admin May 13th, 2008
Frances will be appearing on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s national news show, The National, on the evening of March 14th. She will be part of a special panel-discussion segment about the burgeoning world food crisis.
To watch on-line once the piece is posted, just go here.
admin May 9th, 2008
The newest issue of AARP: The Magazine (circulation: 21,500,000) contains a feature called “1968: The Year That Rocked Our World,” which features a reflection from none other than Frances Moore Lappé. (Other participants include Oliver Stone, Tom Hayden, Charles Simic, Ram Dass, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Judy Collins — and even Bootsy Collins.)
It’s fascinating stuff. After all, as Frances says, “Nineteen sixty-eight is the year I decided to find out why people were hungry in the world.”
You’ll find the piece, as printed in the magazine, here, and an extended on-line interview here.
admin May 1st, 2008
The following is adapted from an essay written by Bruce Haynes, a writer and slam poet from South Africa who has become very committed to working for change and Living Democracy. It was originally written as part of an International Essay Contest being held by the Goi Peace Foundation (http://www.goipeace.or.jp/). The contest’s theme is “My project to create positive change in my environment. How can I foster sustainable development in my community?”
Being that Bruce was inspired by Getting a Grip, he sent it to us and we in turn asked his permission to share it with you. We hope you’ll enjoy it.
I’m so excited about life. I’m using my power. I’m using my capacity to act. I’m trusting the process. And I’m loving it.
My name is Bruce Haynes. I’m a recovering stutterer. I’m also a 19-year-young Slam Poet. Goi Peace foundation, are you hearing me?
I’m now back in the
I see my primary role as storytelling. At the 2007 ‘Be The Change’ conference in
We create our world through the ideas we hold about it. We are scientifically proven to only be able to see what fits in with our pre-existing mental map. Therefore, new ideas that allow us to see the world differently is of absolute importance in our work to co-create the kind of world that we want. That world is already here; we are carrying it inside ourselves.
There is so much happening. So much that is positive. So much that is inspiring. Sometimes I feel like if I don’t act now I’m going to get left behind. Do you really believe the dominant story, that we are flawed and don’t have what it takes to work together? This new story identified in ‘Getting a Grip’ by Frances Moore Lappé is so empowering, it makes me feel good. This new story makes me feel in control and with an important role to play. I’d recommend it to everybody.
‘Next Culture Project’. That is an idea I’m working on at the moment, a youth-powered social enterprise and this is its ethos: ‘There is no one big solution, there are a diversity of small ones. You can’t change the world, you can influence parts of it. Have fun!’ Getting my voice heard allows me to network with change-makers and to generate potential energy or capital to make things happen. This is only a small part of a much larger and incredibly diverse social happening, identified by Paul Hawken in ‘Blessed Unrest’ and Frances Moore Lappé in ‘Getting a Grip’.
The idea for my new project was inspired by many experiences. One of the direct influences was the 2007 Camp for Climate Action outside Heathrow airport. There I experienced a self-organising, temporary community committed to the idea of positive change. Another strong influence is Frances Moore Lappé’s 2007 book ‘Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone
One of
The idea will only work if it is by this generation and for this generation. It has to be self-organising, decentralised and based on a non-hierarchal structure. The intended possible outcomes? Empowerment, leadership, initiative, skills, conflict-resolution and direct experience of living democracy.
Thanks for reading my essay. I’ve really enjoyed writing it! Here’s to turning the whole thing upside down!
admin February 13th, 2008
It’s a bitter cold, blustery night in Gloucester, Massachusetts, a town of 35,000 an hour north of Boston. I arrive at its spire-dressed City Hall for my talk sponsored by Sustainable Cape Ann and the Cape Ann Forum.
Entering the large meeting room with high ceilings and dark wood banisters around the balcony above, I notice that chairs are already arranged so that the audience can quickly become participants. These folks have a plan up their sleeve.
Gloucester, MA, City Hall 2.10.08 Continue Reading »
admin January 30th, 2008
A few short weeks ago, instead of “touring” with my new book, I “got toured.” I was the lucky recipient of a whirlwind up-close look at living democracy emerging in Burlington, Vermont.
My host was the indefatigable Yiota Ahladas, head of the Center for Community and Neighborhoods in the city’s Community and Economic Development Office. Last fall she’d heard me speak, using living democracy “stories” drawn from all over the planet. So, she must have thought: Wait a minute! Lappé should see what we’re doing right in her own backyard.
So from meeting to eating, from viewing to “vanning” through town, I was immersed for two and a half days in the Burlington experience.
admin January 26th, 2008
Most of the day I’ve had my nose in a new book, Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (And Stick You with the Bill) by David Cay Johnston. He arms us chapter and verse with how our economy is rigged–all, infuriatingly, under the banner of “free market” orthodoxy.So as Barack Obama’s star rises, I ask myself, if he is the Democratic candidate, how can supporters encourage him to spell out the real depth of the crisis of our democracy and solutions that cut deeply enough to address it? Johnston’s book defines a piece of the crisis brilliantly. I wrote Getting a Grip, though, because I’ve lost patience with Continue Reading »
admin January 21st, 2008
Today, Martin Luther King Day, is a good time to ponder the impact of his work, and the civil rights movement more generally, on my life’s path. This historic turning triggered my first act as an organizer–helping launch a program at Earlham College in 1966 to prepare inner-city highschoolers of color for college. Then, the big step: I became a door-knocking organizer for the National Welfare Rights Organization in Philly. For a shy kid from Texas, it didn’t come naturally. But the women who opened their doors to me became my friends and soon we were actually accomplishing things. Then, something happened that changed my life forever. Continue Reading »
admin January 19th, 2008
Anna and I are thrilled that the Invisible Revolution, a brief video produced by brother/son Anthony Lappe, is featured this week at karmatube.org. There you’ll find a quick hit of rich images of our heroes around the world who are pushing the edge.
Want to know more? Join us on the journey that changed our lives forever by reading our book from which the video grew, the national bestseller Hope’s Edge. The lessons we learned helped inspire Anna to write Grub and me to write Getting a Grip. Let us know your thoughts!
Frankie
admin January 17th, 2008
(Frances) This afternoon I got to field questions in an on-line discussion set up by the Study Circles Resource Center whose work in bringing democracy to life I’ve valued for decades.
Some questions were pretty challenging. One I had fun with was, What should we ask the candidates? Here are my responses: Continue Reading »
"Getting a Grip is not an ordinary book: it's more like a new pair of glasses, allowing you to see everything around you with greater clarity. Suddenly the world is more comprehensible, more manageable, even more beautiful. You won't want to take them off." --Barbara Kingsolver More Praise
