THE ELEPHANT IS IN THE ROOM
This blog was first set to be viewed by and commented on by friends only. It is now open to everyone to see and comment upon. Prior to this blog there were three emails sent out to a select group of individuals to lead them to the elephant. If you were not a part of that group this reference to the elephant may be confusing. Here is an explanation that should help...
There is an old saying that talks about a person looking at an elephant. According to the saying, a person cannot stand in one place and see the entire elephant. The elephant is too big. In order to see the whole elephant the person has to walk all the way around it. Well...that being said, the elephant (the idea) is one that I have walked around more than a few times. The problem is, that although each time I walk around it and observe more than on previous times, I am still only seeing the elephant from my point of view. And because of that I realize that I never really get to see the whole elephant. It's sort of like not being able to turn the dial on your radio so you just keeping listening to the same frequency but you know there are many more frequencies available.
You are invited to walk around the elephant and relate your observations. Who knows...you may be holding critical pieces to the puzzle.
*******************************************
Whenever someone says, "I have an idea." you could convert that to, "I have a solution." Same thing. Ideas are solutions. This elephant is a solution. It is by no means an ultimate solution but as far as solutions go it's a pretty darn good one.
This elephant is incredibly SIMPLE. And therein lies both its greatest power and its greatest weakness. Our biggest challenge will be KISS (keeping it simple stupid). The KISS hat is one that we must all diligently wear 24/7.
The fastest way that I know of to screw up a good idea is to start introducing arbitraries into it. Arbitraries are insidious and breed more arbitraries and before you know it a good idea...a great idea has been taken down faster than a turd in a churn. Let us all be on heightened alert for the introduction of arbitraries into this process.
THE STARTING PIECE OF THE PUZZLE
Why I happen to have the starting piece of this puzzle I couldn't begin to tell you. But I do. More accurately, though, the truth is that we each have starting pieces. While I was busy working on the chassis, someone else was working on the carburetor and another one of you was working on the drive shaft and so on and so forth. I just happened to get to my chassis back to the shop first. And once I show you the chassis you can each begin to install your piece(s) of the puzzle on to it.
My piece of the puzzle has four primary elements. I will address each one then I will combine them and elaborate upon some generalities for you and that...my fellow collaborators, will be the elephant.
A CONDITION OF DANGER
I do not have to spend any time here illuminating or prioritizing the plethora of dangerous conditions that we face on myriad levels. The focus here is not on awareness. We have that. The focus here is on response and action. When a condition of danger exists one does not continue with normal operations. Normal operations are for normal conditions. When a danger condition is extant one bypasses all normal habits, channels and routines and gets busy, doing whatever is necessary, to terminatedly handle the situation and the danger in it.
T. Boone has a plan and if you look closely his plan is a bypass of normal habits, channels and routines (but not completely). He is still, with our help, working to make the political channels that have become grossly, ineffective and obstructive (grossly infected with arbitraries), come around to operating in a rational manner. Personally, I don't advocate one taking all their eggs out of that basket but I sure don't advocate that one should place all of their eggs in that basket either.
This elephant is a BYPASS. It is time for WE THE PEOPLE to grab the reins wherever we can and start getting this runaway stagecoach under control.
THE WISE FARMER
A wise farmer knows that he and his family requires a certain amount of the harvest to sustain them through the winter and until the next harvest. He knows that a certain amount is also needed to sustain his livestock for the same period of time. Now any farmer (even a greenhorn) knows this much but the wise farmer knows that if he just plants enough crops to satisfy the needs of he and his family and his livestock that he would be putting them all at incredible risk. So when the wise farmer plants his crops he plants for himself and his family, his livestock, some to use as barter for other needed products and services that he doesn't produce, some for the pests, some for the weather i.e., the hail, the flood, the drought, the wind and the late frost and...because this farmer is particularly wise...he always leaves a special space in his field for the "wild card" the "long-shot" where he gives new "out-there" sort of farming ideas a chance. He knows it's a gamble and that piece of farm land could be used to grow a crop he knows will do good there...But...who knows...he might just discover or develop something quite incredible or, on the other hand, it might never come to anything. But he knows that if he doesn't play the wild card or go for the long-shot that he will always wonder what he might of missed. And that is just not acceptable to him.
The wise farmer knows that he has to stack the deck in his favor and that the only "enough" there is, is in creating and having an abundance. He recognizes that in his creating a condition of abundance that he has given himself, his family and all that he is connected to (which is everything and everyone) a margin of safety. No abundance = no margin of safety = living on the edge = not being very smart.
Another important thing that the wise farmer knows is that planting the crops is only a part of the process. He knows that he has to care for, nourish, protect and guard his crops. He knows that he has to care for the land and keep the land healthy so that every new growing season he is giving his crops the best chance he can give them. And that when his crops begin to grow and if, for example, his expectations of his corn crop are dampened by some unforeseen occurrence but his soybeans are doing remarkable and will undoubtedly be a bumper crop this year...he doesn't propitiate to the corn by investing his time and energy into a failing crop. Instead, he pours himself, his energy and his efforts into the soybeans as he recognizes that there is where is future survival is.
