Counting today's entry, I have now made 1,845 postings to this Two Worlds blog. I have not gone back to count how many times I have talked about what "freedom" means, but it must have been a lot of times.
The fact is, we are each endowed with the precious ability to do something unusual and unexpected, and that is, precisely, what it means to be "free." Whatever our situation, we can do something new, something different from what is expected of us. We can even do something different from what we expect of ourselves. Furthermore, we can take such actions at any time. It is never too late. That elemental freedom, available to all of us, is what permits us, within the human world that we create, to bring a new reality into existence, and to accomplish a genuine "revolution."
I love the political philosopher Hannah Arendt because this understanding informs virtually everything she has written. Bob Dylan gets it, too.
Today, in this posting #1,845, let me refer you to an article about the "power to convene." Click the link if you'd like to read it.
The gift of freedom is a gift to us as individuals, but we perfect that gift, and use that power to create a new world, when we act together.
We are in this together. We are not alone.
We should all remember that we have the power to convene!
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2015-01-08/how-the-power-to-convene-can-transform-transition
Let's not talk about "power." That's a coercive concept. Power is a two-edged sword that can be wielded for good or for ill.
ReplyDeleteYes, humans have the ability and propensity to convene. It's how we get things done. Convening is not a good or bad thing, it's just what we do.
Understand, however, that convening works both ways. Corporations are, indeed, the power of convening, as are armed mobs, the militarized constabulary and a standing army.
In this perspective, we have the opportunity to convene with like minded citizens to express our views and bring them into the political arena, where they can take their place in the organization and course of local government.
Rather than the power to convene, I think of it as the right and responsibility to convene. If we don't convene, we give over our place to others who may not agree with our point of view.