|
|
|
Thanks for stopping by again. After last week's posts I hope you all are sharing your Citizen Wishes.
Just click on the "CITIZEN WISH LIST tab on this website. You can answer each category individually from here. Forgiveness is golden . . . Share a little kindness. It's contagious.
0 Comments
 First Responder | Definition of First responder by Merriam ...
Definition of first responder. : a person (as a police officer or an EMT) who is among those responsible for going immediately to the scene of an accident or emergency to provide assistance. Although America has largely begun using this term after 9.11, I feel it is appropriate when speaking about those citizens worldwide who are motivated to actively co-create democracies that actually serve the people, not just a few of the people. I am NOT talking a radical revolutionary change. I feel democracies lack a fundamental and easy way for their citizens to participate in the process. I aim to change that. It is a very simple principle but a massively difficult task to implement. Building better democracies is not decidedly the sexiest of topics and to motivate people to engage is darn near impossible. People feel powerless. They feel it's just not possible to change the system. Take heart, we CAN DO THIS TOGETHER. With great power comes increased responsibility. We collectively have the responsibility as caretakers of the future, for the earth and for our children. So now I will share a snap shot of the First Responders in the Citizen Wish List Project that aims to give democracies a simple, fair, transparent way to voice their wants & needs as well as share real examples of what IS working. This last part is especially important for it is a new safeguard to protect the things we are doing right from arbitrarily being canceled. 1. 71% replied 'Yes, I definitely feel strongly that I am a Continental citizen as well.' Nearly 29% said 'I feel neutral about being a Continental citizen as well as a national of the country where they live.' For Americans this may seem like a redundant question. It is easy to take for granted the immense sense of space and community we share. This however, is not the case in Europe or Asia or even South America. Citizens there don't have that automatic feeling of solidarity. Do not automatically assume that because there is the European Union that the people of Europe have a similar feeling about their neighbors as Americans from different states. For this reason it is very difficult to build consensus on issues that cross borders. 2. There are six countries represented by First Responders in these initial statistics of the Citizen Wish List Project. They are: Czech Republic, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Greece & Pakistan. Interesting mix. Not at all the ones I thought may be first responders. 3. 64% were born in the country where they now live, 36% were not. 4. 50% have lived in a different country than where they were born for more than one year, half haven't. This question has a special purpose. This is the magic. The CWL tool itself is the gold, but these folks are the magic for they are the ones who have lived outside of their own culture, seen it with different eyes and spent the minimum amount of time to interact and learn from people of different land, i.e. seen other practices in action. It takes a minimum of one year of total immersion to BEGIN to understand these things because they live it - a whole year of changing seasons, holidays, cycles, etc. 50% is a pleasantly surprising number. Remember though, that this are just the initial statistics and the project was launched in Europe, not America per se. I fully expect to see a shift here as participation grows. 5. The gender mix is approximately 50% male, 29% female and 21% not. What???? You ask . . . Well, I tried to be a bit progressive by giving transgender folks another option. I do not believe the 21% is a realistic figure at all. The reason for this is the way in which the question was formed: 'Are you of the male or female persuasion, yes or no?' There was a drop-down box give an option to choose M, F, or NO. I do think people thought it would be humorous to say no. I don't expect all of this to be smooth sailing and this was a learning experience for me. The question has since been modified. This does not mean however that we want to exclude any transgender person from participating, quite the opposite. Their voice matters too. There is far more to the makeup of an individual than determined by sex. This is more realevant to this project than a person's gender. As the conversations deepen gender issues will reflect those opinions. Being a human being is all-inclusive enough. 6. Age range of #CWL First Responders: All First Responders fall between the ages of 21-65. The breakdown is as follows: 21-30 - 36% 31-40 - 21% 41-50 - 21% 51-65 - 21% Important to know about these numbers is the fact that this project is open to children. We want to hear their voices too. There are two categories; 15-20 and Under 15. Children are growing up faster these days. Parents & teachers, I hope you encourage the children in your charge to take an active part in their government. Democracy is an audience participation sport. It will be more responsive to our needs if more get in the game. Here is the way to do just that. Of course we care deeply about the elders and wish also that they share their wisdom as well as voice their wants and needs. For this reason there is a 65+ category for respondents. There are also a number of control questions designed to help grow awareness for and participation in this endeavor. 7. Would you like to participate by translating this survey into another language? 