DFA Progressive Values group name change to Empathy Cafe.

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Aug 10, 2009 11:19 PM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA-Link Organizers, Philly for Change, East Bay DFA, Empathy Cafe, Democracy for Maryland

Greetings

The DFA What are  Progressive Values? group
has not had much activity for some time. I wanted to let you know I've just
changed the group name to Empathy Cafe. http://democracyforamerica.com/groups/2285-empathy-cafe

 From my work of interviewing people about progressive values I've come to see empathy as a core progressive value. It's also the value that Obama ran on. See this compilation video I made from Obama's speeches on empathy.
http://progressivespirit.com/Empathy/Obama/ObamaOnEmpathy.htm

So with that in mind I've been refocusing my work on supporting Obama's call for standing in each other's shoes.  Below is some of the work we've been doing.  More to come shortly.
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Obama and the New Spirit of Empathy Group: Updates

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Feb 27, 2009 12:10 PM EST

Linked to groups: Oakland DFA Meetup, DFA at Netroots Nation (formerly YearlyKos) July 17-20, Florida DFA, Michigan Democracy for America, Take Back Red California

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

The capacity to know emotionally what another is experiencing from within the frame of reference of that other person, the capacity to sample the feelings of another or to put oneself in another’s shoes.   D. M. Berger

Barack Obama is leading a movement based on values and at the core of this is the value of empathy. Barack talks about empathy and the importance of 'standing in other peoples shoes', in many of his speeches (I've collected 50 so far).  Empathy is the most basic value he ran on and he says the country has an 'empathy deficit' that needs to be filled. We are forming an Empathy Values Group to build on Obama's call to address the empathy deficit. 

A sense of similarity in feelings experienced by the self and the other, without confusion between the two individuals.^{Jean Decety}

As part of this empathy movement, we are also putting together a video of his talking about this topic to give it some context and promote this foundational progressive value. Let's help fill the empathy deficit by making people more aware of the topic. This is a collaborative project and we invite you to take part.  See.

Barack Obama and a New Spirit of Empathy (rough cut 1)  (1 hr 15 min)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6504935098489252112

A Chronological Video of Barack on Empathy - Compiled from about 30 of Barack's speeches and interviews, etc on the topic of empathy. 

Here's a review of the video:  Hi Edwin, It is truly wonderful that you and others have grasped the brass ring of the progressive movement by highlighting the core issue of Empathy. I now see that everything about the rising of Barack Obama and the revolution in America is based on this principle. Thank you, thank you for your effort and the timely reminder to me of what is really important. It's easy to get lost in the dust that is being raised by so many who sincerely want to see change and see it quickly. But it is crucial to remember why we are being called in this time in history to change. You are exactly right, it is Empathy. Warmly, Terri  Jan 28, 2009.
 

Some more Video About Empathy

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      •  
        •     Nova: Mirror Neurons and Empathy
              A video about Mirror Neurons which could be  the physiological source of empathy.

      •     George Lakoff on Empathy
            Lakoff talks about Obama and empathy.

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Next Empathy Group Meeting Dates
   (online and in person)
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How might we nurture, promote or foster empathy within ourselves, as a group and within the larger culture through a balance of action and reflection?

Attend In Person meetings in the Bay Area. El Cerrito, CA. Meetings are ongoing, every week .
Sign up at:

Saturday, Feb 28, 2009, 2 - 5 pm  
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpt2lv
At this meeting we'll brainstorm  about projects to work on.

Saturday, Mar 07, 2009, 2-5 pm
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gptyrd

Saturday, Mar 21, 2009, 2-5 pm
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gptyrg

Saturday, April 04, 2009, 2-5 pm
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gptyrl

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An affective response that stems from the apprehension or comprehension of another’s emotional state or condition, and that is similar to what the other person is feeling or would be expected to feel.   Nancy Eisenberg

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Resource Links
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Group  Website: Barack Obama and the New Spirit of Empathy
     http://progressivespirit.com/Empathy/

Video: Barack Obama and a New Spirit of Empathy - Rough Cut 1 (1 hr 15 min)
    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6504935098489252112
    Compiled from about 30 of Barack's speeches and interviews, etc on the topic of empathy.
    It clearly makes the case that the most important value that Obama is promoting is empathy.

Online Discussion Group
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProgressiveValues/
     Take part from anywhere online. We hold ongoing online discussions, brainstorming and meetings.
      Join the project discussion list by sending an email to:
     ProgressiveValues-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProgressiveValues/
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Best

Edwin Rutsch

Obama Empathy Values Movement Meetings and Video Now Online

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Jan 27, 2009 3:53 PM EST

Linked to groups: Democracy for Washington, Democracy for Texas, Take Back Red California, Philly for Change, Alameda for Democracy

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

I recently uploaded a video I compiled from about 30 of Barack's speeches and interviews, etc on the topic of empathy. It clearly makes the case that the most important value that Obama is promoting is empathy.  You can see it here;

Barack Obama and a New Spirit of Empathy - Rough Cut 1(1 hr 15 min)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6504935098489252112

I've also collect about 50 speeches from Barack and Michelle where they talk about empathy. You can see the full list and text here
http://progressivespirit.com/Empathy

Obama Empathy Values Movement Group
Barack Obama led a campaign based on values and at the core of this is the value of empathy.  Obama repeatedly says the country has an 'Empathy Deficit'. We are forming a group to build on Obama's call to address the empathy deficit. We are holding weekly meetings to form a group to promote a  national ethos change to greater empathy.  The weekly meetings are from 2 to 4 in El Cerrito (near Berkeley),  CA.  You can also join us for online discussions on the Yahoo discussion list at  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProgressiveValues/

At the next meetings we'll brainstorm about how to build the group.

