In a world brimming with complexity, why would we want to complicate it more? Here’s why. — This essay follows last week’s essays about the political-industrial complex and epistemic commons. Last time, I told you how our system doesn’t represent us; instead, it focuses on the extremes, sensationalizes conflict, and highlights our differences. It’s no wonder we feel so divided and at odds when it’s what the…

Our system discourages power sharing while sensationalizing conflict and difference — This essay follows on from “Left and Right Turn Us Into Enemies,” which I wrote earlier this week. We’re still looking at the political-industrial complex and why our democracy and society are struggling. Today, I’m recommending an article called Democracy and The Epistemic Commons by the Consilience Project. It’s a…

By incorporating everything from open questions to smaller groups, we can make everyone’s voice count — This week’s essay draws inspiration from Ken Cloke’s book, Politics, Dialogue, and The Evolution of Democracy. He talks about how to discuss all the hot, tricky topics, including race, abortion, immigration, gun control, climate change, and same-sex marriage. Ken doesn’t shy away here. He talks about the assumptions in the…

Everyone matters, and the way we make decisions and resolve issues needs to reflect that — My previous essays introduced the Omni-Win Project, which aims to accelerate the co-creation of the future of democracy. To achieve this, we’re going to need collaborative communication skills. Today, we’re going to dig deep into interest-based conflict resolution and what an interest-based political culture would look like.

And how can it help with our problems? — The goal of the Omni-Win Project is to co-create a future of democracy where everyone wins. That means we need to create a political culture that strives to include everyone. We need to build the systems, structures, tools, and processes to have conversations that welcome diverse perspectives. …

Let’s talk about citizen-centered democratic systems Yesterday, I addressed several issues with our current democracy. I discussed how votes are essentially pointless, and citizens are excluded from the decision-making process until it’s time to vote on a whole bundle of legislation. It’s not working for us. How can we resolve…

Let’s talk about citizen-centered democratic systems The Omni-Win Project aims to amplify the co-creation of a better democracy: A system that includes people in the decisions that affect their lives. That’s what this week’s essay focuses on. I believe there are already solutions to all of the issues we have…

from Dysfunction & Division to Deliberation & Participation — I’ve been saying this for a long time now: “Democracy is struggling.” It’s not just that people are attacking our institutions, losing confidence and questioning their integrity. It’s not because people have felt the need to use protest, violence and property destruction to get their voices heard. …

In this essay, I’ll be talking about forgiveness, accountability, and reconciliation. I’ll be addressing how we can defeat black and white thinking for the good of humanity and how forgiveness is the key to unlocking society’s progression. Firstly, I want to share one of my favorite quotes from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn…