Engine Of A Better Social Order
Engine Of A Better Social Order
"There are people on the far Right and far Left who can’t join in a creative dialogue about our differences — say, the most radical 15 or 20 percent on either end. But that leaves 60 or 70 percent in the middle who could have that conversation, given the right conditions. And in a democracy, that’s more than enough to do business."
"When I was researching 'Healing the Heart of Democracy', I learned that at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 — where, for the first time in history, people created a political system in which conflict and tension are not the enemy but the engine of a better social order — 30 percent of the delegates walked out before the final vote was taken. Serious conflicts are nothing new in our politics. Our job is to learn to deal with them creatively, which is the key to the democratic experiment."
The clearest sign that a politician is not doing their job is a failure to engage in the process of debate and compromise. Unfortunately, that behavior has become a hallmark of modern politics.
I had never heard of Parker Palmer before this weekend. Through friends, I was lucky to hear him talk informally to a small group of us.
I'm not generally a fan of consultants and gurus. But this man speaks about difficult truths with thoughtfulness and insight.
http://thesunmagazine.org/issues/443/if_only_we_would_listen
"There are people on the far Right and far Left who can’t join in a creative dialogue about our differences — say, the most radical 15 or 20 percent on either end. But that leaves 60 or 70 percent in the middle who could have that conversation, given the right conditions. And in a democracy, that’s more than enough to do business."
"When I was researching 'Healing the Heart of Democracy', I learned that at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 — where, for the first time in history, people created a political system in which conflict and tension are not the enemy but the engine of a better social order — 30 percent of the delegates walked out before the final vote was taken. Serious conflicts are nothing new in our politics. Our job is to learn to deal with them creatively, which is the key to the democratic experiment."
The clearest sign that a politician is not doing their job is a failure to engage in the process of debate and compromise. Unfortunately, that behavior has become a hallmark of modern politics.
I had never heard of Parker Palmer before this weekend. Through friends, I was lucky to hear him talk informally to a small group of us.
I'm not generally a fan of consultants and gurus. But this man speaks about difficult truths with thoughtfulness and insight.
http://thesunmagazine.org/issues/443/if_only_we_would_listen
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