Showing posts with label Progressives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Progressives. Show all posts
Sunday, February 04, 2018
Is There New Political Compass Emerging in Alberta?
What is the New Political Compass?
The concept of a New Political Compass, one that moves beyond the linear spectrum of Left vs Right was introduced in 2008 by Dr. Paul Ray, the co-author of "The Cultural Creatives."
The research this post references is based on American data but I think it translates well into the Alberta political culture. We seem to be the part of Canada that is the most akin to and influenced by our relationships to the USA, especially in our oil and gas industry.
Dr. Ray's premise is that political culture in the States is no longer a horizontal binary model of left-right options. Rather we are experiencing a more complex east vs west and north vs south set of "compass" points to delineate our political culture evolution. This richer redefinition of what values people stand for frees us from the overly simplistic labeling of someone as either left or right,,,or even centrist, seen as some form of mushy middle compromise.
The old left vs right political culture model is too rigid as it over-simplifies our complex political culture and hampers the effective performance of our institutions from political parties to election reforms. Left vs Right sets up adversarial politics and offers citizens few practical options. It also seems to encourage and attract more extreme views, on either end of the spectrum. The extremes on the left and right use propaganda to crowd out the systems and design thinking necessary to deal with complex public policy issues and options.
Is There a New Political Compass in Alberta?
The majority of Albertans are in the "centre" of the Left vs Right spectrum and also believe the current political model fails to speak for them. The left and right party activists work hard to frame and label the other side as some extremist political from Communist/Socialist or Libertarian/Anarchist. We saw this in 2016 Primaries where the Republicans stirred up their base by challenging Hillary Clinton as an establishment elitists, and calling Bernie Sanders a "socialist" regardless that he identified himself as such.
In the Alberta political context this effort to label the other as extreme is alive and well. The UCP messages the NDP as collectivists and socialist, union-friendly and therefore a threat to growth and economic prosperity. The NDP pushes the impression that the UCP is economically Republican-lite as business conservatives, and Tea-Party type socially conservatives. The BCNDP government is the most obvious example of using propaganda to push extreme positions. Social conservatism in Alberta is mostly elderly and dying off due to simple demographics. The aggressive Eco-activist leftists are also losing influence seeing fewer people identifying with them and that trend is anticipated to continue.
The majority of Albertans identify as progressives but in the "mushy middle" sense of that concept. The "centre" has not been effectively defined in Alberta's political culture so it really doesn't communicate anything meaningful to those who want to see an integrated holistic political approach. They see their current options as between a plutocracy where big business makes the rules and exercises economic controls are used mostly for the benefit of the rich, or a collectivism that is seen as stifling innovation and hindering changes for more productivity and growth.
Is Alberta Ready for a Different Political Movement?
The old political model is a failure by any metric. Voter turn out is chronically low, confidence and participation in political parties is almost non-existent and trust in our democratic institutions, media, politicians and parties is low and declining. The content and compliant so-called Alberta centrist is politically alienated, disengaged and consequently ignorant about who to vote for...so they don't. As a result the election results are far from optimal in their opinions and that reinforces the alienation and disengagement.
The New Political Compass research by Paul Ray uncovered a new sense of citizenship, the so-called "New Progressive." They are not so much a bunch of mushy middling but more at "right-angles" to the socialist left or social conservative right and they are also very opposed to political control by big business. The American expression of this is the rise of the Independents who are not opting for the Democrats or Republicans, with some efforts to form a third political party Is the Alberta Party the potential provincial equivalent of the rise of Independents in America and the emergence of the "third party" evolution?
The New Progressives, according to the American research, are aligned with the values of the Cultural Creatives, more likely to volunteer, donate to charity, engaged in social justice movements and want to change the culture more than the rest of society. They are in the front of some big issues from climate change to women's concerns.
The American research shows the New Progressives are 36% of the population and estimated to be 45% of those likely to vote. Are those the new Alberta Party supporters? The "Longing for the Old Ways Cultural Conservatives, the Alberta Social Conservative UCP Rebel Media viewer types, are 19% of Americans and 22% of likely voters.
