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Youth For ActionChanging the world, one mind at a time.
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Immunology Apr. 4th, 2005 @ 10:57 pm
oneiromancer666 The reason that the Takers succeeded in seizing the world from the Leavers is because the collective of Leaver cultures lacked an immune system. What was needed was immunological culture. An immunological culture appears for all intents and purposes as a Leaver culture under normal conditions. However, when an immunological culture identifies a Taker neighbor it mobilizes into immunological mode and annihilates the Taker culture, possibly destroying itself in the process. If the ancient world had been populated by immunological cultures rather than Leaver cultures, then we would not be living in a Taker world today. No sufficiently complex system, be it a peaceful global culture or a biological organism, can survive without an immune system.(8 comments | Leave a comment)

| | Nov. 8th, 2004 @ 04:05 pm | | --------------------------- |

skifree693 "We must stop looking at inherently flawed moral (religious, political) and rational (legal, scientific, 'logical') solutions to our problems, and instead look to primeval, proven, balanced, sustainable intuitive solutions. In short, we must (re-)learn to get in touch with, and trust, our instincts. They served us extraordinarily well for 99% of humanity's time on Earth: Contrary to myth, this 99% of our history was not a desperate and constant struggle for survival, but was likely a time of great ease, abundance, peace and equilibrium."David Pollard runs a website entitled 'How To Save The World'Although decidedly political, the site is worth checking out.(5 comments | Leave a comment)
The Second Meeting Oct. 25th, 2004 @ 04:15 pm
stupac2 This one went better than the first. Only half of the founders showed up, and we had absolutely no game plan, it still went well. So, here's what happened:I introduced the group and what we're about. Then everyone in the room introduced themselves. Then we got to it.At first I thought we would try to write the story of our culture (the mythology I was talking about), but we somehow got off of that. The conversation went mainly between Luyi, Pierce, Mr P, Will, and myself. I don't know if anyone not on that list spoke. I would like people to speak more, but it's totally up to each person.Anyway, we got to talking about a lot of things. Most prominent in my mind are the fact that nothing can grow forever, and how growth is so pervasive in our culture. We talked about polygamy, arranged marriages, memes, viruses, tribes, the definition of our culture, and more.The point of this entry is this: at the end I asked everyone to think about something for next time. Well, if you read this I want to add something (of course it's optional). If you had a lot to say about anything we discussed, write something. We can always use more writing, so if you like, do it.Also, post in here. It's moderated by me, just so that people don't post weird, unrelated stuff. I'll most likely be the first person to read a post here anyway, so feel free. All you have to do is go to the "Update Journal" web page, and then, at the bottom where it says "Post To:" select youthforaction. If that doesn't work, make sure you've joined the community (go to the community's info, then click "join community" near the top of the page). So post! (as long as it's relevent).This was made to be a discussion forum outside of the classroom, so let's use it!Also, we still need ideas for the LTP (long-term project). So put those here too.Brevity is a problem for me, so this will be it. Goodnight.(Leave a comment)
The First meeting Oct. 18th, 2004 @ 03:21 pm
stupac2 Six people showed up. I honestly expected more. But, with fall being the season of sports and activities, and this being Spirit Week, it wasn't too surprising. We will need more people, however. So spread the word.It was actually a good meeting, especially for the first. Once we get more people the discussion will be very good, but I thought we did a good job today. We talked about a lot of things, I wish I had written them down. Alas, I did not, and they have left my head.I would like to thank anyone who did come, and you can add any info you like. I think I'm going to put up a few more posters (one new one so far). Actually, I'll be leaving for Stanford before I can. So I will design the poster, if anyone wants to run to Staples and make five 11X17 copies, it'll cost about 65 cents. Volunteers welcome!We are still in the recruiting phase. That I saw new faces was good, but we still need more. Spread the wealth!(4 comments | Leave a comment)
It's just around the corner Oct. 13th, 2004 @ 08:14 pm
stupac2 Monday is the first meeting. I think we need an agenda. I want to have a "just make it up as we go" feeling, but there needs to be some structure.I was trying to explain why we're doing this, and it's really hard. There's so much to explain about living sustainably, and so much of Mother Culture to overcome. We need a gameplan.Also, to date there have been a grand total of zero suggestions on posters. Today I put up six of mine (five 11 X 17 and one 8.5 X 11). Also, Tony (should have) put an announcement in today, and we should have ones going on Fri and Mon too, (I say should have because I don't know if he did or not).So we need a game plan. Whenever we want to do that is fine, just know that we should have a general idea of where this is going.(Leave a comment)
Other entries
» Official!
It's official, we're a club.We still don't know what day we'll meet, but we will soon (tomorrow or Friday).What we still needI'm serious about this, c'mon, respond with ideas.We need posters, announcement ideas, ideas for discussions, ideas for community service projects, ideas for fundraisers, any ideas at all.Please, just leave any idea here. This won't work if I'm the only one here.Oct. 6th, 2004 @ 05:12 pm(4 comments | Leave a comment)
» The meeting and the immediate future.
