“If it’s not on the calendar, it will not happen.”
–Anon
–Anon
Daily
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Recurring Thematic Sequence
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Presidential Election Cycle
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If competence at music or sports requires daily practice,
well what about citizenship?
At least 15 to 30 minutes per day --- writing summaries of
arguments on both sides of an issue or gathering quantitative or other data
to improve a matrix.
Reinforcing biases by reading just your own side’s
favorite editorialist doesn’t count.
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Organize time thematically by week, day, or month.
Week One:
Foreign policy
Week Two:
Economy – economic
growth and inequality
Week Three:
Health Care and Education
Week Four:
Climate change/identity
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Decision Log
Why did I vote the way I voted?
What were the principles, facts, solutions that drove the
decision?
Was it the charisma of candidate A or the lack of
integrity of B?
Tribal loyalty in the end?
Individual and Collective Decisions Recorded
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EXAMPLES
In the United States, there is a 4 year election cycle – so
48 months between elections.
Say there are 8 issues of compelling importance that you and
your fellow seekers are interested in: foreign policy, fiscal and monetary
policy, economic inequality, the environment, education, health care, and race and gender
discrimination.
Well, if you meet once a month, you should have 6 chances to go through the matrix-construction-exchange cycle on each issue.
If you meet weekly, well 208 weeks, 8 issues, 26 touches on
the ball.
A more complex calendar could involve something like a
different issue per month, with a different disciplinary approach each week of the
month. So if it’s foreign policy month, week one could look at issues from a military
perspective, week two from an
ethical perspective, week three from an economic perspective, week four from the
perspective of domestic politics.