October 2014 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

Fwd: GMCA Update Sept 29
by David Zahrt via OE 04 Oct '14

04 Oct '14

*MON SEP 29* *Elmore to Fremont, OH* Although it was announced that the March would leave at 9am I put the stoves away and folded up the solar panels and hit the trail a little after 8am. The route from Elmore to Fremont was a trail. I think it’s meant to go all the way across Ohio. I believe it’s the Trail we were directed to when we left Montpelier. This portion of the trail is a blacktop surface at least 7 foot wide. It’s nice to ride a trail. The walnuts and oak acorns provided some bumps in the road. Once again it was foggy. I got to Fremont in time to visit the bicycle shop. The side of the rim on the back tire is splitting. The split allows the brakes to work but it makes the brakes go bump, bump, bump. There is no air in the tire so I don’t have to worry about a blow-out. The mechanic suggested that I continue to ride it. Then I found my way to the library. I sent a journal to Lin and a note to Shari, the secretary for the March in the Des Moines office. I’m volunteering to drive the Gear truck from WDC to Des Moines. I’ll have to wait and see what transpires. We’re staying in another Convent—Our Lady of the Pines Retreat Center. They offered some rooms inside the Center. I picked a room and took a shower. Before dinner we had a Toledo engineer, one who was at the Saturday Protest/ Demonstration of BP in Toledo, give us the technical details of fracking. From the details he gave it’s clear that there are some who care nothing about the earth, its population, and the future of all its species. Their only concern is accumulating income. The dinner crew worked on dinner but the major part of it was donated by the Retreat Center. There was nothing planned after dinner. I relaxed in my room then went to bed. -- Peace, David

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Liberal heresy
by via OE 03 Oct '14

03 Oct '14

This seems like a liberal answer with structural fixes. From John Cock's blog: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/sep/26/8-innovations-e… Seems like anyone who isn't extremely right or left is a threat to both polarized extremes. I was talking to someone in the millennial generation, who said he always thought Hippies were heroes, but he absolutely hated Occupy Wallstreet. Figure that one out. Jann

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Fwd: GMCA Update Sept. 28
by David Zahrt via OE 03 Oct '14

03 Oct '14

*SUN SEP 28* *Toledo to Elmore, OH* I went through the breakfast/lunch routine, packed up and was ready to go. After breakfast I asked Sarah about the route. She had sent it out to the Marcher list the night before. I had my phone connected to the Jetpack that the March has procured to give the March constant connection to the Internet. She sent it again while we were conversing, but it didn’t arrive. Then she texted me and I got it. The email she sent didn’t arrive until I got to Elmore and hooked up to a WiFi in a local restaurant. We were informed that we were to get our trucks out of the parking lot by 8am. People were still bringing their luggage down from 4th floor of the convent. The Gear truck was congested. When we had a workshop on the Qualities we would like to see the March incorporate, I should have contributed “being punctual”, or punctuality! At dawn the atmosphere seemed clear, but by 8am the atmosphere was filled with fog. On the way to Elmore there were times when it covered the sun. It was like a white night. By the time I got to Elmore the fog was gone. We camped in the park that Elmore has established as a memorial to their Railroad Depot. It’s a relic. It even has the telegraph system intact. We set up the kitchen in a tiny amphitheater. Most of the Marchers put up their tents. I found a porch with a nice roof to sleep under. I sat under the ‘kitchen’ amphitheater and did some journaling. The Marchers straggled in. A local Toledo woman volunteered to serve dinner. Some Marchers helped her get the meal ready. After dinner people were doing their own thing. I went to bed. -- Peace, David

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On Bill Parker's "liberal"
by via OE 03 Oct '14

