Rise

[H2O Man]

77. Oh, that is

so nice of you to say! Thank you!

I had started an essay on things I was thinking about while taking a walk along a frozen creek bed, collecting rocks for ceremony; instead, I wrote the OP, which was on a related, yet very different topic.

It's funny: I've sent links to some of my DU essays to my associate before. While she enjoys what I write, she has commented that it is a waste of time to post on this forum, because so few DUers take note of them. I think that this OP/thread suggests that at least part of the time, people are paying attention to my posts. (And quite a few public school teachers have been introduced to DU in the past few days, as this OP/thread has reached teachers throughout NYS.)

It seems to me that the topic I wrote about is something that a good many of this forum's participants find themselves dealing with. I attended a public meeting last night in one of the small villages that dot rural, upstate New York. There were about 75 citizens attending the meeting. A number of people were expressing outrage at the behaviors of the "leader" of this government institution. I listened quietly for most of the meeting, and then spoke about how the group dynamics not only allowed unethical behaviors, but created a process where these things had to happen. And I think, based upon the responses -- both during the meeting and in casual conversations after it ended -- that people understood.

Systems are a fascinating topic. Often, when viewing a given situation, viewing it in a "systems analysis" doesn't create an awareness of new things, so much as creates a context where the already known parts fit together in a more orderly fashion. And without that understanding, groups of good people find themselves in the same basic conflict and struggle, over and over again.