Artifice as Reality? Part One.

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

"What is emptiness? Emptiness (shunyata) is the reality of the existence of ourselves, and all the phenomena around us. According to the Buddhist point of view, seeking reality and seeking liberation amount to the same thing. The person who doesn't want to seek reality doesn't really want to seek liberation, and is just confused."

“The most dangerous thing is illusion.”

“It was more in our spirit to let things come to rights by the plain dictates of common sense than by the practice of any artifices.”

So much of what is done on Long Island seems to be done for "theatre" rather than for substantive change.


I don't think, however, this is done as some evil plot against the citizens of Long Island, although that would sell a lot of papers!


I think much of it is done out of a sense of frustration with the lack of communication and the "layers of complexity" surrounding almost every issue of public policy. Having many moving parts (organizations/individuals) doesn't necessarily make things complicated if there are permanent, common "bridges" of communication and a willingness to cooperate. This is the driving force behind the Long Island Congress and Long Island 3.0 concepts. Give people the means and the opportunity to cooperate and they will cooperate. Sort of like a "unified theory of regional cooperation." In future posts we'll explore what it takes to cooperate and to break down the "silos" and "fiefdoms" while still encouraging organizational autonomy and personal choice.