[Oe List ...] Beyond Consensus--book title

mhampton at att.net mhampton at att.net
Mon Oct 15 08:34:45 EDT 2007


Thanks, Jon.

Quakers don't try to use consensus, rather to "discern God's will" in the situation.  (You want to talk about what can be a slow process!  There is an excellent book by a Jesuit who observed the process called, naturally, Beyond Consensus.  I won't try to explain the process beyond how he does.  It is based on utter respect for that of God within each participant-- and still tries us regular humans!

mary



-------------- Original message from "jonzondo at juno.com" <jonzondo at juno.com>: -------------- 


> Hey Group, 
> Jon Elizondo here (grew up in the Order 1967-1980 with other involvement 1980 to 
> 1989). Herman's thoughts have triggered some of my own. 
> 
> " but as indicated in my Order experience what happens is that a ruling 
> conventionalism or charismatic leader dominates. " 
> 
> Not only that, but they were groups in the Order that we deemed second class 
> citizens. These people may have varied from place to place depending on the 
> priorship. Teenagers, in my experience, were often regarded as foot soldiers 
> for the Order, but very rarely were they given a voice in anything UNLESS that 
> voice mimicked the adult "consensus". One of the reasons I left the Order was 
> because many in the Order said one principle or value like "this decision is by 
> consensus" and the reality was Very Different. 
> 
> 
> "I have heard that Quakers make this work but by having unbelievably long 
> meetings sometimes. Is it really the goal of decision-making that everyone come 
> to agreement?" 
> 
> Yes, sometimes it is very wise to have the goal to be everyone coming to 
> agreement. This does not always mean that a win/win solution can be found, but 
> it does honor the process of emotional release that helps communities to grow 
> together and not apart. The Hopi (and other native tribes) might also sit in 
> council for incredibly long periods to make a decision. In this tradition, part 
> of the reason for this was to let the voices of the next seven generations into 
> the conversation. Each person had a commitment to those seven generations, and 
> that created another set of diverse perspectives to listen to, to digest, and 
> with which to come to balance. Both internally with each individual, and with 
> the group as a whole. And, there were roles to be played out too. Like the 
> Contrary Clown/Devil's advocate, for one example. Understanding the medicine 
> wheel of life helped these tribes to hold values of balance even when no human 
> in the room was speaking from that perspective. 
> 
> " Different methods will work in different situations." 
> 
> Absolutely. 
> 
> "when there are genuine disagreements . . . like whether or not to build 
> the new sanctuary . . . for which there may be no genuinely consensual right 
> answer. ..... when there is not a process that allows to speak, and equally or 
> more important a process that enables people to listen in genuine dialogue. This 
> is what we all strive for." 
> 
> Consensus for me is about listening and dialogue. And it is about going 
> outside of the box to create new win/win solutions. 
> 
> 
> “Don’t block the consensus!” 
> 
> People who go around saying "don't block the consensus " don't know what 
> consensus is and don't understand the commitment it takes to build consensus. 
> 
> Thank you all for listening, and thank you, Herman, for sparking my brain this 
> fine Sunday morning. 
> 
> Walk in Beauty, 
> Jon Mark Elizondo 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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