How you can spark Wise Democracy in your local community
In the United States we call our constitutional republic a “democracy.” It’s actually a “republic”, of course. But today even our republic is under threat from a resurgence of authoritarianism. What’s needed isn’t for us to “get back to what our founders intended” as many people say, but to move ahead to actual democracy. Or what we say, "Wise Democracy."
And this needs to happen at national, global and local levels. Each level needs the missing “We the People” conversation to be added to what already exists. We all need to step back periodically and ask ourselves, “How are we doing? Is our system working? Is if fair to everyone?” … And we need to face the big Monster Problems that we are mostly holding in denial— like climate change, the coming explosion of refugees, the mal-distribution of wealth, etc. Also, this conversation needs to be creative and collaborative, not the usual political battling. And in the end, all of us need to reach clarity about what’s going on, what we need, and what we should do.
This next step toward true democracy is surprisingly easy to achieve! ... As outlined in the 8-steps below, a few of us can use the Wisdom Council Process to convene the necessary collective thinking process. And the benefits from this action are immense — 1) for solving the Monster problems; 2) for involving, educating and empowering citizens; 3) and for transforming our system to “wise democracy”. Also, the costs are low, the time frame is quick and the risks are pretty much non-existent.
Consider some example Monster Problems experienced by many local communities … what to do about vaccine mandates? low income housing? deteriorating community resources like the swimming pool or tree-lined entryway into town? school bond issues? the influx of homeless people? new levels of wildlife in town? bathroom etiquette for trans people? the potholes in the streets? inequities in taxing? etc. These kinds of issues can become emotional and divide a community into camps in a power struggle of yard signs, petitions, street demonstrations, hearings, and arguments. Sometimes, consultants are hired, surveys conducted and town meetings are held in the hope that more citizens will get involved, the conversations will become more deliberative and people’s passions will die away. Then, ultimately, elected officials vote yes or no on some inadequate proposal, making the minority angry and ready for revenge in the next battle.
Not good! These efforts fail to satisfy because our system ultimately structures a competition among special interests to decide on policy issues where the money-ed interests usually get their way. The needed set of actions is simple. We call the 8-step process outlined below “The ToBe Project—(for your locality).” These same eight steps can also be used nationally, “The ToBe Project—USA,” or globally as “The ToBe Project —World.”
“The ToBe Project —For your locality” … 8 simple steps
Notice that the ToBe Project has no coercion in it. Everything is voluntary. Each Wisdom Council is just a few random people who meet for a day and a half, make a speech and go away. Where is the risk in this? In over twenty years of experiments and experience, we’ve discovered that this process works. It's a way for a community to resolve Monster Problems, educate and empower the people, bring the community together in a spirit of trust, transform the system of thinking, etc. Also notice … you don’t need anyone’s permission to begin. You need to raise some money but you and your local group of conveners can just start the new conversation aimed at resolving some key issue. As more people join into the conversation, the impact of this process grows.
We’ve discovered that you can do it better than government. Here's a way to avoid the tendency of government to keep the process political, where special interests still battle. Better is to set up a process where.schools, the City, the County, local government departments, church groups and people with minority viewpoints can spark a creative community conversation on their “hot” issues. This is a better, cheaper way to gain citizen involvement, understanding, trust and support than the usual surveys, consultants, newspaper articles, bond drives, town meetings, etc.
The magic sauce in the the ToBe Project is “Dynamic Facilitation.” This style of facilitation uses four charts of Data, Solutions, Concerns and Problem-statements to orient small groups of people to face impossible-seeming issues and achieve breakthrough progress. This approach reliably evokes the heartfelt creative process of thinking we call “choice-creating” (vs. decision-making or problem-solving). While choice-creating includes rational analysis, primarily it supports emotions and intuitions in a way that generates creative shifts and breakthroughs. There is no voting because the only possible result is group unity. The ToBe Project is structured so that as other people enter this new public conversation, the spirit of choice-creating spreads throughout the larger public. For more information see www.WiseDemocracy.org.I
And this needs to happen at national, global and local levels. Each level needs the missing “We the People” conversation to be added to what already exists. We all need to step back periodically and ask ourselves, “How are we doing? Is our system working? Is if fair to everyone?” … And we need to face the big Monster Problems that we are mostly holding in denial— like climate change, the coming explosion of refugees, the mal-distribution of wealth, etc. Also, this conversation needs to be creative and collaborative, not the usual political battling. And in the end, all of us need to reach clarity about what’s going on, what we need, and what we should do.
This next step toward true democracy is surprisingly easy to achieve! ... As outlined in the 8-steps below, a few of us can use the Wisdom Council Process to convene the necessary collective thinking process. And the benefits from this action are immense — 1) for solving the Monster problems; 2) for involving, educating and empowering citizens; 3) and for transforming our system to “wise democracy”. Also, the costs are low, the time frame is quick and the risks are pretty much non-existent.