The "Stand Pat of the Left Modernists and New Deal Liberals" are 12% of Americans and 15% of likely voters. Is that equivalent of the traditional NDP supporter? There are 14% of American who identify as "Profits Over Planet and People, Business Conservatives and the Establishment Right" with 19% of the likely voters. That is the equivalent of the Calgary Belt-line big energy tower-dwellers, Canadian Federation of Independent Business members and Fraser Institute fans. Then there are 20% in the nexus of all this who feel alienated and ignored and not likely to engage or change.
Will the Alberta Party Be the Gathering Place for New Progressives?
The core question for the New Progressives, and especially in Alberta, is will they mobilize under a single banner like the Alberta Party, as a big political tent, like the Lougheed Progressive Conservatives did, and become a dominant political force? Alberta is into a time of transformation and we are seeing a change in many of our institutions, including political institutions. They are in dire need of repair or replacement but potentially driven by a desire for a re-enlightenment and a new progressive social contract.
We Albertans have lots of potential but not if we don't change from the status quo. The tired stale-dated unimaginative return to the Alberta Advantage of the United Conservative Party is the exact wrong way to go. We need to define a new Alberta Aspiration that looks beyond the superficial competitive framing of "Being the Best in the World" and stretch our New Progressive vision ino "Being the Best for the World."
That means we need to learn how to create, innovate, adapt and design our way forward as a movement dedicated to practical progressive political policies. Otherwise the writing is on the wall and Alberta is destined to decline and be a disappointment economically, ecologically, socially and politically.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Merry Christmas and some Musings
It has been a long time since I posted anything on this old blog. Thinking I might revive it again given the changing political scene in Alberta, Canada and the United States.
This was a very opinionated blog and why not?
There is a new year coming and a new world order emerging. VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) is the new normal in the economy, the society and the environment.
Progressives in Alberta have been complacent, arrogant, out of touch and too often compliant with conventional authority and self-serving institutions. That is until the last election.
The same thing has happened in the USA but with very different results. Albertans elected a social democratic majority government. The American elected a rabid cum fascist President and gave him effective control and personal power over most of its levers...including the Supreme Court.
So on this interlude on Christmas Day 2016, this is what I'm thinking, Not sure I will do anything about it yet. Time will tell.
This was a very opinionated blog and why not?
There is a new year coming and a new world order emerging. VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) is the new normal in the economy, the society and the environment.
Progressives in Alberta have been complacent, arrogant, out of touch and too often compliant with conventional authority and self-serving institutions. That is until the last election.
The same thing has happened in the USA but with very different results. Albertans elected a social democratic majority government. The American elected a rabid cum fascist President and gave him effective control and personal power over most of its levers...including the Supreme Court.
So on this interlude on Christmas Day 2016, this is what I'm thinking, Not sure I will do anything about it yet. Time will tell.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Obama Support Rising
There is a new poll of 1000 Americans for the Wall Street Journal and NBC News saying 53% of Americans approve of Obama's performance as President. Too bad voters were not thinking that way in the November mid-term elections.
He is up 8% since December and his disapproval rating is down 7% to 41%. According t reports on the poll, Independents have not felt this good about Obama since August 2009. The other side (the dark side?) the GOP Republicans are not doing so well. 25% of Americans say they will bring the wrong kind of change to Washington and 55% said the Republicans are too inflexible in dealing with Obama. Conversely 55% said they trust - yes TRUST - Obama to strike the right balance with his opponents. Looks like Palin, Limbaugh and Beck have over played their hands? Here's hoping.
AMERICAN PROGRESSIVES WAKING UP?
Looks like Progressive in the United States have woken up to the fact that showing up, voting and winning is not enough. You have to continue to be an informed, engaged and active citizen if you want intelligent evidence-informed public policy. To stay aloof means you will be ruled by extremist ideological zealots. The President can't do it all by himself.
ARE ALBERTA PROGRESSIVES WAKING UP?