03 Oct '14

"A rose by any other name is still a rose," or so, we once thought. No more. We look at reality and give it a name, not the other way around. I consider myself a liberal (though that term no longer serves its old function) and I never come close to Bill's description of one. Nancy, my brand of being a liberal looks at reality, and where social change is happening and I see it necessary because what has been conserved no longer works, then I inject my life "into the barbwires of history", as it were. John Epps' liberal heresy was a necessary corrective at the time he wrote it, in the same way as Order wisdom from which most of our operating ways derived from, was in many respect, not only timely but some, even ahead of its time. But dichotomies enflame prejudices and passion, e.g., liberal and conservatives, and are not ultimately helpful. Wiegel's question is rhetorical. Even elementary grades do not use "true or false" questions anymore. This group taught me to describe IS first before giving it a name. So, thank you for your question of clarity. But I would no call Bill's folks "liberal". Jaime in China -----Original Message----- From: via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: oe <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Sent: Fri, Oct 3, 2014 2:15 am Subject: OE Digest, Vol 31, Issue 3 Send OE mailing list submissions to oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to oe-request(a)lists.wedgeblade.net You can reach the person managing the list at oe-owner(a)lists.wedgeblade.net When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of OE digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: [Dialogue] Wrong about social change?? (Bill Parker via OE) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2014 12:24:09 -0500 From: Bill Parker via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: "Nancy Trask" <nancytrask(a)rocketmail.com>, "James Wiegel" <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com>, "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>, "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] Wrong about social change?? Message-ID: <13B60BA8ABC24A728D017A5C3B516DAC@BillParkerPC> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Nancy, Sorry for the delay. I just now saw your request for a "little more" on the fallacy of the liberal form of doing. Years ago John Epps presented a paper on the "liberal heresy". It is archived so you can get access to it. He described the dynamic very well. Today I see and experience a type of this "heresy" broadly among some liberal and progressive people. They see the problem, understand what causes it, grasp that it is systemic in nature, find who to blame for it, then resort to symbolic gestures of outrage, to themselves and sometimes to whomever is to be blamed. They then go on with their lives as normal because of the symbolic gesture they feel like they have addressed the issue. They do this without any effort, or even commitment, to dealing with the systemic situation underlying the problem, building transitional models, or acknowledging a movement is essential before anything can happen to alter and sustain the situation. Hope this adds a little to the phrase. Bill ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nancy Trask" <nancytrask(a)rocketmail.com> To: "James Wiegel" <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com>; "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; "Bill Parker" <bparker175(a)cox.net> Sent: Monday, September 29, 2014 12:37 PM Subject: Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Wrong about social change?? Hey Bill - Say a little more about "This is the fallacy of the "liberal" form of doing." Nancy Trask -------------------------------------------- On Mon, 9/29/14, Bill Parker via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Subject: Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Wrong about social change?? To: "James Wiegel" <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com>, "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>, "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Date: Monday, September 29, 2014, 11:10 AM If only it were that simple. Doing social change work and getting social change done are two very different realities. Social change comes out of a movement toward a different future which shows up from a multitude of independent faces from the human community. Holding elected representives accountable is certainly one aspect of that but its "tail is not large enough to wag the dog." Also, social change is more than just change but it is change that cannot be reversed as soon as people's interest moves on to something else. This is the fallacy of the "liberal" form of doing. ----- Original Message ----- From: James Wiegel via OE To: Colleague Dialogue ; Order Ecumenical Community Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2014 1:17 PM Subject: [Oe List ...] Wrong about social change?? "I've been doing social change work for more than 40 years, and I know that organizing people to hold our elected officials accountable is the only thing that actually makes change." Wenonah Hauter. True or false. Please comment Jim Wiegel Those who have the most rigorously tested answers will not drive the future of learning; those who pursue the most meaningful questions will. Mathew Abrams 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 Tel. 011-623-936-8671 or 011-623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com Upcoming public course opportunities: ToP? Facilitation Methods: Sep 9-10, Nov 18-19, 2014 Click to watch video. ToP? Strategic Planning: Oct 7-8, 2014 Click to learn more. Facilitation Mastery: The Mastering the Technology of Participation program begins in Oakland on Nov 12-14, 2014 Click to watch video. For online registration go to http://www.top-training.net The AZ ToP? Community of Practice meets the 1st Friday, 1-4 pm, starting again on Sept 5th at ACYR, 648 N. 5th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85003 AICP Planners: 14.5 CM for all ToP? courses _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net ------------------------------ End of OE Digest, Vol 31, Issue 3 *********************************

