Sunday, May 11, 2014

Mark Herr and the Center for Self Governance

After taking the Level 1 class of the Center For Self Governance, which is an organization that teaches citizens how to maintain an open dialogue between government and people, I was able to contact the organization's founder, Mark Herr.  We managed to arrange time for us to get together at a Jason's Deli for an interview.

He was born in England, raised in Korea on a military base, served in the military on Japan, and now lives in Tennessee.  When asked what his background in politics was he answered, "Nothing... I have no background in politics." After seeing how things were going in Tennessee, he met with three other concerned citizens and organized the curriculum and the organization

In 1787, after the first constitutional convention, as Benjamin Franklin walked out the door, Mrs. Powel, the wife of the inn owner where the founders were staying, asked him, "What kind of government have you given us?"  Benjamin Franklin replied, "A republic, if you can keep it."  This is significant because when he said "you", he was directing that to a woman who could not vote or own property.  So even if you can't vote or run for office, you are not absolved of your duty to stay involved.  It is very hard to be involved if you don't know the system, though.

The Center of Self Governance teaches to focus on Ms. Powel, not the issues, because Ms. Powel is a metaphor for the ultimate source of power: the people.  "If you don't know how to wield your power then you will be stuck in the quicksand of issues and candidates.  And it will suck you into fighting fires set by people who do not want you to wield power," Mark stated.

People of all walks of life can go to these classes. There have been several Democrat state legislators from Washington State who attended classes.  There have been Democrats, Republicans, young, old, white, black, Hispanics, atheists, Christians, and candidates running against each other in the same class.  It doesn't matter because the Center For Self Governance is not a partisan group.  They teach the fundamentals of liberty, which are all the freedoms described in the Bill of Rights.  Those are God-given, inalienable rights that no bureaucrats can lawfully change.

Mark then outlined what he wanted students to take away from each level class.

  1. In level one, students learn that they don't know the language that is spoken at different levels of government. Because they don't know the language, they are losing the battle to keep the republic.  They don't know the difference between a democracy and a republic, power and governance.  Contrary to what is taught, the United States is a republic.
  2. In level two, students learn the technical skills to communicate effective self governance.  Things like appearance are very important.  For example, in some parts of America, if you knock on doors wearing a suit, the first impression many residents will have of you is that you are from the police or CPS, whereas in a wealthier part of town if you knock on doors with your pants sagging, people will not open their doors to you because in both scenarios you are deemed a threat.
  3. Level three is a macro view of government, much like the way an astronomer studies the night sky. We see the big picture on how and why things work.
  4. Then level four is like how a biologist looks into a microscope to see the DNA.  We have a micro view of the workings of government.  In level 3, we looked at Congress as a whole, and now we look at how the various sub-committees work and why they exist. 
  5.  Level five brings all the pieces together.  The understanding of the language, the knowledge of the inner workings of government, and an understanding of their fellow citizens all combine to form an effective tool to open up a dialog with government, collaborate with their fellow citizens, and plan strategies with their team to save the republic from social and political corruption. 
I recently attended and finished the class portion of Level 2.  I am having a bunch of fun doing these classes and will continue all the way to Level 5.  One of the things that I took away from the two levels of classes that I've done is the story of Mrs. Powell.  I am looking forward to learning about the more overt workings of government.

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