The elephant is about creating ABUNDANCE, A MARGIN OF SAFETY, SUSTAINABILITY and REWARDING THAT AND WHO WHICH IS BEING BENEFICIALLY PRODUCTIVE and not feeling a need or compulsion to "save" or propitiate to that or who that is being nonproductive.
BARN RAISING
I would guess that everyone here is familiar with what a barn raising is. But have any of you ever participated in one? I grew up on farms and ranches and I never had the experience of an actual barn raising or never even heard of one happening near where I lived. However, living on the ranches (especially the two ranches in New Mexico) that I did, I most definitely experienced the community spirit that embodies a barn raising event.
Here is a quick review of barn raising...
The term barn raising dates back to the construction of barns in the 18th and 19th centuries in rural America (U.S. and Canada). In this era, barns were the first, largest, and most costly structure built by a family who settled in a new area. Barns were a fundamental and necessary structure if one was to be a farmer or rancher. It would be very difficult indeed, if not impossible, for one person to build a barn, and generally these barns were enormous in size! It just wasn’t a smart move for the individual farmer and his family to attempt to build their much-needed barn without help from the community. Nor was it good for the community. It was much more important for the good of the community for the farmer and his family to be farming, not working for months building a barn! Obviously, a farmer and his family, if tackling this job on their own, would have their time, attention and effort be completely consumed by such a monumental task. This certainly would act to prevent them from doing the other numerous duties required to succeed at farming nor would they have any time to contribute to their community. Therefore, the community would come together to raise the barn for the individual and this usually took only one day! Of course, the farmer whose barn was being raised would have all the materials and tools assembled prior to everyone showing up. Now having a huge crowd of people show up to build a barn is one thing but getting that crowd to erect a huge barn of enduring quality in one day was quite another. The point here is that these barn raisings were extremely well coordinated and organized activities.
Barn raising wasn’t done just because it was a polite, kind or nice thing to do; it was done as an essential action to ensure survival! Barn raising was about bettering survival for one and all in the community. It was a way for the community to stack the deck in its favor.
The elephant is BARN RAISING that has been modified to be applied for the present time circumstances. It is an extremely well coordinated organized national and international community activity.
THE ENERGIES' ENERGY
I have a little work shop. It's an old two car garage that has so much stuff in it that I can hardly use it as a shop anymore. I have A reasonable assortment of hand tools and power tools. My various power tools are an essential part of my work as is my van (my mobile shop). My power tools are useless to me if I do not have electricity available. My van is of little value to me if it does not have sufficient gas in its gas tank at all times to get me to and from points A and B. I buy the electricity for my tools and I buy the gas for my van. I use money to make these purchases. The way I get my money is that I produce things or offer services that I exchange to my customers in return for their money. My customers got their money the same way I did i.e., at some point something was produced then exchanged.
It's true...money does make the world go round! The more of it you have the more options you have. The less you have the less options you have. It is the unanimously agreed upon earth standard of measurement and if one has enough of it and controls it (doesn't have to be your own money as long as you control it) one can pretty much buy their way into and out of any game going. Money is the energy of energies. Cut off the money and the project dies. Cut off the money and the production comes to a stand still. And if a person really wants to foul things up quick just make it impossible for people to produce and exchange.
T. Boone's plan (good, great, bad or indifferent) would not have legs to walk on if it did not have T. Boones money (and others) pushing it. And if that money wasn't there buying what it is buying e.g., this ning community website, I would not even know that any of you existed nor would I be here writing to you about some elephant.
The elephant is about the energies' energy...MONEY.
HERE IS THE ELEPHANT
I call this elephant...
BARN RAISING RESURRECTED AND RETOOLED TO WORK IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
or...
THE NEW PARADIGM IN ALTRUISTIC ORGANIZATIONS ENGAGING IN PHILANTHROPIC ACTIVITES.
The first piece of the puzzle is this: that all of us here, this "WE", come together in an honorable agreement and enter into a collaboration that has as its initial goal the establishment of a unique social machine. This machine will be a membership based organization that is constructed for the purpose of accomplishing two objectives of equal importance.
FIRST OBJECTIVE: To facilitate and expedite the emergence of a broad diversity of viable and beneficial new and resurrected technologies that in their application will directly improve (possibly arrest) dangerous situations that are fundamental to all life on this planet.
SECOND OBJECTIVE: To facilitate and expedite the creation, production and distribution of educational products/services that have designed with the purpose to raise the awareness level and level of conceptual understanding of the population at large in regards to the fundamental and contra-survival extant situations so that it will be 'okay' with people to begin modifying their current life styles to life styles that serve to benefit overall survival rather than detract from it.
Question: How is this organization going to facilitate and expedite the two objectives?
Answer: By administering monetary infusions (the enrgies's energy). Also, offering a variety of back-up support services as needed (especially administrative services).
