SOcial Responsibility
Thao & Sheila
What is social responsibility?
Social responsibility is the endeavor of taking on the many existing challenges which permeate our society, in ways that reflect the human capacity for love and understanding, and cultivates the ability to nurture our communities, the natural world, and ourselves. Social responsibility understood in two dimensions and practices: 1. The Sanctuary Model: A trauma informed care model that recognizes everyone experiences trauma and it affects us differently. It is compromised of three main components: theoretical philosophies; trauma informed shared language, and a set of practical tools known as the Sanctuary Tool kit. More detailed information is on the column below to the left side. 2. Ubuntu:
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Building A villageTakes awareness of the village and yourself
A few years ago I went to a few trainings that really changed my views on social responsibility that I carry to this day. I appreciate you taking the time to allow me to share some of those view with you.
"A traumatic experience impacts the entire person – the way we think, the way we learn, the way we remember things, the way we feel about ourselves, the way we feel about other people, and the way we make sense of the world..."- Sandra Bloom, M.D.
The trainings that I went to were put on by The Sanctuary Institute about The Sanctuary Model is based a trauma informed care that was developed by Dr. Sandra L. Bloom. I am not trained to give trainings or information on the Sanctuary model but I will encourage you to check out their website http://thesanctuaryinstitute.org/about-us/the-sanctuary-model in order to get a more complete picture of what the Sanctuary Model entails. The information that I will provide is what I took away from the trainings that I went to. This model is made for an organization to work cohesively and effectively but I have adapted its beliefs in my life and how I interact with others.
There are seven values that the Sanctuary highlights for individuals and organizations to use in order to go away from trauma-reactive behaviors. These values are referred to as the seven commitments. · Commitment to Nonviolence: safe outside: recognizing we all come from different paths; Safe inside: emotionally realize that feeling emotions is okay, it is how we deal with it that is the issue. It means doing the right thing and being morally responsible. My take: recognize that everyone has experiences that we may or may not know about yet shape them into the person that they are today. Do not presume to know what these experiences are but respect that those experiences are affecting how they are talking/acting today. Take a step back, don’t take anything said or done personally, everyone is entitled to their own opinion/reaction, everyone deserves to be safe in their interactions. · Emotional intelligence: we need to manage out feelings so that we don’t hurt ourselves or others. My take: we all have trauma, we have the right to feel what we feel. Our society tends to tell us not to share our feelings or that we shouldn’t feel the way we feel. Society is wrong. We have the right to our feelings but having that right also means we have the responsibility to manage those feelings. We don’t use those feelings to lash out to others or as an excuse to hurt others or behave in an irresponsible manner. · Social learning: meaning that we need to respect and share ideas, collaborating and working together. My take: we need to work together as a whole in order to get the best outcomes. As the saying goes “two heads are better then one.” This is how we can grow and change as a individual, group, and society. · Open communication: we need to openly communicate with those around us, saying what we mean yet not being mean in how we say it. Respecting how others may receive it. My take: it is okay to say in a respective manner, “I was hurt when you said/did…” but it not okay to yell and scream at them, projecting your feelings onto them. Be constructive in what you say and do. Holding ones feeling and/or thoughts in will not help anyone. · Democracy: everyone shares in the decision making and talking. My take: while there may be a person in charge to ensure things run smoothly, but everyone is part of the process. To be successful it will take everyone to be a part of it. · Social responsibility: meaning together we accomplish more and everyone makes a contribution to the organization or culture. My take: again “two head are better than one.” We need to recognize others as individuals that are important to the organization and as a person. Everyone wants to feel valued, do what you can to make sure they feel valued. Be respectful of others. · Growth and change: meaning that growth and change are a process in life. My take: there cannot be hope for our society, organization, or selves without change and growth. We create hope for ourselves and others by continuing to grow and change. Another tool that Sanctuary teaches is a community meeting. It is a process that one would take in the first part of a meeting. Although if necessary it can be done at any time during the meeting/group time or even throughout the day. This is a way to check in with every individual that is at the meeting to make sure that everyone is present to participate with a shared goal in the meeting. It is a way to recognize that one can be present in body but not mind or spirit. This can bring them back to the table if they are thinking about something else. This can also be done in any environment or group. A husband and wife can have a community meeting as a way to check their day. At work a focus group can have a community meeting. Some friends can have a meeting to check in together as a means of supporting each other. There are many aspects in life which a community meeting can be applied.
