America is crying out in pain, but I would submit that we have a choice in this very moment. We retreat into our comfortable homogeneous tribes and lash out. Or we step out and bravely step forward into a different future—a future that’s built on fresh, authentic relationships that weave a stronger social fabric and local communities, and build bridges across our differences.
PEARCE GODWIN
Listen First Project
When making choices or weighing trade-offs, these principles should be our guide:
Long, Thriving Lives
Fully value long thriving lives, in aspiration and in calculations. Balance attention to physical health and wealth with equal concern for other states of being (mental, emotional, social, spiritual). Always begin with those who are struggling and suffering.
Dignity & Justice
Fulfill America’s overdue promise of justice for people of color, Tribal Nations, people who experience gender inequality, and all others who endure unjust adversity; reject hierarchies of human value and tell a new story in which human differences are a strength, not a reason to destroy each other.
People & Place
Let local wisdom shape solutions that are fit for each place and its people; look for existing assets and enrich them; remove constraints that impose segregation; pay attention to the interdependence of all things within whole living systems.
Shared Stewardship
See ourselves—and one another—as interdependent stewards of wellbeing for people and places; negotiate vested interests, but do not lead only on behalf of your own issue or organization; work across differences with curiosity, grace, and humility.
Past & Future Legacies
Look back and reckon with legacies that inflict harm; look ahead to sustain past achievements while solidifying new legacies that expand opportunities for well-being and justice.