IN A NUTSHELL:
We establish a membership based organization that will exist online, perhaps in a Ning community similar to this one. From the membership we recruit competent individuals to wear the various admin and tech hats required. These individuals will become the administrative body that will effectively manage the organization. These will be full time paid positions.
An individual who becomes a member agrees to wear three hats:
First hat: Once a month transmit 10 units of energy (ten dollars) to a specified location (the collective pot).
(a): the $10 amount is for example only. What the actual amount would end up being is a critical point that will have to be determined.
(b): All members agree to put $10 into a collective fund once every month. Then, from the membership inventors, people with beneficial ideas, ongoing energy enterprises, educational projects, etc. will become applicants and will have go through a process of elimination that includes them informing the membership and answering questions from the membership about their product/service. Each applicant has met all mandatory criteria (this process in its entirety will be created by the admin body with the help of the membership). The membership votes to determine who is awarded the money that is in the collective fund. This elimination process that I am mentioning here might be the most formidable aspect of the process to work out. But to get some ideas on how to organize this we could have a very close look at the American Idol TV show's process. It's obviously a successful process and what we would be doing in this organization would have many similarities. Perhaps we would only have to make a number of modifications to have a system that would work for this machine.
(c): a percentage of the $10 is directed to a fund that pays all admin costs of the organization. The more membership the less percentage is required. The admin body although not being a static will certainly not have to increase in proportion to the increase in number of members. Interconnecting systems have been established and the admin body manages the systems which can easily handle from one member to millions of members.
Second Hat: The member agrees to follow the presentations made by the entrants vying for their infusion (grant) and to vote for their choice when votes are called for.
Third Hat: The member agrees to promote the organization and recruit new members.
Summary:
This proposed organization is a bypass of normal habits, channels and routines. Yes, it has many similarities to many other organizations but it IS different. It is about creating an effective means by which we can actively stack the deck in our favor and bring about an abundance of options. And if we stack the deck in our favor we stack the deck in the world's favor. That's just the kind of folks we are and like it or not we are all connected. As the amount of our infusions (grants) grow and the number of recipients grow those recipients that demonstrate legitimate promise will be rewarded. We will leave room for the wild card and long-shot because...you just never know. (we are the wise farmer) And like those from another time who came together to raise a barn, we will work together, combining and utilizing our diverse expertise, life experiences, skills, talents, money, etc. Finally, we will each become what we cannot be on our own...we each become a philanthropist. I always have said that if I would win the big lottery that the world would be a better place for it. Without question I know that the same would be true for each of you.
The first piece of the puzzle is on the table. It is now your turn to lay your piece down and tell us about it. Maybe it will fit in now and maybe it will fit in later but when it fits is not so important right now as getting it out on the table.
From here I could go on and on and on.....add infinitum. But that is not the point and that is certainly not needed. I now turn the elephant over to you.
Monte
Note: Today is the first day of November. I just want you to know that the elephant is walking (being actively planned by a few individuals that want to see this elephant materialize). In the near future there will be a private group established to work on the elephant (on it's own site not this one) and any of you that have a desire to help in developing a blueprint, so to speak, in order to guide the building of the elephant...just make your desire known via your comment(s) here on this blog or through private email and you will be invited to participate. But, on the other hand, if you have no desire to participate in planning and developing the elephant, however, would like to know when or if the elephant is actually built...make that known too and you will be put on an elephant progress notification list.
One more thing...the concept of this elephant, as mentioned at the beginning of the blog, is SIMPLE. However, the conversion of the elephant from the realm of thought into a tangible physical universe reality is anything but simple. Indeed, it is an undertaking of some magnitude. Having said that, though, the more people that come to the table and work as a team to help in the development process the faster the elephant will materialize.
23 Dec 08: If you were looking at a staircase that had 100 steps going from the lower floor to the upper floor, this idea that I have put forth here is probably sitting somewhere (give or take) around the 73rd step. In other words, to even get to this step, one is going to have to first walk up (one step at a time) at least 72 steps. But with the obvious being noted, I must tell you that the experience of walking around the elephant way up here on the 73rd step has been inspirational for me. Indeed, it helped me to find the first step to take. I am now working on that. If you would like to know more about this step just let me know. Thanks. Monte
There is an old saying that talks about a person looking at an elephant. According to the saying, a person cannot stand in one place and see the entire elephant. The elephant is too big. In order to see the whole elephant the person has to walk all the way around it. Well...that being said, the elephant (the idea) is one that I have walked around more than a few times. The problem is, that although each time I walk around it and observe more than on previous times, I am still only seeing the elephant from my point of view. And because of that I realize that I never really get to see the whole elephant. It's sort of like not being able to turn the dial on your radio so you just keeping listening to the same frequency but you know there are many more frequencies available.
You are invited to walk around the elephant and relate your observations. Who knows...you may be holding critical pieces to the puzzle.
