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It is quite different from the present American political process which is tyranny by a majority vote of one.  --  "If I can muster up one more vote that you can, I'm going to force my way down your throat.   If you don't like it, tough  s _ _t!    We leave no tree standing.  We take no prisoners."   

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Where Does Consensus Come From?

A consensus is similar to a context.²   It's a non-physical co-creation of all the people involved.    Consensus  brings people together and minimizes differences by making harmony more important than getting one's way.   Where opinions differ, decisions are often outside the will of either side.   Often, there are more than just two sides to consider.   The Evolution controversy ² is a classic example of a multi-faced issue.   Unfortunately, in the evolution controversy, the warring parties are battling between two sides while completely ignoring a third, and critically important alternative.

Consensus in Greater Detail:

There are several parts to a consensuses.   The intention is to get a sense of what is the most appropriate decision, given all the evidence, the present conditions, and circumstances, the needs, desires and differing beliefs and opinions  of those affected.   Consensus is sharing ideas.    Consensus is discussing questionable issue with others directly involved in and/or affected by a particular behavior, or position, or belief, policy, rule, law, etc.   In a consensus, the intention is to get all sides of an issue openly and freely discussed, to put all the evidence on the table.     Hidden Agendas ²  are out of place here.   

The goal is not domination or the peddling of a position.   It's sharing, it's bringing everyone in, it's talking with others rather than talking at them.  It's listening to others.   It's being open to new possibilities.   It's asking questions like:  "What are your needs, desires, feeling and beliefs."   It's answering the following  questions:   

     What will this action produce?

     Who or what will be  hurt or damaged by this action?

     Regarding each option, who will gain?  What will they gain?   Who will loose?   What will  they loose?

    Will this action produce the long-term, highest good for the greatest  number at the  lowest cost, cost being measured by the expenditure of:   time, money, effort, resources consumed, environmental  damage, grief and misery produced,  loss of life (human or other life forms)?

     How can we work together to get this problem behind us?

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The Bottom Line:

The Bottom line in consensus is:  "How do we find accord, harmony, consent, unity, agreement, or thoughtful compromise given:  

1)   The presently existing situation and circumstances,

2)   The desires, wishes, needs, requirement, and beliefs of those affected by this proposal,

3)   The probable results of the various options currently available,  

4)   The proposal's long-term environmental, political and social impact, 

5)   The present state of technology, 

6)   The present social and political climate,  

7)   The lever of awareness (knowledge of the evidence)  of the general public,? 

What course of action will produce the greatest long-term good for the greatest number with the least costs, with costs being measured in terms of:

1)    Loss of individual freedom, 

2)    Environmental destruction

3)    Loss of life  (human, animal and plant),   

4)    Physical damage --  injurers to people and property

5)    The creation of grief, misery and suffering, 

6)    The re-direction and consumption of goods and services,  

7)    The consumption, depletion and/or destruction of non-renewable resources,

8)    The re-direction and consumption of time and effort, 

9)    Money and financial resources consumed?

The creators of consensus are also deciding for all who have no voice or vote in making the decision? 

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Let George Do It:

With such a array of factors to consider, it's so much easier to just close our minds and do whatever our leaders tell us to do.²  

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A Guide For Making Decisions

To actually make a decision under such circumstances, requires more than blind obedience or a logical brain.   Although the mind is an important factor, it's not the only place to seek an answer.   The ideal is to make  decisions with a combination of head and heart -- to make decisions that are agreed upon by most people to be in the best interest of the greatest number and at the same time minimizes the cost listed above.   

When the heart enters into the decision making process,  money is no longer the only factor on the table.  The decision also becomes a personal, internally focused choice where everything is thrown into a symbolic blender, and  where, after a thorough mix,  love, joy, and freedom float to the top and guide the decision.

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Consensus Is Vital Simply for Human Survival:    

Considering the present, incredibly-miserable living conditions of over half the human population and the rapidly-arriving environmental disasters, consensus is vital  simply for human survival.    

Humans spend about fifty percent of their time, money and resources in a futile attempt to dominate, control, or destroy other people for one or the other of two reasons.   The first category is to dominate, control, or destroy those who have different religious beliefs, and second,  is fighting over limited resources such as food and water.   

Christian Anti-Consensus:  

In Christian, religious organizations,  consensus is seen as making a compromise with the devil.   Everything is either black or white.   There are no in-betweens.   Here's an example:

The Forced Motherhood promoters  are pushing the antithesis of consensus   Their way is,   Tyranny by the majority!  and   Power rules!   To find out why they do what they do, go to the page titled:   Controversy Sells - And Its a Multi-million Dollar Business. ²  

For example,  the Roman Catholic Pope preaches about freedom while running a strict, authoritarian, one-way-my-way dictatorship.  The church hierarchy  offers: a take-the-whole-package-or-nothing  religion controlled by  masculine-rulers-only.   They even claim to have an infallible leader.    They claim exclusive access to God and exclusive access to heaven.   Those controlling  the Roman Catholic Church have no idea what consensus means.    They have no idea of  how to use consensus to run a large organization.

Just imagine how wonderful that organization could be if it it's leaders really practiced what Jesus taught ² and if it were run by consensus.     See the satirical section titled:   Papal Infallibility Declared Null & Void.²   

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