Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by jamed latiore on July 4, 2012 at 3:07pm

I have gotten pages that tell me to sign in--and there's no place to sign in. I have listened to people talking endlessly about their personal experiences-then we're out of time. And we don't seem to have reached a truce in the gender wars. I have yet to hear anyone say anything about what we need to do to make any difference in stopping the death spiral of American "democracy." Everybody just seems to have complaints. No wonder outsiders wonder what Occupy is all about! Maybe I haven't joined the right groups. Kasha and I did participate in several sessions devotee to non-violent communication. That was quite good, but only about three people were on the call with us, and the hosts were having a hard time figuring out what to do with such a small group. I felt sorry for them.
For what it's worth. here are a couple of suggestions of changes we should seek:

1. SMALL. Direct democracy is difficult in a nation of 300 million people. This involves community design as well as political units. We need to be able to walk to work and shop, Otherwise, we're tied to an automobile culture and a highway culture. See Schumacher's "Small is Beautiful."We were part of the NatGat working group, and were told that the visioning process would start with groups of three, whose visions would be merged with those of similar groups, all the way up the line. Haven't heard anything of this today

2. CONSTITUTIONAL OVERHAUL. Many of the things we're against are actually legal and Constitutional. There is nothing unconstitutional about capitalism. Part of the overhaul should include elimination of the Electoral College and the United States Senate.

3. LEADERSHIP. We need to devise a form of leadership consistent with the principles of direct democracy. The amount of time required to decide anything in Occupy is a handicap, as is the lack of responsibility for following up on whatever is is that's decided.

4. CONTINUITY. The National Gathering should take it upon themselves to designate a working group whose purpose it is to examine the proposals, establish some sort of priority among them, and recommend ways of acting upon them.

Thank you. James Latimore (Occupy Asheville)

Act/Live As You Want The World To Be

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ben Roberts on July 5, 2012 at 7:00am

Sorry your first experience in the Cafe was less than optimal, James.  Please accept my apologies.  I know that you and Kasha did connect with us eventually yesterday, as well as on previous days.  I hope you will stick with us and perhaps help to make our processes more easily accessible and our conversations more satisfying.

Did you get a chance to look at the final output from yesterday?  Here it is.  I'm curious ti hear if you see some indication that your contributions infused the Declaration in some fashion.

By the way, I will be in Asheville for the DIY Economy event Mycelium and other groups are putting on from 7/15-7/17.  Maybe we can connect, especially if I can get down there a bit early.

• ▶ Reply