Now that I have mentioned a variety of ways one can use a community meeting, I should probably mention what a community meeting is. It is helpful to be in a circle where one can see the people next to them. A community meeting typical poses three questions. One person starts and ask a question of the person next to them. 1st How are you feeling? Believing that feelings are important and a the driver to how we are going to act, it is important to know how those you are interacting are feeling. For example, if someone is yells at you (particularly if you feel that have no reason to), it might throw your whole day off, you are likely to be upset even if you felt great prior to this interaction. Feelings are contagious. However, this question is a ONE word answer, not a therapy question. If a person expresses a negative feeling, the person asking can offer to see if they would like to talk later privately and would be willing to listen. This is also a way to see if participants are distracted or ready to participant in the meeting. 2nd question What is your goal (for the meeting, day, whatever one is doing)? This should be related to the time together. The answer should be a specific goal such as something related to the agenda of the meeting or day. The 3rd question: who can you ask for help? It is important to realize that we are not alone. It is also important to realize that it is okay to ask for help. As feelings may be hard to recognize or identify here is a list of some feelings : One part of student life is our classes typically have a textbook that is a requirement to read. This class has been no different, requiring to read the book walk out walk on by Margret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze. I enjoyed reading this book. It is a book about changing society and ourselves. The book talks about seven examples from different societies in which people have walked away from the usual method of doing something and walked onto a way to go about it differently in hopes to change for the better. All throughout this book I saw different parts of the Sanctuary Model displayed. I enjoyed seeing the model used in a variety of ways, even though the people didn’t realize they were using any model.
My views on social responsibility are simple: treat everyone a respectful as possible. Realize that everyone has a reason for acting or being the way they are. Give them space to be how they need to be. Respect what they have to say, you don’t have to agree with it but have to respect it. Don’t push your beliefs or feelings onto others. You can say what you think or feel but you can be nice and respectful in how you say it. Recognize how you are feeling and manage those feelings respectively. Try to treat others as you want them to treat you. Recognize others values and contributions whenever possible. Build people up don’t just focus on tearing them down. Thank you again for your time. |
UbuntuI am who I am because of who we all are
Instinct identity ergos Everything Monad configuration Infinite amalgamation Becoming Me And You Transfixed, or transfigured This is Ubuntu. Ubuntu, of barest definition and linguistically simplified in Western tongue from its Zulu origins, is the African concept that the humanity of a person is defined by the humanity of other people, i.e. the entirety of humanity itself. What makes me human is what makes us human; I am because you are, because we ALL are. In extension, Ubuntu can also encompass the definition of humanity as a collective component belonging to the greater webs of life and cosmic motions - I am because everything is, and we are pieces of a puzzle which combine to form a greater whole. Ubuntu is thus inherently a radical, nonconformist philosophy which errs the common edge of Western ideals so normally enraptured in power-play and hierarchical organization of human relationships. Ubuntu breaks down the barriers that distinguish dualistic perceptions common in conventional philosophies, simultaneously mirroring the Self within the Others and fostering the deep empathic nature of human interactions towards reconnection, recollection, and revivalism.
An aspect of Ubuntu is the deconstruction of the encoded and dissociative identity formulated within hierarchical society. It means giving up the artificial ego of the Self, i.e. the letting go of delusional presuppositions of power and privilege accorded to the Self over the Others. This is a heavily ingrained and conditioned manifestation of individualist elitism and tyranny, a stratification of social conquest which binds us to imaginary pedestals. We are taught as a society that human beings are natural borne defectives - we consider ourselves to be self-serving, narcissistic, and insatiable creatures who mercilessly compete with one other and subdue the natural world in order to procure the best end results for ourselves. The status quo is such that we institutionalize the paradigm of "fair is foul and foul is fair". In the capitalist/globalized economic system, for example, avarice is considered a means of creating prosperity and peace. In the name of freedom, we subjugate. In the name of progress, we lay waste to the land. In the name of profit, we dispossess. This is obviously oxymoronic, to the point of insanity. Through the lens of Ubuntu, the Self is not apart from the Others. We are each other, made wholly stronger because of the differences in our identities. There is no class, there is no subordination, nor inferior or superior design. There is us. Together, we create or destroy our humanity. When we oppress and cheat one another, we dehumanize ourselves and degrade our individualities. We alienate ourselves to truth and reality, sacrificing the very sense of belonging, the elemental significance and officiation of human existence, which we so ardently desire. In shedding the shackle-roles assigned through lineated centralized command, we reclaim our place and identity within the whole of humankind, in something bigger than our Selves yet true to who we really are. In Walk Out, Walk On we are introduced to