Projects and Activities Related to Ishmael and Daniel Quinn
Reading Ishmael by Daniel Quinn was a major turning point in my understanding of the world. It opened my eyes to the root issues behind so many problems I had intuitively sensed in our society, and gave me an understanding of the systemic nature of the problems, ultimately leading me to the paradigm of Systems Thinking. I think that most of the problems that we try so hard to solve symptomatically persist because they are systemic problems, and really stem from a root belief system that is flawed. Fixing tangential symptoms will never solve the problems in the long-term.Daniel Quinn's works - which also include The Story of B, My Ishmael, and Beyond Civilization - are the best tools I have found to help people understand these root causes and belief systems, the understanding of which, in my mind, is key if we are to make any significant progress towards sustainabiilty on earth, social justice, or any of hundreds of other worthy goals. So I am involved in various projects which work to encourage more people to read his work, to become active as a result, and to be able to find others of like mind for support and to work together on mutually-inspired activities.
- Detroit Ishmael Group - A group I co-founded for those in the Detroit area who are interested in and inspired by Daniel Quinn's work.
- The Friends of Ishmael Society - Non-profit organization I created to publicize and promote Daniel Quinn's work and to coordinate, inform, and grow the community of his readers. We aim to raise awareness of Systems Thinking and issues of sustainability and diversity.
- ReadIshmael.com - A website that I helped create to introduce Daniel Quinn's work to newcomers unfamiliar with it.
