The Point

Okay...back...and ready to rumble. So...to reiterate and round up the posts leading up to this 'point', we have:

1. The Collective Unconscious

The underlying desire that is bubbling up through an almost universal 'a-ha' sentiment from seemingly unrelated points all across the world. It doesn't appear, on the surface, to have a common language, experience or character. But, more than anything, it is a desire of the commons.

We see it expressed through the spontaneous eruptions of BarCamp, coworking discussions, Web 2.0 frenzy and on sites like Wikipedia and Craigslist, which means that...

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2. People, Empowered, are Gathering

We, the individuals in the commons desire re-empowerment. Manifestations of the desires of the collective unconscious are indicative of these desires. Look around you at how many are rising up right now.

Sure, it doesn't seem like we're making a huge impact...yet...but just wait. The rumbling is growing and we are learning how to organize more effectively. ;)

We have the tools and more are being built. Business as usual is going to be a relic soon enough...and so...

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3. We Recognize That 'They' Hate Our Way of Life

There are several levels of stakeholders who stand to lose a great deal in this commons-based rising. For such a long time, the top-down approach to business has served them well. We have been kept at bay for too long. You can smell their fear. They sue us. They jail us. They try everything in their power to silence us. The stronger we become, the more desperate their tactics become.

Do we let them bury themselves or do we reach out a compassionate hand to help guide them into this brave, new world we are building?

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And so now, what's the point?

I'm glad that I waited to write this until after my SXSW experience. There were just too many instances of a-ha moments there for me. There were too many people I connected with. There were too many conversations that made my heart race with joy. And there were just too many panelists and speakers that said things that made me want to cheer.

So then, this is my agenda:

I believe in the inevitable victory of the commons.

Having utter faith in human nature, I believe the current system we live in has set us up to believe that we can't trust one another. This leads to solitary paranoia. This leads to us not caring for our neighbours, let alone people halfway around the world who we hurt through our ostensibly innocuous actions. So then we look like we are crappy human beings. Which then leads to guilt. And guilt leads to us avoiding those things that make us feel guilty. We want to feel good. We want to laugh and bond and flourish. And, at base, we want to see our neighbours and the people halfway around the world flourish. Really, we do. We just don't want to feel like asswipes while we enjoy our own privileged positions.

This vicious cycle of fear and guilt is what is holding us back from seeing the fear and guilt as being what is really hurting us as human beings. And the corporations and the governments, they aren't BAD either. They just do really bad things out of fear and guilt.

Kathy is right. Everyone needs to feel like they are kicking ass, not like they are a load of schmucks. It's the only way we are going to effect real change.

We now have the people, the tools and the knowledge of our deterrents. What are we going to do with this?

Start a revolution at your own blog or in my comments. ...and I have some answers in a follow up post.