The Uplift Project Seed

Notice: this is just an early draft (2010) of a seed idea. There is no Uplift Project site or database yet, and won't be without sufficient interest and support.

If you want to get involved you can reach me through the Trouble Report or Comments link at the bottom of the page.

We are all obviously in big trouble—global warming, melting ice caps, dying oceans, polluted air, water and food, endless wars, obscene nuclear arsenals, needless poverty, heart breaking neglect of refugees, destruction of the middle class, the elite riding on the backs of the poor, idiots in the Whitehouse, rule by Trumped up fear, racism, hate, broken education, health care, and "justice" systems, to name only a few, and too many atrocities and injustices resisted by too few, too small, too underfunded and too unorganized uplifting individuals and organizations.

Those of us who believe we can turn things around are beginning to look for ways to effectively collaborate. Each single issue group has it's essential role to play in the big picture, and would be greatly empowered by win-win sharing and coordination with other groups in harmony with their missions and common interests.

Here is a seed vision of an organizing principle and self-organizing process (already naturally in progress globally) that does not rely on violence, force, command hierarchies or "wars" against the enemy du jour that keep those defense dollars flowing into the war profiteers' immense, overflowing pockets.

The Uplift Project is a leaderless, distributed, self-organizing coalition of autonomous uplift-minded collaborators. No leaders means no corruptible leaders.

There are already hundreds of de facto Uplift Ambassadors spanning the globe and organizing podcasts, gatherings, symposia, roundtables, seminars and other uplifting happenings. Every member in good standing will receive an Uplift Ambassador insignia to make it official and be recognized as contributing to a larger whole.

The Uplift Project website is an evolving resource to support this process with ideas, networking resources and compassion for all life-kind.

This website will be the first Uplift Project Member and kick off the Uplift Project. Website operations and other expenses will be funded by a $1/mo. member fee which may be adjusted by membership vote as necessary.

Common Vision and Key Values

Integrity
Honesty and openness - The self-organizing process is only as good as the information quality and quantity that drives it.
Fostering mutual respect, creative freedom and sharing in safe, inspiring and supportive spaces
Credible documentation of all significant purported facts presented
Strong support of peaceful, respectful dialog and feedback
Autonomous collaborative sharing, by mutual agreements, of knowledge and resources
Transparency in all policies, dealings, alliances and finances
An uplifting mission clearly focused on uplifting each and all, not on destroying what we fear
Minimization of energy wasted defensively

Once you start defending what is you stop making progress on what could be. The self-organizing process is mathematically certain to trend in positive directions as undistorted, unimpeded communication informs all concerned with accurate information for good decisions, and we all focus our attention and energy on processes we like, and just leave the bad ones to wither and die from lack of support. Apart from sincere high quality, creations and projects to peacefully reveal bad ideas for what they are (Alice in Wonderland comes to mind), doing belligerent battle with a bad idea just keeps it alive and destroys prospects for constructive dialog. Leadership by inspiration, collaboration and respect beats "leadership" by force every time.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

The Uplift Project's distributed self-organizing process to promote and preserve uplifting visions and timeless values has always prevailed—eventually, and will continue to prevail. The following simple measures and instant internet communications should be very effective in speeding up the process without ongoing major expenditures of energy and resources.

Resisting Corruption

Those who feel threatened by the spread of truth and integrity will try to sabotage this project with their usual slimy lies, threats, diversions and mindless, fanatic "moralizing". Here are some policies which will make that much more difficult.

Each member (can be an individual or an individual representing an organization) receives a numbered digital badge image to display anywhere, and a pendant or lapel pin, possibly containing an RFID chip with the member number, to wear.
Only members can enroll new members.
Only members can recommend up- or downgrading another member's status.
Each member's badge number, profile, review/response archive and membership status is kept on file using tamper-proof blockchain technology, with contact information updatable by the member, all publicly viewable, except member number and (optionally) street address. Members in good standing will have access to any member's profile, star rating and review/rating form.

Member Status codes

M - member in good standing - green badge - access to all Member services and privileges

P - on probation - orange badge - restricted access

E - exiled - red badge - access only to respond to exile decision

B - banished - black badge - revoked access and possible public censure

An application for membership can only be submitted to an existing Uplift website for an approval process. Any member in good standing may invite a promising candidate to apply for membership. A review and rating system will be maintained for all members. Since there may be some who are likely to game this system for their own gain, with phony good or bad reviews it is up to other members to evaluate members with troubling review trends for consistency with our common vision and key values, and submit recommendations for probation, exile, or banishment. Thresholds will be established for how many status change recommendations are required to trigger such changes. Members no longer in good standing who continue to wear the insignia or display a green badge will be summarily banished. This should greatly enhance the credibility of the Uplift Project and it's insignia.

Invitations to Collaborate

We need:

Blockchain developers
Legal help organizing this project and as an ongoing resource for members
Other expert resources for common needs of many member organizations to free them from necessary tasks unrelated to their primary quests
Help developing and operating a self-supporting and self-organizing Uplift Project website and services for the Uplift network
Rich sharing of constructive and creative ideas and innovations, always

A Few Early Invitation Candidates:

ACLU
Join People Power - ACLU's Grassroots Volunteer Resistance Movement
Snopes
The oldest and largest fact-checking site on the Internet
Consumer Reports
Doctors Without Borders
Medical aid where it is needed most. Independent. Neutral. Impartial
Apple
Want to Know (PEERS)
Reliable, verifiable information on cover ups and a call to work together for the good of all
Organic Consumers
CAMPAIGNING FOR HEALTH, JUSTICE, SUSTAINABILITY, PEACE, AND DEMOCRACY
Family, Friends & Local Candidates

Top 10 List

Results of periodic member surveys to prioritize the top ten current issues of consequence to humanity and the planet, disseminated to the public and archived for trend research and progress reporting.

Spread the Word

Members are invited to submit short imperatives, like "stop the killing," with optional links to deeper information, for vetting by the membership and distribution as widely as possible to all members, the public, and targeted influential people and organizations.

A self-organizing project scenario

Let's say I have an uplifting idea I think just might catch on. If I'm an Uplift Project member my first step would be to spend a good amount of dream time, think time, brainstorming with others, and writing/editing time creating a Project Seed (like this one) to post on the UP Project database (accessable to all members in good standing), see what kind of response I get from the UP membership and refine it until it's ready for action.

With a promising response to the refined seed will come the next stage of recruiting collaborators to make it happen, via the UP MatchMaker database, followed by using the Project database to plan, manage, track, and document the project as it evolves, all freely accessible to the membership to provide feedback, do further refinements and inspire more collaborators. The more minds sharing the same vision the more pertinent talents and resources available to make it happen.

When critical mass is reached there will be no stopping a project whose time has come from exploding out into the public domain.

This sets the stage for developing the: