We shared our social change inspirations and disappointments and were introduced to Majora Carter and her work greening the South Bronx.
We were impressed with Majora's ability to challenge the viewpoint of the mainly white audience with the need to reclaim and protect public park spaces in ghetto areas, that the inhabitants were as entitled to beautiful parks as residents of affluent areas. She asked Al Gore not to just give money to her projects but to ensure that people like her were placed in advisory and decision making situations. Our discussion identified the way she got people to see problems in a different way but identifying with her personal story and personal charisma.
Some of us wondered if the viewpoint she was presenting needed to be expanded to be more than just humanistic, that we would protect environments for their own sake, not just so human-beings could enjoy them.
At the end of the evening we created an agenda for our next meeting: discuss 5-10 projects, talk about systemic change, review the structure of the evenings and how it is serving our purposes.A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Einstein
Michael Franti and Spearhead's "Time to go" feature on the CD Yell Fire! available from Amazon."Take a Ride" by Brooklyn Bounce is featured on YouTube here.
