2) Solving NATIONAL issues

The U.S. has "Monster Problems"

Monster problems are big societal problems that seem impossible-to-solve but which must be solved. Some of them are:

Increasing polarization, lack of listening, information silos, separate versions of "truth";
Radicalized people, conspiracy theories, rage without evidence, calling for violence;
Pandemic, fear of government mandates, distrust of science;
L-curve distribution of wealth and power, oligarchy;
Increasing corruption, special interests dominate the public interest;
Unraveling of public institutions —fake news, rage radio, foreign manipulation of elections, breakdown of the rule of law, threats to voting rights, captured agencies/revolving doors for executives, etc.
Lawmakers stuck in partisan gridlock, incapable of agreeing even on the idea of democracy, avoiding difficult issues;
Declining trust throughout society ... e.g. in government, the courts, science, one another;
Systemic racism, mysogyny, prejudice, violence;
Destruction of the commons ... e.g. aquifers, forests, trust in government, spirit of community;
Our system is destroying our people ... e.g. limits our thinking, the food system builds unhealthy bodies and destroys soils, it promotes over-consumption;
.... and more

All of these issues are symptoms of a deeper issue: Our national System no longer fits our situation. It is based on competition in a time when collaboration is needed. The competition-based politics and economics can only work toward the Public Interest if people and organizations are in-dependent. But as we become more inter-dependent, "Special Interests" dominate the "Public Interest". Even worse, in our System there is no unified sense of the Public Interest.

Let's make a WISH ... how might we solve ALL these "Monster Problems" at once?

Please, make a wish as big as you possibly can. One that results in us solving all these problems.

I wish ...........................................................................................................................

Below is what we call the "Monster Wish" because ... This Wish encompasses most all of the other wishes that people express. It provides for solving almost all the national "Monster Problems". Plus it's a way to transform the existing System to a higher level of functioning so we don't create these problems in the first place.

The "Monster Wish":

That we (just us) can convene a new national conversation where all the people get involved; where we face each monster issue collaboratively and creatively and achieve breakthrough progress; where the people co-create a shared perspective on what is happening, what we want and how to proceed; where this new “We the People” conversation sparks our System to become a "wise democracy" with holistic economics; where We the People provide wise leadership to elected officials, corporations and the culture; and where all individuals gain increased awareness, understanding, freedom, empowerment and consciousness.

This "Monster Wish" is achievable

Actually, the Monster Wish is not too hard to achieve, given that a few people with adequate resources understand this new-paradigm approach to whole-system change. (See the 5 part video series: "Essential Wisdom for solving society's biggest issues".) And if we can achieve it, most all the "Monster Problems" start going away. First, "we" face these problems one at a time and achieve breakthrough answers. And second, with this new "We the People" conversation added to what we have, we live in a new System (of governance and economics), which no longer generates the Monster Problems.

Basically, we (just us) can spark the Monster Wish into being by applying the Wisdom Council Process to our nation. This facilitates the essential missing all-inclusive "We the People" conversation. And it structures this conversation so that a unified collective intelligence emerges instead of the usual collective stupidity.

Below is a short 9 min video briefly describing the actions needed to set up a national Wisdom Council Process. This talk was given on 1/25/17 to the Democrats of Spokane WA, just after the installation of Donald J. Trump as President of the U.S. However, because this strategy is "trans-partisan" the talk could just as easily have been given to the Republicans.

To understand more deeply the steps involved and how the Wisdom Council Process can achieve the Monster Wish please see the 5-part video series "Essential Wisdom for solving society's biggest problems".