There are lessons here for progressive thinking Canadians, and even progressive thinking Albertans voting federally and provincially. Stop the fundamentalist and extremists from all stripes can ruin the country, the province and destroy a free and open society. Apathy used to be Boring. Now it is dangerous to democracy too. Alberta is waking up to this fact. Will Alberta show up in the next election to change the direction and co-create the Next Alberta?
He is up 8% since December and his disapproval rating is down 7% to 41%. According t reports on the poll, Independents have not felt this good about Obama since August 2009. The other side (the dark side?) the GOP Republicans are not doing so well. 25% of Americans say they will bring the wrong kind of change to Washington and 55% said the Republicans are too inflexible in dealing with Obama. Conversely 55% said they trust - yes TRUST - Obama to strike the right balance with his opponents. Looks like Palin, Limbaugh and Beck have over played their hands? Here's hoping.
AMERICAN PROGRESSIVES WAKING UP?
Looks like Progressive in the United States have woken up to the fact that showing up, voting and winning is not enough. You have to continue to be an informed, engaged and active citizen if you want intelligent evidence-informed public policy. To stay aloof means you will be ruled by extremist ideological zealots. The President can't do it all by himself.
ARE ALBERTA PROGRESSIVES WAKING UP?
There are lessons here for progressive thinking Canadians, and even progressive thinking Albertans voting federally and provincially. Stop the fundamentalist and extremists from all stripes can ruin the country, the province and destroy a free and open society. Apathy used to be Boring. Now it is dangerous to democracy too. Alberta is waking up to this fact. Will Alberta show up in the next election to change the direction and co-create the Next Alberta?
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Study Shows Fox News Makes You Stupid!
Here is an interesting study about how misinformed Fox News viewers are about the truth. Seems that the misinformation is deliberate too. This is beyond sad and dangerous to democracy. Wonder how much Fox News North will mimic their American cousins in this style of "journalism." I wonder what a comparative Canadian study of Hardcore Conservatives in Canada and Alberta would show.
The fundamental foundations of citizenship and democracy are truth, trust and respect. Sorely lacking principles by what we see from the political tactics of Hardcore Conservatives - on both sides of the 49th Parallel.
Progressives can't be content anymore with rolling their eyes as this kind of abuse of the truth and assault on informed free speech. It is morally reprehensible behaviour and must be challenged. Those who perpetuate and promote this kind of ignorance are in positions of political power or gaining political power. That power is over the rest of us and we risk losing control of our democracy as a result. This is a recipe for disaster.
This is happening because too many of us who are progressive, caring and compassionate people are siting on the political sidelines. We are merely abdicating our duties as citizens by our indifference. We are inadvertently abetting the erosion of our democracy as a result. Because of this irresponsible lack of response by Progressive, we are letting the Hardcore Conservatives take over the political and public agenda. Their goal is all about taking away hard won rights, freedoms and progressive values. And we are letting them get away with it.
The Hardcore Conservatives can't handle the truth. They don't feel comfortable considering competing ideas at a time. It drives them to distraction. Without the truth and respect for a diversity of opinions politics becomes more and more about deception, subterfuge and misinformation... coercion and suppression. Citizenship suffers and democracy declines...civil society disappears.
"All men make mistakes but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the evil. The only sin is pride." ~Sophocles.
"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those, who in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality." ~Dante
Progressive thinking citizens in ALBERTA have to get re-engaged in the political culture of our times. We have to do more than just step up to the plate. We have to upset the Hardcore Conservative applecart as well.
The fundamental foundations of citizenship and democracy are truth, trust and respect. Sorely lacking principles by what we see from the political tactics of Hardcore Conservatives - on both sides of the 49th Parallel.
Progressives can't be content anymore with rolling their eyes as this kind of abuse of the truth and assault on informed free speech. It is morally reprehensible behaviour and must be challenged. Those who perpetuate and promote this kind of ignorance are in positions of political power or gaining political power. That power is over the rest of us and we risk losing control of our democracy as a result. This is a recipe for disaster.
