NATIONAL TOWN HALL

         “The Will of the People

                  Will now come to order.”

                We are called to be a government “of the people and by the people”.  That means: We, the People, are the government.  Our job is to formulate a consensus of our Common Will and send it to our elected representatives to enact for us. 

                When our government is not obedient to the Will of the People, it is our duty to abolish it or to amend it so that it will function properly as we instruct it to do.  This is our great challenge.  When a government decays into a dictatorship, what are we supposed to do about it? 

We can hold street demonstrations to protest against the power grabs . . . but we cannot function as a government from the streets.  We must adopt a standard format for citizens’ political meetings ~ so we are able to assume & execute the lawful & orderly powers of an actual Citizen Government.

                To do this; we must hold local Town Hall Meetings in every Community . . . once a month . . . to formulate and update the “Will of the People” of our nation.

                These meetings should include everyone ~ of every age, race, sex, & religion.  When we meld all our minds together, we have the full scope of knowledge & experience, honesty & justice . . . and creativity to make us a truly wise citizen government.

                We recommend every Community stage Town Hall meetings on the evening of the “Second Saturday” of each month.  (For poetic remembrance & so the date doesn’t sneak up us . . . as a “First Saturday” would.  And . . . for coordination.)  The best place to hold them is in our local school buildings . . . or community centers or senior centers. 

                These should be full social occasions . . . to attract everyone in the community.  There should be a Potluck Dinner and Youth Forums before the meeting.  Then . . . Music, Dancing, & Socializing afterwards.  Like this:

                *  6:00:  Potluck Dinner & Youth Forums

                *  7:30:  Town Hall Meeting

                *  9:30:  Adjourn to Music, Dancing, & Socializing

        * 12:00:  Cinderella Time    

During the Town Hall Meetings, residents can write Local Action Plans to improve the Community, World Action Plans to form partnerships to address wider-scale problems, and Government Communications to send to our governments.  Please attend & speak.

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There is lots of planning to do in order to get ready to stage such meetings.  There should be daycare & babysitting throughout the evening.  There should be carpools and a shuttle bus to encourage & enable the elderly & disabled to attend.

There should be separate Youth Forums for the different age groups ~ from grade school on up.  These will call on the kids to tell about their fears & traumas, bullying & abuses ~ then their dreams of the future that they want for themselves & their friends.  As they grow older; they can also attend the adult meeting, which follows.  Kids can volunteer to be on adult Action Teams to build their dreams into actual reality.

~  Options for Meeting Format   ~

+ + +  Robert’s Rules of Order?  . . . or . . . Technology of Participation?  + + +

*  Robert’s Rules of Order:  Robert’s Rules of Order has become our standard meeting format for many or most of our Community meetings.  It has simple rules to call up “Old Business” & “New Business”.  There are rules of voting & conduct.   

It works well for small gatherings and for general daily business.  However, it limits the ability of all the people to participate when there are large gatherings.   It does not have the methods to gather all minds into a creative brainstorm to cast a “Consensus Vision” of the future they want.   And . . . it does not call on the people to set Goals, to define Action Paths to reach them, or to form Action Teams to achieve the many elements of the Vision . . . which they have not yet described and do not know about.

Because of these limitations; it should be used only by Communities, which are settled and content . . . and do not want to take part in building an improved future.  They will be able to write “Government Communications” to send their wishs & directives to their government officials, but will not be able to really take effective actions.

*  Technology of Participation:  Technology of Participation (ToP) is the preferred method for brainstorming and Action Planning for large groups.  It is a Five-Step Strategic Planning method; which calls on the participants to cast a Vision of the future they want, identify the Obstacles standing in the way of achieving each element of their Vision, set Goals to overcome each of the Obstacles & win those Visions, and name the final Victory Events which ~ when staged ~ will result in winning each of the Goals.

They then form into Action Teams and lay out Action Plans to enable them to stage the Victory Events.  (In football terms; the Vision is to win the game.  The Obstacle is the big defense line.  The Goal is to score the touchdown.  The Victory Event is the quarterback sneak from the two-yard line.)

ToP uses a silent Community Brainstorm, where participants write their ideas ~ in short 3 to 5-word phrases ~ on large cards.  The meeting facilitator sticks them up on the Bulletin Board and organizes them into Clusters of similar ideas to show the full spectrum of the thinking of the whole room.  In a few short minutes, the full Will of the People is up there on display.  The participants know the Obstacles they face.  Everyone volunteers to be on an Action Team to pursue the Goal which they are most passionate about.

