Culture War, Culture Peace Gathering
From May 3rd to 31st The Climate Majority Project will be hosting a “Culture Peace” gathering at the Bergerac Practice Hub, of Life Itself, a meta-crisis-aware network co-founded by our co-director Liam. Take a train down to Bergerac, enjoy nice weather and get a taste of the next stage of cultural evolution.
Culture war has been brewing for sometime. Are you sick of it enough to make peace? What would that look like? That’s what we’ll explore, together. We’ll reflect on how our (sub-)cultures’ unquestionable, and even sacred beliefs, and our taboos come into conflict. We will work on ways of diffusing and getting past this conflict as well. We will practice holding the tension between two facts: No single way of looking at things is right, however, some views are more useful than others for some things.
Specific topics that we will cover include:
Disagreeing Passionately and Peacefully. If we are so emotional about certain subjects, they must be important. So we can talk about them, perhaps peacefully, perhaps as a lovers’ quarrel.
How the climate emergency can unify us. Staring into the abyss of world-system collapse together can put things in perspective. Disagreements about important subjects like whether gender is biological may still seem important, but perhaps not enough to divide us.
Respecting Everybody. The best way to get anybody to listen while you profoundly disagree with them is to make sure that this person feels you respect them deeply. The most important way to do that is to actually respect them deeply, this is even more important than cleverly “messaging to them.” So we’ll practice true respect for all people, even the ones we currently hate.
Respecting even people we really dislike. Many people who agree we should respect everybody still proudly hate Donald Trump. There is a certain kind of respect or affection that many have for horrible historical characters, like Genghis Khan or Vlad the impaler, perhaps like we would for a predator. This does not mean that we would not oppose these people if we lived in their time. Can we extend the same feeling to those we oppose now (Putin?, Trump?, Biden?)
Other potential questions for peaceful and passionate disagreement:
- How do we pragmatically relate to global justice issues?
- Is “democracy” failing?
- Dealing with “wokeness” Identity Politics and related backlash
- Immigration
Schedule & Practicalities
Regarding food, our house Tenzo, Valerie, will guide the group through daily cooking practices as part of the deliberately developmental technology of the hub where everyone takes turns being head chef every couple of days, getting the chance to explore different roles.
Schedule (tentative and can change with the needs of the participants):
- 7-8 am: optional meditation in Dojo (just sitting)
- 8-9 am: optional breakfast
- 9-10 am: collective care for cooking, cleaning, gardening
- 10 am-1 pm: own time
- 1-2 pm: buffet lunch and dishes
- 2-6:30pm: own time
- 6:30-7:30 pm: table dinner and dishes
- 8pm: optional evening activity
Besides the daily structure, there will be a weekly sharing/regulatory circle. Participants are invited to offer their own practices to other residents during the night sessions.
Weekends don’t have any frame. During that time spontaneous cooking and eating organisation happens. This is a time that gives opportunity to discover surroundings such as Plum Village or prehistoric caves.
The monthly cost ranges between 450 to 950 euros for lodging, depending on the room, plus approx. 300 euros for food and amenities. All communal food is organic and plant-based.
Ideal candidates are those who resonate with these principles and practices, have a project to work on and are ready to explore being community.