wrythings

Sepp Hasslberger: The Gift Economy - Receiving stimulates giving

I’m pointing you to Sepp’s blog entry, but using that as a spring board to my own musings.

It’s better to give than to receive? We’ve heard that, and we can contemplate its meaning. We’ve also heard that there is nobility in receiving a gift well, with respect, humility, or better: generosity. We’re recipients of the gifts of nature, of life. How well have we received them? Receiving well involves stewardship - it involves valuing the act of generosity and the gift received.

We’ve been gifted a gift economy. Have we received it well? Two aspects of reception here … one is bound in attitude, relation and perception - the other in our stewardship as recipients.

When we hear about the gift economy, do we give it it’s proper due? When we receive from the greater gift economy, are we thankful enough to participate with generosity ourselves.

There are ways to receive with generosity, we should endeavor to live that way.

as I become I, I say Thou

Martin Buber expressed this point many ways. Our human nature is grounded in an intersubjectivity where we deepen our humanity only with the other.

Today I had the fortune of joining a group of civic entrepreneurs advancing data collaboration in Illinois. They introduced me to the 8 Principles of Open Government Data drafted in December 2007 at a California Summit. The Illinois effort - IDEA - Illinois Data Exchange Affiliates is concerned to promote civic engagement and better governance through collaborative data practices among non-profits/civic sector, research & planning efforts and all layers of government. This is where Digital Excellence meets eGovernment.

If Chicago is a world-class city in a leading region of the nation, what are we waiting for? If we are ready to embrace the information age I don’t know what could make us more globally competitive than to remove the artificial barriers to information exchange in city and county. I hear tell there is a committee on data sharing among departments of Chicago city government. I look forward to hearing what progress they have made thus far and how aggressive they intend to be with regard to unfolding a new era in accountability and transparency. Someone, ping Hardik.

Good data is about feedback. Feedback regulates an organism or process. Here it would inform individual choice and guide regional planning. We all know the Mayor loves to have city services on the ball when it comes to potholes and attention to the visible amenities. These eight principles would allow Chicago to set new benchmarks for service delivery and quality of life. You don’t have to be an XML geek to grok this.

Open Government Data Principles

Government data shall be considered open if it is made public in a way that complies with the principles below:

1. Complete
All public data is made available. Public data is data that is not subject to valid privacy, security or privilege limitations.

2. Primary
Data is as collected at the source, with the highest possible level of granularity, not in aggregate or modified forms.

3. Timely
Data is made available as quickly as necessary to preserve the value of the data.

4. Accessible
Data is available to the widest range of users for the widest range of purposes.

5. Machine processable
Data is reasonably structured to allow automated processing.

6. Non-discriminatory
Data is available to anyone, with no requirement of registration.

7. Non-proprietary
Data is available in a format over which no entity has exclusive control.

8. License-free
Data is not subject to any copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret regulation. Reasonable privacy, security and privilege restrictions may be allowed.

Compliance must be reviewable.

How are we going to establish the post-racial society MLK foresaw when political opportunists can’t figure out when to stop digging when they have dug themselves into a hole? Any positive memories I might have had regarding Geraldine Ferraro have been dispelled. I’m embarrassed to share any heritage with her. I’m also embarrassed for NY, my state of origin. We’ll leave Spitzer aside… come to think of it, there is a lot to be embarrassed about in New York State this week - the most meaningful one being the censorship at RPI and in the city of Troy, not the stupidity and scandal of these unfortunate political persons. If only the media would pay attention to things that matter to the health of the polity.

But I do take Ferraro’s attitude as obnoxious and racist… or at least playing to racist sentiments. (Really - both, I think … her attempts to spin herself out of this is pathetic and makes her look much worse in the long run.)

I’m not ‘enamored of Barack’s blackness’ … It’s incidental. Clearly identity politics is at play - motivating supporters for both campaigns, but Barack has a consistent message that fits the post-racial ideals many of us hold. And Geraldine - I’m not black …. am I being racist in calling you on your racism?

I am sure there are many people out there who have said or thought the very things Ferraro has so bluntly stated. What is ridiculous to me is that they defend it as ‘fact’… their statement isn’t a fact. It’s just a sad sign of low character. More Americans need to study biology … there is one race: human.

And as for painting Barack as a Muslim… some people complain that Hillary didn’t take a stronger stance in regard to the fact that Barack is not of the Muslim faith. She said she takes him at his word. Yes. Do take people at their word and at their deeds when asked about their faith and character, but really, it’s the wrong answer to the wrong question. The right response is that although we know Barack to be a man of faith, with long-standing commitment to the same Church, if he were of the Muslim faith, that would NOT disqualify him for office. This reeks of the days when other religious bigots questioned Kennedy’s loyalty because of his Catholic heritage. Clearly, however, some of us in America are not done with anti-catholic bigotry either. Has Ferraro commented at all about Hagee and McCain?

The Democratic Party needs to transcend Identity politics. I’d support woman or man, a person of any ethnic heritage or religious faith, if they demonstrate themselves to be of high moral character, lead by example and inspire us to our higher calling as a people.

I’d also like to give people a little room to make some mistakes, and a chance to redeem themselves when they do. (But please, stop digging.)

The quote and context may be old news, but I just now happened upon this quote on Ellen Gill’s blog and thought it interesting…. here’s the full text:

The Bill of Rights is not a “suicide pact,” but an expression of courage and knowledge that courage is what it takes to keep a people free.~~From Ellen Gill’s letter to the editor of the Chicago Sun Times, December 29, 2005.

Tonight we convened the first Chicago Net Tuesday at “The Point” at 600 W. Chicago… thanks Aaron! We had a great turnout by Meet-Up standards… (somewhere around 30 people) … we’re shooting for the second Tuesday of each month.

The metaphor of the mash-up is perfect for our vision. We want to bring together the talents and assets and interests and needs of Chicago — Chicago techies and community activists, NPOs and others ready to give back to the community and grow the network. Fundamentally, our perspective is that while NPOs are addressing deep needs in the communities they serve, our city and the neighborhoods and professions and trades are full of resources and talents that we have but to put together in new and exciting ways. This has been my credo for some time … this perspective informed the efforts of the Chicago Digital Access Alliance and our campaign for Digital Excellence (in the context of the Citywide Wireless Initiative that wound up stalling out).

We started off the evening with an invitation to everyone to step up and join us as co-convenors for this effort going forward… we all introduced ourselves to the group and then we sunk our teeth into our first big question about what Chicago Non-Profit’s really need.

That is an important question, to be sure, but I’ve reached the point where I want to start from our strengths and assets. We need to figure out how to share our skills and talents. We don’t have to start from a scarcity mindset.

More important than the answers to the question we started with, or any alternative positive framing I might offer, is the question of conversation and story, and widening the circle of participants. What questions do we have to ask? What are the big questions that will open some real conversation for Chicago? Who do we address the big questions to? Can we ask ourselves the really hard questions?

For myself - the issue of new social technologies leaves me rather ambivalent. We have to start from our purposes, and not from the faddish new tools. We have to get clear about what we want for our city. Let our technology choices and investments stem from that vision.

Philadelphia’s model has come undone. What lessons can we draw from this? The purveyors of Networks have lost all credibility. it’s time for communities, citizens, cities to build and own their own networks, grounded in open standards based technologies so we are not tied to any one vendor at any point in the process - and more than that - as I am sure Breitbart has stated much better than I - we need a much more open political planning process from the get go.

Chicago - let’s wire (and unwire) ourselves.