The Action Teams lay out Action Plans, which will take them from “Now” to being in position to stage each Victory Event.  They name appropriate Celebrations & Rewards to grant themselves for achieving Landmark Achievements.  (“We’ll all go to Disneyland when we . . . .”)

The drawback in using the ToP method is the cost.  It has to be done correctly ~ in the orderly sequence.  So . . . you have to hire professional meeting facilitation teams, whose members are trained in the ToP meeting sequences and certified qualified by the “International Association of Facilitators” (IAF).

These facilitators should lead both the Town Hall Meeting and also the Youth Forum sessions.  The Youth Forums can bring out emotional traumas from the children.  They must be handled correctly by someone with training and experience.  The future of every child is at a pivotal point.  It is a very delicate responsibility.

No child should ever grow up without taking part in the several years of Youth Forum discussions along the way ~ done correctly and compassionately.  They need these explorations of morals and traumas to heal themselves and to grow an awareness of their responsibilities to the other kids, to their communities, & to the world beyond. 

Mentors will be there to help get situations of abuse & bullying resolved.  The kids will get their own traumas handled . . . and will grow compassion for the other kids.  Their “conscience” will open in them at an earlier age . . . before the teen years!  

And . . . they will establish a community bonding to the adult community.  “Gee . . . they actually respect us . . . and care about us!”  The teenage boys won’t be out running the streets and joining into street gangs for safety and for social identity.  The crime will be down and the gang wars will fade. 

Part of the Town Hall discussions will be about physically redesigning the neighborhood.  They will want a place to have social gatherings (probably a “Clubhouse” or “Community Center”) and for setting up some kind of a “Village Marketplace” where they can have their own “Mom & Pop” businesses. 

When they get these facilities, teenagers will have a “home base” of safety . . . and jobs & apprentices close to home.  There should also be a “Business Mentor Program” where downtown business owners volunteer to teach them to run their own teen businesses . . . and earn money!

The prosperity will be up, the fighting and the thieving will fade, the courtrooms will be empty, and the prisons will be shutting down.  

To get it all done correctly, Communities will need to hire ToP meeting facilitation teams ~ which are certified by the “International Association of Facilitators” ~ to facilitate the meetings. 

They have to charge money for their services.  They are professionals.  They are required to take the complete series of ToP training courses to learn the different discussion modes.  This knowledge will enable them to handle situations where arguments & confusion, disruptions & trauma come out.  They must be well trained to guide it all toward adequate conclusions. 

A meeting with Youth Forums ~ every month ~ will be a substantial cost.  Communities will need a fund-raising plan.  They might write grant proposals and conduct fund-raising events.

And . . . they might put out a “ToP Hat” at the meetings to collect donations to pay the ToP meeting facilitators.  Everyone can put in a few pennies to make them happen.  

“Pay the piper and dance the night.”

ToP facilitators are known to have a dedication to the betterment of humanity.  Possibly, the facilitators will volunteer their time to help set up & stage the first meeting for free.  They might help write grant proposals to get funds for their fee and other expenses, which are likely to occur. 

 And . . . for the long run . . . local community volunteers can enroll in ToP Facilitation Classes to learn to facilitate the ToP meetings and become certified.  Then, the cost will disappear.  That seems like the best approach. 

~  Getting Started  ~

The Overall Vision is to formulate the Will of the People locally, then merge it into a National Consensus.  When we achieve this; we will have the wisdom, honesty, and political leverage to guide our governments well.  

So . . . there are four Primary Visions:

+  First Vision is to create a formula, which all communities can use to stage successful local Town Hall Meetings. 

+  The Second Vision is to merge the thinking of all the communities into a National Consensus via an online “National Town Hall” Voting Workshop system. 

+  The Third Vision is to establish a standard “Citizen Recall” method, which will enable the people to recall our elected officials ~ by strong consensus ~ when they are badly deviating from our designated directives. 

+  The Fourth Vision is ~ as the Declaration of Independence requires ~ to grant to ourselves the authority to change the methods, which our government runs by.

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                In the days and weeks ahead, we will publish further information on achieving these Four Visions.  Please be prepared to begin your work on engaging the community power, which you and your neighbors do have. 

                And . . . check back in ~ from time to time ~ to find the ongoing postings.  Thank you.