Re: Political diversity
From: Todd Samusson (toddsamuteleport.com)
Date: Wed, 19 Jun 1996 20:30:33 -0500
Larry Israel's post on political diversity in cohousing raises interesting
questions.
One thing he asks is:
Do you aspire to live in apolitically diverse community -- including
(shudder) Republicans?

In a sweeping generalization I'll suggest the ideology of the current
Republican party in the U.S. is basically anti-diversity, sexist, racist,
classist, militarist, and imperialist, and hypercapitalist (profit at any
expense, including health of the planet and its inhabitants).
They cover it up quite well with other rhetoric, but the implications of
that ideology transferred into policy are pretty dangerous.

This ideology is indicative of a set of values. It comes from a way of
looking at the world and yourself in relationship to the world. It's a set
set of values and a vision that I find destructive.

So my answer is, no, I don't really want to live in close community with
people like that. Toward that end, Cascadia Commons spent a serious chunk
of time telling stories and sharing experiences in order to come up with a
mission statement, a values statement, and a vision statement.

The values statement is essentially a set of principles of unity. Believes
or values we hold in common as important to community. The vision statement
is an effort to describe how those values translate into physical
community.

When you join Cascadia Commons, you sign on to those values. If you don't
agree with them, you don't join. This is a pretty strong deterrent to right
wing politics.

Is it exclusive to some people? Absolutely.
But more importantly it's inclusive to people who support the values we
feel are essential to creating and sustaining a healthy community.

Todd Samusson
toddsamu [at] teleport.com


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