treatment of crisis
February 19, 2009 by Holst Group
Edward de Bono’s message
At the time of writing this message the conflict and problem in Gazas is still going on. This is a situation which might benefit from some new thinking. How would new ideas be asked for? What effect would they have if just suggested by an individual? Maybe every crisis should have attached to it a formal UN creative team whose business it was to generate and collect new ideas. When I have set up my Palace of Thinking that would be one of its functions.
Unfortunately we still believe that experience, information, analysis and logic are enough. The UN has never considered its function to include the generation and presentation of additional ideas and possibilities. I once tried to set up a creative group within the UN but this proved hopeless as they considered their function to be representation of the thinking of their countries rather than new thinking.
How right you are about the UN; the responsibility for the repair though must lay with the people who caused the fractured thinking in the first place. History can teach us a lot. Gaza is repeating European history (guess when Europe was last faced with the same bigoted thinking) and therefore it will inevitably make the same mistakes. The frustration is that we have a crystal ball, we know what will happen if it is let to run its course. We should play leap frog; recognize and attack the impasse, but approach it with the expectation of a happy landing on the other side.
ISRAEL & GAZA – changing the thinking
Let the decisions be the new SMARTER decisions… Special, Monitored, Absolute, Timeless, Engendered, Restorative.
Let the thinking be critical, Let’s design in parallel information, feelings, dangers, benefits, creativity and organising – get rid of argument and explore.
I comment as one with fully developed belief systems and faith built upon societal and ethical grounds. If one adds written law (by human precedent) and natural law then it is possible to think beyond the political warfare and physical violence, enactments which trigger combatant conflict, the tit for tat protests involving loss of human life and dignity. One could refer to my beliefs as a religion but I don’t. To me, my thinking is pragmatic solution seeking, using whatever thinking and methods available to arrive at agreed targets.
It has been proven by DNA testing that many war faring nations are fighting those with matching bloodlines (or just about – never mind the tribes) so the fighting could be said to be not personal. In human terms people are fighting their virtual brothers and sisters. Language is a major hurdle together with manner and tone. The fighting is derived from despair. Diverse religion and belief, mixed-up thinking, confused leadership deciding to stay in power instead of leading for the good.
What do I know? I should be Jewish – I should take sides – instead I look in as an observer. I have Jewish and Muslim friends, am English by birth and birthright but, like many, I have Jewish blood coursing through my veins. Yet I am all about solutions and creative problem solving, using whatever method which works or has the possibility to realise potential. I have no side (other than prejudice which I ignore as inherited or learnt – my prejudice is meaningless and therefore dismissible)
So what is the answer? I have ideas but I would not put them forward until the right thinking, systemic and thorough, listed ideas to choose from following and applying the productive thinking model, are recognised. Such immense problems / challenges / opportunities need to be settled following a phased agenda which can be revised if the questions are not the right questions.
To settle warfare by thinking one needs more. History, precedent, what can be achieved if man lays down weapons and aims to share and debate and find solutions despite the pain, the suffering being endured by those who have lost.
Of course the six hat approach could be adopted but it’s who wears the hats that may bear fruit upon the barren tree. Let Obama wear one. Let one be from Israel, one from Gaza, invite Egypt (they have spare land that could be converted from dessert just like Dubai) invite Iran, Invite Jerry Adams from Ireland, even if he is the facilitator. Shall UK wear a hat? Perhaps China or Russia. Let Gaza be healed and become a focus for the rest of the world, a world intent upon its destruction by default.
Identify hubris and avarices – learn from what the banking fraternity did. Thanks to them and the intellectual failure which supported the fraudsters as they ripped off the world and pocketed the ill-gotten gain, we now have an immense opportunity, to evolve, to better settle, to support. Let the product have substance.
The banks ended up trading a whole bunch of nothing. Warfare is similarly a whole bunch of nothing whipped up into a fear laden something. Let all concerned with Gaza clearly view the nothingness they are exchanging and convert the tangible into something.