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Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] Wrong about social change??
by Bill Parker via OE 02 Oct '14

02 Oct '14

Nancy, Sorry for the delay. I just now saw your request for a "little more" on the fallacy of the liberal form of doing. Years ago John Epps presented a paper on the "liberal heresy". It is archived so you can get access to it. He described the dynamic very well. Today I see and experience a type of this "heresy" broadly among some liberal and progressive people. They see the problem, understand what causes it, grasp that it is systemic in nature, find who to blame for it, then resort to symbolic gestures of outrage, to themselves and sometimes to whomever is to be blamed. They then go on with their lives as normal because of the symbolic gesture they feel like they have addressed the issue. They do this without any effort, or even commitment, to dealing with the systemic situation underlying the problem, building transitional models, or acknowledging a movement is essential before anything can happen to alter and sustain the situation. Hope this adds a little to the phrase. Bill ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nancy Trask" <nancytrask(a)rocketmail.com> To: "James Wiegel" <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com>; "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; "Bill Parker" <bparker175(a)cox.net> Sent: Monday, September 29, 2014 12:37 PM Subject: Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Wrong about social change?? Hey Bill - Say a little more about "This is the fallacy of the "liberal" form of doing." Nancy Trask -------------------------------------------- On Mon, 9/29/14, Bill Parker via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Subject: Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Wrong about social change?? To: "James Wiegel" <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com>, "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>, "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Date: Monday, September 29, 2014, 11:10 AM If only it were that simple. Doing social change work and getting social change done are two very different realities. Social change comes out of a movement toward a different future which shows up from a multitude of independent faces from the human community. Holding elected representives accountable is certainly one aspect of that but its "tail is not large enough to wag the dog." Also, social change is more than just change but it is change that cannot be reversed as soon as people's interest moves on to something else. This is the fallacy of the "liberal" form of doing. ----- Original Message ----- From: James Wiegel via OE To: Colleague Dialogue ; Order Ecumenical Community Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2014 1:17 PM Subject: [Oe List ...] Wrong about social change?? "I've been doing social change work for more than 40 years, and I know that organizing people to hold our elected officials accountable is the only thing that actually makes change." Wenonah Hauter. True or false. Please comment Jim Wiegel Those who have the most rigorously tested answers will not drive the future of learning; those who pursue the most meaningful questions will. Mathew Abrams 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 Tel. 011-623-936-8671 or 011-623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com Upcoming public course opportunities: ToP® Facilitation Methods: Sep 9-10, Nov 18-19, 2014 Click to watch video. ToP® Strategic Planning: Oct 7-8, 2014 Click to learn more. Facilitation Mastery: The Mastering the Technology of Participation program begins in Oakland on Nov 12-14, 2014 Click to watch video. For online registration go to http://www.top-training.net The AZ ToP® Community of Practice meets the 1st Friday, 1-4 pm, starting again on Sept 5th at ACYR, 648 N. 5th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85003 AICP Planners: 14.5 CM for all ToP® courses _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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Fwd: GMCA Sept 26-27
by David Zahrt via OE 01 Oct '14

