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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eichler, Mike.
Consensus organizing : building communities of mutual self-interest / Mike Eichler.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-4129-2659-9 or 978-1-4129-2659-1 (pbk.)
1. Community organizationUnited States. 2. Social actionUnited States. 3. Consensus (Social sciences)United States. 4. Community developmentUnited States. I. Title.
HM766.E53 2007
322.440973dc22
2006023878
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Cover Designer: | Candice Harman |
INTRODUCTION
D o you see things around you that just do not seem fair? Are you upset when you see poverty in the midst of great wealth? Are you frustrated when some of our schools provide inferior education to poor children? Do you hurt inside when you realize that people in our country go to sleep at night hungry? Many of us are feeling upset, frustrated, and hurt. We want to do something to change these terrible circumstances, but we do not know how. We do not even know where to begin. If this is the way you feel, this book is for you. We must help people. Trying is not enough. We must be strategic. We must be effective. No person is born with the ability to create solutions that work on a grand scale. We must learn how to help others, one step at a time. We must practice. Please know that you are not alone in your feelings. You are not alone in your intentions. I want to build on your feelings and intentions so that by combining them with analysis and strategy you will start to become effective. Change is exciting when you have confidence and newly acquired abilities. Change is daunting when you feel overwhelmed.
To build your confidence, this book is written in a style you may never have experienced before. I have tried to make it jargon-free. Thats right, no more reading stuff like, assessment personalization skills or facilitate conditions or (one of my all-time personal favorites) limitations of cognitive restructuring. The use of jargon can have the tendency to develop an exclusive club of members who understand it while keeping out the rest of us who do not. Instead, I want all of you to understand and participate. I want you to read each chapter and learn some new things and never say to yourself Whaaat? I have always found that people who communicate clearly sometimes feel guilty. They say, maybe subconsciously, I have to add to this, make it more complicated, harder, or else people will think I do not know much. Well, I think more highly of you than that. I think you will want to learn more when you realize you can learn it and do it and like it. I think I will increase my chances that you feel this way if I keep it simple.
I will try to show you that you can help people and their communities through learning simple concepts. I will try to engage you by telling you stories, because I think that is a great way to learn. I will try to talk about real people and situations because when its real it just means more, and sticks with you longer. I will try to make the learning process relevant to you. Like all good lasting relationships, we will need to build on our mutual self-interest. My goal is that this book inspires you to never feel overwhelmed again when you see social problems around you. Instead, you will see these same problems and say, I can do something about this. I can get these people together, and with their determination, create change. My goal is for you to take what you have learned here and use it. So do we have a deal?
I will be talking a lot about trying to change things. Community organizing is a method to create change. Consensus organizing is one particular method of community organizing. Think of it like you think of therapy or clinical practice. Therapy tries to create change in individuals, one at a time. Community organizing tries to create change to benefit an entire group of people or an entire neighborhood. If done effectively, community organizing can have a big effect on a lot of people. If done ineffectively, you will start to find yourself becoming frustrated and overwhelmed. You will lose your own confidence and the confidence of others. You will begin to think no matter how hard you work your efforts will make little or no difference.
So what is consensus organizing and how was it started? Consensus organizing is a way of thinking. Once you understand and choose to use it, you may never stop. It will affect your personal and professional life. It will affect those around you, and change the way they think of you. Consensus organizing will have a big impact on the way you think and behave. You may find yourself less self-centered while, at the same time, feel more balanced, well-adjusted, and satisfied. You will find yourself listening more carefully to others, while they, in turn, become more genuinely interested in you. You may find yourself thinking about yesterday, today, and tomorrow all at the same time and not even getting mixed up. You will find strange, hidden similarities among people or situations that no one else sees. Your life will be much more interesting.
Consensus organizing was stumbled upon. It was not part of a grand scheme, grand plan, or grand design. It was a last-ditch, desperate effort to solve a serious problem. It was attempted after everything I was taught didnt work. It was not dreamed up in an ivory tower, think tank, or mountain retreat. It was born out of practicality. It has continued to be used for primarily one reason and one reason only: It works. In countless sets of circumstances, it seems to help people in lasting ways. It was tried out in desperation. It now is chosen strategically. Some efforts using consensus organizing have continued to help people long after flashier, headline-grabbing mobilization efforts have fizzled and dried up.