the term Ubuntu in our reading of the story of Joubert Park in South Africa. Historically a piece of land corrupted with the squalors of besieging bourgeoisie and the afterbirth of a racist regime, Joubert Park of Johannesburg was an unlikely place to look for Ubuntu. Yet there it was, sprouting like squash seedlings within the bloodied soil of gangster turf, like little children playing in the fountains where only white colonialists were allowed to dip their feet a mere 26 years ago. A community has gathered, and with the guidance of Ubuntu principles they are creating humanity and nourishing peace on one of the most dangerous plots of land in South Africa. Ubuntu does not leave room for apartness, or Apartheid. The concept of Ubuntu became popularized as the foundational philosophy of South Africa and other African nations in the reparation processes post-Apartheid and amidst mass-decolonization. As black sovereignty became transient and the people of Africa struggled to reclaim freedom from European oppression, Ubuntu came to hold an ethical imperative of rebuilding and strengthening communities through love and understanding as opposed to retribution and vengeance. In this way, Ubuntu is both a revolutionary abstraction of peaceful resistance and an insignia of ancient wisdom. Many forms of mystic, holistic, and spiritual ideologies across diverse societies intersect with the ideals of Ubuntu. The term has also been coined internationally through major philanthropic efforts, in foreign policy design, and in political economic reform (one may find this term floating amongst socialist, anarchist, ecofeminist, and other alternative-thought circles.) As a philosophy, Ubuntu is a concept which actively propagates socially responsible activity. As psychosocial thinker and experimental physicist David Bohm puts it, quantum theory dictates that the observer is irreducibly connected to the object being observed. This plays into the concept of Wholeness present within Ubuntu, where separations are erased. Separation seems to be an institutionalized norm, especially in Western societies: science is distinct from spirituality and tradition; the Self is distinct from the Others; the mind is distinct from the body and the soul; perception is distinct from action; the material world is distinct from the immaterial world. We thus form institutions around these ideas of segregation and castrate ourselves from the larger picture. Yet there is a dynamic interaction between all these "separated" parts. That is not to say that there are no differences, or diversities, and variations, and quirks and quarks that exist. It is actually because of these differences that complexity emerges from the interactivity of these parts. Nevertheless, they are not apart from one another. We perceive the world simultaneously as our perceptions are shaped by the world - both are connected, and both leave their marks. Ubuntu allows us to perceive the world in a way that makes us want to leave a positive mark upon the world, which would in return leave its mark upon us. It will get us asking the question "how do we?" instead of "why me?" Social responsibility would thus simply be a concurrent result of living a cohesive consciousness within a balanced, reconnected humanity. |
Class Activity: Voting Session
Concept:
To engage the class in a voting initiative and facilitate dialogue about the experience within the context of a safe-space Sanctuary Meeting and the Ubuntu mode of thought. There is no pressure for solutions and end-goals. The objective is to suspend immediate biases and conditioning to allow room for deep reflective thought, deep listening, and collaborative conversation necessary in the process of making socially responsible decisions. The aim is not to bend worldviews, but rather to enhance critical thinking capacity as it reflects the diversity of thoughts/beliefs and aids in communication about the definition of social responsibility.
Voting is an active test of social responsibility, and a main vehicle in American society for mobilizing political action. How do we normally vote? How do legislators create policies? How do we, as voting or nonvoting citizens, affect each other and ourselves through our voting processes? Are there new insights or understandings which followed the Sanctuary Meeting that have affected our personal cognition and feelings? Are there new answers/questions?
Activity Outline:
1. Ask people to vote on a fictionalized ballot initiative based upon quick impulses i.e. according to socially conditioned first response. Everyone retains the basic right to vote or not to vote.
2. Lay out the framework of a Sanctuary Meeting.
3. Engage in open dialogue.
To engage the class in a voting initiative and facilitate dialogue about the experience within the context of a safe-space Sanctuary Meeting and the Ubuntu mode of thought. There is no pressure for solutions and end-goals. The objective is to suspend immediate biases and conditioning to allow room for deep reflective thought, deep listening, and collaborative conversation necessary in the process of making socially responsible decisions. The aim is not to bend worldviews, but rather to enhance critical thinking capacity as it reflects the diversity of thoughts/beliefs and aids in communication about the definition of social responsibility.
Voting is an active test of social responsibility, and a main vehicle in American society for mobilizing political action. How do we normally vote? How do legislators create policies? How do we, as voting or nonvoting citizens, affect each other and ourselves through our voting processes? Are there new insights or understandings which followed the Sanctuary Meeting that have affected our personal cognition and feelings? Are there new answers/questions?
Activity Outline:
1. Ask people to vote on a fictionalized ballot initiative based upon quick impulses i.e. according to socially conditioned first response. Everyone retains the basic right to vote or not to vote.
2. Lay out the framework of a Sanctuary Meeting.
3. Engage in open dialogue.