01 Oct '14

*FRI SEP 26* *Maumee to Toledo, OH* While I waited for the scrambled eggs, I made my lunch for the day. I chose a route north along the west side of the river to Toledo. We’re staying in an abandoned Convent at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. It was abandoned when the elevator stopped working. We have to climb the outside stairs 4 ½ flights to get to the Convent. The facilities are nice. I claimed a room and then went to the local library. In the afternoon we were shuttled to a community garden placed on a 1/8 acre lot in East Toledo—we had to cross the river to get there. The garden is somehow in violation of the city ordinance! Kat led an introductory conversation—around the circle; name and concern prompted by Climate Change—and then we broke into groups to discuss particular interests. The group I chose focused on solar electricity. It’s one thing to get solar panels up; it’s yet another to get access to the electricity produced because of the utility companies. Then a retired engineer gave a short presentation. He has a chart of the way we (human civilization) have used up Mother Earth <www.cs4us.org>. I haven’t looked at his website but I think his prediction is that humanity will use up Mother Earth and we will not be able to inhabit it at that point: Humankind will become extinct! But Mother Earth will rebound. We were shuttled back across the river for dinner offered to us by a church that closed and has become a Homeless Shelter. Talk about humility and gratitude! We were able to walk back to the Convent. At the evening meeting Deb led a workshop focused on the qualities that the participants would like to have the March embody. As I recall she did this workshop earlier in New Mexico. I think she re-instated it because we have some new Marchers. It was meant to be a brainstorm that would be gestalted. It turned into a discussion and lasted until 9:30pm with the need to continue the conversation. *SAT Sep 27 *It was a leisurely morning. I ate breakfast and took a shower. At 9am there was an All-Camp meeting. This one was to allow members of the March to express opinions that they might have been harboring—“I” statements. Then we were to gather at 11am to be shuttled to a BP (British Petroleum) processing plant to demonstrate against the way BP is poisoning the Toledo environment. There were very few locals that joined us in the shuttle. We found a parking lot and there were a few more people there. We Marched back to a place that would put a labeled BP storage tank in the background (for filming). Several local folks made presentations as did several Marchers. At the end of the presentations there were Marchers that collapsed on the ground. The rest of us wore face masks to symbolize the pollution that the processing plant is leaving in the atmosphere. Then we Marched back to the parking lot where one of the local women provided bagels and cream cheese. We ate lunch and shuttled back to the Convent where once more dinner was provided by the Homeless Shelter. There was a Prayer Vigil scheduled at one of the local churches. I missed going with our group and I didn’t know the directions through the neighborhood. Since the neighborhood was said to be dangerous after dark, I decided not to go and returned to the Convent to pack up and get ready for the Sunday March. -- Peace, David

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Fwd: For Friday ST, Oct. 3, from Jaime
by via OE 01 Oct '14

