Welcome!, I would like you to join me, for a moment, to feel into our common future!
. . .
When you look to the world, what do you see?
As you make choices, where do you focus your effort and attention? On the things you enjoy? On the aspects of life that represent importance and meaning? Or on the arenas in which you feel capable and accomplished? How much do you look to bigger pictures of the world we inhabit – scientific, cultural, philosophical, or spiritual?
When you look into the world of politics, into government, where so many human elements merge and collide, where big pictures are so necessary and yet so often at odds with each other, are you interested? Are you engaged?
And when you see the way our leaders make big decisions, and how they handle the important work of bringing people and perpectives together, do you feel satisfied or even inspired? Empowered?
Or do you find that politics seems distant, almost like something unfathomable that happens in another time and place? Perhaps you feel uncomfortably close to the political process and you want that distance, despite the real consequences at stake.
I know many people who experience distaste and dissatisfaction in response to politics. A friend recently applauded my interest in the future of governance, and even as he encouraged me, I noticed that he spoke with remove, and his words fell a bit flat. I was left with the impression that though he appreciated that I want a change to happen, he ultimately felt disillusioned or up against a behemoth too big to move.
This kind of sentiment is common. Many people feel that they lack ownership over the process of governance, that meaningful participation is ephemeral at best. Many of us want things to be different, sometimes in distinct ways, sometimes just as a feeling, but we often think that there isn’t much we can do. Some people I know even feel desperate and jaded about where we are headed; something is definitely going wrong, that no one can, or no one will fix.
Does this describe an experience you know? Is it your own experience? A friend’s? How many people do you know – especially sophisticated and well-intentioned people who might do so much good – who have given up on
politics and government? I have known quite a few.
This picture I have presented may seem to cast a dark shadow on our future. It may appear as if our society is broken or dysfunctional, even rotten to the core, but I would like to propose something a little different. Perhaps the feelings of discomfort and dissatisfaction are better than we expect, because, more than anything else, they awaken us to the recognition that something big must be done.
I do not believe there is anything particularly wrong with our system, or that we are a democracy on the verge of collapse. However, we are experiencing a crisis, precisely because so many of us sense that we could be doing so much better to become a more perfect and fruitful union, and that, somehow, we are not living up to this potential.
These are growing pains. And in this spirit, I would like you to imagine that our world – our government, our politics, the very fabric of society – could be unexpectedly noble, brilliantly authentic, and simply more positive than we currently know. Imagine what this means to you, what this means to the people you love, what it even means to the people you don’t love.
It is my conviction that politics does not have to be all about winners and losers, power and impact, with the adversarial relationship being at the center of our political culture. And, far and beyond, I sense that subtlety, creative inclusion, and gritty transparency have a very real and essential part to play in our future self-governance. How this might play out is still a work in progress, but I am dedicated to finding out exactly what this vision can accomplish.
And so – I invite you to join me in exploring the possibility of creating an improbable future!
positive governance 
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