Achieving the Monster Wish "solves" the Monster Problems

Increasing polarization, lack of listening, information silos, separate versions of "truth" ... The Wisdom Council Process facilitates a new kind of public conversation where people naturally listen to one another and co-determine "what is truth". Here's a way to overcome the information silos.
Radicalized people, distrust of science, conspiracy theories, rage without evidence ... This process, choice-creating, is a healing process. People value different views and come together on a shared perspective of what we all want.
Pandemic, fear of government mandates, debilitating conspiracy theories ... This is not government being coercive. It's "We the People" providing responsible leadership to government. This is all of us figuring out together what's best.
L-curve distribution of wealth and power ... Our current System is like the game of Monopoly: One player wins and everyone else loses. What's missing is the spirit of national collaboration and community that makes the current mal-distribution of wealth deeply embarrassing.
Increasing corruption, special interests dominate the public interest ... Currently Special Interests compete while there is no clear sense of the Public Interest. A national Wisdom Council Process creates the missing voice of "We the People" and a clear expression of the Public Interest. "We the People" provides responsible leadership to elected officials, corporations, NGO's and the culture.
Unraveling of public institutions —fake news, rage radio, foreign manipulation of elections, breakdown of the rule of law, threats to voting rights, etc. ... This is about establishing a new public institution, "We the People", where We are capable of reestablishing our public institutions, including the Constitution.
Lawmakers in gridlock, incapable of agreeing on the idea of democracy, avoiding difficult issues ... Quality leadership cannot come from the partisan battle. When all the people face difficult issues and come together on what's needed .... as "We the People" to provide responsible leadership. This is a higher form of democracy, what we call "Wise Democracy."
Declining trust in one another and institutions ... e.g. government, the courts, science ... When the people face difficult problems and come together on what's needed, this builds trust throughout the nation.
Systemic racism, mysogeny, violence directed at minorities ... Our current System is rooted in "decision-making", which literally means "cutting away" the minority. On the other hand a national "We the People" choice-creating conversation values diversity and minority people and positions. It's a new kind of thinking at the heart of our System.
Impending destruction of the commons ... e.g. aquifers, forests, trust in government, spirit of community ... The Tragedy of the Commons happens because we are divided into self-interested parties with essentially no collective thinking process. This collaborative creative thinking whole-system thinking process is needed to responsibly manage the commons.
Our system is destroying our people ... e.g. limits our thinking, the food system builds unhealthy bodies and destroys soils, it promotes over-consumption ... Together we are all riding in an airplane on auto-pilot, heading toward a mountain. Obviously, We need to get in the pilot's seat and start steering responsibly.

Plus, additional benefits are immense

We can use the Wisdom Council Process to achieve an "ongoing whole-system choice-creating conversation". Achieving this kind of conversation is even more beneficial than achieving the Monster Wish. Here are some of the additional positive benefits:

We shift our thinking ... from a basis in judgment (decision-making) to a basis in creativity (i.e. choice-creating), from an emphasis on self-aggrandizement to service.
We shift from a "constitutional republic" to being a "Wise Democracy" ... where "We the People" are ultimately in charge.
We heal deep divisions and trauma ... Choice-creating is a trauma-healing conversation. (See the archived video "Healing Trauma and Dynamic Facilitation" (2009)
We start aligning our actions with our values ... e.g. to reshape our budget priorities
People's work lives will change ... Currently many people have jobs with little real meaning, focused on profits vs. serving the public interest. Finally, through this process comes new meaning in work.
We shift our economics from capitalism to "ToBe-ism". This doesn't replace capitalism but evolves it forward, given that we are all pursuing a shared vision and collaborating to achieve that aim.
etc.

We already know this process works at large scale

This short (5 min) video (in English) describes one national Wisdom Council experiment in Germany. Note: German-speaking governments refer to the Wisdom Council as "Bürgerat" (i.e."Civic Council")

Civic Council Project 2016 - German Ministry for the Environment - BMUB from Martin Rausch on Vimeo.

The Citizens Amendment ... the history of this idea

During the years 1993 to 2002, we thought a U.S. Constitutional Amendment was needed to establish a legitimate "We the People" for the nation. This "Citizens Amendment" was the focus of the 2002 book by Jim Rough: "Society's Breakthrough! Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People". ... But after 20+ years of experiments and adoptions of the Wisdom Council Process, especially by governments in Europe, we now know that the "magic sauce" for establishing a legitimate "We the People" lies in our ability to reliably facilitate "choice-creating" at large scale. Ideally, the Constitutional Amendment would still happen. But it should emerge naturally as "step 8", not be sold as "step 1".

Note: It is difficult to find any risk to this strategy. Basically, we just gather a small number of random people and dynamically facilitate them over a weekend to come to unity. They give a speech and they go away. And then in a few months a new group is gathered and the process is repeated. Where is the risk? ... But obviously since this process transforms the System and the people in it, just hearing about the idea can feel risky and threatening even before any concern is identified. But the real risk is to assume that our current system is viable and to continue down that path. It's essential that this new "We the People" conversation be added to what we have.

Additional resources

Video Seminar: "Essential Wisdom for Solving Society's Biggest Issues
Video: ... Healing Polarization in Society (4min)
Handout ... "How to Fix America ... And Become a Real Democracy"
Chart: Seven strategies to achieve the "Ideal of Democracy" in America
Short video on “How to reform democracy”
The book “Society’s Breakthrough! Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People”