IS BUILDING A CONSENSUS ALWAYS A GOOD THING?

This article speaks more on the subject of the Delphi Technique. If people understand how they are being manipulated, they will begin to see when they are compromising their values due to tactical "persuasion". As the article talks about below, the Delphi Technique is often used to coax or sway people into accepting a preconceived goal. It is used by Think Tanks, Activism Groups, Government Agencies, Corporations, etc. The Delphi Technique can sound positive because it encourages people to work together to acheive consensus. But.....is consensus always good?

http://home.hiwaay.net/~becraft/Delphi.htm

THE DELPHI TECHNIQUE

About two years ago, I ran across on the Net an article about the "Delphi technique," which was just a simple method developed obviously through time and motion studies to get people to agree with a certain course of action. That article indicated that Delphi was essentially "group brainwashing" so that the "system" could achieve agreement regarding a pre-determined conclusion and course of action. The article was enlightening, but I threw it away.

Shortly thereafter, a friend of mine to whom I had e-mailed the article attended an "Agenda 21" meeting in Birmingham and there he saw the Delphi method brazenly used out in the open. He immediately reported back to our group his discovery. This prompted me to watch for more such instances, which came when Henry Lamb of Eco-Logic told me that this technique was used at the international meetings of the environmentalists. Henry attends all the international meetings of these creeps and stated that "consensus" building was used to get these groups to agree upon a pre-determined plan; Henry deserves applause for all his hard work fighting these tyrants. But in any event, Delphi is frequently used by powerful organizations to manipulate professional groups and others to agree with the wishes of the masters.

I have been watching for any article about Delphi to cross my desk and recently one such article came. The below article was apparently written by some teacher who is aware of the use of Delphi upon teachers to get them to agree with NWO plans. Here is that article, slightly cleaned up:

"The Rand Corporation in the early sixties developed the "Delphi Technique" for the purpose of maneuvering segments of the public into accepting pre-determined government policies. In the seventies and eighties, it was used to convince land owners of the merits of accepting general land use planning maps. Now it is being employed to persuade the public to accept Outcome Based Education and the licensing of all employees via endorsements in the Certificate of Initial Mastery ("CIM") and Certificate of Advanced Mastery ("CAM") programs, a/k/a "School to Work."

"The goal of the Delphi technique is to lead a targeted group of people to a pre-determined outcome, while giving the illusion of taking public input under the pretext of being accountable to the public. For Delphi to work, it is critical that the targeted group be kept away from knowledgeable people who could lead them away from the Delphier's pre-determined outcome.

"One variation of the Delphi technique is to use a series of meetings. The attendees are often given a number or a colored card when they enter the room, to determine at which table they are to sit. The purpose of this is to break up the groups of potentially knowledgeable people who arrive together so that they will be sitting with strangers and therefore be subdued.

"Typically, at each table is a facilitator, someone who will know which way to help "steer" the group. Usually, the people at each table are instructed to answer among themselves some of the questions and arrive at a table consensus. Someone is chosen to speak for the table, and most of the time it is the person who has been secretly pre-briefed about the desired Delphi outcome. The table spokesperson is the only one allowed to address the podium and the others have little opportunity to address the podium or the crowd directly.

"Anyone knowledgeable enough, or brave enough, to speak out in opposition will not be welcomed. Often they are told from the podium "we don't have time to discuss that now," or "we discussed that on another date," or "we can discuss that after the meeting." They will attempt to quiet, isolate and discredit dissenters. After attending the Delphi meeting, participants may feel that they are in disagreement with the apparent majority. The Delphi technique is often successful in bluffing people into submission. Don't let them succeed. Call their bluff.

"The Delphi technique often uses a series of surveys to bring about "consensus." The surveys are promoted as information gathering regarding the wishes of the targeted public, but in reality they are designed to manipulate the desired outcome. The survey will sometimes use gradings like: "agree all of the time; agree most of the time; agree some of the time; agree not much; agree never." Or the survey grading will ask the respondents to use ratings like "most important, moderately important, least important."

"The questions are typically "loaded" questions. An example is the question asked of Oregon teachers on a Delphi technique survey: "Do you agree or disagree that the following elements of H.B. 3565 [Oregon's Education Act for the 21st century] will lead to improved student learning if implemented?" The survey listed such items for the teachers to agree or disagree with: "site councils," "increased accountability for school sites and districts," "full funding for preschool programs to enable all students to enter school ready to learn," "extended school year," "Certificate of Initial Mastery," et cet. The questions are patently loaded. For example, site councils are not charged with improving student learning as their function is to implement the state law, dole out professional development courses and money to selected teachers, and apply for grants from foundations and the federal government. For the teachers to answer agree or disagree that the site councils will lead to improved student learning is misdirecting the respondent.

"The Delphi surveys "educate" the people taking the survey. After the first survey is taken, the respondents are given an analysis and told that most people agreed or somewhat agreed on the pre-determined outcome. Then usually they are given another survey and asked if they can be flexible and try to rethink the "few remaining" areas of disagreement. When the series of surveys are accomplished, the respondents are told that the majority of respondents achieved "consensus" with whatever direction the pollers wanted in the first place.

"These techniques were developed decades ago. The Rand Corporation has more recently been developing games that groups of business people, council members, organizations, et cet, can use to help "sell" people on collectivism, consensus vs. majority rule, et cet.

"Never, ever compromise when it comes to "right and wrong." With the right attitude you shouldn't care what people think, as long as you are standing up for what is right. Accept persecution gracefully."

End.