Panel Presentation Outline<\/a><\/strong> I prepared for the program.<\/p>\nI was allotted five minutes to share my thoughts before entering into the panel discussion. This post is an expanded version of some of the things that might be covered in the ongoing conversation, or just as more examples of things I’ve done, the stimulate ideas among my readers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMy Life in Civic Engagement; What I have Done; What I have Learned<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is Civic Engagement?<\/strong> The word \u201ccivic\u201d implies \u201clocal\u201d community, but, in my mind, I have always extended its interpretation to include our wider society. As the saying goes, “Think Globally, Act Locally!”<\/p>\n\n\n\nCivic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nLessons\nlearned <\/strong>in a long life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n- The\n\tpopular phrase \u201cinside\/outside\u201d describes two different ways to\n\teffect change: outsiders demand change and make suggestions by way\n\tof public demonstrations, rallies, marches, letter-writing, and the\n\tlike. Insiders are people in power who have the ability to influence\n\tchange directly. Both are needed, and I’ve practiced both. In my\n\telder years, I have focused my energies more on passive approaches\n\tto effecting change. This means being on the inside, on boards and\n\tother positions of responsibility, but it also means trying to\n\tinfluence those in power with persuasion, not demands.\n\t<\/li>
- Any\n\torganization or group is made stronger by the presence of a diverse\n\tset of participants. We learn and prosper from our differences. Do\n\tnot hesitate to join in on a good cause, just because you don’t have\n\trelevant credentials or training. Traditional cultures around the\n\tworld recognize that wisdom comes with age. You can learn facts and\n\trules, but only experience will bring you wisdom, that mysterious\n\tability to see patterns and predict outcomes. Diversity of\n\tperspective and opinion is highly valuable.\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
My\nlife has been all about bringing people together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\ncan minimize the psychoanalysis for now, although I am eternally\ncurious about why I am the way I am. My guess is that my desire for\nan inclusive world results from my innate wiring, and is connected in\nsome way with my autism (feeling separate and left out, yearning to\nbe included), but this is not the place to delve too deeply into\nthat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All\nmy life I have known that I am different. Some of my earliest\nmemories involve feeling isolated by my difference, and I remember my\nintense longing to be included. Perhaps that is why I have always\nwanted to create a more inclusive world, and strongly empathize with\nthose who are excluded in any way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whatever its cause, my desire to smooth over differences has led me into a life of diplomacy, reconciliation, pacifism, and organizing. I’ve learned that people must be treated as the individuals they are; each person has a unique set of skills and interests — the challenge for a good manager or organizer is the find ways to break up tasks into small jobs that can be parsed out to people who enjoy them and are good at them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have inserted my management talents into all that I do, often unknowingly, and my skills have been recognized and rewarded by a society seemingly bent on conflict. In the business world, I found that giving subordinates the ability to succeed made them into fiercely loyal employees, and their productivity made me look good. Similarly, in political or civic organizing, helping people to shine and giving them public credit makes the hard work enjoyable for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
EARLY\nLIFE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nI\ndon’t remember when I began to demand special treatment. But for as\nlong as I can remember, I refused to eat white bread or fish. The\nseafood thing was clearly an olfactory accommodation; I just couldn’t\nstomach the smell of the stuff. In the days of Wonder Bread, the\naversion to the gooey substance may have been, at least in part, a\ntactile aversion. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\none of my earliest childhood pictures (before school age), I stand\nglowering at a toy on a table. I’m all dressed up in new overalls,\nand the photographer had tried to make me smile by playing with\nstuffed animals, but I was having none of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My\nisolation and differences made kindergarten a challenge for me.\nThings that seemed easy for others were not simple for me. I remember\ntwo of my classmates making fun of the way I was playing with blocks.\nI didn’t know there was anything particular one was supposed to do\nwith them. One of them pointed at me and said to the other, \u201cLook!\nHe doesn’t know how to play with blocks!\u201d Many years later, I was\nable to laugh with Suzie and Izzie about this, but at the time it\npuzzled and hurt me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One\nof the requirements for successfully completing the kindergarten year\nwas to be able to tie your own shoes. Despite numerous attempts on my\npart to learn, I just could not get it. I was terrified that I would\nnot be allowed to ever leave kindergarten. One day, by accident, I\ndiscovered a way to tie my shoes a different way. When the final exam\ncame, I was careful to use my method when the teacher wasn’t looking,\nsince I thought it was cheating. I passed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years\nlater, I told this story to an autism conference, as an example of\nthe learning differences inherent in autism. I described my method in\ndetail. Later, I was told by teachers and other professionals who had\nbeen in attendance that they had conveyed my method to some of their\nautistic students who were having the same difficulty, and who were\nrelieved and excited to be able, at long last, to tie their own\nshoes. Nearly 70 years ago, I thought I was the only one; now I know\nI wasn’t stupid or broken, just different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Part\nof my early practice as an organizer came from being the eldest of\nfive siblings. Although I always tried to arrive at consensus, it\nfell to me to be the final arbiter of what game we would play that\nday. If it was to be cowboys and Indians, I got to decide who was\nwhich, and who got the cap guns. If it was building roads in the\ndriveway (not favored by the girls), I got to choose who was in\ncharge of the dump truck. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MORE EARLY LIFE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n- Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout at age 14)<\/li>
- Church youth group