PORTAL
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From: Gary W.
Date: Thursday, December 25, 2008, 1:48 PM
Subject: Portal
Reply to: 266323
ID: 266325

---- On Thu, Dec 25, 2008, Bruce Schuman wrote ---

"...This Earth Charter, as it has been conceived and presented to the world -- is a "monolithic" document. It is 4 pages of tightly knit very compact principles and statements -- and to "sign the Earth Charter" -- you have to agree with all of them. You can't pick and choose. So, if you support 90% of those statements, but are not sure about 10% -- there is nothing you can do. It's Yes or No, period. So, most people who want to sign this, but who might have some problems with a few points, simply go ahead and sign it any way. Their heart might not be in it, but they like the big picture, they like most of it, they have to go along....

The way I see it -- this way of framing a large agreement -- is "old paradigm". It's too massive, and the yes/no option is too simple. The real-world way a massive coalition forms -- is not that "everybody agrees on every point". It's that most people agree on most points.

Our approach, through this Portal -- totally supports that. Everything is an independent unit, everything supports local freedom.

So -- in our approach, you can agree with as many of the points by the Earth Charter as are comfortable for you. And you can also agree with tons of other things that feel right to you...

"This way of doing it -- allows us to hook all this stuff together -- Oneness plus Earth Charter -- whereas, in the old way, they could not connect the Oneness ideas, because those were outside the range of this ecological politics. In that world -- we have ecology in one box, and spirituality in another box. People in one box might not like the people in the other box. But in our Portal -- everything is total freedom. Pick what you want, keep moving..."

Hello Bruce and all,
Like bad news in the media most attention is placed on the disagreements so it seems like there is more of it than there actually is.

Disagreements on minor issues can be a roadblock to working with others on the things that are agreed upon so I agree that the all or nothing approach is not good.

I ran across this jewel of a quote the other day that fits in here I believe.

"Imagine what a harmonious world it could be if every single person, both young and old shared a little of what he is good at doing."
-- Quincy Jones

"Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existance."—Eric Fromm

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