*******************************************
Whenever someone says, "I have an idea." you could convert that to, "I have a solution." Same thing. Ideas are solutions. This elephant is a solution. It is by no means an ultimate solution but as far as solutions go it's a pretty darn good one.
This elephant is incredibly SIMPLE. And therein lies both its greatest power and its greatest weakness. Our biggest challenge will be KISS (keeping it simple stupid). The KISS hat is one that we must all diligently wear 24/7.
The fastest way that I know of to screw up a good idea is to start introducing arbitraries into it. Arbitraries are insidious and breed more arbitraries and before you know it a good idea...a great idea has been taken down faster than a turd in a churn. Let us all be on heightened alert for the introduction of arbitraries into this process.
THE STARTING PIECE OF THE PUZZLE
Why I happen to have the starting piece of this puzzle I couldn't begin to tell you. But I do. More accurately, though, the truth is that we each have starting pieces. While I was busy working on the chassis, someone else was working on the carburetor and another one of you was working on the drive shaft and so on and so forth. I just happened to get to my chassis back to the shop first. And once I show you the chassis you can each begin to install your piece(s) of the puzzle on to it.
My piece of the puzzle has four primary elements. I will address each one then I will combine them and elaborate upon some generalities for you and that...my fellow collaborators, will be the elephant.
A CONDITION OF DANGER
I do not have to spend any time here illuminating or prioritizing the plethora of dangerous conditions that we face on myriad levels. The focus here is not on awareness. We have that. The focus here is on response and action. When a condition of danger exists one does not continue with normal operations. Normal operations are for normal conditions. When a danger condition is extant one bypasses all normal habits, channels and routines and gets busy, doing whatever is necessary, to terminatedly handle the situation and the danger in it.
T. Boone has a plan and if you look closely his plan is a bypass of normal habits, channels and routines (but not completely). He is still, with our help, working to make the political channels that have become grossly, ineffective and obstructive (grossly infected with arbitraries), come around to operating in a rational manner. Personally, I don't advocate one taking all their eggs out of that basket but I sure don't advocate that one should place all of their eggs in that basket either.
This elephant is a BYPASS. It is time for WE THE PEOPLE to grab the reins wherever we can and start getting this runaway stagecoach under control.
THE WISE FARMER
A wise farmer knows that he and his family requires a certain amount of the harvest to sustain them through the winter and until the next harvest. He knows that a certain amount is also needed to sustain his livestock for the same period of time. Now any farmer (even a greenhorn) knows this much but the wise farmer knows that if he just plants enough crops to satisfy the needs of he and his family and his livestock that he would be putting them all at incredible risk. So when the wise farmer plants his crops he plants for himself and his family, his livestock, some to use as barter for other needed products and services that he doesn't produce, some for the pests, some for the weather i.e., the hail, the flood, the drought, the wind and the late frost and...because this farmer is particularly wise...he always leaves a special space in his field for the "wild card" the "long-shot" where he gives new "out-there" sort of farming ideas a chance. He knows it's a gamble and that piece of farm land could be used to grow a crop he knows will do good there...But...who knows...he might just discover or develop something quite incredible or, on the other hand, it might never come to anything. But he knows that if he doesn't play the wild card or go for the long-shot that he will always wonder what he might of missed. And that is just not acceptable to him.
The wise farmer knows that he has to stack the deck in his favor and that the only "enough" there is, is in creating and having an abundance. He recognizes that in his creating a condition of abundance that he has given himself, his family and all that he is connected to (which is everything and everyone) a margin of safety. No abundance = no margin of safety = living on the edge = not being very smart.
Another important thing that the wise farmer knows is that planting the crops is only a part of the process. He knows that he has to care for, nourish, protect and guard his crops. He knows that he has to care for the land and keep the land healthy so that every new growing season he is giving his crops the best chance he can give them. And that when his crops begin to grow and if, for example, his expectations of his corn crop are dampened by some unforeseen occurrence but his soybeans are doing remarkable and will undoubtedly be a bumper crop this year...he doesn't propitiate to the corn by investing his time and energy into a failing crop. Instead, he pours himself, his energy and his efforts into the soybeans as he recognizes that there is where is future survival is.
The elephant is about creating ABUNDANCE, A MARGIN OF SAFETY, SUSTAINABILITY and REWARDING THAT AND WHO WHICH IS BEING BENEFICIALLY PRODUCTIVE and not feeling a need or compulsion to "save" or propitiate to that or who that is being nonproductive.
BARN RAISING
I would guess that everyone here is familiar with what a barn raising is. But have any of you ever participated in one? I grew up on farms and ranches and I never had the experience of an actual barn raising or never even heard of one happening near where I lived. However, living on the ranches (especially the two ranches in New Mexico) that I did, I most definitely experienced the community spirit that embodies a barn raising event.
Here is a quick review of barn raising...
