[nabs-l] Philosophical Homogeneity

[Kirt Manwaring]

Arielle, Jedi and all,
  I've taken the liberty to do a bit more research, and I'm torn.  On
the one hand, I absolutely respect the work done by the Federation;
it's necessary, it's important and, within the xontext of the rest of
my life, I want to be involved.  (I've seen people whose lives almost
become the Federation and I sure as hell don't want that!)
Furthermore, I have no current qualms with NFB policy large enough for
me to be compelled to publicly speak out against the organization.
But it's possible, and I don't want to be in the position where I feel
like I'm voilating a virtual contract of membership by speaking my
mind.
  Some people have told me that, if I'm so committed to the principal
of speaking my mind, whenever I feel inspired to do so, I oughtn't
join the organization because, should I choose to stay actively
involved as a member, my freedom to raise my voice could be impeded.
I see their point.  Still, others tell me that I shouldn't worry about
hypotheticals and only deal with that moral dilemma if it turns in to
a real issue.  As I said, right now, there are no policies of the
organization that I disagree with enough to publicly oppose but it
could happen.  I'm wondering if I should just worry about that only if
I need to and devote myself to the problems at hand right now?  I'd
just hate to put myself in the situation where, years down, I might
have to walk away from the NFB  or possibly resign from a leadership
position if the organization's policies compell me to do so.
Thoughts, anyone?
  Best,
Kirt

