Why Am I Doing All of This?
OK, I'm a devotee of collaboration as the practice of democracy...and idealistically a blog can be seen as a collaborative endeavor. But more often, it is just a bulletin board for journal entries. So what am I really hoping to accomplish by posting these ramblings to a blog?
That's a very good question.
I guess I'm doing it for several reasons. The first is self-serving in the immediate sense -- I want to work with organizations that are looking to become more democratic, to encourage their members to accept democratic action as a responsibility in the 21st century. In short, I'm looking for organizations to hire me as a consultant that can support their efforts at collaboration.
The second is still self-serving, but in the longer view -- I want to find myself surrounded by democratically minded people as I live my life. I want to have folks in my vicinity who feel democracy to be worth a little elbow grease and personal discomfort, so that when the tough times hit, we can get through them because of the strength of our sense of the common good.
The third is somewhere in between those two. Democracy is such a large concept, and it's easy to think it's something that just kind of magically happens somewhere between "here" and Washington, DC. Personally, I think it exists in a much more concrete and useful form in the grocery story, at the local county fair, at school board meetings, and local water districts. I think the way we practice it in our families and amongst friends is much more an indication of the strength of our system of government than is how it plays out in Congress or at the ballot box.
So I post. I ponder. I ask questions. I observe.
Want to join me?
That's a very good question.
I guess I'm doing it for several reasons. The first is self-serving in the immediate sense -- I want to work with organizations that are looking to become more democratic, to encourage their members to accept democratic action as a responsibility in the 21st century. In short, I'm looking for organizations to hire me as a consultant that can support their efforts at collaboration.
The second is still self-serving, but in the longer view -- I want to find myself surrounded by democratically minded people as I live my life. I want to have folks in my vicinity who feel democracy to be worth a little elbow grease and personal discomfort, so that when the tough times hit, we can get through them because of the strength of our sense of the common good.
The third is somewhere in between those two. Democracy is such a large concept, and it's easy to think it's something that just kind of magically happens somewhere between "here" and Washington, DC. Personally, I think it exists in a much more concrete and useful form in the grocery story, at the local county fair, at school board meetings, and local water districts. I think the way we practice it in our families and amongst friends is much more an indication of the strength of our system of government than is how it plays out in Congress or at the ballot box.
So I post. I ponder. I ask questions. I observe.
Want to join me?
posted by Girl Outa Texas at 6:02 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home