Governance With RCS: People Power: Change is important. Effective social doings call for communal knowledge, collective understanding.
I find that when we use the terms "people power" or "power to the people" that we often have a fuzzy understanding of the concept involved. This unclear understanding can be of tragic danger to a people. At times, these phrases seem to have been a call to revolution. From time to time that call has been answered with thought to the fact that revolutions are unpleasant for many and that their aftermath is often long suffering.
Change is. It is important and necessary, often pleasant and healthy, and seldom revolting.
In revolution there is too often too little planning and agreement among us for what is to come next. With revolution comes the need to clean up the nasty mess it causes. after the clean up, is the need to build the new order. That need calls for the common understanding of the plan for doing that building. People are often left with no agreed upon plan and few resources; they are at a loss for what to do!
Revolution can turn out to be repugnant, revolting, sickening, and deadly for too many. A high cost. Revolution has seldom been a good plan. It has sometimes been worse than no plan.
When we want "what is to come next" to be better than what we have now deserves some thought. We need to consider carefully what it is that we want and are out alternatives for getting it. At the very least, we need to consider that much. To be a "we" we need to agree, we need a common understanding of the nature of our common want. We need to carefully consider our alternatives and choose one as our agreed on common way forward. That way may or not be revolution.
We see change; happening is change and doing is change. Doing is less frequent. Doing is done on purpose, it is done consciously. It takes effort to learn to do effectively. We do learn to do effectively and we can learn from our doing. observation helps. Its good to know that we do learn.
For long, many Americans many Americans have been pleased to vote and to "throw the rascals out" when our representatives displeased us. We used our vote to do that. We have begun to learn that voting is not enough. We have been slow to provide candidates to vote for.We have been slow to take part in the nomination process. We have organized to do so from time to time, but have failed to teach our children how to do so. We have proven to be to easy to disorganize. Some of us are practicing organization again, but we have forgotten many of the basics. We still have not lost all of our co-operation skills.
We see that there seem to be plenty of "new rascals" to take place of the "old rascals." Too many of us are unsure of what to do about that an to be unsure of why that happens.
The designers of our Constitution knew a lot about the whats and whys of governance. They also paid a lot of attention to the hows of governance. They condensed much of what they learned and knew into the Constitution we adopted as our Constitution. Some of us participated in that process and learned that the key to working the Constitution was participation. Many wise men over a couple of hundred years admired that document as a practical and beautiful way for us to learn to govern ourselves by practicing the ways it laid out. They saw it as a way to much more. For example: as a way to democracy and a way to adaptive governance.
The people of Venezuela seem to have found that voting is not enough and not only "threw the rascals out" but also "threw the baby out with its wash water." They let themselves get so exasperated that they threw out to much of the old with little consideration how they would institute the new they would need.
I have some memory of the overthrow of the U.S. surrogate leadership in the in the Philippines. The people of those islands decided it was time for a change and chased our man, Marcos, out to U.S. shores. A change was made, but the Philippine people were not prepared to handle the results and had not agreed on useful alternatives. The results are history.
Those 1980s happenings in the Philippines provided little learning for most of those effected. A certain few Americans gained some advantage. Most Americans did not know what happened and did not notice their loss. A very few Philippine individuals felt a little advantage, others felt some satisfaction at seeing Marcos leave the islands, most experienced very little change and no advantage.
To make beneficial changes in governance, an understanding of the present government helps. A wide understanding of common wants and needs is also a help. Another help, which calls for some learning and experience, is knowledge of the kinds of governance available to mankind. A great understanding of the governance of the state and government with which one is most familiar may be vital. We benefit by learning to justly, legally, and effectively use our actual government.
Power with no action is no power at all. That may be good because there are some powers worse than others. Most agree that a power used for good is the better power. Power can be very good when it is handled with skill and understanding. The greater that skill and understanding the better the chances are for a good result. We each have the power to improve both our understanding and our skill. We need the will to learn and to practice the basics of civil co-operation.
All of us can benefit by each of us developing a better understanding of democracy among us.
As for people power, its power may be measured by the will of the people to govern, and of their understanding the nature of governance, A good source of understanding is experience. Experience can include organizing for action and education. Such experience may also be gained in the practice of politics, civics, social co-operation and most democratic social activity. Knowledge of the workings of ones actual government may be vital. Knowledge of the laws and systems of your government is important. That is a clear understanding of the workings of your present government is important to any success. Details are important, but a clear overall vision of the governance is often more powerful. So, in the USA, the ongoing improvement of your understanding of the meanings to be found in the Constitution, the more powerfully effective you may be. Frequent quotations from that document are seldom helpful.
When one is active the ongoing clarification of plans and goals may become critical.
A good beginning for an active citizen is showing up. Also the practice of associating oneself with clear, realistic, appropriate goals and plans can go far in keeping one out of difficulties.
People power, in the hands and heart of those who show up to participate, listen, learn; and then to act with love and respect for themselves, their body politic, and humanity in general, has a great chance for being strong, enduring, and good.
Your deepening understanding, of democracy and the will of the good people around you, can give you effective strength.
Satisfaction can be found in co-operation with to practice governance of one's self and in co-operating with others in your common governance.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate comments to the contents of this post.
RCS
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Governance With RCS: revolution and people power
Most attempts at revolution fail due to lack of understanding of the ways and means of rule. A grave lack is, failing to achieve consensus of what to do after the "bad guys" have been deposed. This is often due to lack of will to use communication skills to better advantage. An ongoing inclusive dialogue seems called for.
Often a resolution is mounted by a coalition of parties. Once the oppressive rulers have been deprived of power, members of the coalition parties lack sufficient skills at cooperation with and compromising with the other groups. So, governance relapses into a state of sickness.
It also seems worthwhile to consider that, that which begins in killing often does not go forth well.