[Campaignforrealdemocracy] Trust, Ritual & the Encouragement of Voice

[Mark Barrett]

Dear All

One member of Project 2012 mentioned to me at Sat's picnic his concern
that some on this list may feel they want to speak, but get put off.
Reasons (we thought) could be shyness, busyness, or any number of
other reasons; including the fear that they will get shot down for
asking a silly question or making a bold, coontroversial assertion,
which is the last thing we want.

With this in mind, I thought it might be an idea to start a thread on
what makes for a trustful, supportive community spirit, something in
which everyone,  even the shyest can feel safe enough to speak. What
do people think on this?

For me, linked to this is the question of ritual. On Saturday, at the
picnic, there were - spontaneously - at least three main strands to
the ritual: (1) the social part (2) the performance part and (3) the
political meeting part.

I thought it worked quite well as an unplanned process, but some
(especially those unaccustomed to such meetings) may have felt that
the latter part, ie the demcratic meeting bit, was a bit strained.
Even WITH the talking broad bean pod / singing / poetic & relatively
light hearted, humorous approach.. :-)

As a basic starting point on this, I would say that politics is like
that, at least until one has a sense of collective shared aim; it is
as some descibe it "agonic" being necessarily about passion, belief
and sometimes (often / usually) a battle of ideas. Question is, how to
make that process as welcoming and enjoyable for everyone as possible,
especially newcomers, without losing sight of the purpose. This seems
to me an important question, in that it links  to wider, mainstream
society's cultural direction. Perhaps in these days of consumerism,
health and safety regs, society of spectacle, corporate provision and
worship of pleasure (sorry, long list) we are extra sensitive to this
in our culture where we try to avoid discomfort, including especially
the political variety, at all costs. And, thanks to science, we've
became exceptionally successful at this!  Also, as a society we appear
to all hang out with people who think alike, the very opposite of what
is needed in our local communities if we are to move out of our
cultural ghettoes and into a local, multicultural sovereignty.
Perhaps we as a society are also subject to what might be called a
'political infantilisation' due to eg state centralisation and the
telling of history through the lens of triumphant neo-liberalism. All
of these, and much more, are barriers to participation which i would
like to see our meetings online and in person, tackle.

Presumably, in time, whenever a group forms, if it is to last and grow
it eventually becomes easier. Good ways of working together - not to
mention points of disagreement and the enormity of our common ground -
becomes clearer and trust happens?

So my question is, what ideas can we come up with to ensure that this
happens, both on-line and at picnics and more formal meetings, as
quickly and as painlessly - but without losing focus and momentum - as
possible..?

Any thoughts?

Mark