Purposeful conversation–possibilities and risks
What is possible from purposeful conversation?
New directions emerge; new leaders emerge; intricacy is addressed with appropriate intricacy; engagement is engaged; activists are created; people will meet the challenge.
What are the risks?
People might come up with some ideas of which we do not approve. They might take us in a whole new direction. They might dismiss one leader, or cause another to withdraw. They might spread the dissatisfaction with the the way things are. They might make the community work for everyone. They might result in the tyranny of the majority over the minority. They might give a soapbox to cranks. They might turn out a whole new constituency with whom our leaders are not prepared to deal. There might be so many ideas and so many people running off in all directions that we have anarchy (as if we could control it anyway, or as if it isn’t already doing this). The group might not go in the direction we want. Leaders might emerge who go in a different direction from ours. Some of the present problems will be solved only to create new problems, more intricately interwoven with what is good than our present problems.
But read the two lists again: is either inherently good or bad, but we make it so?
:- Doug.
You can leave a response, or