You are invited to a Community Conversation on Immigration
Harrison Owen
hhowen at verizon.net
Mon Aug 2 08:03:12 PDT 2010
Whether you call it migration or immigration (same root), Michael is right,
it is hugely complex. The mistake many make in the US is to reduce the
situation to a simple "us and them." This approach has the obvious advantage
of making the solution a simple one: eliminate them. But as Christine points
out "immigration" is only one side of the ongoing historical process of
"migration" as differing peoples swirl and mix to form new peoples. So it
has been for millennia, and when it stops I think the story of Homo sapiens
will have reached its final chapter. The wonderful thing is that the total
system will eventually find a productive accommodation (self-organization)
but it must have the necessary time/space in which to do its job. Enter Open
Space.
I think one of the many things we have learned in The Middle East, which is
often reduced to the simplistic "Palestinians vs Israelis" is just how
limited and limiting that characterization really is -- suggesting
simplistic solutions which can never work. In truth the Palestinians are a
complex body of interconnecting and competing peoples -- and the Israelis
are the same, perhaps more so. They may all be Jews but there the similarity
ends, having come (migrated) from all over the world, each bringing with
them their special understanding of what it means to be Jewish. And those
understandings are often in violent conflict. I remember one night in a bar
talking to a (Jewish) Settler, who after several beers said, "Thank God for
the Palestinians or we (Jews) would kill each other."
Anybody who claims to understand the minute details of the situation to the
point that they could adequately prescribe a solution is smoking a
controlled substance, I think. To be sure many people try, and that effort
has great utility if only to generate some short term actions to reduce the
pain. But at a broader level over a longer time the level of complexity is
more than sufficient to boggle the brightest mind(s). This could be cause
for a massive state of depression, but I don't think that is necessary for
there is an alternative. Allow the system to do for itself what we, in our
finitude, are unable to do. And we can be quite proactive about all this.
Open Space whenever, wherever, with whomever, about whatever, as often as we
can! Focusing on "immigration" as a theme might be a starting point, but I
doubt it will be lastingly effective if only because it is much too narrow.
The issue at hand in the integration and re-integration of all aspects of
life -- all of it. Educating children, fixing potholes in the street,
economic development, etc, etc.
Doubtless the situation is critical, but that has always been the case. I
find it helpful to remember that despite all the things that have gone
wrong, are going wrong, and will go wrong in this world -- we are still here
to complain about how bad things are. Seems like something is going right.
Harrison
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Dr.
Potomac, MD 20854
USA
Phone 301-365-2093
www.openspaceworld.com
www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Michael M
Pannwitz
Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 4:53 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: You are invited to a Community Conversation on Immigration
Dear Christine,
I have a hunch that critters in general do respond to their environment
in a "natural" way. Human critters with complex notions that are backed
up by space-reducing organisational constructs and myriads of "givens"
seem to have lost their "natural" way of responding. So, one approach
(come to think of it, none other comes to my mind) is to do exactly what
your spark initiative does: expand the space for selforganisation to
unfold more freely.
The details on what swirls around "migration" vary vastly (complex) and
certainly involve various players (diversity)...what I see in Berlin is
probably not much different regarding the process: always quick fixes
trying to keep everything under control (attempting to shut down
selforganisation)...and at the same time lots of stuff that thrives
especially in families, neighborhoods, schools, businesses where those
entities act in the way complex adaptive systems do.
Opportunities for Open Space abound...you can see it when you go to
> http://www.openspaceworldscape.org/
zoom in on Berlin, click on the pin and then on "start search" to get a
list of 183 os events from all those areas mentioned that have taken
place in this city...the most recent ones give you an immediate flavor
of whats going on
--Healthy work conditions-We work on it
--Children of Alcoholics-Help comes in many forms
--Yes we can! Active participation of young people in suburban and
marginalized areas
--Opportunities for humanitarian projects for Nazi-victims
Keep up your stuff in Arizona!
mmp
Christine Whitney Sanchez schrieb:
> Thanks for the affirmation, Michael.
