THIS GREAT DAY

THIS DAY was a great day for all,
when the train decoupled from the old engine
and began moving on its own power.

THIS DAY was the turning point
in the life of Humanity and Gaia.

The engines of high finance & excessive profit,
power & violence
no longer had any influence
on the lives of human multitudes.

There was no collapse on THIS DAY.
Most people continued doing what
they would normally have done on this day.

Energy, water, and other basic essentials continued to be provided as before. Even coal generated energy, although it would eventually be eliminated as a primary energy source.
Goods moved as usual, with a few exceptions. Stores were open. People shopped. Although these patterns were to change in the future.
Services were performed. Needed repairs were made. Transportation and communication continued.
People worked, ate and played. Even though they expected future days to be different, they were willing and able to maintain process to avoid collapse.

A few thing scheduled did not occur on THIS DAY.

Globally there were few executions, only in remote areas (where the information of this day had not penetrated).
There were only a scattering of offensive military operations. Most military operations held on a “wait to see” basis.
Actions intended to cause destruction, harm and pain, didn’t happen (with very few exceptions).

No one lost the means to live well. Those whose job-related-activity would cease on (or soon after) THIS DAY knew that the basics for living would continue and they would be assisted in learning new socially-relevant and family supporting activity.

The safety net was nearly 100 percent on THIS DAY – for those who were willing to participate in its maintenance. Everyone was assured that their housing, food, medical care, security, and basic needs would continue.
Crime Prevention and Public Safety continued. Rioting and vandalism was strongly dis-encouraged and pubic forces remained ready to contain disorder.
The military were on alert, and were aware of the actions: prepared, but on hold.
Most banks continued to process ordinary transactions. Most activity on Wall Street and other such exchanges came to a halt.

How did this miracle come about?

Such a day was in the imagination of only a few people.
The myth had been exposed, the Emperor Wore No Clothes. Money and Power were not really necessary for a healthy society and economy.
In all coordinated human activity there are those who participate in behavior that contributes to processes. This activity continued on-&-after this day because those who were active participants had agreed to continue, to avoid collapse.
- This included line managers and overall project managers of businesses and agencies.
- There existed a sharp distinction between the operational aspects of business and government and those “elite” levels which claimed to control them. Actually, they had little real control of operations. They could shut down a process but the couldn’t effectively micro-manage. Once their control was revealed as myth we were ready to decouple their destructive influence.
- It is true that many top operational managers received higher salaries, benefits and even hopes to move up into the ranks of the elite. They were confronted with their dilemmas and choices. When the day began, they had little real choice.
- The operational systems in all critical organizations and institutions were already simulated in a global (but distributed for security) network within the Uplift Movement organization. On THIS DAY these simulations provided information to operations managers everywhere on how to keep the whole system functioning. Even this had been tested in higher simulations prior to THIS DAY. It worked!

A very early version of this had been designed and was being installed by Stafford Beer for the new Chilean democratic economy under Allende, until it was shut down by the violent coup. There are reasons to believe this was instrumental in motivating the coup, as Beer’s system would have been a serious challenge to the market system – far improved over Soviet-type planned economies. It was also prime ground to test disaster capitalism as described by Naomi Kline in The Shock Doctrine.

Throughout civilization there were those to designed and directed the social activity of others for their elite ends. After THIS DAY these people no longer had any influence on systemS they had previously dominated. They were seldom in control of day to day operations.

Corporations had continued to function when CEOs were fired. Universities had continued to function without Presidents or Chancellors. Even governments had continued to function when their “leaders”” were on vacation or congress on leave. The elite were really not controllers. The operational functions had to be independent of top interference to succeed! What the elite influenced was the design and monitoring of the operational system. With decoupling, this design was now relegated to the operational system itself in the context of holistic synergistic considerations.

On this greatest day everyone on the planet was informed what was to happen, and that they should continue doing as expected. They knew that the pattern of their collective doing would be changing – but in a way where everyone would benefit and where security would increase. They had learned about this and had prepared for this day.

In the years leading up to THIS DAY many people had self-organized using new techniques and technologies into a viable, democratic, global social holarchical system (from neighborhoods to planetary). In its early phases this Uplift Movement focused on organizing-for-learning and learning-for-organizing, a new educational/organizing process that was far better than the old isolated systems of organization and education. This new system was successful in uplifting significantly the perspectives and competencies of all members.

In these early years the Uplift Movement didn’t challenge establishment systems in ways that would bring on them a reaction. Actually, the early achievements by the Uplift Movement reduced public pressure on establishments – as those in the movement become more self sufficient. Central to this were the re-localization and transition city movements emerging globally. A welcome surprise was how ready the high human density slums the circled most cities were ready to join the Uplift Movement. Thus, the Uplift Movement was able to grow and organize to a state that it was impossible to stop. This occurred far more rapidly than anticipated.

The elite, when they learned of THIS DAY coming tried to stop it. They did cause some damage and some persons were killed and injured, but they soon discovered that they couldn’t stop the events of this day without destroying their own fortunes.

