Bulletin: 7 Sep 2012: Facebook or Face-to-Face — Divisive or Inclusive?
With the recent U.S. political conventions dominating the news, there have been many opportunities to debate the value of government, the balance of individual endeavor (I built it) and cooperation (we built it), and whether a focus on the collective wellbeing of every person naturally results in the wellbeing of each one. While these debates rage on, I prefer the clarity that results from bringing these questions out of the ether and closer to home.
For a long time now it has mattered deeply to me to make choices wherever practical in the direction of openness, inclusion, and collaboration. Why? Because experience has demonstrated over and over that this is the most effective way to produce the best results for all concerned. But only if we're interested in sustainable results, in cocreating real change — change that people feel they are a part of and want to continue to move forward together and build upon. If we are, then inclusion is key.
In the last three months I have so much enjoyed posting practical tips and little gems of wisdom on the CoCreating Clarity Facebook page that I omitted to write a bulletin. What was that? You didn't even notice the lapse? ☺. Many who read my bulletin do not use Facebook and didn't even know they were excluded. Yet being on Facebook does not necessarily make people feel included either, May 2012 Atlantic Magazine article "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?" —
"Within this world of instant and absolute communication, unbounded by limits of time or space, we suffer from unprecedented alienation. We have never been more detached from one another, or lonelier. In a world consumed by ever more novel modes of socializing, we have less and less actual society. We live in an accelerating contradiction: the more connected we become, the lonelier we are. We were promised a global village; instead we inhabit the drab cul-de-sacs and endless freeways of a vast suburb of information." What a conundrum!
We work hard to have a home, to be able to close the door on the world and call it our own secure place; and yet we often feel more separate and lonelier than ever and unsafe to boot. A 2010 Pew Internet study found that less that 20% of Americans knew all their neighbors' names. So how do we begin to build 'a more perfect union'? The final stages of the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremonies gave me several delightful clues! Watch just the last nine minutes of this video — from 15:50 on — you'll see what I mean. In summary:
- Acknowledge with gratitude the many who built the infrastructure around us (500 who built the stadium).
- Acknowledge with gratitude the legacy of the many in the past (250 British Olympic medalists since 1948).
- Pass the flame with gratitude from a single heroic figure to the group (7 young athletes).
- Include the young people — consider the children — and we won't ever go far wrong.
- Anyone in the group can hold the flame at any one time.
- Take turns leading the group — everyone gets tired; honor the need to rest.
- It's not a sprint, it's not a marathon, it's a relay race — each person is key.
- Share the flame — light the flame for each — nurture each one in the group as you move forward.
- Invite every one in the larger collective to participate (204 nations)
- Each one contributes a valuable piece of the whole (204 copper petals of the cauldron)
- A small group can ignite large-scale change — worldwide change! (204 flames lit from 7)
- The result is CoCreation of unique and lasting value — inclusive and sustainable.
And there it is — a winning strategy for yourself, your family, your neighborhood, your country, and perhaps the world. Choose for inclusion, start with you — ♥ trust yourself ♥ — and go from there. You won't be disappointed!
Enjoy other recent Bulletins from CoCreating Clarity