A Second Commentary for today by Anastasia,
Why the rush to get these words up here today?
Because Anastasia has a commitment to the New Horizons Board of Directors to post one blog per week on our two main, New Horizons-sponsored sites, this one and Anastasia the Storyteller, and she almost didn't make it for September!
Check your clocks. It's after six on September's last day.
The following article also posted to Anastasia The Storyteller.
New Horizons Board Member, Lynn Cullather, and I got into a discussion yesterday on the subject of what is pushing me to carry this plan forward, originating with me, the Truth Or Dare Movement: Destination Capitol Hill.
Lynn wondered if what I was after was changing the world.
Not hardly, said I!
“No such gigantic dream like that for me,” I asserted, as I went on to share what I thought motivates me.
Here are a few of my thoughts on the matter.
- For me truth-seeking, truth-telling and truth-listening bring order out of chaos, peace out of disruption. That makes them of the highest order, as the alternative is no option at all.
Take a look at how important Congress is making truth-telling or not as a value, enough for the topic to take over most things there these days.
By the time the drama of Trump's impeachment is resolved, we will all have had plenty of opportunity to see how the importance of truth-telling or the absence thereof can play out, on as gigantic a stage as our country can afford us.
What could be bigger, for us, than our three main branches of government, Congress, the Office of the President and the courts?
Might be an ideal time for wise citizens to start exploring the broader implications of truth in their personal lives, relationships and close-by communities, a time for pointing the finger of expected transparency, accountability and day-to-day integrity principles as a topmost practice in our own lives.
- With this in mind, I realize that I/we at New Horizons have, along with the strong foundations upon which our organization operates internally, the expertise, skills and tools to, at least, offer to contribute what I/we can to the social and political chaos now running rampant throughout our country through the package of what our Truth Or Dare Movement can provide, once up and fully operational.
I know, as the original architect of our movement that the components of which it is comprised, not only make my life work remarkably well, but that these elements have also made an important contribution to enhancing the lives of hundreds, possibly thousands of others over the past forty-five years of their service.
We have even saved a good hand full of lives in those years.
Our Truth Or Dare GAME has been at the forefront of these gains since its inception in 1976.
So why not, at least, make our best effort to offer what we have that has been tried and found true, with the hope of improvement where there is upset, Capitol Hill among other places, especially through lies, perceived or actual, being the cornerstone of greatest importance at this time.
Again the words of Charles Krauthammer ring in my ears.
You’re betraying your whole life if you don’t say what you think – and you don’t say it honestly and bluntly.
- We are after accomplishing the giving of what we have, in full measure, to the best of our abilities, believing that our Truth Or Dare Movement might, minimally, make a small dent by, at least,
- furthering discussions on the topic of truth.
- If meaningful conversation is all we accomplish, it might just be something to prime the flames of change.
Another truth proclaimed in the Jewish High Holiday prayers, now being practiced, suggests that it is asked of us, if we are to be the best of ourselves that –
“We must begin with ourselves, but not end with ourselves.”
- Again New Horizons Truth Or Dare Movement can be an enhanced pathway for doing this which is why, at this time, we are doing everything we can to boost Truth Or Dare capabilities in each and every one of our board members, for starters. In time, hopefully, they will be able to carry our brand of impact through skillfulness out to others in ways that could potentially make a modicum of difference, potentially.
In fact, among our board members we are already seeing evidence of this from the fruits of our efforts in big and small ways, now that our revitalized Truth Or Dare GAME and its associated GAME community has passed its one year anniversary date, just last week.
Enough said for today. And just enough to get my remaining four blog posts up before midnight.
Read new commentary today by New Horizons Executive Director (and Truth Or Dare Poster Girl), Anastasia Rosen-Jones --
Reflections On Why Truth Matters To Me
Hood College Community Volunteer And Internships Fair
Frederick Maryland
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Press Release (Draft)
New Horizons Truth Or Dare Movement Goes Public
After weeks of planning and anticipation, New Horizons Support Network, Inc’s Executive Director, Anastasia Rosen-Jones, and long-time Board Member, Sue deVeer found themselves, on Thursday, September 12, at the display table they had been carefully preparing for weeks, set up and ready to welcome potentially interested students attending the Hood College Community Volunteer And Internship Fair.
The fair, specially designed to match students and local non-profit organizations for cooperative service activities, would enable them on this day, to carry out dual intentions: to publicly convey the message of their Truth Or Dare Movement to what they hoped would be enthusiastic attendees of the fair while more privately celebrating what their combined visionary perspectives had been conjuring up for the past six months or so.
Depicting the message they most wanted to convey that something big and bold was happening at New Horizons and all were invited, a display board surrounded by information handouts aided Anastasia and Sue in being able to summarily describe and tell the story of what New Horizons Truth or Dare Movement: Destination Capitol Hill intends and has in store for participants.
First they wanted to invite people to sign their “expanded” Pro-Truth Pledge that would officially engage willing signees to assert a steadfast commitment to making truth-telling an essential part of daily living while concurrently insisting that others do the same or face consequences, especially those in elected leadership positions.
Next they wanted to announce plans, already in motion, to carry their message by 2021 to Capitol Hill along with a variety of educational seminars focused on exploring questions New Horizons has identified as pertinent such as: Why tell the truth?, When do you tell the truth?, How do you tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?, When is it ok to not tell the truth?.
Finally New Horizons aspires to teach others the art of truth-telling and truth-listening in their signature interactive, personal and community development program, the Truth Or Dare GAME, originally established by New Horizons in Montgomery County in 1976!
Hood College has been identified as the location for New Horizons Truth Or Dare Movement pilot program, intended to be the testing and developing site for a project that plans to expand next year to other campus communities. As New Horizons’ Truth Or Dare Movement gathers student momentum throughout the Washington, D.C. region, organizers are preparing for an advancement on Capitol Hill after next year’s presidential election campaigns have been put to bed with a newly elected or reelected inhabitant of 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue installed.
As it turned out the display board and handouts did what they were intended to do, serving as a mini-presentation for the main aspects of New Horizons ambitious Truth Or Dare Movement.
Explaining their timely topic, truth telling, became a hot item for discussions by Anastasia and Sue with the fair’s student attendees keeping them on their toes throughout the event as students asked questions and replied with enthusiastic comments of their own thinking. Even students who were not interested in volunteering or interning seemed eager to know more about the scope of the Pro-Truth Pledge and the Movement itself.
An added highlight of the day was the networking that also arose for Anastasia and Sue with representatives of other non-profit organizations, some of whom signed the pledge. And, of course, the hoped for outcome of the Truth Or Dare Movement project was realized for that day attracting some very talented student volunteers and interns who in the week following the fair are already beginning to join with New Horizons to begin creating an on-campus Pro-Truth Pledge signing campaign and a variety of events and seminars now being scheduled for the Fall and Spring semesters.
Mission accomplished!
The first step of New Horizons Truth Or Dare Movement plan, Hood College as the initial pilot project, has now been launched!
For details and information, contact Anastasia at: cell -- 240.409.5347, email: MountainWomanRJ@aol.com.