As part of this empathy movement, we're also putting together a video of Barack's many speeches on empathy.  You can see the first rough cut here. Compiled from about 30 of Barack's speeches and interviews, etc on the topic of empathy.
Barack Obama and a New Spirit of Empathy
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6504935098489252112
 

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Failure of Center-Right Conservative Values, Principles, Ideology, Philosophy & Polices

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Nov 4, 2008 4:58 PM EST

Linked to groups: Alameda for Democracy, Empathy Cafe, Democracy for Ohio (DFO), Walnut Creek DFA, Washington Fair Elections

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

In the face of a great defeat, conservatives have their new talking points. They are trying to make the case that America is really a Center-Right country. See this video from ThinkProgress of how conservatives are trying to make the case.

Center-Right Country Watch: Conservatives Grasping At Straws

What Conservatives  fail to acknowledge is that Center-Right  Values, Principles, Ideology, Philosophy & Polices have failed and that the country is looking for a new direction. In case they need some help in understanding this,  they can always listen to what people say about Center-Right Conservative values below.

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Failed Conservative Values: Bill Honigman on Restrictive Intolerance and Porcupines

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Nov 3, 2008 12:29 PM EST

Linked to groups: Empathy Cafe, Silicon Valley DFA, brought to you by Dean Democratic Club of Silicon Valley, California for Democracy, DFA Film Club, Florida DFA

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

 I interviewed Bill Honigman, who is  the California State Coordinator of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA). He said conservatives are restrictive and intolerant like porcupines. While he doesn't think the values of individual conservatives have failed, he feels the values of the conservative movement have failed. I have to disagree with him there. I feel that individual conservative values have manifest themselves in the conservative movement and individual conservatives need to take 'individual responsibility' for these failures.

 Failed Conservative Values - Bill Honigman on Restrictive Intolerance

Conservatives tend to, in the nicest use of the term, want to conserve what they’ve got.  And so they are looking to hang on to, say their property, or their bit of family and what they perceive of as their family’s rights in a kind of identity of self that way.  It’s a little too, as far as I’m concerned, restrictive, meaning they’re not willing to reach out to people outside of their circle.  And to me that’s probably a fundamental difference. 

In the concept of rounding up or circling the wagons  and taking a little too much and being too guarded about themselves, and not being willing to share with their community.  And that translates into things like not wanting to contribute to, say, things like education and the infrastructure, and the whole tax revolution that occurred in this country in the last 30 or 40 years.  It’s all about people saying, “I’m tired of giving of myself.  I don’t seem to be getting back in return.” 

They just want to hang on to what they have.  And instead of saying to build society will require an investment, and maybe we just need better caretakers of the investment instead of not  giving money and our own resources.

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Failed Conservative Values: Markos (Kos) Moulitsas on Self-Delusion

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Oct 26, 2008 1:28 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Philly for Change, Take Back Red California, Alameda for Democracy, Democracy for Maryland, DFA-Marin

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

I interviewed Markos (Kos) Moulitsas, founder of the Dailykos.com and asked him about the failure of conservative values. For him, the conservative value of self-delusion was the greatest failure.  He says conservatives value their ideology over actual reality and he pointed out a series of examples of how this ideology  ignores reality.

"As long as our civilization is essentially one of property, of fences, of exclusiveness, it will be mocked by delusions."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

 Failed Conservative Values: Markos Moulitsas - Self-Delusion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=figH0eedcMY

 Edwin:  Have conservative values failed?

Markos:  Oh, yeah, the failure of conservative values, the bottom line is that it has no bearing on reality.  They created an alternate reality – cut taxes, lower the deficit, balance the budget – where global warming did not exist, where the world was invented 6,000 years ago, where science is bogus, where the best way to educate kids is to defund the schools. 

And this is the comeuppance.  When you base your reality on an ideology that has really no basis for reality, you’re doomed to failure.  When you have an ideology that says that government cannot work, you have to by default run a shitty government.  What’s the alternative?

Let’s say George Bush says the government can’t work, we need to shrink it.  So, when I appoint my director of FEMA, instead of appointing a horse lawyer, I’m going to appoint an experienced administer who knows about disaster management and logistics planning.  So when Katrina happens, the government does a fantastic job, making people’s lives better.

Suddenly, you have sort of a collision of ideologies.  When you say government can’t work, and you have government that works, where does that leave the conservatives?  In a really, really piss-poor place.

So, by default, Bush had to appoint the horse lawyer to FEMA, I could go down the list – in department after department it’s scandal after scandal.  I mean, it’s all because he appointed people who are not qualified.  Because they need to fail, they need to prove that government cannot work, and the way you prove government does not work is by running a government that does not work.

