Questioning Reality

Last night I went to see (hear?) David C. Korten speak to a crowd of “engaged citizens” of Eugene. It was interesting, to say the least. To hear a crowd of socially-minded, environmentally conscious, anti-Walmart, engaged citizens listen to someone they already know and love was interesting. He was basically spoonfeeding them what they’ve already read and already know. As for his ideas, I’m not going to comment either way… he (and the majority of the people there last night) has good intentions, interesting ideas, and willpower. better than most of us.

I have to question, however, the usefulness of Mr. Korten writing books that are catering towards the people who already know what hes saying and already know what he’s going to say. They’re in the same mindset and have the same feelings, so its effectively just patting themselves on the back. Maybe his efforts might be more effective if he attempted more to reach others - not just those in agreement with his theories. Granted, I don’t really know much about his ideas, or many social issues for that matter, but it just seemed like a poor allotment of resources.

In his talk, he discussed change a great deal, often in ways I find it difficult to get behind. Much of what he said seemed improbably or extremely hopeful. maybe I’m just a bit pessemistic, but I’d like to think i’m just realistic. He did say one thing made complete sense:

“When dealing with the future, the inevitable choice is to believe that change can happen. Besides, it’s more fun than the alternative - dispair.”