[statecom-discuss] new think tank relevant to organizing

[Gracegrnrnbw at aol.com]

Adam - the litany of successes and failures is hugely long.   And not 
probably worth trying to lay side by side - perhaps our experiences differ because as 
a woman, lesbian, etc. - I appreciate not being property, permanently locked 
up in a psych ward, the victim of massive electroshock "therapy" and having 
the right to fight back publically and legally against the sexual harrassment, 
wage discrimination and the incest I suffered.

I am also thrilled that as many as possible engage in think-tank 
opportunities.    Since you and I are both committed strategists (addicted to it?) perhaps 
we could have respectful disagreements?

I would be happy to engage with others on this - I have a half a dozen at 
least stategic tools I'd love to come share with our group when they are 
interested in those schools of thought and the tools they offer -

Love, grace

In a message dated 1/20/07 11:31:51 AM, adam_artist at yahoo.com writes:


> Dear Grace -
> 
> Have people's movements created huge changes?  Yes and no.  The issue is a 
> lot more complex and subtle than you allow, which is the whole point of a 
> think tank.  (You can read the proposal at 
> http://www.constitution411.org/thinktank/pop_proposal.html.)  While it is true that we appear to have more rights 
> than in the past, it is also true that this country is the source of mass 
> deprivation of rights not only here, but worldwide.  I suspect that the black men 
> in prison in such disproportionate numbers don't feel that they have much in 
> the way of rights.  Nor do those habeas-corpus-free "aliens" at Guantanamo.  
> Nor do native americans on reservations.  Nor do young soldiers repeatedly 
> sent to war in violation of international law and subjected to military 
> tribunals as retribution for protesting.  Nor do people living on the street or 
> families that despite multiple jobs just accumulate debt.  Nor do communities 
> assaulted by Wal-Marts, power plants, sewage sludge, hog farms,
> quarries, etc.
> 
> The point is not whether there are sometimes more rights on paper, or even 
> in fact - the question is about how the oligarchy always prevails, with 
> occasional concessions that don't ultimately require much of them but pacify us 
> just enough so they can keep going (and the history of this goes back to the 
> 17th century).  If the oligarchy had humanity's best interests at heart things 
> might be less bad, but clearly the deciders are driven by power lust and 
> quarterly bottom lines.  Which leaves us with global warming, the spectre of 
> nuclear armageddon, poisoning of the genetic code of our food supplies, and 
> thousands of other harms which, if we continue deal with them one at a time, will 
> keep us as far from to root causes as ever.  Which is part of the material 
> that we address in Democracy Schools.
> 
> The empirical proof that we don't understand this very well is that they are 
> as strong as ever and We, The People, flail as much as ever, if not moreso 
> (due in no small measure to our state of anesthesia induced by "education," 
> media and shopping).  The empirical proof is also that the environment is at 
> its historical nadir, to the point of being quite possibly terminal to the 
> existence of humans and many other species.
> 
> So please consider the possibility that there are elements to this endeavor 
> that are not obvious, that you may not understand (I'm just beginning to 
> understand it after considerable thought), with a depth that goes considerably 
> beyond a "depressing premise."  If you (or anyone else on this list) want to 
> join us in learning more, you are welcome to attend our first (or any 
> subsequent) meeting.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Adam
> 781 674-2339
> 
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: "Gracegrnrnbw at aol.com" <Gracegrnrnbw at aol.com>
> To: statecom-discuss at green-rainbow.org
> Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 11:28:27 PM
> Subject: Re: [statecom-discuss] new think tank relevant to organizing
> 
> People's movements have created huge changes - most of our rights would not
> exist without them - I am sorry that you start from such a depressing 
> premise,
> may this work uncover information that is new and hopeful to you - Love, 
> Grace
> In a message dated 1/19/07 9:29:43 PM, adam_artist at yahoo.com writes:
> 
> 
> > Dear Friends -
> >
> > I want to let you know that my non-profit, the Center for Democracy and 
> the
> > Constitution, is starting a think tank called the public outreach project
> > ("POP").  Its purpose is to understand better what moves the public "mind" 
> and
> > how to change culture in fundamental ways, towards sustainability, justice 
> and
> > survival.  The underlying assumption is that in the aggregate people's
> > organizing has never worked in this country beyond a limited timespan (a 
> few
> > decades at most, usually less) - why has the oligarchy always prevailed, 
> and how
> > do we change that?
> >
> > Although we can all think of possible reasons, after the first neuronal
> > flurry it becomes apparent that answers to these questions are not obvious 
> (if
> > they were, we might win sometimes).  POP will be examining a number of
> > pertinent areas from both academic and organizing perspectives - the 
> process will
> > involve research, writing and grassroots activities in a dialectical 
> process. 
> > Certainly these are questions at the core of people's movements - our goal 
> is
> > to come up with something useful.
> >
> > If any of you might be interested in participating, please let me know and
> > let's talk about it.  Our first meeting will be Saturday, February 3rd, 10
> > a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Boston area (exact location TBD).
> >
> > Cheers!
> >
> > Adam
> > 781 674-2339
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > statecom-discuss mailing list
> > statecom-discuss at green-rainbow.org
> > http://www.green-rainbow.org/mailman/listinfo/statecom-discuss
> >
> 
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