Establishment economies had become totally dependent on The Internet and were unable to eliminate the Uplift Movement’s use of it without shutting down their own use of it. And, the Uplift Movement created its own bare backbone communication system, fully decentralized and immune to interference. It had limited bandwidth, but was sufficient to insure basic coordination so that a shutdown of The Internet would hurt establishments far more than the Uplift Movement.
An alternative money/credit/investment system emerged within the Uplift Movement (based on the early work of Tom Greco and others in the early 21st Century). This was integrated with the simulation model of existing operational systems. On THIS DAY the alternative financial system facilitated exchanges between organizations as the older financial system shut down.
- Income from older financial investments ceased on THIS DAY, and most debts were canceled. However, the alternative system enabled individuals and relevant organizations to continue to survive and function – for awhile.
- Private ownership of substantial resources were negotiated – as most ownership had been gained by theft in the past. No persons were forced into poverty and those whose employment was eliminated were assisted in learning new ways of being productive. Indeed, the very concept of “employment” had been reworked in the Uplift Movement.
- The period prior to THIS DAY was in high turmoil for stock markets everywhere. The Uplift Movement had created many possible scenarios and the activity was observed and moderated (when possible).
A few corporations and governments attempted to resist on this day. Their resistance was expected and neutralized.
Some managers and workers who joined the Uplift Movement early were fired – but their basic lives were not negatively effected.
Soon organizations were too saturated with persons in the Uplift Movement that they couldn’t afford to fire them.
By the time the top elite recognized a real threat, the Uplift Movement had grown to a significant percent of the global population, fully decentralized, and had already well infiltrated key positions in critical operational systems. They couldn’t be stopped.
Promises not to punish the elite after the decoupling were honestly presented. Many of the elite welcomed freedom from the increasing threats of collapse.

The greatest danger on THIS DAY was from angry pockets of people who were unable to comprehend what was happening and were prone to violent rebellion.

Fortunately, with new techniques of reaching people and resolving conflicts, the Uplift Movement had been able to defuse most of these pockets of resistors before THIS DAY.
For those pockets which remained problematic, measures were taken to non-violently suppress any outbursts, should they occur.

What would happen next, after THIS DAY?

Much more work on planning was needed after this day – but processes for this planning were ongoing, that involved the democratic participation of everyone.
Detailed plans were under construction for the step by step transformation of exploitative and destructive econo-centric societies into green and human development societies. Scientific and technological advances related to climate change were supported by the Uplift Movement. Many of their systems were ready for quick implementation after THIS DAY, where they could not have been implemented before.
New money and economic exchange systems were already in place for full activation.
Our new education system that had prepared us for THIS DAY continued to expand and further prepare everyone for their futures.
Re-localization projects and transition cities were enhanced and synergy further enabled.
Redistribution plans already designed were activated to rapidly eliminate poverty. However, no one was insured the excessive wealth and privilege of the prior elite.
Very rapidly the attack on the biosphere ceased and preparations were underway to navigate the effects of climate change and other biospheric

What would happen to the old elite?

Reconciliation processes were in place to assist the old elite adjust to the new world.
Our perspective was that these individual persons had been born/indoctrinated into situations where their internalized world justified their behaviors. There would be no punishment, but they would be forbidden performing prior exploitive behaviors.
Many, with useful expertise, were willing to contribute to new ventures.
The recalcitrants were humanely incarcerated for study and rehabilitation.

To understand how this came to be, we must jump back a few years to when BUS2.0 began distribution.

Full details of this early phase will not be given in this document, as they are in process at this time.
BUS stands for Bootstrap Uplift Scaffolding. It is a semiotic structure (text/graphics/videos, computer programs, protocols) that when used by persons and teams will increase their competencies and perspectives. BUS facilitates viable organization of members and leads to quality exponential growth. In these process users of BUS systems will modify and improve those systems. Different groups using and improving BUS will interact and exchange improvements. Although the overall design of BUS is coordinated through networks, individual users of BUS are free to use it as they wish. There is no top down forcing of the use or emergence of BUS, but there is strong collective influence.
The design of BUS is based on the best of our knowledge of human systems and human change – from establishment knowledge to experimental ideas.
The design of BUS is via Action/Research protocols, based on evidence and experience. This can all be coordinated through intelligent technology.
The goal of BUS is to uplift the distribution of human perspectives and competencies well beyond their existing levels. This has never been a goal of even the most enlightened humanitarians.
BUS 1.x are the experimental stages of development of BUS systems.
x are versions of BUS packaged and distributed globally – and facilitated online. Their objective is to catalyze and augment the emergence of a new population of humans capable of participating in actions leading to THE GREAT DAY and beyond.

Why THIS DAY?

A “miraculous” action of the magnitude of THIS DAY was necessary for the survival of Humanity/Gaia. It was evident to all who were open to ALL the relevant information about what was happening that we were heading disaster. Efforts in opposition to the exploitation by the elites were poorly conceived, naive, and ineffective – although with very good intention. Means by which opposing parties could meet and resolve differences had disappeared. Polarization was on the increase. Foundations of fundamental dialog and deliberation had disintegrated. Something radical was needed; something that would both resolve immediate issues and also get at the deep roots of the causes of our discomfort. Fortunately the solution was there, in the untapped potential of the human population. Until recently the tools to unlock this vast potential were not available. Once they became available people lacked the imagination to develop and use them. The insight of a bootstrapped uplifting of the DISTRIBUTION of human perspectives and competencies opened the gate, leading to activity culminating in THIS GREAT DAY! THANK YOU, EVERYONE.

This fantasy was composed by Larry Victor from November 5-8, 2009. It is a very rough draft and calls for talented narrative writers to compose exciting scenes for the various stages of this scenario. THIS GREAT DAY would make a super film/video and interactive tv series. Could it be enacted in SecondLife? Larry Victor seeks no great riches from this scenario, but should it gain profit for some, he would like his cut so he can pursue the development of BUS1.0. Posting of this should be viewed as a copyright claim.