On 7/21/12, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Kurt, Jedi and all,
> If you pay your $5 dues to NABS and become a voting member, and/or
> seek office, you are in fact a member of the NFB for a year following
> your dues payment. This is because NABS is an integral part of the
> NFB. So Kurt, in your case you would have been a member last year. I
> don't, however, know if you chose to repay your dues at convention
> this year. Either way, I respect your decision and appreciate your
> continued contributions to our list.
> I have stated before that I believe there are many ways to contribute
> to the NFB's work, and being an official, pledge-abiding member is but
> one of them. Even among members, there are multiple levels of
> membership--local, state and national--and several levels of
> involvement we can choose to have or not have.
> I will state candidly here that I have recently developed some
> disagreements with the way that NFB handles its national politics, and
> I wish that elections, resolutions and other organizational matters
> were handled in a way that more closely resembles the way the United
> States constitution operates. I would like to see more room given for
> opposition and debate beyond the convention floor on resolution day.
> In full disclosure, this is part of the reason why I chose not to seek
> a second term as NABS president and instead decided to focus my NFB
> efforts to my local chapter and to behind-the-scenes activities like
> posting on this list. However, I will leave it at that and will not
> violate the NFB pledge by discussing my specific grievances in a
> public forum or anywhere else outside the NFB. This is because I think
> the empowerment and inspiration the NFB gives to blind people is more
> important to protect than are my ideals about democratic leadership,
> and I'm willing to let go of the things I don't agree with in order to
> help blind people in the ways where I have the most to offer. However,
> this is just my personal approach to the situation. I can completely
> empathize with those of you who choose not to join because of the NFB
> pledge or anything else about the organization you find distasteful. I
> believe that even without joining and unofficially signing on to the
> pledge, there are things you can do to further the NFB philosophy and
> collective goals--by writing on this list, by offering mentoring and
> resources to blind people in your area, and even just by living your
> life and educating the public along the way.
> Best,
> Arielle
>
> On 7/21/12, Jedi <loneblindjedi at samobile.net> wrote:
>> Kirt,
>>
>> Please correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you join NABS? Didn't you,
>> at one point, seek national office in NABS? If this is the case, you
>> might want to know that joining NABS, let alone serving as a national
>> officer, means that you have joined the NFB. Or least, that is how I
>> read the NABS constitution. For those NABS constitution scholars out
>> there, is that the case? And if you have unknowingly joined the NFB
>> Kirt, that also means that you have also signed the pledge. Ah, those
>> dubious NFB-ers! *kidding* In all seriousness though, and provided I'm
>> correct in my understanding, it may be helpful information to you,
>> Kirt, and everyone, in order to engage in a manner congruent to your
>> beliefs.
>>
>> Respectfully,
>> Jedi
>> Original message:
>>> Julie,
>>>   Yes, there is debate within the federation and, yes, I'm glad for
>>> it.  But the point is, were I to sign on to the NFB pledge, I would be
>>> limiting myself to keeping that debate within the federation.  That's
>>> something I just can not do.
>>>   And another thing.  You said some of the resolutions at this last
>>> convention were fairly close, and by NFB standards they were.  But,
>>> even the closest resolution ended up passing the role call of states
>>> with something like a 35-15 margin.  If that kind of margin were seen
>>> in, say, an election for political office, what you called "fairly
>>> clos" would be considered a landslide.  I'm not saying that's right or
>>> wrong, I'm just saying that's the way it is.
>>>   Best,
>>> Kirt
>>
>>> On 7/20/12, Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Hi all,
>>
>>>> While I understand the reluctance to speak up against a stance the
>>>> organization has taken, I believe that the organization cannot grow
>>>> and change if this does not happen.  This is why we let people have a
>>>> voice on these lists and at board meetings, so that each person can be
>>>> heard, even if they disagree with the majority.  One person can
>>>> influence many others.  Think about the debate over some of those
>>>> resolutions.  I listened to the different points of view on a couple
>>>> of them before casting my vote, and some of those votes were rather
>>>> close.
>>
>>>> We need people in the NFB who are willing to give us different ways of
>>>> looking at things, even (especially) when they do not fit the  typical
>>>> mold we are used to.  I believe in the positive philosophy of
>>>> blindness, but I'm not going to say that there is only one way to
>>>> implement this philosophy.  So if you disagree with the majority on an
>>>> issue, let your voice be heard, so that you can change the current
>>>> position.  I have questioned things within the NFB before, and in
>>>> discussing my issues, I have learned a lot about why things are the
>>>> way they are.  We can't lose the ones who disagree with us on any
>>>> given issue because if we do, the democratic process wouldn't work.
>>>> There would be no debate, no majority or minority.  That would be
>>>> extremely boring and would not make a good organization.
>>
>>>> On 7/20/12, Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Justin,
>>>>>   Sometimes I wish it were as simple as you're making it out to be.
>>>>> While I am not denying that individual Federationists can (and do)
>>>>> have widely differing opinions, when you become a fully participating
>>>>> member in the Federation you are agreeing, in essence, to keep those
>>>>> disagreements within the Federation and to abide by the policies and
>>>>> programs of the Federation, even when you personally disagree.  That's
>>>>> why I'm uncomfortable with organized religion; that's why, for all my
>>>>> admiration and agreement with most of what the Federation does, I hold
>>>>> myself back from full participation.  To illustrate, I will copy and
>>>>> paste a copy of the NFB pledge I found in the braille monitor.
>>>>>  "I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the National
>>>>> Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security
>>>>> for the blind; to
>>>>> support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by
>>>>> its constitution."
>>>>>   I can not in good faith sign on to such a pledge as it binds me to
>>>>> support the programs of the Federation, even in those rare instances
>>>>> when I don't want to.  If I disagree with the course the Federation
>>>>> takes on a particular issue, I can not voice that disagreement
>>>>> publicly outside the Federation.  At best, I can stay under the radar
>>>>> by not making my opposition to such and such a policy widely known
>>>>> outside the Federation.  People can, and have, been expelled from the
>>>>> Federation for loudly voicing their disagreement in public.
>>>>>   No, before you ask, I can't really think of one particular issue on
>>>>> which I passionately disagree with the NFB's position.  Certainly
>>>>> right now I have no personal opinion diverging enough from the NFB's
>>>>> official stance to compel me to public opposition.  But it could
>>>>> happen, and I refuse to sign away my right to free expression,
>>>>> wherever I chose, in the event it becomes an issue.  I agree with
>>>>> about 90 percent of commonly held NFB philosophy, and that's enough
>>>>> for me to get involved and participate as much as I can without
>>>>> signing on to that pledge.  It's kind of a complicated issue, and I
>>>>> see it as far less black and white than you've made it out to be.  Of
>>>>> course, that is totally my opinion, and I don't intend for this to
>>>>> sound like a personal attack in the slightest.  If I'm entitled to my
>>>>> beliefs, you're certainly entitled to yours.
>>>>>   Best,
>>>>> Kirt
>>
>>>>> On 7/20/12, Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu> wrote:
>>>>>> Dear List,
>>
>>>>>> There are always different opinions in our organization.  If you've
>>>>>> met
>>>>>> two
>>>>>> or three Federationists-or ACB people, for that matter-with strong
>>>>>> opinions
>>>>>> in any direction, that doesn't necessarily mean anything.
>>
>>>>>> We do not shun people who disagree with our national leadership.
>>
>>>>>> I am always willing to discuss what we're doing.
>>
>>>>>> I make decisions because of my core beliefs and not just because
>>>>>> someone
>>>>>> from Baltimore told me what to do.
>>
>>>>>> At the end of the day, after a vote, the answer is "yes" or "no," but
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> doesn't mean that every single member voted "yes" or every single
>>>>>> member
>>>>>> voted "no."  We organizationally adopt the position of the majority
>>>>>> within
>>>>>> us.
>>
>>>>>> About closet Federationism: We'd love to have you active in our
>>>>>> organization
>>>>>> because actively supporting our efforts helps us accomplish our goals
>>>>>> much
>>>>>> more than quietly supporting us.  If we all sat in our closets and
>>>>>> let
>>>>>> everyone else do the work, we wouldn't live in the wonderful world
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> our
>>>>>> active members have worked so hard to create for us.  In fact, we
>>>>>> might
>>>>>> not
>>>>>> even have closets in which to sit.
>>
>>>>>> In an earlier post, I used organized religion to illustrate the
>>>>>> certain
>>>>>> absence of philosophical homogeneity, and that was really the only
>>>>>> tie
>>>>>> I
>>>>>> was
>>>>>> mentioning or even implying with religion.  I understand that some
>>>>>> people
>>>>>> are very uncomfortable with the concept of organized religion-as I
>>>>>> once
>>>>>> was-and wished not to make anyone uncomfortable.
>>
>>>>>> Justin
>>
>>>>>> Justin M. Salisbury
>>>>>> Class of 2012
>>>>>> B.A. in Mathematics
>>>>>> East Carolina University
>>>>>> president at alumni.ecu.edu
>>
>>>>>> “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
>>>>>> change
>>>>>> the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”    —MARGARET
>>>>>> MEAD
>>
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>>
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>>
>>
>>>> --
>>>> Julie McG
>>>>  Lindbergh High School class of 2009, National Federation of the Blind
>>>> of Missouri recording secretary,
>>>> Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
>>>> and proud graduate of Guiding Eyes for the Blind
>>
>>>> "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
>>>> everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
>>>> life."
>>>> John 3:16
>>
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>>
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