The Circle

The structure of power in America is pyramidal. People attempt to organize so that they can attain the top, hold power, imagine that they control things and then produce change. Gatherings within this structure are triangular. The masses focus to the stage, and we have leaders at the podium. The structure remains whether the gathering is political, of whatever persuasion, academic, governmental, commercial or military.

I would argue that the way to challenge power in America is to change the architecture. I propose gathering in a circle. A circle rally might look like this:

The Outer Ring

Imagine a park in some city in June. It is morning and people are arriving to set up. They carry with them many different things. Some are merchants and bring along a display of their wares. Some work with food, and they have some to sell. Some belong to various neighborhood organizations. They have information about their work. Some are musicians. Some artists. Some have crafts.

Whoever they are, when they arrive they see that the park has been marked with a large circle divided by neighborhoods. Each goes to their neighborhood area and sets up what and how they wish to display.

It is noon now. People have set up, others have gathered and all begin to mill about. One person strolls over to a northside neighborhood area and finds a restaurant he hasn't heard of before selling vegetarian sandwiches that are to his liking. He eats while watching a puppet show put on by a theater troupe from that area. A woman who works in an eastside community garden has walked over to a table put up by westside gardeners and is talking about getting plant starters and some common problems they face. A man from the southside is preaching Jesus. A woman from a zen center in Riverside is sitting. People from an Overstreet mosque are talking about Islam. Jews are talking Judaism. A Main Street businessman who sells passive solar collectors is talking to a northside contractor. A Broadstreet food store rep is talking to a downtown worker in a local food pantry. It goes on. The focus of the rally, and the power, is with the individual people. They have the opportunity to present themselves and what they do. They can increase their power by forming relationships with people of similar interests.

The Inner Ring

Within the large outer circle, a smaller circle is marked out. This is where people whose work crosses neighborhoods, or extends to the entire city, have the opportunity to present themselves. Let's say there are some farmers from outside the city that are offering to city dwellers locally grown vegetables sold by contract. They are explaining their deal and selling some produce. Next to them is a group concerned about the ecology of the city's rivers. They have several branch groups who have tables on the outer ring, but these people represent the city-wide office. Someone from the eastside is just now talking with them about opening another branch group. A band with a city-wide draw plays next to them. Across the way, the city chapter of some organization is holding a panel discussion on Health Care.

The Day

People come and go as they please, back and forth from neighborhood to neighborhood, from inner to outer. Everything is happening at the same time. No one has center stage. The idea is to empower local endeavor. This is done by forming relationships. The idea is to build and strengthen the community.

Politically, I am a progressive, but were I organizing this event, I would have no black lists. Let people say what they will, and let the people decide what's worth the hearing; but, no one pays for the microphone on the stage. The corporate rep has equal footing with the leftie on a soapbox. I would prohibit any expression that fosters hatred or violence.

The Center

It is now late in the day, and a stage has been built in the center of the circle. Road crews have just finished setting up speaker systems, and a band will soon play a concert. When they finish, there will be a speaker, perhaps more than one. Late in the day, the event has changed to a single focus. It is a center, not an apex. The circle also is a form of power, and it is a power that may be able to fundamentally challenge the prevailing structures.

Imagine a schematic drawing of this event that traced the paths of people as they moved about. It would show concentric circles with lines that wandered and crossed with increasing density as the day progressed. It might look like a living cell; or, perhaps, a web. If a colored dot marked the place a contact formed, or a relationship established, the drawing begins to look like an image of the Internet. The dots represent email addresses exchanged, or web sites bookmarked. A rally of this sort can be seen as a physicalization of a city wide web.