new way is one in which we are all connected and interdependent. It is a way that many other nations already take part in as they address humanity’s shared problems. It is one in which education and understanding, not god-like leaders, are paramount to the making of wise decisions. It is one in which alliances, common ground, and shared principles are the basis for joint action. It is one in which we not only incrementally improve things, or determine how to simply ‘hold the line’ - but one in which we view the entire range of possibility, the full promise of humanity and the systems which support us. From this new perspective, we can consider the fulfillment of human potential rather than merely the eking out of billions of lives. Whatever your sadness about the failure of John Kerry's campaign, please remember this: a Kerry presidency would not have resolved the basic problems of our time. How to manage fundamental aspects of human nature that result in war, poverty, despotism, injustice, lies, and suffering – in short, how we are to construct a viable future for humanity - this has not been addressed by politics, science, or even religion. These issues and more are The Big Picture, and when you have done grieving and railing at what might have been, please remember that this is still the real work before us. Remember, too, that the innovations and the ancient wisdom, the solid principles and the new insights that must be the foundations of a beneficial future for our children and their children, will come not from the leaders and experts whose advice has brought us here, but from you. From us. From We, the People. The new way - a new adventure! - is open to us, and it says, let us re-assess the whole of our doings, and the long future we wish before us. Let us deal with our problems and their solutions not pixel by individual pixel, economics disconnected from ecology, emotion from policy, money from science, and so on - because that approach will not bring light to the workings of the whole. The new way says, let us enlarge our perspective of humanity's place in the world, build a Big Picture of depth and breadth and wisdom. This new path says, let us understand humanity's actions and history, from individuals to nations to our species, in the larger framework of our shared future. Without this understanding, seeing only small parts of separate pictures, the choices we make may be foolish and to our detriment – and still, not seeing the whole, we will not even know this! Isn’t it finally time for us to begin to truly know ourselves and understand the full impacts of our actions on each other, and the world around us? Only this can create a basis for wise decision-making, for real democracy and freedom, and the means for humanity’s full knowledge and experience to inform our actions. For many, the 2004 Election killed hopes of an easy road, a road where we could return to being complacent, involved only with our own lives rather than the actions of our government or the destiny of our world. But this loss of hope arises only because the U.S. has been playing in the old world, one built on polarization, on definitions of 'us' and 'them', on the creation of 'winners' and 'losers'. These old assumptions have constrained our outlook, our power, and our potential. Failure is the prelude to learning, not losing. Clinging to the old is often easier than facing the new -but it is in embracing the new path before us that we will find the creativity, the connection, and the support that we seek. The prospects before us are huge, the opportunities unprecedented – what was previously missing was the passion for fundamental evolution of our culture to one more balanced and far-seeing. Now we have that passion. Now we know we it is time to act, dream, and build, because the system we have now will not support our positive visions of the future, small as they have been. Now we know that our responsibilities and accountability to the world have not been relieved, but increased. The need for the real 'American Way' of truth, freedom, and justice is at its greatest. This need calls forth the great adventure: to take up the real challenge of our shared future. It is also a healthy response to the grief and sadness about what has been lost, a response that will empower us, inform us, and help us grow wiser along the way. So we invite you to join us - for the beginning, not the end, of the Great Adventure. Join us, at the Global Dialog Project http:www.global-dialog.org, in sharing your wisdom while feeling the support of so many others with positive intentions. Join us in writing and research, communicating and drawing, creating foundations for the future by creating the spaces in which we can address the pressing and deep issues of our time. This is where the fierce joy of the real challenge rests - in generating innovative solutions, in rethinking cultural assumptions, in building bridges across illusory divides. And if you are not interested in working and playing with us in understanding essential problems and their solutions, in addressing the underlying issues of humanity and our world, then I urge you, please find a place where you CAN do the positive work that will empower you. Do not sink back into depression, or cynicism, or complacency – these are excuses to NOT claim the power that is yours as a free, thinking person. And that power, existing in each of us- not in the 2004 election -- is what will truly change the world in a positive way. For many people, the 2004 Election and its results are shocking, numbing, saddening. But through these emotions a deeper kind of balance can be gained, born of a profound rethinking of our path, and a re-engagement with our highest aspirations for ourselves and humankind. So I call you to take heart! The new way, the Great Adventure, is only beginning, and your insights and your voice and your courage are a part of it. When you are ready, let us begin. You can find this article on the web at IMV: In My View - by Valerie Gremillion The Global Dialog Project: http://www.global-dialog.org To contact us, please email us at connect@global-dialog.org PHONE: 505-982-6796 MAIL: Global Dialog Project PO Box 4632 Santa Fe, NM 87502 -->