A Network Of Networks In San Diego

"In 'The Jihad vs. McWorld,' author Benjamin Barber describes the Jihad as 'the bloody search for bloodlines' and McWorld as 'the bloodless search for markets.' What is missing, Barber argues, is the call for 'the commonweal' – the public good, the common goal at the heart of every free democratic society. For the last several years, the San Diego Foundation and San Diego State University President Stephen Weber have been involved in an effort to 'create a civil society,' a program concerned with yet another dilemma as trend-interpreter Daniel Yankelovich might call it 'for the soul of San Diego.' In 'The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict Into Cooperation,' Yankelovich argues there is a 'struggle between two one-sided visions of our future; the vision of the free market and the vision of the civil society.'Last December, President Weber announced the formation of Envision San Diego: The Creative Community, a five-year commitment to create a new forum for civic engagement to serve our region. At its heart is a plan to bring our neighborhoods and the media together to start a community-wide dialogue to help define what our common future looks like and, in the process, bring these two forces or visions together.