The term barn raising dates back to the construction of barns in the 18th and 19th centuries in rural America (U.S. and Canada). In this era, barns were the first, largest, and most costly structure built by a family who settled in a new area. Barns were a fundamental and necessary structure if one was to be a farmer or rancher. It would be very difficult indeed, if not impossible, for one person to build a barn, and generally these barns were enormous in size! It just wasn’t a smart move for the individual farmer and his family to attempt to build their much-needed barn without help from the community. Nor was it good for the community. It was much more important for the good of the community for the farmer and his family to be farming, not working for months building a barn! Obviously, a farmer and his family, if tackling this job on their own, would have their time, attention and effort be completely consumed by such a monumental task. This certainly would act to prevent them from doing the other numerous duties required to succeed at farming nor would they have any time to contribute to their community. Therefore, the community would come together to raise the barn for the individual and this usually took only one day! Of course, the farmer whose barn was being raised would have all the materials and tools assembled prior to everyone showing up. Now having a huge crowd of people show up to build a barn is one thing but getting that crowd to erect a huge barn of enduring quality in one day was quite another. The point here is that these barn raisings were extremely well coordinated and organized activities.
Barn raising wasn’t done just because it was a polite, kind or nice thing to do; it was done as an essential action to ensure survival! Barn raising was about bettering survival for one and all in the community. It was a way for the community to stack the deck in its favor.
The elephant is BARN RAISING that has been modified to be applied for the present time circumstances. It is an extremely well coordinated organized national and international community activity.
THE ENERGIES' ENERGY
I have a little work shop. It's an old two car garage that has so much stuff in it that I can hardly use it as a shop anymore. I have A reasonable assortment of hand tools and power tools. My various power tools are an essential part of my work as is my van (my mobile shop). My power tools are useless to me if I do not have electricity available. My van is of little value to me if it does not have sufficient gas in its gas tank at all times to get me to and from points A and B. I buy the electricity for my tools and I buy the gas for my van. I use money to make these purchases. The way I get my money is that I produce things or offer services that I exchange to my customers in return for their money. My customers got their money the same way I did i.e., at some point something was produced then exchanged.
It's true...money does make the world go round! The more of it you have the more options you have. The less you have the less options you have. It is the unanimously agreed upon earth standard of measurement and if one has enough of it and controls it (doesn't have to be your own money as long as you control it) one can pretty much buy their way into and out of any game going. Money is the energy of energies. Cut off the money and the project dies. Cut off the money and the production comes to a stand still. And if a person really wants to foul things up quick just make it impossible for people to produce and exchange.
T. Boone's plan (good, great, bad or indifferent) would not have legs to walk on if it did not have T. Boones money (and others) pushing it. And if that money wasn't there buying what it is buying e.g., this ning community website, I would not even know that any of you existed nor would I be here writing to you about some elephant.
The elephant is about the energies' energy...MONEY.
HERE IS THE ELEPHANT
I call this elephant...
BARN RAISING RESURRECTED AND RETOOLED TO WORK IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
or...
THE NEW PARADIGM IN ALTRUISTIC ORGANIZATIONS ENGAGING IN PHILANTHROPIC ACTIVITES.
The first piece of the puzzle is this: that all of us here, this "WE", come together in an honorable agreement and enter into a collaboration that has as its initial goal the establishment of a unique social machine. This machine will be a membership based organization that is constructed for the purpose of accomplishing two objectives of equal importance.
FIRST OBJECTIVE: To facilitate and expedite the emergence of a broad diversity of viable and beneficial new and resurrected technologies that in their application will directly improve (possibly arrest) dangerous situations that are fundamental to all life on this planet.
SECOND OBJECTIVE: To facilitate and expedite the creation, production and distribution of educational products/services that have designed with the purpose to raise the awareness level and level of conceptual understanding of the population at large in regards to the fundamental and contra-survival extant situations so that it will be 'okay' with people to begin modifying their current life styles to life styles that serve to benefit overall survival rather than detract from it.
Question: How is this organization going to facilitate and expedite the two objectives?
Answer: By administering monetary infusions (the enrgies's energy). Also, offering a variety of back-up support services as needed (especially administrative services).
IN A NUTSHELL:
We establish a membership based organization that will exist online, perhaps in a Ning community similar to this one. From the membership we recruit competent individuals to wear the various admin and tech hats required. These individuals will become the administrative body that will effectively manage the organization. These will be full time paid positions.
An individual who becomes a member agrees to wear three hats:
First hat: Once a month transmit 10 units of energy (ten dollars) to a specified location (the collective pot).
(a): the $10 amount is for example only. What the actual amount would end up being is a critical point that will have to be determined.
(b): All members agree to put $10 into a collective fund once every month. Then, from the membership inventors, people with beneficial ideas, ongoing energy enterprises, educational projects, etc. will become applicants and will have go through a process of elimination that includes them informing the membership and answering questions from the membership about their product/service. Each applicant has met all mandatory criteria (this process in its entirety will be created by the admin body with the help of the membership). The membership votes to determine who is awarded the money that is in the collective fund. This elimination process that I am mentioning here might be the most formidable aspect of the process to work out. But to get some ideas on how to organize this we could have a very close look at the American Idol TV show's process. It's obviously a successful process and what we would be doing in this organization would have many similarities. Perhaps we would only have to make a number of modifications to have a system that would work for this machine.
