Harmonizing Points of View, or, Check Out A New Blog!
My jaw is tense and my stomach is churning as we approach our national election. It should be my zenith of partisanship, and I'm hoping desperately that our side will win, and their side will lose.
I'm just not going to back down on that right now. But in general I do believe in harmonizing as many points of view as is possible without compromising on a couple of basic principles--(basically, truthfulness and compassion)--and I hope to hit those notes more often after the election. Given the number of switch over endorsements on our side, I think that's a reasonable goal.
Whether we're concered with local communities, national politics, economic markets, science, literature, religion, or just human relations, I have always believed passionately in the power of conversation to make things better*. I don't just mean the exchange of words. I mean honest exchange of ideas and understanding, such that our actions are always informed and not driven by mere inertia. One of my best friends will be giving a talk tomorrow at our high school about diversity, and reading over his notes has renewed my commitment to the ideal of learning from others without losing one's sense of self. The New Media Revolution will only become real if we think hard about making the conversation both effective and inclusive. Citizen participation doesn't have to bring the caliber of the discussion down. So I point you to a new blog--a friend of Ultracasual's and therefore a friend of mine! Well, sort of. But very interesting! Please check out The Participant, by Joe Stange. He points out a 1999 book/website, The Cluetrain Manifesto, about the need for corporations to adjust to the newly conversational markets.
(*I'll mail or give a chocolate bar to the first person who can find one of the oldest things written by me sitting on the web, which ends in emphatic praise of conversation. Sorry, if you went to college with me, you can't play. Send your guesses and mailing address to Saheli [at] Gmail dot Com)