This is happening because too many of us who are progressive, caring and compassionate people are siting on the political sidelines. We are merely abdicating our duties as citizens by our indifference. We are inadvertently abetting the erosion of our democracy as a result. Because of this irresponsible lack of response by Progressive, we are letting the Hardcore Conservatives take over the political and public agenda. Their goal is all about taking away hard won rights, freedoms and progressive values. And we are letting them get away with it.
The Hardcore Conservatives can't handle the truth. They don't feel comfortable considering competing ideas at a time. It drives them to distraction. Without the truth and respect for a diversity of opinions politics becomes more and more about deception, subterfuge and misinformation... coercion and suppression. Citizenship suffers and democracy declines...civil society disappears.
"All men make mistakes but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the evil. The only sin is pride." ~Sophocles.
"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those, who in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality." ~Dante
Progressive thinking citizens in ALBERTA have to get re-engaged in the political culture of our times. We have to do more than just step up to the plate. We have to upset the Hardcore Conservative applecart as well.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Stages of a Political Relationship & Thoughts for Change
I was recently given a schematic showing a model of the evolution of relationships that was mostly intended to describe personal situations. When I saw it I was fascinated on how well it worked for the political relationship between citizens and politicians/political parties.
Let me take you on the latter journey in the Alberta political context...knowing that it may also apply to Canada. As a Reboot Alberta instigator, this diagram helped me get a better appreciation on where we are as Albertans and what options we have before us. Not all of them are generative. Some are even tending to the nihilistic. But in a free will, free speech and democratic society, all options are open to us.
First we have the Romance stage. Here we get entranced or at least excited about the possibilities of the relationship. I know in the early stages after Stelmach's PC leadership win there was lots of romance with Albertans.OK maybe not with the conventional oil patch but they needed a less patronizing way to relate to government anyway. Too band that never happened as evidenced by the rapid retreat on reasonable royalty rates for the owners of the oil and gas in the ground .
The same romance thing happened with Danielle Smith and the WAP. The Wildrose romance was especially strong amongst the mainstream media who saw the bright articulate and media-savvy Smith as a real challenge to the tired, tepid and too-long-in-the-tooth Tory government. There is a sleeper relationship issue for the WAP. The Social Conservative wing of the Wildrose Alliance was badly beaten by Smith in the leadership contest. She humiliated them on a 75-25 leadership vote split.
That dramatic rejection of a Social Conservative leader was even after another staunch social conservative candidate withdrew from the campaign to stop a vote split. Will the social conservatives stay quietly within the WAP and let Smith run the show...or will they go away? If they go away will it be quietly? I would not take any bet on any odds that the social conservative forces in the WAP stay quiet for long, inside or outside the bosom of the Wildrose Alliance Party.
That WAP sleeper issue segues nicely into the next relationship stage; the Power Struggle. This stage is the essence of the current right-wing political culture war we see going on in Alberta between the PCs and the WAP. We are being told we will need an election to sort it out...but the false presumption is that there are only two viable voter options...PCs or WAPs. So far that seems to be the case as the centre-left alternative parties are not resonating.
If the sense of limited viable election options persists to the next vote and our only choice is between a reactionary right-wing and an extreme right-wing government I will expect an even lower turn out next election and a more vulnerable democracy as a result.
The relationship options coming out of the Power Struggle stage are interesting. They are Apathy (tell me about it...on second thought - don't bother). This is where most Albertans seem to be regarding their "engagement" with politics. In essence the disengagement or who cares what happens politics is the norm. Government is seen as not listening so why try.
Next is the Transcendence option which shows up as non-engagement. That non-engagement is were we care what happens but in some sense for some people, they seem themselves above politics. The passive progressives, indifferent Influentials and the majority of thought-leaders in Alberta are these days seem to fall into this non-engagement category. They are safe and secure themselves and can afford to disengage and wallow in disillusionment without taking any responsibility to apply their skills and experience to change things. The reason for non-engagement comes from a past of anti-intellectualism in the provincial government's political class. Arrogant abdication? Absolutely...by both sides!