50-50 split. Thank you! I love you. Awesome news. 8. Nearly 36% of first responders said they would help to spread the word about CWL by submitting a video. Totally awesome, we welcome this with open arms. Video rocks! Please keep your word. The world needs your input in this way too. 9. More than 64% said they would like to connect with other people interested in the #CWL Project. Beautiful. As the platform grows we will build a community forum into our website. For now, comment and connect with each other across the vairous platforms we are using - FB, Twitter, the Good News Revue blog, Pinterest, Aboutme.com and more. We also plan to begin regular Google Hangouts & FB Hangouts on a regular basis. 10. 92% said they would share the link for #CWL with friends, family & colleagues. AWESOME ! This is absolutely key right now until we reach a critical mass of participants for this project. 11. Would you like to make a financial contribution to support the #CWL? 50% of participants said a resounding 'YES, I believe we can effect positive change together. Here's my contribution.' The fact that this project has gotten this far is a testament to the power of sweat equity and a sense of giving back. The truth is though, as it grows it will no longer be possible to handle in this way. The truth also is that as this grows it will become a sizable job creator and volunteer hub as many, many people will be needed to manage the massive amounts of information it will generate across the categories of topics and over time. Remember, the goal here is to implement a new tool to participate in the democratic process. This cannot work on automatic pilot. 12. Wishes for upcoming surveys . . . 'Go deeper Go deeper into each topic', they said! This IS EXACTLY how this is designed to work, folks. First we need to inventory the Wishes & Real Examples, then we begin to go deeper and wider. So many people said 'Thank you', 'Thank you', 'Bless you for doing this.' This was especially heartwarming to hear. It says people are ready for something like this and hungry to find a better way to participate in the democratic process. Many people also said that they consider themselves Global citizens : ) Me too. Many people also share links to programs or articles that show evidence of the REAL EXAMPLES of what IS working. Thank you all for this especially. Finally, I'd like to share a nice quote someone sent in. They said . . . 'Don't forget what Winston Churchill said - ''Many forms of government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.'' So maybe we need something new.' I hope you have been inspired to #Engage4Change. Please jump in right NOW and add your voice to the conversation starters in the Citizen Wish List Project by clicking the link.  The #CitizenWishList Project is about finding the common ground across political parties and dare I say, in spite of them sometimes. There is a whole lotta common ground we are not maximizing for positive change, friends. I aim to prove this to you, with your help of course.
The #CitizenWishList is not only about WISHES but also collecting REAL EXAMPLES of what IS working. The reasoning behind this is simple. Not everything is broken even though the system may pain us in ways we feel powerless to change. We actually ARE doing some things right. Let's make sure we keep doing those things that ARE working. More than that, let's duplicate those REAL EXAMPLES as often as possible, wherever possible. So here are the first statistics about WISHES & REAL EXAMPLES in the initial conversation categories. I will only discuss the breakdown of these two things in this blog post. I do not want to significance of tracking these two items to get lost as this adventure grows legs. . . Please keep two things in mind as you read this. 1. These are the very first responses. 2. The number of participants will continue to grow and these numbers will change AND the conversations will go deeper and deeper and each category will divide into multiple sub-category conversations about more & more specific things. Remember too that YOU have the power to make this happen first by participating yourself, and secondly by sharing this #CITIZENWISHLIST Project with as many people as you can. We even want to hear from children. Afterall, this is for THEM as well as all the children for seven generations to come. Let's be good caretakers in the present in such a way we not only have a WAY to participate , but DO make good decisions about the future. So, having said all that, here are the first stats from the Citizen Wish list Project . . . 1. #CWL4WORK 50% of participants shared WISHES for something they would like to see. 50% of the participants share REAL EXAMPLES of what is working regarding any aspect of WORK. Hmm, interesting. If you listen to the media today, one might expect the numbers sharing WISHES to be higher. Great news is that 50% did not. 2. #CWL4FAMILY 57% shared WISHES for good family relations in any way that the democratic system helps or hinders us. 43% shared REAL EXAMPLES of good family relations. A sign of a healthy population might show far more real examples of what IS working instead of wishes for improvements. More than half did not do that with these initial stats. The good news is NEARLY half of the respondents did share GOOD EXAMPLES of what is working for them regarding Family and all points of our democracies that touch family life. 3. #CWL4EDUCATION 71% share WISHES for something different they would like to see. 29% shared REAL EXAMPLES of what IS working regarding education in all its forms. This is a sad example of reality today. Woe is us. The educational system is showing visible signs of wear & tear. The good news is almost 1/3 of the respondents are showing us examples of HOW. 4. #CWL4TheENVIRONMENT 50% of respondents shared WISHES. 