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Video: Obama-McCain - DFA Debate Watch Party - Sept 26 2008 in Berkeley CA

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Sep 27, 2008 5:46 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Washington, Democracy for NYC, Silicon Valley DFA, brought to you by Dean Democratic Club of Silicon Valley, Alameda for Democracy, DFA Night School

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

The Oakland DFA held a very successful debate watch party in Berkeley, CA with it's greatest meeting  turnout yet. Community members came out to support Barack Obama and Progressive Values.

You can see the video below to get a flavor of the event along with participant expectations and their evaluations of the debate.

Video: Obama-McCain - DFA Debate Watch Party - Sept 26 2008 in Berkeley CA

Edwin Rutsch
 What Are Progressive Values? Documentary Project
 ProgressiveSpirit.com 
 and Study Group

 

Progressives Blast Failed Conservative Values! Part 2

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Sep 22, 2008 7:49 PM EDT

Linked to groups: PA for Democracy, Democracy for America Miami-Dade (DFAM), Walnut Creek DFA, Michigan Democracy for America, DFALA

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

 All the links didn't fit in the last post so here is part 2:

I've been asking people about the the failure of conservative values. Here are links to the latest batch of interviews that I just placed on Youtube.  The failed values that come up are quite varied, but those sighted most often are fear, hypocrisy, conservative family values, division, rigidity, hyper individualism, self-delusion, etc. I also ask people to create a  metaphor of what the Failed Conservative Values are like. These metaphors are often quite revealing.

In our Progressive Values Youtube group, we now have over 600 video clips of progressives talking about their values and telling how they feel conservative values have failed.

Here's the list of newly added interviews related to the failure of conservative values. Most of these were done at Netroots Nation 2008.

PArt 2: Progressives Blast Failed Conservative Values!

  Failed Conservative Values: Wolf Man Spike - Mind Control


  Failed Conservative Values - Jeremy Koulish - Hyper Individualism

  Failed Conservative Values - Al - Polarization Bulldozer

  Failed Conservative Values: Kimberly Yaman - Everyone has Values

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Progressives Blast Failed Conservative Values! Part 1

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Sep 22, 2008 7:22 PM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA New Jersey, Blogs United, blog for America Test and Poll Group, Democracy for Texas, Michigan Democracy for America

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

I've been asking people about the the failure of conservative values. Here are links to the latest batch of interviews that I just placed on Youtube.  The failed values that come up are quite varied, but those sighted most often are fear, hypocrisy, conservative familyvalues, division, rigidity, hyper individualism, self-delusion, etc. I also ask people to create a  metaphor of what Conservative Values are like. These metaphors are often quite revealing.

In our Progressive Values Youtube group, we now have over 600 video clips of progressives talking about their own values and telling how they feel conservative values have failed.

Here's the list of newly added interviews related to the failure of conservative values. Most of these were done at Netroots Nation 2008.

Part 1: Progressives Blast Failed Conservative Values!

  Failed Conservative Values: Markos Moulitsas - Self-Delusion

Failed Conservative Values Metaphor: Markos Moulitsas - Dodo Birds  

  Failed Conservative Values Metaphor: Thomas Tucker - Dodo Bird

  Failed Conservatives Values: Johanna Olson - Rigidity

  Failed Conservatives Values Metaphor: Johanna Olson - Tank v Seed

   Failed Conservative Values: Katherine Forrest - Rigidity

Failed Conservative Values Metaphor: Katherine Forrest - Ridged Structure

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Lipsticked Hydra at the Failed Conservative 'Value Voters Summit 2008'

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Sep 13, 2008 5:13 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Capitol Area Progressives (CAP) , San Francisco for Democracy, Washington Fair Elections, Framing Committee, Democracy for Florida

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

This weekend conservatives are holding their annual Conservative Value Voters Summit 2008 in Washington DC.  Last year I wrote an article about the Summit and called for counter rallies to challenge this conference as part of a progressive effort to Take Back the Values Debate.  There didn't seem to be much interest or support of the idea among progressives.   Progressives still miss the point by spending most of their energy attacking Bush, Cheney, McCain, Palin, etc, instead of clearly connecting them to the underlying Failed Conservative Values of authoritarianism, fear, secrecy, deception, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, indifference, dogmatism, violence, etc. and offering the progressive alternative values.

While  critiques of the leadership of the conservative movement is important, these leaders are merely the latest heads of the Conservative Hydra. If you cut off one head, two more will grow in it's place. To kill the Hydra, you need to stab it in the heart from which the blood of failed values flow.  Yes, there needs to be a critique of failed conservative policies, leaders, institutions, principles, etc, but all of these flow from a corrupted spiritual values essence. A stab at each of these should be followed by a stab at the heart. All of these need to be tied back to the original toxics polluted spiritual spring from where they originate.  The critiques need to be directed at the source with the goal of putting the beast out of it's misery.  When the Hydra dies, then all the heads wither and fade on their own. It's a fools exercise to just attack the heads.

Conservative Hydra with Lipstick

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