(c): a percentage of the $10 is directed to a fund that pays all admin costs of the organization. The more membership the less percentage is required. The admin body although not being a static will certainly not have to increase in proportion to the increase in number of members. Interconnecting systems have been established and the admin body manages the systems which can easily handle from one member to millions of members.
Second Hat: The member agrees to follow the presentations made by the entrants vying for their infusion (grant) and to vote for their choice when votes are called for.
Third Hat: The member agrees to promote the organization and recruit new members.
Summary:
This proposed organization is a bypass of normal habits, channels and routines. Yes, it has many similarities to many other organizations but it IS different. It is about creating an effective means by which we can actively stack the deck in our favor and bring about an abundance of options. And if we stack the deck in our favor we stack the deck in the world's favor. That's just the kind of folks we are and like it or not we are all connected. As the amount of our infusions (grants) grow and the number of recipients grow those recipients that demonstrate legitimate promise will be rewarded. We will leave room for the wild card and long-shot because...you just never know. (we are the wise farmer) And like those from another time who came together to raise a barn, we will work together, combining and utilizing our diverse expertise, life experiences, skills, talents, money, etc. Finally, we will each become what we cannot be on our own...we each become a philanthropist. I always have said that if I would win the big lottery that the world would be a better place for it. Without question I know that the same would be true for each of you.
The first piece of the puzzle is on the table. It is now your turn to lay your piece down and tell us about it. Maybe it will fit in now and maybe it will fit in later but when it fits is not so important right now as getting it out on the table.
From here I could go on and on and on.....add infinitum. But that is not the point and that is certainly not needed. I now turn the elephant over to you.
Monte
Note: Today is the first day of November. I just want you to know that the elephant is walking (being actively planned by a few individuals that want to see this elephant materialize). In the near future there will be a private group established to work on the elephant (on it's own site not this one) and any of you that have a desire to help in developing a blueprint, so to speak, in order to guide the building of the elephant...just make your desire known via your comment(s) here on this blog or through private email and you will be invited to participate. But, on the other hand, if you have no desire to participate in planning and developing the elephant, however, would like to know when or if the elephant is actually built...make that known too and you will be put on an elephant progress notification list.
One more thing...the concept of this elephant, as mentioned at the beginning of the blog, is SIMPLE. However, the conversion of the elephant from the realm of thought into a tangible physical universe reality is anything but simple. Indeed, it is an undertaking of some magnitude. Having said that, though, the more people that come to the table and work as a team to help in the development process the faster the elephant will materialize.
23 Dec 08: If you were looking at a staircase that had 100 steps going from the lower floor to the upper floor, this idea that I have put forth here is probably sitting somewhere (give or take) around the 73rd step. In other words, to even get to this step, one is going to have to first walk up (one step at a time) at least 72 steps. But with the obvious being noted, I must tell you that the experience of walking around the elephant way up here on the 73rd step has been inspirational for me. Indeed, it helped me to find the first step to take. I am now working on that. If you would like to know more about this step just let me know. Thanks. Monte
Comment
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Comment by Bill Tucker on August 23, 2009 at 3:51pm - I do believe this elephant has left the room along time ago.
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Comment by Lou De Frog on August 23, 2009 at 8:53am -
It is interesting how things have developed since Novermber of last year.-9 months. The Jacobins and Girondins are still arguing over the bread, and the helots still want a republic, which is Government by the few. Really, the word 'democracy' does not even appear anywhere in the American Constitution.
The representative Government called a 'democratic republic' is very different from a 'democracy'. In fact, all organizations and countries are ruled by the Few. True democracy is anarchism. Not sure how any of that fits in with barn raising or elephant raising for that matter. Structures are important and I just wanted you to know that I am wishing you success with your garden.
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Comment by Lou De Frog on August 13, 2009 at 5:36am
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You sound like an administrator of money. People are a different problem. The whole thing has to be very simple. A monthly membership is fine (no strings attached - no promises) Why not have the same freedom with the investment money? Loan the money to the Community Corporation (Municipal Government) interest free. If the funding is spent to make the community more self sustainable and more enjoyable to live in you will get the benefit from it every day of the year. If the loans are small enough no one will complain if the first project happens in Forth Smith or President Obama's back yard.
Once the first is operational, that group/community will pay back the interest free loan and something else can be built in another location. Heck, the first project could be a wind generator dedicated to Boone Pickens.
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Comment by ML Hayes on November 18, 2008 at 5:56am -
Monte,
The idea and the reality are miles apart but the concept is non the less valid. What BillT has stated is observation. His insight is precise and on the money in every word. From this, we can make certain decisions that will either give us momentum of show us the flaw in our thinking.
