Over at CenterForInquire discussion forum I've found myself using the line, “Unless we are changing minds we are losing,” often enough that it's received a little push back. Since it's a nice summary of where I'm at currently I want to repost my thoughts over here.
"Unless We Are Changing Minds We Are Losing"
What does that even mean?
Basically, it’s an observation of the obvious.
Unless we are enticing people to reevaluate their own assumptions, we are going to continue propagating the same escalating mistakes, leading to yet more of the destruction humans are so famous for.
For the most part people haven’t a clue what’s going on in the greater world around them, it simply doesn’t matter to them. That state of mind needs to change before any constructive changes are possible.
A desire for fact based understanding that’s rational enough to accept new data, recognize and own mistakes, and to learn from those mistakes.
My personal litany would look something like this, of course others have their own perspective, and theoretically in the end we balance each other out, at least in a healthy pluralistic society it would look like that.
A deeper appreciation for the seasons and flow of Earth’s deep time and our evolutionary roots.
The need for a deep down profound appreciation for the Human Mindscape ~ Physical Reality divide, and its cascading implications.
A deeper appreciation of the fact that we are evolved biological animals, kin to all other creatures that ever lived upon this planet.
The fact that it’s Earth that created us,
and we who create our gods.Challenge Jesus the “Savior” with the appreciation for Jesus the prophet (and life coach).
Enrich our imaginations with the appreciation that the Bible is a creation of our own human drama, processed through our own hearts, minds, & souls.
…
Enunciate a woman’s Right to Self Defense, and sovereignty over her own body.
Acknowledge that sad truth that, when push comes to shove, a woman’s life is more important than the unborn Potential Person forming within her.
A living fetus, that is a human potentiality, takes on the mantel of personhood during its first breaths of life.
Abortion and earlier infanticide are sad but unavoidable facts of human history.
…
Seriously confronting our climate & resources problems requires an internal appreciation that we must learn to accept doing with less.
We can’t fool mother nature.
But that’s me, what about others? Here’s where my suggestion for a
Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum. comes into play. 
Unfortunately seems like less and less people are into discussing ideas, so there’s that.
I did notice today that some poll finally showed trump’s 35% diehards has cracked, and slipped to 25% - that’s big & promising, if true, that’s why it’s double important for Democrats to try doubly hard to engage with right wing citizens who’ve been fed way too much KoolAid.
Their state of mind literally is the product of strategic brainwashing and we ought to try confronting that with a certain degree of compassion. Even as some of their ideas are absolutely reprehensible and objectionable and destructive.
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Democratic Party Online Discussion Forum
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Comment to the above
L.:
I think the lists of beliefs are out there.
It’s not about the lists, it’s about people actually discussing them.
L.:
I don’t like political platforms for the reason that it can appear I support the whole platform because I voted for one person. That’s why I emphasize getting to know people who think differently, and growing some mutual respect, then listening can begin, and change can happen.
We can’t ignore that the political system rules our lives on many levels, because it isn’t perfect or neat enough for polite company is a poor excuse to abandon and ignore it.
I’m all for all the nice discussion groups you can form, nothing wrong with that, except that it simply isn’t enough.
Heck the formula is as simple and straight forward as making compost*, nothing has changed in ages: A healthy democracy demands an informed and engaged electorate.
The Democratic Party needs to grow cohesion within the Democratic Party, every bit as much as it needs to figure out how to reach out and better explain themselves. That's why I think a Democratic Party Discussion Forum would be a great place to inform, network, build ideas, reengage the grassroots roots and so on.
Democratic Party Discussion Forum - think about it.
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