ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - say it again...
So a recurring question came up again yesterday as a result of a brief summary of the piece here on thoughts on strategy that I posted as a reply on an XR Message Board. Ben replied:
Roger, I think your general point about not needing centralised strategy is interesting and food for though. Not sure I agree, but it's interesting to think about - no one has all the answers for this. But regarding the point that "any consideration of what the mainstream media may say or show for example is entirely irrelevant", how do you respond to the criticism that how we come across in the media will be crucial for whether people as yet not part of the movement will come towards us or go away from us, and thus crucial for the possibility of success?
I have never yet found a satisfactory answer to this although it is a position I have long held, probably dating from various more or less successful attempts to get my message through the MSM as an election candidate or spokesperson for some action group or other.
Some thoughts about strategy in the context of an ecologically benign organisation, prompted by looking at the attempts of a group in XR to produce and update a strategy document.
A strategy, in the sense of a document that is produced by one sub-group within an organisation to guide the direction and actions of the whole organisation over a period of time, is usually the a product of an organisation which has a centralised command and control structure. A hierarchical organisation in which the central node (the 'top' of a hierarchy) sets a direction and constraints on the actions of its component parts.
This is not how organisms in nature, in an eco-system, in Gaia, work.
From time to time I come across someone who declares that they are a vegan. I imagine there may be plenty of other vegans who don’t announce themselves as such unnecessarily but they are not a problem.
I absolutely have no problem with someone choosing a particular diet, it may not be my own choice but they are free to eat what they like and I only really need to know if we are eating together and I either need to cook a meal that will meet their requirements or it affects our choice of restaurant.
The trouble arrises when they raise their veganism when it is not really useful or relevant information. This is usually because they want to persuade their audience that the world would be a much better place if only everyone confirmed to their own particular food fetish.
So yes we have multiple problems and the political system doesn’t seem to be able to find a way to respond because it is all too much to cope with.
So perhaps here’s a little idea to break the logjam...
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