In my opinion the Elephant is simply a framework for working together. Unfortunately, it hasn't been presented in a manner that allows people to move forward with specific actions. It proposes a system of voluntary leadership that can be simply stated as, 'If not you, and then who?'
Let's leave off the rhetoric momentarily. This framework was born of observations taken during the process of business transactions. That agreed on premises focused the buying and the selling parties on a specific goal, objective and method of achieving all of the above. What makes the Elephant Framework work for you (in your business) is that agreement of objective. What made it work for your customers is that flexibility of methodology within a framework of definite and relevant structure otherwise known as customization.
The PickensPlan will ebb and flow within the consciousness of the American society. In the end, a public outlet for expression of thought and sentiment on the national energy dilemma is necessary and helpful. Pickens has allowed this site to become more of a personality cult with national energy plan overtones than a serious forum for measuring the will of the people to be responsible for establishing and monitoring the energy issues that affect us nationally.
This is why I proposed an action that addresses the core problem. The Investment Club idea is designed to give the common man a stake in his future. It would allow him to learn a new skill at a pace and an expense that most could manage. I propose using the Pickens Plan infrastructure as a funnel to attract people who are ready to act, but may and may not have a specific action to execute. Let me clarify that last sentence by saying, inventors and innovators of technology have specific ideas to propose, but the rest of us who are not so gifted, do not. These are the facts and the issues that the Investment Club addresses.
The fact that the issues are the captive of vested interests that are singularly focused on capitalist action isn't disputed. T. Boone Pickens is a member of this segment of the community. They dominate the discussion and the action with regards to energy policy through their financial capabilities. The Investment Club is a proposal to collaborate on building a voice for the common man that would be heard within the community.
I have not asked anyone to contribute money to the formation of the Investment Club as an extension of the Elephant Framework because the ideas formulated by you were still forthcoming. In truth, I thought more would be flowing from minds like Bill T and others but this hasn't been the case.
What I see is trepidation at revealing these kinds of thoughts on a public medium where the whole world is watching. This timidity is a thread that keeps the grandeous idea of a national energy policy on lock down. I am no prophet, but I can guarantee you that we will see a repeat of the Fall of '08 Great Gasoline Price Heist. Why? Because the failure to plan is a plan to fail, and life is repetitive by omnipotent design unless acted on by a force great enough to amend its orbit or alter its revolution.
Foremost in this order of things is the fact that we can't expect our neighbors to not take advantage of the fact that our leaders are extending them an invitation, no a proposition to take advantage of us. This delusion isn't necessarily illegal in the sense that it is traitorous, but it shave that line so thin that we have to ask ourselves just what does it mean to be an American citizen these days.
Given the election of Obama, the wholesale abdication of responsible governance by the Bush Administration and the inability of governments globally to reign in the financial terror of the global financial community, just where does that leave you and I, (the average "do as you are told" American citizen)?
In my humble opinion, it leaves us just where our forefathers were in 1775. The circumstances are not really complicated by the existence of technology (the Internet, PickensPlan web site, etc.); as much as they are the fact that this technology is erasing the familiar and delineating borders that allow us to determine where and how we will behave in conjunction with who we believe we have sufficient affinity with to contribute our loyalty by way of tangible action.
We are all mature enough to know what must be done in these matters, as the evidence of the change in the planet’s climate continues to grow at tragic cost to life and property around our earth. Thus the facts are; that we must do something and the hole into which we have been collectively hiding our heads is become a world in and of itself given its current rate of growth and present state of overpopulation.
My proposal is still on the table. I still wait for your comments and criticisms.
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Comment by Eric Lykins on November 16, 2008 at 10:40pm -
hood ornament
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Comment by Monte Smith on November 16, 2008 at 8:55pm -
Some of you here have already read this via an email that I sent out but I wanted to go ahead and include it here as part of the evolution of this elephant.
The other day whlle I was busy making a custom cabinet and contemplating ML's proposal on an investment club, I was suddenly nudged aside by a very clear and distinct image of a gigantic Indian elephant that came into view in my mind. I found myself observing this elephant from a side viewpoint. His head was on my left and his tail was on my right. The elephant was not standing still. He was moving forward and eating an incredible volume of vegetation. Then...ever so often..it would pause momentarily, lift up it's tail and this enormous quantity of dung would exit from its ass end. So, to reiterate, here in my mind I have this humongous Indian elephant in front of me and its head is facing to my left and it's walking forward, eating and every 20 yards or so...it raises its tail and distributes a pile of dung that would fill the bed of a full size pick-up truck. Eventually I am able to shift my attention from the front of the elephant and focus on the tail end. I start looking closely at the dung and I begin to see something very interesting taking place. What I see is all sorts of new life springing up because of the nutritional value of this dung. The dung is not only making new life possible, but it is also enhancing the extant life that is using the dung for valuable nourishment. And then it hit me. Even though, I originally used the old saying about having to walk around the elephant to see the whole elephant as a device to create interest and mystery around my idea...it turns out that the elephant metaphor is tailor made for our elephant. I realized that the elephant I was looking at in my mind was our elephant.