Meet with Mr Littlefield today. He actually said, "This is one of the most promising clubs I've ever had come through my office." Or at least, something like that.SO, from here on out we need three more things:Mr. Podraza's signature.Signatures of people who want to be in it (at least ten, we've got that easy).A more specific list of activities.All but the last one will be cake, and even then, it will be pretty easy. I still want to have people put in suggestions, especially on the posters. He said those can go up, just as long as we've give him the three aforementioned things (plus a mission statement, which we already have).SO, what I need from anyone who wants to be in this little thing:See Dan on Monday, he'll have a signature sheet. (Note to Dan, put 20-25 lines on it, first four for us, and then try to fill the rest).Submit ideas to us, on anything. How meetings should be run, topics for discussion, names for the magazine-thing, essays for the magazine thing (I've already got a bunch myself), poster ideas, community service ideas, absolutely anything you think can help. Please, do not be shy on this one.This may be the most important thing. So far we have at least a dozen people who are extremely interested in helping out any way they can, and so far they're all seniors. One of the things in our mission statement is "long-lasting." We need underclassmen. If anyone knows any underclassmen who would be interested in this kind of thing, by all means, tell them about it. Give them my (or any of the other guys') SN, the website, the journal, try and get them in. Underclassmen are more than 3/4 of the school, we need them in here.One thing that just popped into my head is "how long can this last?" I mean, there would seem to be a finite number of things we can do. But we're a creative bunch, we can do this. Also, I think the best discussions will be the ones about the future, there's so much room for discussion there. But I would like to do something with my population thing, I really liked that.All right, I've said enough.Deposit ideas here!Sep. 30th, 2004 @ 03:16 pm(1 comment | Leave a comment)
» Quick update
I wanted to make a post to tell everyone what has happened since the last update.Monday - We asked Mr. Podraza about his availability. He said he could and would do it, and that Wednesdays are best for him. So most likely, barring any other scheduling problems, meetings will be on Wednesdays.Tuesday - We all got together and wrote the official mission statement. For right now, it's here. Eventually it will be in here, somewhere. I have copies in my backpack, too.Today - I asked Mr. Littlefield about a meeting. I think I said "community service" a little too fast, because he suggested talking to Mr. Medieros (I can't spell it) first. I managed to get across that we were about other things as well, and so he said "Come to my office directly after school ends tomorrow." So, tomorrow (barring any unforeseen horrible events) we will become an official club, and a week from today should be the first meeting.Because of this, I feel we should make posters to put around the school. I mean, word of mouth works pretty well, but I haven't told a single person outside of our Western Civ class. So I think we should have some good posters up, starting Monday. Provided the other founders agree to this, we're gonna need some posters. So if any members have any good ideas (for example a creative way of putting "Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an eager desire to save the world," or "With Gorilla Gone, Will There be Hope for Man?" onto posters. Even better would be something original). That's one thought I've got so far.Any others can be tackled later. If you've got any ideas for anything (this journal, the website, meetings, pamphlets, fundraisers, anything), then either leave them here or write them down and bring them to the first meeting.-StuSep. 29th, 2004 @ 02:18 pm(2 comments | Leave a comment)
» The First Entry
This is just getting up and running. Almost everything in this first entry will be in the profile after a while.About Our GroupThis all got started when our Foundations of Western Civilization teacher assigned Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. The ideas in that book are so life changing, they completely revolutionize the way you think. It shows you how everything you thought you knew is wrong, and how things need to change.So, my friends (Dan, Tony, and Will) and I got together earlier today and decided on a course of action. Obviously, being high school seniors, we have extremely limited power. But there is one thing we can do, and that is change people minds, and awake them to the lie they've been told from birth, and will continue to be told until death. We decided that the best way to do this is to start a club at school, and use that as a launching point. We will make fliers, write and distribute essays, send articles into newspapers, do community service and try to get that into a local paper, we will do whatever we can to make people change their minds. This is our mission.About Our MissionAs I said, our mission is to change minds. Our semi-official mission statement is "We are young individuals who want to: change the way humans impact the planet, change the way people think about what they know, and to make a long-lasting impression on the minds of the future." The only reason I say semi-official is because it is subject to minor revision. The vision is the same.Which brings me to this: "The world will not be saved by old vision with new programs, it will be saved by new vision with no programs. Vision is a flowing river. Programs are sticks set in the riverbed to impede the flow of the river. But I don't want to impede its flow, I want to change its direction." -Daniel Quinn.That is what we are about. We have a new vision, a vision that sees the fact that our current vision is destroying the planet, and humanity, with every passing second. We can see through this vision now, and we want to change it. But the process is slow. It takes many years to form a new vision to replace it. But no matter what replaces the old one, the new one will be based on this principle:The Earth was not made for any one species.This fact may seem obvious, but as anyone who follows us will soon realize, none of the ideas on which we are founded are obvious. They just seem like it. They hoover right in front of our noses, but we cannot see them. It takes time to realize that they're there and to see them for what they are.How we will accomplish our mission.Dan named our approach "the three prongs." They are:CLUB (Organization of individuals who have or want to have our vision)PUBLIC SERVICE (Community service; in the name of the club)FLYERS/LITERATURE/INTERNET (handouts at events/fliers or booklets at school/our website and this journal)As you can probably tell by now, this is serious. We do not plan to just give up. This will go all through our senior year, and hopefully it will be carried on by others after us, and hopefully it will be carried by us on to our respective colleges, and hopefully it will spread around the country.About the ClubWe will have monthly/bi-monthly collection of articles from school community published and distributed throughout the school for free. Discussion groups once a week, every week. We will discuss the practical applications of our new vision, (what we can do as a group), and the theoretical applications, (mankind, major changes in society). We will also create fliers and distribute them in the community at strategic times and places.That's who we are, in a nutshell. We will create more detailed posts later, but right now everything is still in developement.Do you want to become one of us?Sep. 24th, 2004 @ 07:16 pm(11 comments | Leave a comment)