The 3 sessions covered:

April 11: Democratic Free Enterprise Networks or DFENs (Dr. Goerner and Pittsboro Mayor Randy Voller) (see list below of existing local DFEN-like institutions)
Video, courtesy of Gordon Strauss: Part 1, Part 2

April 18: “How to Make Great Change: Harnessing our Collaborative Learning Nature.” Dr. Goerner and Dr. Thomas Griggs of the New Science Consulting Group, who led a group discussion and exercise on practical ways to revitalize group learning.

April 25: “Entering the Next Stage of Civilization: Reasonable Reasons for Hope.” Video, courtesy of Gordon Strauss.

See longer description of the three sessions.

Ongoing Discussion: Lasting Vitality

The teach-in generated such interest that an ongoing reading and discussion group on Lasting Vitality was formed.

It will take place alternate Wednesdays at 7pm at United Church of Chapel Hill, 1321 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

The first meeting, on May 9, is on Time Banking, Bartering and the Psychology of Give-and-Take.

For more information, email Dr. Sally Goerner.

The Original Teach-In

On Wed., April 11, Sally was joined by Mayor Randy Voller of Pittsboro to talk about “Rethinking Capitalism: Replacing Trickledown with Healthy Networks.” Sally and Randy described DFENs, Democratic Free Enterprise Networks.

From the event flyer: “Six months ago one couldn’t discuss capitalism’s pros and cons without being called a communist, but now, thanks to Occupy, everyone knows the 99%. The challenge now is to explain realistically what would work better, economically and socially, than trickledown. This teach-in uses new understandings of how nature builds healthy networks to explain how to build vibrant democratic free-enterprise networks (DFENs) as well. The result is a commonsense, ‘purple state’ vision of how to avoid collapse and achieve the kind of lasting prosperity for all that lies at the heart of the American Dream. Dr. Goerner will show how hard-science meets commonsense and common-cause Democratic values. Mayor Voller will lead a group discussion on practical ways to rebuild local economic and social vitality.”

On Wed., April 18, the topic was: “How to Make Great Change: Harnessing our Collaborative Learning Nature.” Sally was joined by Dr. Thomas Griggs of the New Science Consulting Group, who led a group discussion and exercise on practical ways to revitalize group learning.

From the event flyer: “Societal collapse is much more common than most people realize, and we appear to be on the cusp. The only way to survive today’s breakpoint is to learn as a whole society, yet our political landscape has become so polarized that it is often impossible to talk even with family and friends of a different persuasion. This talk explores how to help our society learn its way past today’s crisis. Instead of losing all that we hold most dear, the key to effective learning is to focus on bringing our deepest values to a whole new level of function and beauty.”

One member of the audience asked what DFENs (Democratic Free Enterprise Networks) already exist in this area. The following were named by the audience. They may or may not fit the definition exactly, but they are all engaged in fostering local, sustainable behavior.

Self-Help Credit Union

Greater Pittsboro Community Development Corporation

Piedmont Food & Agricultural Processing Center (Orange County food business incubator)

Sustain-A-Bull (Durham nonprofit business alliance)

BALLE (The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies)

Occupy Chapel Hill Solidarity Economy Working Group (email for information)

Our Community Green (Jane Norton’s online directory of green/sustainable entities in the Triangle)

Craig’s List (for exchange of goods locally among individuals)

On Wed., April 25, Dr. Goerner concluded the series with a presentation titled “Entering the Next Stage of Civilization: Reasonable Reasons for Hope.”

From the event flyer: “New understandings how real-world networks evolve through stages of development clarify our own place in history. Instead of seeing 2012 as the end of the world, this lens suggests we are actually facing the beginning of a new Integral stage of civilization. This talk explains what we can expect this next stage of civilization to look like, and why this is not utopian fantasy, but the natural next step in our development.”

Get the Dough Out is a partnership of Move to Amend, the American Sustainable Business Council, and Free Speech for People.

Click here to watch a short video of Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield discussing the new partnership on the Dylan Ratigan show on Feb. 12, 2012.

New Mexico Joins Drive to Overturn Citizens United,
Put Voters Back in Charge

The New Mexico state Senate grabbed a bit of history for itself and the state on Saturday by calling on Congress to pass a constitutional amendment putting voters, not big dollar donors, at the center of our political campaigns and elections, Common Cause said today.

“This is a great victory for citizen action,” said Common Cause President Bob Edgar. “New Mexico now joins Hawaii as the first states to formally give voice to the frustration millions of Americans are feeling over the huge amount of influence that corporations and the super rich have over our elections.”

“Congress needs to listen and respond to this grassroots support for a constitutional amendment declaring that corporations aren’t people, money isn’t speech and political spending is subject to reasonable limits,” he added.

Through Amend 2012, a national campaign launched last month, Common Cause is lobbying for similar action in other state legislatures and for ballot measures that would permit voters to speak this year – at the ballot box – on the need for a constitutional amendment reversing the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in the Citizens United case.

The Amend 2012 campaign is focused on securing voter initiative and referenda through which citizens could instruct their representatives in Washington to pass an amendment and send it to the states for ratification.

The court’s 5-4 ruling overturned a century’s worth of laws barring corporations from tapping their treasuries to support or oppose political candidates. It permits them to spend unlimited amounts of money on political advocacy and is expected to trigger hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate spending on the 2012 elections.

“Americans understand that Citizens United inevitably will lead to a more corrupt government, as candidates feel the pressure to give corporations and other big donors a return on their investments,” Edgar said. “The next President and Congress must take on this issue and bring big money under control.”

Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open, honest, and accountable government that works for the public interest, and empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard.

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