Change the Calendar, Change the World? Really?

In light of Popular Mechanics Mag’s article on the Holocene Calendar, I’m reblogging this article to link with my more recent cultural framing article…

ShiraDest: toward The Four Freedoms for All Human Beings

In my review of a book on Cherokee Women’s Voices, I commented that the change in the calendar, from the traditional East Coast native American way of seeing time, to the Gregorian Calendar, played a large role in cementing the ‘civilization’ plan to Europeanize Native Americans.

See:  http://meowdate.dreamwidth.org/8663.html

But I wonder whether all the work those of us in the Calendar Reform movement do will really lead to the cultural change, and hence the world change, that we want to see?  In inclusive calendar should, hopefully, make people think more open-mindedly, or at least think in terms of Humanity rather than just the Christianity of 2014 AD, or Judaism’s 5773, or Islam’s 6xxx years?   But are we calendar reformers too optimistic?  How do we all come to think of ourselves as just human beings, rather than Black, White, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, American, Russian, Ukranian, etc?

In Service to Community…

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New Year, New cultural Frame? (with thanks to PM for G. Tepe image…)

The previous year, 2016, has shown us that the entire world is in need of change, in particular in the ways that we see, or do not see, one another.  Cultural dominance, as  shown by the use of the Gregorian Calendar, is something that frames the world-view of all of us who grow up within Western/European culture.  To build a more inclusive and kinder world, we must learn to reframe our ways of thinking, change our perspectives.

One way of doing this is by watching and creating more shows which show women and other traditionally marginalized groups in positions of authority, such as Turkish businesswoman Güler Sabancı  on Sihirli Annem (2003).

Another way of doing this is to begin using a calendar that is inclusive of all humanity: The Holocene Calendar (El calendario Holoceno.)

Read, Write, Dream, Teach !
ShiraDest
January 20th (updated 7 February), 12017 HE

SafetyPin, IRV, NVC and HE: Suggestions for Immediate/short-term, mid-term, long-term, and Dream-term strategies

We are all working to continue to recover from the shock of this past week.  Still, certain strategies that many of us began putting into place some time ago continue to have value.  One strategy is working to build inclusive cultural structures that can reframe our ways of thinking as a culture (clearly long term work), such as using the Holocene Calendar.

Adapting to the needs of the moment, however, are also clearly important, and more vicerally compelling as well.  To that end, many of us are standing, like the Sargents from Herland, together with the most vulnerable, ready to calmly, even grimly, but non-violently, face down those who would threaten or do harm.  Like those Sargents, we stand with the discipline that Dr. King and Gandhi taught, of non-violent resistance.  Those who wear a #SafetyPin are pledging to stand with all of our fellow human beings under threat.

But we need intermediate strategies, between the short-term reaction of the #SafetyPin movement, and the long-term, evolving toward inclusive cultural change.  I would suggest that one mid-range strategy to work for is Instant Run-off Voting (IRV), also known as Ranked Choice Voting, such as the state of Maine recently adopted.

A second mid-term to long-term strategy is to study and share Non-Violent Communication (NVC) while working toward better jobs (especially via worker’s cooperatives and unions/labor activism) for ALL races and classes.

So, short, medium and long-term: Stand together using NVC to work for IRV, and eventually changing our year designation from Anno Domini/Common Era to Holocene/Human Era (HE).

Finally, my personal Dream-term (very long-term) goal is to see both single payer health care and a Universal Basic Income, such as Dr. King called for over 40 years ago.  These would allow every person, of any creed, color, class, etc, to reach his or her full potential as a human being.  That is, after all, the real American Dream, isn’t it?

Read, Write, Dream, Teach !

ShiraDest
November 13th, 12016 HE

Usefulness of a Year Zero

The Holocene Calendar, a calendar beginning at about the start of visible effects of human activity on the earth (around 12,000 years ago), is easier to use, understand and teach because it has a year Zero.

Unlike most calendars, which begin their counts at some point in the history of one particular group, the Holocene Calendar is meant to include all of humanity.  It’s also alot easier to teach kids history.  More importantly, having an inclusive calendar means we all learn to think of ourselves as human beings, all living in the Holocene or Human Era.

Read, Write, Dream, Teach !

ShiraDest
30 March, 12016 HE

(later edits: 1. an inclusive Calendar is a good start, imho, for re-framing the way we think and communicate, which works with NonViolent Communication to change our culture and thus our world and 2. PM agrees: https://shiradest.wordpress.com/2017/01/20/new-year-new-cultural-frame/…) -9th of June and 7 February, of 12017HE,  orig: 2016

Change the Calendar, Change the World? Really?

In my review of a book on Cherokee Women’s Voices, I commented that the change in the calendar, from the traditional East Coast native American way of seeing time, to the Gregorian Calendar, played a large role in cementing the ‘civilization’ plan to Europeanize Native Americans.

See:  http://meowdate.dreamwidth.org/8663.html

But I wonder whether all the work those of us in the Calendar Reform movement do will really lead to the cultural change, and hence the world change, that we want to see?  In inclusive calendar should, hopefully, make people think more open-mindedly, or at least think in terms of Humanity rather than just the Christianity of 2014 AD, or Judaism’s 5773, or Islam’s 6xxx years?   But are we calendar reformers too optimistic?  How do we all come to think of ourselves as just human beings, rather than Black, White, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, American, Russian, Ukranian, etc?

In Service to Community Cooperation, and Fraternite,

ShiraDestinie

U.N. Date: Thursday, October 5. 12014 H.E. (Holocene Era)

http://universalcalendar.eu5.org/
(updated to add NVC for Cultural Change also…), Read, Write, Dream, Teach !

ShiraDest
20 March, 12016 HE (updated to include link to the book review on Goodreads and 2 new tags, 8 February, 12017 HE…)