>
> I often think of this issue/opportunity as migration - a naturally
> occurring way that humans and critters respond to their environments.
> It's the nation state thing (and in Arizona's case the state state
> thing) that has contributed to the confusion around how to respond to
> the inherent need to move around.
>
> My husband's family (both the Mexican-American part as well as the
> Native American part) lived in what is now Arizona long before this area
> became a part of the United States, much less Arizona. There was more
> open space then, although folks were still territorial.
>
> What's the scenario in Germany? And elsewhere?
>
> Warm wishes from monsoons in Phoenix,
>
> Christine
>
> Christine Whitney Sanchez
> CWS - Collaborative Wisdom & Strategy
> 2717 E. Mountain Sky Avenue
> Phoenix, AZ 85048, USA
> +1.480.759.0262
> www.christinewhitneysanchez.com
> www.innovationpartners.com
> www.promiseusa.com
>
> On Aug 1, 2010, at 3:46 AM, Michael M Pannwitz wrote:
>
>> I know your event will spark all kinds of productive stuff!
>> All the best
>> mmp
>> PS: got me sparked to think of what we have in Berlin (same challenges
>> as in Arizona, I think), passionate people abound....
>>
>> Christine Whitney Sanchez schrieb:
>>> Dear Arizona friends and friends of Arizona,
>>> If you are in Phoenix on August 19, 2010, we hope you will join
>>> us for a *Community Conversation on Immigration *from 6:00
>>> to 9:00pm
>>> at the Rio Salado Community College Conference Center.
>>> Take a look
>>> at the attached flyer for details.
>>> I'm part of a group of passionate Arizonans who believe
>>> this time is
>>> full of potential for our state. Our name is *Collaborative
>>> Spark* - we are hosting a series of community
>>> conversations designed
>>> to create a safe and neutral listening and learning
>>> environment to
>>> help us understand one another, establish common ground and
>>> transform ideas into action. Collaborative
>>> Spark is honored to be facilitating the August 19
>>> Community Conversation on Immigration in partnership
>>> with <http://www.projectcivildiscourse.org>Project Civil
>>> Discourse
>>> <http://www.projectcivildiscourse.com/>, which is a special
>>> initiative of the Arizona Humanities Council working in
>>> collaboration with organizations from around the state to
>>> provide
>>> opportunities for the public to participate in trainings,
>>> forums,
>>> and special events that share, model and provide insight on
>>> collaborative problem-solving skills.
>>> *Registration* <http://www.projectcivildiscourse.org/> is
>>> free -
>>> seating is limited. We invite you to bring your friends
>>> and a rich
>>> diversity of opinions, backgrounds and questions. Please
>>> forward to
>>> your networks!
>>> Warm wishes from muggy (but cooler) Phoenix,
>>> Christine
>>> Christine Whitney Sanchez
>>> /CWS - Collaborative Wisdom & Strategy/
>>> 2717 E. Mountain Sky Avenue
>>> Phoenix, AZ 85048, USA
>>> +1.480.759.0262
>>> www.christinewhitneysanchez.com <http://www.christinewhitneysanchez.com>
>>> www.innovationpartners.com <http://www.innovationpartners.com>
>>> www.promiseusa.com <http://www.promiseusa.com>
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>>
>> --
>> Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
>> Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
>> ++49-30-772 8000
>> mmpanne at boscop.org
>> www.boscop.org
>>
>>
>> Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 398 resident Open
>> Space Workers in 69 countries working in a total of 141 countries
>> worldwide
>> Have a look:
>> www.openspaceworldmap.org
>>
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--
Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
++49-30-772 8000
mmpanne at boscop.org
www.boscop.org
Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 398 resident Open
Space Workers in 69 countries working in a total of 141 countries worldwide
Have a look:
www.openspaceworldmap.org
*
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