Yesterday was the second in the James Quilligan seminar series, organized in London by a joint effort from the School of Commoning, and the Christian Council for Monetary Justice, and took place in the Portcullis House. As I headed to the event with the School of Commoning founders, George Por and Anna Betz, they asked me if I might say something briefly at the event, as to bring more feeling to the series and not just ideas. I happily agreed and set my mind to work thinking what I might say. I wrote the following and spoke following quite closely it's words.
My experience of most people my age is that they've lost their curiosity. Stopped asking 'why are things the way they are?' let alone 'could things be different?' It felt hard when I was younger, but at this point in my life, I feel so grateful to have grown up in a family that asks why. A lot of why questions for me arise out of what feels like common sense. The classic questions like 'why do all these cars only have 1 person in them, when they all get stuck in a traffic jam that way?'
What about sensibility as a commons?
As a young person who asks a lot of questions, it seems to me the commons of sensibility has been depleted as much as the precious metals. The reason I'm here in London is because as I asked more and more fundamental questions about the root of our issues, the fewer and fewer people had sensible answers. I had to travel halfway around the world to meet people who were talking common sense! I've never traveled Europe before, let alone on my own, and at times it's been quite scary, but I've come to see that reconnecting with the commons will take a lot of bravery on all our parts.
The conversation that is happening here and in the next ten days is possibly the brightest light for the future of this planet that I know of.
Thankyou.
No comments:
Post a Comment