(I'll take most of this offline)
> ... The truth
> is,we'd all like to just hang out and live our happy lives and not have
> to deal with... the forces of darkness, who ... are just people in our
> culture making a buck here and there.
Maybe the trick is to figure out how to "make a buck" in the right way...
although "right way" is REALLY hard to get consensus on...
> ...JUST TO KEEP OUR LIVES THE WAY THEY ARE....
I don't really want that. I do want change to happen, its stimulating. Its
just that the change should be low impact all the way around. Its the
cumulative impact of all the change which makes us want to put the breaks
on....
>
> I am going through some major angst about all this, because I have worked
> in NGOs (non-governmental organizations, ie citizen groups) for a long
> time, and am saddened by our inability to create lasting change.
sounds line NGOs are really NoGOs...but the change is lasting, just not
what YOU wanted. Social organizations have gotten too big to be seen
as responsive to individuals. Caused by the need to counteract economic
organizations that have more clout than workably sized social ones....
> Where IS that paradigm shift I kept hearing about? .... at a meeting in
> Lewiston talks openly about shooting goshawks.
>
How about NRA sponsored gov. project which provides semi-intelligent "drones"
for the shooters to target, its not the meat but the chase that's interesting.
>
> WE keep losing elections....
WE (the People) can't loose elections (by definition) if the whole
system is viable...and anyway, the election is only the starting
point of the process eh? Its what follows that really distorts the
process.
....
In the particular case in point, the $'s in the short term are in the
marketing/sale of the commercial (natural) resources. In the long term, in
the marketing/sale of the existence of the (already removed) recreational
resources. So how to make the long term $'s more interesting to the
short term exploiters. And even then, the long term might not be what
you/we had expected.....
>
> I am discouraged. Vision 20/20 seems like a force for good;.....
too much emotion....thats one thing that the e-media can help with. Try
making some really outlandish posting on rec.shooting and see how
theroputic(sp) the resulting flame war is.... (or maybe I'll do a little
experiment on v2020, there was a GREAT piece placed in moscow.open.discuss
by page11 which youall might find inspirational....)
> Some attorneys at a meeting several months ago were kicking around the
> idea that what we need in the Rockies is a spotted owl...
Translated, a catalyst, something to touch the mix into a higher state of
"energy for change". I agree with you, the west coast example should not
be something to be sought after. maybe something like the japanese buying
all the blm land in ID to pull everyone together....or an apartment hi-rise
on A street or yet-another-censorship-issue or a new mini-mal or another
sheriff-law-suit (striped this time?) or ...... the list of issues is
really endless......
anyway, I think you've been a driving force for a long time and maybe
your insights could aid those in v2020 who are focused on other issues,
but need the "sage wisdom" of those who have been in the fire.
johnt