Instead Of Draining The Swamp: New Horizons Next Peace Action Campaign

The search for three to four power hit words is on at New Horizons!

Our aim is to take what I mean by “swamp draining” as a metaphor to a higher level; a level that does not mean getting rid of anyone or anything -- that is not unless they are certifiably dangerous. And then what do we do?

Sue, our resident environmentalist has all kinds of “swamp” info to help us understand the true and scientifically sound ecological. That is her training and her expertise.

But what is our mission here?

So far, we are able to sum it up with the following. But there is still more. How do we make the whole of our message get folks to take next steps and get actively involved?

This we can state -- 

• We want people, in small groups, businesses and organizations to talk to one another like never before. 

• We want people to learn better and better ways to cross any and all divides and move into some kind of common ground.

• We want to help people resolve petty, day to day conflicts that separate us by learning the art of leaning in.

To achieve our end in this quest, we need your help!

And, you know what? I don’t yet know myself how to articulate what we are after in words that pop and grab attention.

But we do know that we want people to pay attention to the powerhouse package we have to help better our society.

So what do we do when our time is now and we don’t yet know how to deliver our message?

At New Horizons, behind the scenes and upfront, we do our best to guide others (and ourselves) to bridge gaps; overcome polarization, make violence obsolete and talk, talk, talk as we do at our Coffee House Conversations. We just keep talking, along with doing our best to stay clear and centered on each person’s unique perspective on things and respectful!  

That’s how we go about our business of building small “zones of peace” wherever we go.

Now, like never before, we need your help in the form of input, brainstorming and creative problem solving ideas to help us develop a branding of ourselves in new ways. To carry our message and what we have to offer the various communities within which we place ourselves. 

We won’t brand ourselves as “draining the swamp” as our next initiative, but what then? 

What can we say to explain our mission -- and our vision -- instead of “draining the swamp?”  

Indeed, we are after transforming the undeveloped landscapes within ourselves and our surrounding environs into sustainable “zones of peace.” 

But how can we speak of this in three or four sparkling words?

Right now we realize we are taking up an enormous task that is about not only learning to converse well, country-wide, with one and all but, in doing that, to make significant social changes, over time. So while the whole of this new discussion is still pretty vague, if you have any thoughts or ideas -- 

Please either post your opinions on this issue on this blog site or email me, directly with your thoughts at SuperSleuthDSW@aol.com.

Meanwhile, I will be back again soon to share some of the thoughts and ideas the New Horizons Board of Directors is considering for this effort behind the scenes. Once I got started, as I did this morning, talking to my board members about how stuck I’ve been for the past month, I got myself ready to keep talking to get unstuck.

Try it, you’ll like it, if you don’t already know the magic of “just keep talking” and soul searching.

It works!