Re: Groping toward the future: facing both ways.

nate (schmolze who-is-at students.wisc.edu)
Wed, 6 Jan 1999 12:23:20 -0600

I recently had an opportunity to listen to a First American from
Canada give a speech and he made a similar argument. He argued
that any public / private decision should be made considering at
least 7 generations down the road. He shared a funny story in
which an elder was giving thanks for family, plants, animals
etc. prior to the beginning of a meeting which included the
Prime Minister. The Prime Minister asked if it was necessary to
give all this thanks to just start a meeting. The elder replied
yes, and went on to personally thank every type of tree, plant,
flower, and animal that exists in Canada.

Nate

-----Original Message-----
From: Anthony Scott <tony_scott who-is-at hotmail.com>
To: xmca who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
Date: Wednesday, January 06, 1999 11:15 AM
Subject: Re: Groping toward the future: facing both ways.

>Judy's message gives me the opportunity to mention that some
Native
>American peoples (especially their elders)view themselves as
having a
>trustee relationship both to the seven generations which have
gone
>before and the seven generations which are to follow.
Narrative plays
>an important part in the collective memory of who has walked on
beofre,
>trusteeship an important part in education and ocnservation
(saving the
>past for the future?)
>
>Tony Scott
>
>
>>Date: 6 Jan 1999 14:52:05 -0000
>>To: xmca who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu
>>From: Judy Diamondstone <diamonju who-is-at rci.rutgers.edu>
>>Subject: Re: Groping toward the future
>
>>
>>The sociality of time.... The only way we can
>>see past the teeny arc of our conscious gaze... the
>>hardened arc of a cultural horizon.... To imagine a
>>past that we cannot remember; to project a future that
>>is not an image of the collective body, not a repeat of
>>what has been, but a dimly seen Beyond - it's so
>>
>>romantic....
>>
>>STILL it is only in the sense of a collective imagining
>>"from some space of possibles" that no single one of us can
>>see that we can move proleptically toward a future.
>>
>>Paraphrasing, we 'progress' along the proleptic social
>>adventure that is us.
>>
>>Judy
>>(Jay's message deleted)
>
>
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