01 Oct '14

Martyrs Day The sun is out but the temperature is going to dip belowzero C for the first time this season in DongBei, so I have the plants getting the full benefit of sunroom warmth withthe windows closed and the TV on. I've been to Tiananmen Square a few times since '89, so thesight of it on TV is not unexpected it being the central tourist attraction ofBeijing, and before the nation go on a travel frenzy for a week at the end ofSeptember, the public TV is expected to run patriotic programs on the occasionof the 65th year of the nation since Mao Zedong declared the Peoples Republicin-charge over the ROC that retreated with Chiang Kai-shek (bka Jiang Jieshi,or Jiang Zhongzheng in Chinese) to Taipei. September 30 marked the first Martyrs' Day in China, and thepublic ceremony that had everybody who is anybody in Beijing gathered aroundthe Peoples Heroes Monument at the Tiananmen Square coincided with decision in 65years ago to construct the monument, the day before the PRC independence. Uniformed members of the Young Pioneers (charming withoutraised Mao red books) sang in winsome attires and smiles, held red and yellowflowers, as the laying of wreaths of flowers was ritually made by members ofthe Peoples Liberation Army followed by the 7 members of the Politburo standingcommittee led by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, who were then followedby all the other dignitaries to view 8-relief panels carved around themonument. The panels tell a visual story of the heroes the monument ishonoring. It actually begins with thosewho fought the British during the Opium War when England waged war against theQing Dynasty when China banned the increasing sale and addiction of thepopulation on the drug. Thus, theheroes' monument goes back to the resistance against the British, whichresulted in the first of what is now referred to us uneven treaties, theNanjing Treaty, allowing opium trade to continue. Hong Kong also was ceded to England,emboldening the Portuguese and Spanish forces in the western Pacific. The US signed in 1843 the Treaty of Wangxia (site now theOur Lady of Fatima Parish in Macau) that accorded US business traders the samefavored status as other foreigners, and to spite the Brits, the Treaty withmoralist America declared the opium trade as illegal. Not surprisingly, the second Opium War brokeout in 1856 lasting until 1860, this time including the French who also demandedfree access to anywhere in China, legalize opium, cancel levies and tariffs,allow coolie trade, and other concessions from cultures convinced of Aryansupremacy, and a passivity that naturally thought of itself as the middlekingdom. The greed caravan was joined bythe US and Russia, and later, Germany and Japan. Heroes of the 1911 revolt get a relief column, resulting inthe Qing's abdication and the declaration of the 1912 Republic. Come next are the soldiers who fought in the emboldenedimperial Japan that humbled the Russian Tsar's Navy, and moved population and technologyto Manchuria it considered as north of the Great Wall and thereby not Chinaproper. Manchuria had the tug-of-warbetween Russia and Japan, led Nippon in the Mukden (now, Shenyang) incident tothe War of 1931, which lasted until the end of WWII in 1945. The eight bas-reliefs include the destruction of Opium(1939), the Taiping Revolution (1951), the 1911 revolution, the May 4thmovement (1919), May 30 movement (1925), Nanchang uprising (1927), war ofresistance against Japan (1931-45), and the crossing of the Yangtze during theChinese Civil War (1949). China has the Qing Ming(literally, clear and bright) festival in honor of ancestors (kin rather than vocation)where the tombs are swept but the Martyrs Memorial Day accent works ofself-sacrifice and liberation, both military and civic. As one of the day's commentator said, "Anation without martyrs is just a collection of mediocre individuals." China's legislature instituted this holidayfor its own soul. The US' commemorates Memorial Day in May of its deadsoldiers, a consequence of its Civil War experience. Russia has Victory Day when it turned Germanforces from occupying Russia. TheCommonwealth of Nations (UK et al) observes November after WWI as its memorialof its honored dead. Japan has made itclear (and rightly so) that who Japan honors in shrines is their business, andhow it tells its story regarding Korea and China is a matter for its ownsoul. Christendom observes All Saints Day and All Souls Day. (Christians were frowned upon when makingprofit off his neighbor, Protestants say with historical accuracy, so theVatican reserved purgatory where their souls stayed, enjoyed profit and still couldpay off their way to heaven!) Birthdays and funerals are given certitudes. They are remembered commonly and privately. China offers a new definition to being amartyr. We can now decide how to offerour own deaths as an integral part in intentionally living our lives. j'aime la vie yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

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Fwd: GMCA Sept 24-25
by David Zahrt via OE 01 Oct '14

01 Oct '14

*WED SEP 24* *Archbold to Delta, OH* Shira didn’t ask me about bike riding. The route had trails again so I stuck to the highway—Hwy 20A. The Campground had another amphitheater. This one was bigger. I chose a spot in the back to put my bedroll. Izzy left the March to participate in his daughter’s wedding. And he’ll also volunteer some time at the Omega Institute in NYC. He’ll join the March in a couple of weeks. Delta has a lovely library. It was on the way to the campsite. It also had several thrift stores. I missed them but learned that JJ stopped in one and got a GPS instrument for his truck. I've been considering the same but haven’t found the right one yet. Most of them require an electrical support—a connection to the cigarette lighter in the car. I don’t have a cigarette lighter outlet on my bike! The afternoon and evening was easy going. John Abbe and several others are still in NYC. I suspect the pace will pick up when those in NYC return. I picked a spot that was near an electrical outlet and Doug was showing a DVD on his computer. So I had to go to sleep with the DVD script. People asked me in the morning “How did you sleep?” I have only one response, “When I go to bed I go to sleep!” *THU SEP 25* *Delta to Maumee, OH* People seemed to be slow in getting ready to leave the campsite this morning. I got on my bike and left. The next campsite was in Maumee at St Paul’s Episcopal Church. We were able to sleep inside the church. I put my bedroll in the auditorium and then found the local library. We were able to use the kitchen and the pastor offered us the opportunity to take showers in the parsonage. There were no camp meetings. It was marvelous to be able to sleep inside. I think Doug, gear truck driver, was using the church library to show more films. Tomorrow is a 9 mi. March to Toledo, so breakfast isn’t until 7:30 and departure at 9 AM. Even so I went to bed at 8:30pm. -- Peace, David

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