OS Topic"3A": Initial discussion of Reviving Congress District by District
for"DandDTrans," a"community of inquiry and action" regarding the role that Dialogue & Deliberation can play in addressing the mega-crises of our time
Initial discussion of"Reviving Congress District by District," now OS Topic"3A"
NOTE: THE CONVERSATION BELOW WAS MOVED FROM +THE MAIN OS TOPIC 3 PAD IN ORDER TO MAKE SPACE FOR DISCUSSION THERE BASED ON THE NEW FRAMING PROVIDED BY INITIATOR LAURA CHASIN ON 1/12.
FEEL FREE TO CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION HERE, AND ALSO TO PARTICIPATE IN THE NEW ONE THAT IS BEING INVITED+ ON THE ORIGINAL PAD
Initiated by: Laura Chasin January 6
Description:Pilot projects to increase voter engagement and congressperson accountability at the district level
Participants making comments below:
Terry Steichen
Ben Roberts
Stephanie Jo Kent
Robert V
Terry Steichen, 1/7: This interests me greatly.
Many/most of the other participants(and most of the NCDDers) focus on facilitation of group decision-making. As I'm sure we agree, D&D techniques can be quite effective in helping a group(including participants representing a variety of competing stakeholders) arrive at decisions. This process typically involves a meeting convened for the purpose of conducting face-to-face discussions with and between participants. Participants often belong to(or at least support objectives sought by) a common organization.
But when you focus on the political realm(voter engagement and politician accountability), things are quite different in some fundamental ways. We're no longer talking about any specific meeting, but a well-defined, pre-existing legislative process. And the direct participants in that process are not the stakeholders, but representatives supposedly representing(only) the public stakeholders(aka, their constituents). In reality, of course, there are other stakeholders(aka, special interests) whose views are represented, albeit surreptitiously(thus giving rise to political corruption).
Thus the challenges faced by the objectives described in your topic, seem to be quite different from"traditional" D&D work.
Do you agree? And if so, how do you approach these particular kind of challenges?
[Ben Roberts, 1/8]. I'm not sure what you describe is necessarily what Laura is thinking about, Terry. If it is, I agree that we're not in standard"D&D" territory. But I can see other possibilities here that might be, e.g. finding groups with initiatives focused on this work--voter engagement and Congressional accountability-- and using D&D to support and enhance those efforts.
[Terry 1/8] - Of course: D&D can be very useful for supporting such efforts. My point, however, is that D&D, per se, probably can't be the driver of either political accountability(see my expanded comment below) or broad voter mobilization.
Agreed. AND, as Tom Atlee, Linda Ellinor and others point out, there is also something about the D&D worldview that has transformational power, e.g the very notion of"collective intelligence" and the faith that, if we do sit down and talk with one another in a"well-constructed container," we can transcend our(apparent) differences and align on meaningful action. That doesn't necessarily address the power structures that ignore"the will of the people," which I think is one of your main points, but it' also places"D&D" in a larger role than simply a set of tools for change agents.
Then there's +the Wisdom Council model, which seems like a direct hit for what Laura is describing(and which +Jim Rough does not consider to be either"D" or"D").
[Terry 1/8]: Yes, there are some approaches(sometimes included in the D&D category) that seek to, in effect, replace the current political system, with one that's arguably improved.
He's launched the"Blind Spot" project(see the video below) with support from Tom Atlee and many other thought leaders in the our community of practice, that needs funding(they're half way to a $15K target). What if we used some traditional D&D to gather a large group to educate them about this possibility and make a funding ask?[Easy, Jim--just musing!]