Within a workshop on Mitigating Our-Own-Alienative-Conflicts, in break-out-groups of about a dozen participants,
people can work cooperatively to form a consensus about a coherent cluster of - - - ideals, principles, values, virtues, goals, hopes, priorities,etc: by flexibly using the following kinds of activities:

A. Sit in a circle, with a clerk at a large news-print blank-pad to enter suggestions to be numbered from one and    up.

B. In one kind of activity, ask each participant in sequence around the circle (after some preparation time) to
   offer one suggestion of a very-very-brief description of what they regard as one among many TRANSCENDENTLY-
   IMPORTANT: ideals, values, principles, virtues, grounds-for-hope, etc. (Each participant should have written down
   about a dozen possible suggestions before the group starts the above process!)

C. In a later kind of activity, ask participants in sequence around the circle (after some preparation time)   
   to affirm/agree-with one of the already listed suggestions. Note support on the news-print pad.

D. In a later kind of activity ask participants in sequence around the circle (after some preparation time) to
   offer one suggestion of a very-very-brief description of what they regard as one among many COMPLEMENTARY-  
   IMPORTANT:  ideals, values, principles, virtues, grounds-for-hope, etc. - - - to help people avoid
   becoming alienative-extremists in support of some already listed suggestions.  Record suggestions.

E. In a later kind of activity, ask participants in sequence around the circle (after some preparation time) 
   to SUPPORT WITH THE SHOW OF ONE-OR-TWO-HANDS - - - about half of the suggestions as already listed.  Voting
   equally for all of them - - - will convey-no meaning.  To convey any meaning the votes must differ among the
   suggestions already listed.  PRIORITY-Support and/or PRIORITY-Abstinence can be very significant - - - apart
   from any level of MAJORITY support or opposition regarding the suggestions already offered.  Record votes.

F. In a later kind of activity, ask participants in sequence around the circle (after some preparation time) 
   to SUPPORT, ABSTAIN OR OPPOSE each of the suggestions as already listed and supported above.  MAJORITY SUPPORT 
   or OPPOSITION can be very significant!  On the basis of this voting it may be prudent to drop some suggestions,
   for there can be no consensus when there is a significant fraction strongly opposed to a suggestion. With general
   consent, strike weakly supported suggestions.

G. The kind of voting in "E" can help focus the group's attention upon suggestions about which consensus may 
   become possible.

H. In yet another kind of activity, participants might focus upon amending already offered suggestions, to help 
   refine a wider-and-richer kind-of-consensus; because the early processes do not provide for any such amending
   process.

The above suggestions have grown out of decades of work in the Iowa Democratic Party  1970 - - 2004 to improve
the ways in which County, District and State Conventions contribute to the formulation of the Democratic-Party's
Political platforms; along with the contributions of the "PLATFORM-COMMITTEES" that worked before each such
Convention. State-Conventions have involved about 750 to 1,000 participants. The few largest Iowa county
conventions have involved about 400 participants. Do a google.com search of the World-Wide-Web  for the quoted
search text: "Paul A.Smith Iowa Democratic Party"  - - - to find some evidence of the extent of the participation 
of the writer of these essays in the evolution of the above processes in eventual official state convention platform
adoptions. In 1976 the writer was a member of the about one hundred member National Democratic-Party Platform
Committee that drafted the Platform for the 1976 Democratic National Convention to consider. 


                               Be-Together in Shalom's Reconciling-Ways