Consensus
Consensus is a wonderful thing, but consensus takes time.
Last night we took that time.
We came very close to reaching consensus, which I strongly believe would be the best possible outcome for the situation. However, there were a couple who remained unconvinced of the compromise, and since it had been announced that an actual vote would not be taken last night, a vote there still will be to be fair to those who would not/could not/did not come last night. It would have been nice if everyone could have been there last night and the issue could have been resolved by consensus, but we all understand the impossibility of that.
Still I can't help wondering in the clear light of morning about how much our culture at large, and we as individuals within that culture, are hung up on the idea of voting. I've heard several people repeat things along the lines of "it's only fair" almost like a mantra. I think this obsession with democratic voting is a reflection of our rampant individualistic streak. Which of course, runs contrary to making the kind of group decision that faced us last night.
Consensus is the better model, but there, too, we had to compromise.
Still, I'm very glad and very relieved that we had the meeting last night, that there was NOT an impersonal ballot box. An 11th hour suggestion was put forward that allowed us to reach the level of consensus that we did. A ballot without group, in-person discussion would have denied us that.
Last night we took that time.
We came very close to reaching consensus, which I strongly believe would be the best possible outcome for the situation. However, there were a couple who remained unconvinced of the compromise, and since it had been announced that an actual vote would not be taken last night, a vote there still will be to be fair to those who would not/could not/did not come last night. It would have been nice if everyone could have been there last night and the issue could have been resolved by consensus, but we all understand the impossibility of that.
Still I can't help wondering in the clear light of morning about how much our culture at large, and we as individuals within that culture, are hung up on the idea of voting. I've heard several people repeat things along the lines of "it's only fair" almost like a mantra. I think this obsession with democratic voting is a reflection of our rampant individualistic streak. Which of course, runs contrary to making the kind of group decision that faced us last night.
Consensus is the better model, but there, too, we had to compromise.
Still, I'm very glad and very relieved that we had the meeting last night, that there was NOT an impersonal ballot box. An 11th hour suggestion was put forward that allowed us to reach the level of consensus that we did. A ballot without group, in-person discussion would have denied us that.