Notes on our Fifth Meeting

Date: November 3, 2010
Time: 6-8pm
Location: South Texas College, Pecan Campus, H 231
Attendance: 15

The Rio Grande Valley Zeitgeist Movement held its fifth general meeting tonight in McAllen, TX, and it was our most engaging and well attended meeting we've ever had. We saw a number of new faces during our meeting and greeting, and we were very pleased to receive such a diverse, opinionated and passionate group into our burgeoning organization. From a young family with their child to a student of chemistry to individuals who are interested in learning more about the movement and the scientific principles we seek to promote, it was a very positive experience to have new minds and new ideas to engage with. As was mentioned from the last meeting, growing and attracting new people is one of our goals, and I am so pleased that it is happening organically and gradually even during this short period of time.

Our stated agenda was to discuss the political elections, the failures of our current system and the decision making process in a Resource Based Economy. The discussion we wound up having was completely different and highly engaging. We discussed a wide array of topics, including the emergent nature of the universe, the application of the bell curve to human potential, the intriguing duality of sub atomic particles, the need to have an ontological and epistemological basis on which to found our ideas about society and the evolution of religion, tribalism and the human psyche. Many attendees engaged in passionate discussion that might have even challenged and even changed the ideas and beliefs held by others. In a surprising bit of synchronicity, one member recited a poem he composed earlier that was relevant to the discussion on particle physics. It was a great time and eye opening experience that I hope to have again in the future.

Towards the end, we started to discuss practical ways in which we can start to affect society now. We realized that we cannot, practically, have an overnight "success" in terms of an immediate implementation of an RBE. We determined that the most practical and personal action to take was to start altering one's own mind and value set to align with what is relevant and true. If we start to allow our value set to inform our actions in a more positive manner, then we can influence the ones around us and society on a small, but aggregately large, degree. We also discussed the next planned meeting for Saturday, November 13th, which will be announced when details are firm. We ended with our customary photo presented below, and some after meeting discussions which were met with equal passion, if not more so. Thank you again to all who participated and I ask everyone who wishes and is able, to join us in our effort to promote a better life for all people.