We also have Separation that shows up as alternative coming out of a Power Struggle. That leads to a sense of abandonment of hope for the future as social cohesion breaks down and a "we versus they" attitude emerges. It is seen in the rhetoric of in real political separatist who are still around in Alberta who believe the federal government is expropriating Alberta's wealth and giving it away to others, most notably Quebec. The Alberta Separatists are below the radar, on the fringes but they appear to be quietly infiltrating the WAP.
There are others who feel separated in their relationship with government and governors. They have started to abandon hope as they get marginalized and misused. They are those people who are over-extended, burned out and over-burdened trying to constantly do more with less in the voluntary not-for-profit groups. These folks are now also being bullied and intimidated by government politically and administratively into alleging a feigned loyalty to the status quo of the current government. They are particularly vulnerable because they do a lot of work for government and depend on good political relations for fiscal and operational survival.
There are many tragic stories from these people who are now afraid of their own governors but who merely want to serve the greater good and public interest to the best of their abilities. They are qualified, caring and compassionate people but they are turning into cowering compliant operatives who are abandoning any hope of being effective in their work or in taking truth to power. This is especially true in these times of a political Power Struggle in a pending election. Power, it would seem, is not interested in truth. It has it's own agenda...retain power at all costs.
The more hopeful and generative option coming out of the Power Struggle is Curiosity and that leads to Integration where the struggle is resolve issues or at least mitigate the consequences through Integration. Integration in a political cultural sense is what progressive Albertans in Reboot Alberta want to see happening in a renewed and revived democracy. Progressives see Integration as a political and public policy tool to redefine and determine a different destiny for Alberta where control is returned to citizens and citizenship matters again.
The progressive citizen's movement within Reboot Alberta seeks a new trajectory for the province in all aspects from the economy and environment as well as social policy and democratic and political reform. Integration in these terms would be a renewed governing and political philosophy that would ensure that social, environment, economy and democratic elements are all taken into account in any public policy decisions that were being considered and the best outcomes for each governing element would be accommodated.
Integration simply means; all things considered, consider all things. Integration and integrity are closely related and would be achieved even if all these elements were embraced in some honest, open, obvious and authentic public policy, political or governance approach.
What emerges out of Integration is a Commitment to a direction and a destination for Alberta that is based on the clear intention as well as the expressed and committed will of the governed (citizens) as well as the governing(politicians and policy operatives). The consequences of Commitment is action but action that is about being together on achieving a clear intention and goal. The action step is not to vote or not vote. It is much more complicated than that, even though voting is key to creating change.
The lawyer in me knows the concept of being together and intentional about a direction and a goal is captured int the Latin phrase "ad idem" When parties are ad idem, they are of the same mind and spirit. It helps enormously to be ad idem in reaching agreements and in contracts for example. When misunderstandings or differing interpretations appear, ad idem parties can return to intent and spirit of the agreement to resolve, reconcile or even revisit the agreement based on going forward towards even more mutual respect and trust. This is all about being adaptive. Being able to learn and to create a culture of practical applied wisdom instead of the win-lose adversarial model that merely breeds litigation as the default solution space to settle disagreements or misunderstandings.
What comes out of being ad idem in action and intent is a nice framing for the next relationship stage known as Co-Creativity. This is were there is a possibility to synergistically change everything but still reaffirm what is important and vital to our society, our sense of self-respect and overall well-being. I will share in later blogs my sense of the change of everything we need as we strive for as Albertans to integrate all things in a progressive approach. I will explore how we can ensure we are clear on our political values as we express our individual and inter-dependent intents. I will look at how we can, as citizens, use our democracy to insist and be assured that our governors act accordingly to our values and align policy decisions with our aspirations.
The outcome of this Co-creativity is described as Renewed Imagination. I can't think of a better working definition of Romance in political cultural terms than "Renewed Imagination." When this happens we get progress, learning, wisdom and the culture of adaptive change that we want and will benefit from. This is the path being proud again to be a citizen of and a co-creator in designing and delivering the next Alberta. And that stages leads to a new romantic period and starts the whole relationship building process anew.
