| MARCH 6, 2011 -- This past weekend was the annual President's Meeting which is held for the benefit of the State Grange Presidents. This morning I have been looking at Facebook posts and emails as well as thinking about the comments and a few phone calls about the weekend. I've also been dealing with a few emails from other members who are unhappy about specific things.
The partisan nature of politics and the trends in our society are counter to what Grange membership is really supposed to mean. Our organization is about bringing folks together and dealing with the big problems. We are about finding the issues where we have unity, even when we don't have complete agreement.
I can't remember ever attending a Grange meeting where everyone was in agreement. Just as this past weekend, the participants at the President's Conference disagreed with each other over many issues and even proposed a variety of solutions. Yet in spite of their disagreements, they also found unity in the goals that were set. Each was given the opportunity to propose, question, and comment regardless of their personal opinion, and at the end I believe that we found a unity of purpose.
While many groups demand agreement among their members, the Grange remains faithful to its principles that we will search for and find unity on the big issues and encourage the exchange of differing points of view among our members. I have to admit, its a bit boring when everyone agrees.
Unity and agreement are not the same to my Grange influenced point of view. It is fine to disagree and debate the issue, but unity is the result when we as a group decide on the direction. |
