This weekend Spiral Dynamics co-developer Don Beck has got Lt Colonel Fred Krawchuk attending and presenting at his workshop programme at the Integral Centre in Boulder, Colorado. WHAT?!?!?
This man is a killer! He’s been heavily involved in the ‘surge’ in Baghdad. There will be more than a few innocent men, women and children killed by his troops. And suspected insurgents summarily executed without a shred of evidence.
What the fuck is Don doing having this man presenting at his workshop?!?!? And, fercrisakes, what were all those supposedly-TURQUOISE Buddhist types at the Integral Center doing letting this mass murderer through their doors?!?!?!? Have they all gone mad? We’re supposed to be about building a better world, not endorsing the work of ruthless killers!
I tell you, my GREEN vMEME really went off on one!!
I was going to e-mail Don and tell him he was a disgrace! I was going to cancel my ticket to Don’s London workshop on 14 March. I was gonna…! I was gonna…!
And then, while seething, I caught sight of the Key Update notification on my home page of the Global feature, Killing the Terrorists. In that article I had advocated the ruthless extermination of terrorists whose peak BLUE made them closed to other, more reasonable points of view.
…er, hang on. I wrote an article advocating pretty much what Krawchuk had been trying to do??? Was that the same me having histrionics about this mass murderer presenting at Boulder?
Different vMEMES value different things
Well, yes, it was. And, when, I read it again, there isn’t anything I feel the need to change.
The me who advocated killing unreasonable and unmovable terrorists was the same me who got so offended by Beck having Krawchuk present at his workshop. Well, it sort of was the same me. But not quite the same me….
Put simply, the selfplex – your concept(s) of who you are – bends, twists and morphs according to which vMEMES dominate in your vMEME Stack in any one context. Thus, it was my GREEN which was indulging in histrionics over Krawchuk. However, I’d claim it was 2nd Tier thinking which was behind ‘Killing the Terrorists’. Research to date shows that 2nd Tier thinking will sacrifice a few for the good of all. Thus, I was in a state of outrage over Krawchuk; but, when authoring ‘Kill the Terrorists’, I was coolly aware of both the need to say that and the huge responsibility I was taking upon myself by saying it.
Having worked practically with Spiral Dynamics for over 10 years and researched intensely into how it fits into the broader world of the behavioural sciences for over 5, being an NLP Master Practitioner and having undergone all the self-examination that goes with that training, I thought I pretty much understood how human beings work – how I work! Getting to understand just how and why I had reacted so strongly to the news of Krawchuk’s involvement at Boulder has been an important learning for me. And once again it brings home to me to just how much vMEMES shape our current state.
Now I look at Don Beck’s blurb about Krawchuk with interest – that he “has been in our SDi series before. He played a major role in revealing the underlying tribal structures and demonstrated how to relate to Shia and Sunni factions, as well as integrate the military with the civilian elements.” Krawchuk used Spiral Dynamics-rooted strategies in Baghdad…? Wow! I almost wish Krawchuk could be at London next weekend – and I’m certainly pleased Don intends including Krawchuk’s work in his briefings.
Friday, July 3rd 2009 at 16:17
Here is a 12 page article from Fred Krawchuk which documents something about collaborative principles he is working with:
http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/08summer/krawchuk.pdf
Collaborative Strategic
Planning and Action:
A New Approach
FRED T. KRAWCHUK
© 2008 Fred T. Krawchuk
The complexity of the contemporary US security environment demands
a new, comprehensive way of assessing and contending with the ongoing
challenges. The current method can be characterized as a symptomatic
rather than systemic approach. The present interagency and multinational
mechanism consists of reacting to immediate threats and opportunities,
dealing with the conditions of violent extremism, and responding to each
crisis as it arises. Such actions are often slow, isolated, and wholly inadequate.
Government planners and operators focus on immediate response to a
crisis without considering the long-term implications. Academicians and
members of think tanks focus on long-term solutions and potential policy
changes, withoutmeans of testing their proposals or getting the information
to those who would act on it. The private sector pays for forecasts and
data-mining to understand and profile the same areas of concern, yet military
planners do not benefit because they lack adequate access to academic
endeavors or private-sector reports.1
Combatant Commands (COCOMs) need to find methods of integrating
the agility and innovation of the private sector with the foundational
knowledge of academic efforts to meet the emergent needs of military commanders
and planners. With the proper kind of creative thinkers and pragmatic
project managers, COCOMs can forge helpful bonds with willing
partners, while leveraging the knowledge and experience of the private and
Summer 2008 67
public sectors. This integration of resources and expertise will help foment
and nurture the conditions for peace and stability in conflict-prone regions.
http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/08summer/krawchuk.pdf
Albert
Monday, April 13th 2009 at 09:20
Good to see you in London. We have been encouraged to follow-up with a series in several cities in UK, and will do so starting in late June.
I did see your website and your concern regarding the Special Forces Colonel who we interviewed via Lire Wire from Dallas. Several ears ago Fred attended our SDi two-part series in Washington DC, and we talked with him during the Dallas Confab as well. He was in Baghdad., and gave a wonderful presentation. His role, Keith, was to assist in the processes that produced “the surge” — by showing how to integrate the tribes, Shia and sunni and Kurds, alonf with military and civiliankpolitical interests. In short, through his efforts many lives have been saved. We really like him and he has asked me down to US Central Command in Tampa to present a two day strategy on how to integrate “soft” and “hard” power since we are confronted with asymmetrical warfare as Great Britain is discovering, and it could get worse. I see a Pakistan group was arrested recently. I choose to help our military rather than stereotype them because these young men and women are dying for this country, and for the freedom and lifestyle we have inherited. Fred is really a great guy. Thought you needed these details.
Don
Thursday, March 19th 2009 at 20:49
Hi Keith,
You also wrote a blog entry called Israeli Stupidity in Gaza! (https://www.integratedsociopsychology.net/2009/israeli-stupidity-in-gaza/) in which you (a) refer to the article Killing the Terrorists and (b) denounce the actions of Israel in Gaza (to quote out of context: “want to seem like the SS in the Warsaw ghetto?”) .
Is this blog entry also coming from your green vMeme, your turquoise vMeme, or … ?
René