Consider some example Monster Problems experienced by many local communities … what to do about vaccine mandates? low income housing? deteriorating community resources like the swimming pool or tree-lined entryway into town? school bond issues? the influx of homeless people? new levels of wildlife in town? bathroom etiquette for trans people? the potholes in the streets? inequities in taxing? etc. These kinds of issues can become emotional and divide a community into camps in a power struggle of yard signs, petitions, street demonstrations, hearings, and arguments. Sometimes, consultants are hired, surveys conducted and town meetings are held in the hope that more citizens will get involved, the conversations will become more deliberative and people’s passions will die away. Then, ultimately, elected officials vote yes or no on some inadequate proposal, making the minority angry and ready for revenge in the next battle.
Not good! These efforts fail to satisfy because our system ultimately structures a competition among special interests to decide on policy issues where the money-ed interests usually get their way. The needed set of actions is simple. We call the 8-step process outlined below “The ToBe Project—(for your locality).” These same eight steps can also be used nationally, “The ToBe Project—USA,” or globally as “The ToBe Project —World.”
“The ToBe Project —For your locality” … 8 simple steps
- Step 1 ... Gather “Just Us,” a small group of people who are excited about solving big issues in a spirit of civility. “Just Us” will raise awareness of the Wisdom Council Process as a way to do this. And gain adequate resources to begin.
- Step 2 ... Identify the first Monster Problem to address, possibly through surveying the community to determine the hottest issue, or being asked for help from a local organization like the schools, City or County.
- Step 3 ... Randomly select 10-16 people from the total population into a “Wisdom Council.” This small group is a symbol of all the people. Take their picture!
- Step 4 ... Use Dynamic Facilitation to help each Wisdom Council achieve win/win unity in a short time. Dynamic Facilitation is the secret sauce here because it assures 1) that the Wisdom Council will reach unity; 2) that the unity will be achieved in a creative, collaborative way, not through deliberation, negotiation or compromise. (We call this quality of thinking choice-creating); and 3) that the process will resonate with the whole community.
- Step 5 ... Invite all the people to a live "community meeting,” both face-to-face and online, where the Wisdom Council presents its unified conclusions and the story of how they achieved them. Then the "audience members" break into small groups to share their individual responses. Mostly people will be saying in response, something like "Yes, I think so too” while continuing the conversation in a similar creative spirit.
- Step 6 ... Structure ongoing Wisdom Councils every few months. This assures that the new creative, collaborative community conversation is a structural addition to the existing system, allowing leadership from a wise and responsible “We the People”.
- Step 7 ... Provide for the new community conversation to include ever more people. This may mean extra community meetings and online conversations. As more people pay attention and comment the more leadership comes from “We the People.”
- Step 8 ... Provide ways for people to learn more about the holistic nature of this process, how choice-creating differs from decision-making, the facilitation skills involved and the positive implications for solving our national and global issues as well. (e.g. See the web seminar: Essential Wisdom for Solving Society’s Biggest Issues)
Notice that the ToBe Project has no coercion in it. Everything is voluntary. Each Wisdom Council is just a few random people who meet for a day and a half, make a speech and go away. Where is the risk in this? In over twenty years of experiments and experience, we’ve discovered that this process works. It's a way for a community to resolve Monster Problems, educate and empower the people, bring the community together in a spirit of trust, transform the system of thinking, etc. Also notice … you don’t need anyone’s permission to begin. You need to raise some money but you and your local group of conveners can just start the new conversation aimed at resolving some key issue. As more people join into the conversation, the impact of this process grows.
We’ve discovered that you can do it better than government. Here's a way to avoid the tendency of government to keep the process political, where special interests still battle. Better is to set up a process where.schools, the City, the County, local government departments, church groups and people with minority viewpoints can spark a creative community conversation on their “hot” issues. This is a better, cheaper way to gain citizen involvement, understanding, trust and support than the usual surveys, consultants, newspaper articles, bond drives, town meetings, etc.
The magic sauce in the the ToBe Project is “Dynamic Facilitation.” This style of facilitation uses four charts of Data, Solutions, Concerns and Problem-statements to orient small groups of people to face impossible-seeming issues and achieve breakthrough progress. This approach reliably evokes the heartfelt creative process of thinking we call “choice-creating” (vs. decision-making or problem-solving). While choice-creating includes rational analysis, primarily it supports emotions and intuitions in a way that generates creative shifts and breakthroughs. There is no voting because the only possible result is group unity. The ToBe Project is structured so that as other people enter this new public conversation, the spirit of choice-creating spreads throughout the larger public. For more information see www.WiseDemocracy.org.I