What is an elephant but an organic machine that intakes raw material (varieties of vegetation) on one end, moves the raw material through a series of systems whereby it is altered in numerous ways, and...in the process of altering the raw material the elephant is also given energy and is sustained. Finally, the new configuration of elements (dung) that was once living organic matter exit the elephant and are distributed in the environment. But...the dung is not a waste product. The dung is a valuable exchangeable product that the elephant gives to its environment and other life in its environment in return for continued support. Dung, though, is not all that the elephant is exchanging with its physical and social environment. I went a Googlin....take a look at what I found...
Elephant Environmental Impact
A super keystone species
For elephants modifying the environment their foraging is termed destruction, but for man this is called development.
Not surprisingly, our narrow opinion of seeing elephants only as living bulldozers of destruction is far from the case. As well as having an impact on the land, elephants have a huge effect on the overall ecosystem.
As much as 80 percent of what elephants consumed is returned to the soil as barely digested highly fertile manure.
Elephants provide a vital role in the ecosystem they inhabit.
They modify their habitat by converting Savannah and woodlands to grasslands
Elephants can provide water for other species by digging water holes in dry riverbeds
the depressions created by their footprints and their bodies trap rainfall
Elephants act as seed dispersers by their fecal matter. It is often carried below ground by dung beetles and termites causing the soil to become more aerated and further distributing the nutrients
Their paths act as firebreaks and rain water conduits
An Elephants journey through the high grass provides food for birds by disturbing small reptiles, amphibians or insects.
http://elephant.elehost.com/About_Elephants/Impact/impact.html
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Elephant's purpose:
To summarize our two year observations so far concerning the "Elephant as Nature's Gardener": 1. Elephants fertilize the forest with their dung. 2. Elephants plant trees and plants from the seeds in their dung. 3. Elephants trim the grasses so that seedling can grow. 4. Elephants knock down dead trees so that plant shoots will sprout and reach for the sun out of the shadow of the dead tree. 5. Elephants remove entangling vines from growing trees so that they will not be smothered.
http://elephantreintroduction.blogspot.com/2006/06/one-of-elephants-performing-one-of.html
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"Conserving elephants, then becomes much more than an issue about how to protect a single species. It is about protecting one of the forces that shapes ecosystems and helps sustain the wealth of wildlife found across much of the continent. It is about saving the creative power of nature."
Douglas Chadwick in The Fate of the Elephant
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It is no accident that it is the elephant that has come to be the symbol of this barn raising in the twenty-first century idea.
Perhaps we could create a whole line of elephant merchandize to market and thereby create a separate line of income that would pay all administrative costs and then some, for the elephant. In fact, this could possibly be an investment activity within the core investment activity and while this itself would not be philanthropic in nature, by paying the admin expense of elephant operations, it would serve a philanthropic purpose. Another way to use the dung.
Monte
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Comment by Monte Smith on November 16, 2008 at 4:29pm
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Eric,
I had never heard of James McMurtry before your post. Thank you! He is a real find. I went to his site and told him that through you he and his song, See the Elephant, have made it onto the Pickens Plan.
It looks like we are adding yet another layer of meaning to this old euphemism of see the elephant.
Thanks much for your contribution Eric.
Monte
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Comment by Bill Tucker on November 16, 2008 at 1:34pm
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Eric,
I enjoyed the theme music and the story, thank you.
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Comment by Eric Lykins on November 16, 2008 at 12:07pm
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See the Elephant:
Interview with James McMurtry:
"I got it from the back page of 'Guns and Ammo,' from a column by Col. Jeff Cooper, the last of the really literate gun writers," McMurtry says. "Before World War II and the country was more rural, if the circus came to town, a lot of things would come with it — prostitutes, liquor. 'See the elephant' was a euphemism for, um, a young man getting some experience." But that wasn't the only meaning. "My mother heard the song and said, 'I didn't know you knew that much about the Civil War.' In the army of Northern Virginia, 'see the elephant' was a euphemism for your first taste of battle."
Enjoy the theme music...
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Comment by Monte Smith on November 8, 2008 at 9:22pm
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Richard,
Thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to find and present that information on Ning for me. It was helpful. I have never been a geek and I do not foresee being one. I do know what I know and I do know what I don't know. To build this elephant and actually get it functioning and then have it actually be successful is going to require many different people who know what they know and do what they know how to do. Sir Patrick knows ning and web development and much more. He also knows the elephant so he will have to be the one to take the lead in getting the elephant into being its own ning community off this PP site. If we were actually building a real barn I could easily take the lead in that but we aren't building a real barn. Hence, I will do whatever I can do when I can to help facilitate and expedite this project. I can and I am willing to follow another's lead. I do have a broader base of talents and skills other than those related to the construction industry that I am bringing to the table. But when I contemplate the building of this elephant I get this "gut" feeling that everything I have done and experienced and learned in my life up to this point is going to be needed and utilized in this immense project.
Monte
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