Instead of impressive people attempting to impress each other, I found a group of people willing to be human, willing to be honest and vulnerable in admitting the broken parts of their stories. There were confessions of mistakes and questions and doubts.
[ via To Write Love on Her Arms ]
A homeless guy helped my neighbors move their stuff in. They gave him $20. He said, “Money for a little bit of work? Hey, that’s not bad!”
[ via @Eric Fisher ]
The enemy is not Islam.
The enemy is not Arabs.
The enemy is hate.
[ via MTV ]
[ via interestingly enough, an eHarmony commercial ]
Like any reasonable thinking human, the topic of most interest to me is myself. But, I guess it is that understanding of my own ego that makes all of this “being human” think work? With that in mind, I will redirect my attention towards my own little obsession with understanding others focus on themselves. Which describes my my new found interest in studying influence, motivation, and whatever that other fancy word is for “what makes people do the things they do.” I am currently naive enough to believe the way to change the world, and make it a better place, is to master the art and science of influence.
This is why gaming theory is so interesting to me right now. For better or worse, social gaming has discovered a way to drive people to do things that are not necessarily in their best interest (a.k.a. give someone else money for no tangible ROI) i.e. spend $3 on a “flower” that is nothing more than 2k bits of completely un-unique data.
What if some of the lessons learned by these companies could be applied to social-change and make the world a better place? What if we could derive ways to inspire people to do something else that is not necessarily in their best interest (a.k.a. give someone else money for no tangible ROI) i.e. spend $3 towards the drilling of a water well that potentially saves more than 2k lives.
Fortunately, a lot of the research has already been paid for by the entertainment industry. So, my real task will be discovering a way to get them do do something that is not in their best interest. I guess it is time to go back to studying ego.
Neither revolution nor reformation can ultimately change a society. Rather you must tell a new powerful tale. One so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes the preferred story. One so inclusive that it gathers all the bits of our past and our present into a coherent whole. One that even shines some light into our future so that we can take the next step. If you want to change a society, then you have to tell an alternative story.
[ via Ivan Illich ]
We need others.
Help us discern the hidden ways of love, that we may build a visible community of peace.
Benedictine Daily Prayer
If you know me at all, you know that I believe telling alternative stories will change the world faster than violence or politics.
It is in this spirit that I suggest the person who gives the speech in the video below would serve the world better from a grassroots level, than a political one.
This coincides with a comment by my friend Mark on Emergingleadersnetwork.org that has been making me think:
It strikes me that “alternative” was once synonymous for “non-commercial” in the same way “Christian” was synonymous with “contra-empire” in the first couple centuries. Both were co-opted – alas, alt barely had a chance to exist before getting sucked into the market. Theres a downside and an upside to this, the downside being obvious (a total 180 on the mission), but the upside being wider distribution of the “alt” or “Christian” message.
I seem to recall Augustine wrestling with this in “City of God,” expressing some guilt for Christianity’s alignment with Constantinople/Rome but also some hope for its propagation beyond the limited sphere it occupied at that time.
I do believe that we can change society for the better. I do not believe these changes can or will come from a government, rather from people with broken hearts.