ei folks

> But I guess the thought that has just started to vaguely form in my mind is the
> idea that ANY form of accreditation or "badges" might be problematic for localism.

So, in the same way it was suggested by Simone Weil that we should be just as
motivated by human obligations (our obligations to others) as by human rights
(their obligations to us), it occurs to me that one answer to this conundrum is
for individuals to be more welcome of the yet-unknown skills of the stranger,
the Other. Imagine how, in the stead of a cold reception of the Other into your
tribe, that you greet the Other with open warmth and acceptance and even a touch
of wonder as to what you might learn from this stranger.

I can't tell you how many times, as I've been on my long nomadic teaching
pathway, that I find institutional participants (institutionalized participants
:-) to be coldly suspicious of the Stranger... Of course there are the
immensely energizing counter-examples, too, without which I would never have
made it far (encounters with many of you over the years, for example!) -- where
the Other is seen as a source of new information and new insights...

So, rather than searching for ways of 'proving' ourselves to others, perhaps we
need to look inward and tweak the flip-side of that need to prove -- in trusting
that human encounter is a enriching experience (whatever the case!)...

jh



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John Hopkins
Watching the Tao rather than watching the Dow!
http://neoscenes.net/
http://tech-no-mad.net/blog/
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