50% shared REAL EXAMPLES of what IS working with regards to The ENVIRONMENT. Frankly, I'm pleasantly surprised by this split. The glass is half full but half is not good enough for me. Is doing something half well good enough for YOU? It's not like we've got another planet we can move to. Be kind to your Mother. 5. #CWL4HEALTHCARE 72% have WISHES : ( 28% shared REAL EXAMPLES of what we are doing right with healthcare. No surprises here. We NEED to do better here. Let's put our heads together. Almost one third of the participants are showing us success stories in healthcare. Let's duplicate those things and expand on them. 6. #CWL4CRIME&PUNISHMENT 71+% have WISHES. 29% have REAL EXAMPLES of what IS working well about security. Crime & punishment really boil down to security, don't you think? We are really not doing too good in this department. More than 70% of the people are not satisfied. We can do better. 7. #CWL4PR&TheMEDIA Nearly ALL respondents gave REAL EXAMPLES of how to have good communications : ) They could have shared WISHES, but they didn't. Remember, these are just the first responders. (That was not a typo. I meant to say first responders because that's what they are. They care enough about the future we create for their grandchildren to act now.) This also means we will surely see this percentages shift as more people participate in the process and learn to use this new tool. 8. #CWL4MONEY 54% have WISHES, 46% shared REAL EXAMPLES about MONEY & good fiscal policy, be it personal finances or any part of that as it relates to how our democracies deal with money. We could certainly move towards more REAL EXAMPLES than WISHES but I was again pleasantly surprised by so many REAL EXAMPLES! So that's the breakdown of WISHES & REAL EXAMPLES in this first look at the statistics for the Citizen Wish List Project. My next post will discuss statistics about what kind of people are participating and why there were some odd control questions. I hope this post is not only interesting for you but useful. Perhaps you are wondering why all the hashtags (#s) and capital letters. . . . This is the way the internet works. Hashtags make information easier to find on the internet. It is also easier for us to manage the conversation categories by building in some organization from the beginning. As for all the capital letters . . .Until more people learn about this new tool for participating in the democratic process, we need to get everyone familiar with the parts. No shouting necessary. I know this isn't perfect. If I waited for a perfect version it would be too late for us to save the day . . . To begin using the #CITIZENWISHLIST Click HERE.  To speak up is not enough for me otherwise the best I can hope for is only a clarification of any problem.
I subscribe to the Dale Carnegie school of business - 'Speak up about a problem but also offer a possible solution.' If you want to know why, read the short page on The Cultural Compass Institute website WHY #CWL . To add to that 'why' I'll add that I believe at this time in history, the 21st century, We the People, are intelligent enough, educated enough, caring enough, & technologically savvy enough to solve any problem we set our sights on with a peaceful resolution. What's more, for the first time in history, we have tools to have an actual conversation about this in an adult way; openly, honestly and all at the SAME TIME ! We need a new way to engage in the democratic process. I have already dedicated five years of my life to this purpose. I am committed for the duration to convincing YOU this is a reasonable way to participate in creating the democracy we deserve. . . a way to make #TheVoiceofThePeople audible. Really, what kind of world do you want your children and great grandchildren to grow up in? We are creating it today. This is where you begin to make your #CitizenWish come true : Citizen Wish List This is a social experiment. YOU are the 99%, start acting like it. The Citizen Wish List Project is a new tool to participate in the democratic process. Think about it for a minute . . .how do we participate in the process now? We vote. How's that working? We write letters to our representatives. Have you lately? Have you ever? We write, share, & sign petitions. That works sometimes. We talk about it all the time with each other. Really, what does THAT help? It's time for each and every one of us to take a vested interest in the this to make some adjustments. This is a new tool and a platform to move the millions of dinner table, coffeehouse and talk radio conversations going on every day to a place we can ALL be a part of them and vote these ideas up or down with a collective voice to define & implement what it is we REALLY need. There is more common ground here Friends & Neighbors than we are being led to believe exists. Transparency NOW. Let's do this together. Peacefully. Respectfully. Of the people, By the people. Let's make decisions so good that seven generations down the road into the future, our Grandchildren will say 'Thank You for being good caretakers and standing up for the things that matter'. These are Global, Continental, State, Regional & Local conversation starters in eight initial categories which are common to all human beings. The categories are: WORK, FAMILY, EDUCATION, The ENVIRONMENT, HEALTHCARE, CRIME & PUNISHMENT, COMMUNICATIONS & MONEY . Good ideas and examples of what IS working will rise to the top and IF, only IF we do this with a critical mass of participants, our collective voice cannot be ignored. Do It NOW. Let's do this together. We are the 99%. START the #CitizenWishList NOW. |
AuthorC.Most, Founder of the Cultural Compass Institute Archives
May 2024
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
