How much time needs to pass? In a medical analogy, bad things never go away by themselves - you need to face the fact that there is an illness and go get treatment.
If your going with the medical analogy, most illnesses, or in this case, injuries aren't cured overnight. Some injuries take years of therapy before fully cured.
I just know it is going to take time for us to be able to "co-esxist peacefully," whether we like it or not. Sure, we need to work towards a solution (problems don't just fix themselves), but it will take time for these to be fully implimented. This is usually the case for any kind of change, even positive ones.
I proposed that people just (1.)continue to build quality w/in their respective groups, (2.)while seeing what others have to offer. That's just steps 1 and 2.
Maybe a step 3 would be to better communication between organizations and factions acrossed the board. I think that communication has been drastically improved by the internet and talk forums, whether people like it or not. We need to move beyond that, however. I should feel like I can call a representative from any organization or independant and say, "Hey, I'm in town. Do you mind if I stop by this seminar?" Some groups have a pretty open communication line, others have closed themselves off. Others are closed because either they feel that they shouldn't have to communicate from people outside of their own organization, or that they don't have to answer to anyone but themselves, or perhaps they just haven't worked out their Public Relation difficulties, or whatever. It is my opinion that to take a non-communatative stance is wrong, and that we all have to answer to each other even if we disagree. So, communication still has room for improvement.
Maybe a step 4 would then be organizations and factions cross-training with each other. I might be a WMAA member, but maybe I decide that this person who isn't a WMAA member would be of value to train a seminar with, or to send students too. Then they decide to do a WMAA seminar to see what value we have. Then, networks are built. I know that this is being done to a much smaller degree now, but in time, and with better communication we'll be able to do this across the board.
Then Maybe a step 5 will happend with "Mergers." Just like coorporate mergers 2 companies ajoin into 1, maybe some of the organizations who don't disappear will decide to join with others into one large organization. Maybe they keep their org. name, but make it "a division of so-and-so." Who knows? I honestly do forsee this happening in the future, however, even if it is the WAY distant future. I know it happends on a smaller scale right now, with individual instructors and schools deciding to change organizations, or link with other independents.
These are some concrete steps spelled out in better detail, and that are happening right now on a smaller scale. I think that these steps will continue to progress overtime. I don't know if these are the best solutions that we have available, however, but right now it seems to me that this is the direction that things are going.
I know the 2 things that are hurdles in our progress right now, though. These are #1. dishonesty & Egotism, and #2. lack of communication, usually a result from #1. There are too many people out there who inflate themselves, pretend that they are something they are not, or even outright lie. This causes rifts among the M.A. community, which makes it difficult to open up the communication lines. If you want a solution that will speed up the process of "co-existance" then WE MUST FIND A WAY TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM LIEING in Modern Arnis. We probably can't "make" people not lie, but it would be nice to have some sort of check and balance system where if someone fabricates a load of crap, the public will speak out and say so. This is what we really need, because the Bulls**t has got to stop. Either we have to stop it, or it dies on its own. I have attempted to call out actions of certian individuals before, yet despite all of the agreement in my favor, the individuals that I addressed continued on with their ways. In an attempt to help the art by stopping fustrating acts of deception, all it earned me was anger from some who disagreed, while others forgot about my efforts completely. It changed very little. So as you can imagine, I unfortunatily do not have a solution as to how to stop the B.S. through a check and balance system, because there are many occasions where when I, along with the masses, have spoken out, yet the offenders would not admit fault, or even listen. So this only leaves letting the "lies" die on their own; in other words with the gradual progression of things hopefully the truth will come out, and the lies will fall to the wayside.
Anyways, this seems to be the way things are progressing thusfar, but if anyone has concrete open suggestions as to how to improve the political climate so we can "co-exist," other then what I have said thus far, I would be happy to listen. I certianly don't have even close to all of the answers.....
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