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A THOUSAND BRIDGES

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A Thousand Bridges

We are beginning to consider some new ways to bring together the potentials and energies some of us have been working on. This "New Politics Convergence" is one possible way to package and frame these innovative new ideas that seem so essential in a time of national political and economic crisis.

A Thousand Bridges is a design for political activism based on the concept of community, and drawing on the latest research in collaboration and collective decision-making. We are envisioning a national network of interconnected projects and people, linked by "bridges" that we propose or conceive, and which support creative affiliations between different groups and demographic sectors in the USA.

Design concept:

  1. We see something we like in something someone or some group is doing
  2. We identify that "something we like" with explicit clarity
  3. We reach out to them, thank them for their work, and invite their engagement into our broader "thousand bridges community network" process
  4. We build common ground with this group, and they have the opportunity to influence everyone in our network
  5. From all of this, community gets stronger and collective advocacy emerges
Questions:
  1. Who are we talking about -- who would we include?
  2. What do we believe in and want to do?
  3. What tools and methods and concepts do we want to develop or explore?
Answers:

  1. Who are we talking about -- who would we include?

    • Coffee Party people
    • Greens
    • Edgy Obama people
    • Transpartisans
    • NoLabels people
    • Health care activists
    • Election/campaign reform activists
    • Any demographic group pushing for a "seat at the table"
    • "Big money in politics" activists
    • Jim Rough / Wisdom Council people
    • Tom Atlee / Tao of Democracy people
    • Community activists working on political engagement and good citizenship
    • Anybody with a sense that "politics is broken and we need to fix it"
    • MoveOn types who are looking for more bottom-up influence
    • Single-issue advocacy groups wanting to reach a broad demographic
    • Anybody with an inclusive vision of "we the people"
    • Anybody/anything else we can dredge up, you-name-it...

  2. What do we believe in and want to do?

    • Improve the general quality of "democracy"
    • Explore a variety of methods for doing this, including things like Wisdom Councils
    • Build liaison and coalitions with groups working in related areas
    • Look for ways to empower a broad coalition to resist the overwhelming power of "big money"
    • Work on specific campaigns that push forward whatever agenda emerges
    • Explore and develop the basic ideas brought forth here on Shared Purpose by the Principles and Purpose Working Group
    • Develop on-the-street activists concepts (Farmer's Market sign-up, knock on doors, etc.) that engage more people
    • Build a strong internet system that can support the growth of this process
    • Lots more stuff we can think of...

  3. What tools and methods and concepts do we want to develop or explore?

    • Design a powerful and inclusive coalition/alliance concept, that pulls together many groups and at-large individuals who are feeling the kinds of things we are feeling
    • Explore advanced methods in dialog and "civility" -- including "Wisdom Councils"
    • Build a sophisticated internet system that connects the dots
    • Work with existing political groups -- contact them, engage them
    • Develop specific tools and concepts -- online polling and surveys, for example -- possibly connected to online Wisdom Councils...