Our Story
This first breakthrough opens the door to exciting prospects for change. In particular, it implies that if we just change the system we can solve all these problems at once! But, it also seems to conflict with a basic principle of modern society, that each person functions independently and is not determined by some system. This dilemma led to questions like, "What is The System?" ... "What is it's influence on people?" … "How did it come into being?" ... "What's wrong with it?" …. "How can we fix it?" … Another breakthrough followed (Breakthrough #2): "The modern global system is embodied in the U.S. Constitution." Over 200 years ago a symbolic representation of "the people" met and designed a system and basically said, "Here's how we'll talk, think, and make collective decisions." ... Whoa! … This breakthrough is another bit of heresy. How could one of the most important leaps forward in human development be causing today's most pressing problems?
These questions suggest that a new Constitutional Convention would be needed to restructure the system and answer these questions. Back then in 1993 Jim started trying to organize one. But his attempts generated anger rather than interest. With the help of friend, Gus Jaccaci, there was another breakthrough(Breakthrough #3). They realized that a Constitutional Convention wasn't needed as much as a "Constitutional INvention." This more limited meeting was held and the question became … "Is there one change to the existing system which could transform it so that it works to solve all these impossible-seeming problems at once?"
On the night of May 9th 1993, Jim was pondering this question. Then in one moment he was struck by an epiphany, (Breakthrough #4) seeing a simple, safe way to fix the underlying system of society and to simultaneously spark a leap forward on the most pressing issues of our time. This change presented itself as an Amendment to the existing system. Now called the "Wise Democracy Amendment" this change is so safe most people think it would do nothing. But actually, it would transform our system of talking, thinking and making collective choices. It provides for the random selection of a few citizens each year to meet, choose issues, co-create unanimous perspectives, and report back in a "state of the union" message. The small group of people is called a "Wisdom Council." It has no coercive authority and disbands immediately after presenting it's shared views. However, as a Constitutionally sanctioned symbol of all the people, it is positioned to facilitate a "We the People" public conversation. It has immense power for facilitating all the people to face the issues, determine new solutions, and provide leadership to government about making substantive change. change.
Jim flew to Washington DC to explain the Amendment and its benefits to Congressional representatives, convened a conference on "Innovations in Democracy," wrote articles and gave presentations. Then in 2002 Jim and Jean Rough and DeAnna Martin founded the Center for Wise Democracy to further this idea. Also that year, Jim published a book describing the Amendment and the Wisdom Council would work: "Society's Breakthrough! Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People."
In 2003, the Center for Wise Democracy helped three citizens begin a public experiment with the Wisdom Council in the Rogue Valley of Oregon. David Wick, Karen Gossetti and Lance Bisaccia independently heard Jim give an interview on local public radio. They volunteered to create a Wisdom Council in their area. This experiment had a very limited goal, basically to give people a taste of how a Constitutionally sanctioned Wisdom Council might work. But this one-time experiment sparked a breakthrough in understanding (Breakthrough #5) that could not have been anticipated. People were deeply moved by the experience and many changes in the community resulted. The process hinted that the quality of thinking, choice-creating, was more important for systemic change than the Amendment. This is another heretical discovery … that just a few people, un-appointed by Congress, the President or the Constitution, could spark "We the People" to come together, transform the System, and solve all these huge problems. Could this really be true, that a few people could spark this level of change?
More experiments indicated that "Yes!" it was true. The Wisdom Council worked because people were engaging one another in the spirit of choice-creating, in a way that everyone can participate. To all eyes the Wisdom Council looks a lot like a Citizens Jury or some other deliberative council, where citizens are randomly selected to weigh the merits of possible options. But, the Wisdom Council isn't presented with options. Nor do they weigh options. Instead these people are dynamically facilitated to creatively seek to solve the difficult issues they face. They think together in a way that breakthroughs and shifts occur naturally. This form of conversation, all the people creatively seeking what's best for everyone, is essential for true democracy.
As our understanding of choice-creating deepened we now make a great effort to distinguish it from decision-making, dialogue, deliberation, negotiation, brainstorming, etc. See the chart of comparison between dialogue, deliberation and choice-creating.
At the Center for Wise Democracy we now we rarely mention the Amendment. Instead, we are proceeding with more patience, helping to organize local Councils and to awaken governments about the exciting possibilities in this process.
Today's greatest progress is happening in Vorarlberg Austria via the Office of Future Related Issues (OFRI). Directed by Dr. Manfred Hellrigl this organization began using individual Wisdom Councils in cities and experiencing powerful results. Then in addition, the OFRI convened "Wisdom Councils" with a predetermined topic. This was a breakthrough (Breakthrough #7) because it allowed governments and citizen organizers to realize many of the benefits of the Wisdom Council within the existing system. This was a kind of heresy for us because the system-transforming nature of the Wisdom Council requires that it choose the issue. And we weren't sure it would work since with Dynamic Facilitation, the people in the meeting need to have energy for the issue. But it does work. And now the Center for Wise Democracy can offer this amazing new set of benefits to governments and concerned citizens with even less risk. We gave it a new name, the "Creative Insight Council" (CIC), as a particular kind of Wisdom Council. The CIC is given a topic, is not ongoing as a structural change, and may or may not report back to all the citizens. The process is practical and accessible.
Before the advent of the Creative Insight Council our work was complementary to the methods of "Deliberative Democracy." But now with the addition of the CIC, we find ourselves in the same arena as the civic engagement tools of deliberative democracy. See the chart comparing these tools.
Today, we offer governments and citizen groups the Creative Insight Councils (where the issue is pre-determined) as a way to involve citizens in solving key impossible-seeming issues. We also offer a structural change in the Wisdom Council process, which is ongoing and where the WC chooses the issue. These tools radically improve particular issues and spark "We the People" into being. At the Center for Wise Democracy we hope that you will join with us in learning more and helping to take these solutions forward.
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