Politics made personal - and personality made political
This meet-up is for the purpose of exploring a new dimension in political practice that is summed up in Dr Mike Roth's claim: the quality of our personal and political judgments stems directly from the intelligence and the rapport that we are able to embody in the inter-personal space. (for more on "inter-personal space" follow this link: http://bit.ly/yqdaWi#inter-personal%20space )
Mikes claim - that our politics can only be as good as the personal connections we make - is the same core message that is enacted in the celebrated TV drama The West Wing, and its 2011 Danish successor Borgen. It was The West Wing that predicted - and arguably helped to facilitate - the emergence and the initial positive impact of Barack Obama. It did not foresee the disappointment - the fizzling out of political dynamism - that we have witnessed in the years from 2009. Mike is suggesting that this deflation is a direct consequence of Obama having less dynamic and intimate connections with his political colleagues than did his televisual counterpart, Matt Santos.
The tele-dramas depict a rich inter-personal grounding of the political life - and they stir up in us the hope, that power and politics could actually embody a real human integrity and morality. They imply this is possible, even in the face of difficult real-politik compromise and inevitable trade-off of rival "goods" and lesser "evils". Delicate negotiations, subtle judgments, and Mike is arguing that it is down to us - to learn how to embody the needful qualities in our personal dealings with one another. This would require of us that we seek a different alignment, a different candour, and different risks and entrustments between us all, face to face and in real time.
The Politics of Subtle Transformation is a practical method, for doing this micro-political work. Mike Roth claims to have developed an incubator for the nurturing of high-quality relatedness and connection, upon which our future Good Life may depend. He calls this: a soft technology for transformative communication. In these meet-ups we are inviting you to come and test out these claims for yourself. Mike says he is a revolutionary social scientist (though he is not currently known as any such thing). He wants you to come and explore his discovery with him, and help find out if it really works.
Please note that this is an alternative front-end to another Meet-Up site "Poetics of Love and Freedom". Mike's inspirations are diverse enough, it helps if there are multiple approaches to the practice he is inviting us to. You are presently located at the intersection of Edmund Burke's Way, Karl Marx Boulevarde, and Malcolm X Avenue. The other site draws upon D.W. Winnicott, Martin Buber, and The Beatles (All You Need is Love). Mike insists that all these are fully compatible, once you have learned how to swim.
There is a lot more information about the general approach at http://bit.ly/yqdaWi
wrote a group review