So my fellow Albertans - it is time to rethink the trajectory we are on as a province and to set another course. We have to come to grips with the harsh reality that way we are being governed is broken. We have to fix it by rethinking the decision making criteria we use as citizens when we show up at the ballot box to grant politicians our consent govern us. We need to become better informed and more engaged in our roles and responsibilities of citizenship. And then we need to show up to vote in a way where we are least make a conscious positive decision about who we want to run our province instead of a forlorn choice between lesser evils.
We have to insist that we get offered a better choice than picking one set of SOBs instead of another group of SOBs to recklessly abuse their political power for their own ends. Abdication of citizenship is a luxury we Albertans can't afford anymore. The world is run by those who show up. Wouldn't it be nice if those who showed up knew what they wanted and had a positive progressive alternative.
That can happen but progressives are going to have to make it happen. Reboot 3.0 is all about starting to make that happen. It is in early planning stages but it is happening November 5-7 in Edmonton. You will get time to talk and plan with others who are longing and yearning for a positive progressive political alternative for Alberta. Block off this time to become a citizen again. It is time to revive your love of this province and restore your pride as an Albertan.
Here is a link to an earlier blog post that will give you a sense of what Albertans are thinking about politics and politicians these days. It will give you some context of how other progressives in Alberta are thinking and feeling.
Join the Reboot progressive citizen's movement and send a message to the powers that be that the status quo is not good enough - nor are the options that we are currently being offered. Start making a difference and start making a different Alberta. Reboot 3.0 is where it will all start. Plan to be there.
Let me take you on the latter journey in the Alberta political context...knowing that it may also apply to Canada. As a Reboot Alberta instigator, this diagram helped me get a better appreciation on where we are as Albertans and what options we have before us. Not all of them are generative. Some are even tending to the nihilistic. But in a free will, free speech and democratic society, all options are open to us.
First we have the Romance stage. Here we get entranced or at least excited about the possibilities of the relationship. I know in the early stages after Stelmach's PC leadership win there was lots of romance with Albertans.OK maybe not with the conventional oil patch but they needed a less patronizing way to relate to government anyway. Too band that never happened as evidenced by the rapid retreat on reasonable royalty rates for the owners of the oil and gas in the ground .
The same romance thing happened with Danielle Smith and the WAP. The Wildrose romance was especially strong amongst the mainstream media who saw the bright articulate and media-savvy Smith as a real challenge to the tired, tepid and too-long-in-the-tooth Tory government. There is a sleeper relationship issue for the WAP. The Social Conservative wing of the Wildrose Alliance was badly beaten by Smith in the leadership contest. She humiliated them on a 75-25 leadership vote split.
That dramatic rejection of a Social Conservative leader was even after another staunch social conservative candidate withdrew from the campaign to stop a vote split. Will the social conservatives stay quietly within the WAP and let Smith run the show...or will they go away? If they go away will it be quietly? I would not take any bet on any odds that the social conservative forces in the WAP stay quiet for long, inside or outside the bosom of the Wildrose Alliance Party.
That WAP sleeper issue segues nicely into the next relationship stage; the Power Struggle. This stage is the essence of the current right-wing political culture war we see going on in Alberta between the PCs and the WAP. We are being told we will need an election to sort it out...but the false presumption is that there are only two viable voter options...PCs or WAPs. So far that seems to be the case as the centre-left alternative parties are not resonating.
If the sense of limited viable election options persists to the next vote and our only choice is between a reactionary right-wing and an extreme right-wing government I will expect an even lower turn out next election and a more vulnerable democracy as a result.
The relationship options coming out of the Power Struggle stage are interesting. They are Apathy (tell me about it...on second thought - don't bother). This is where most Albertans seem to be regarding their "engagement" with politics. In essence the disengagement or who cares what happens politics is the norm. Government is seen as not listening so why try.
Next is the Transcendence option which shows up as non-engagement. That non-engagement is were we care what happens but in some sense for some people, they seem themselves above politics. The passive progressives, indifferent Influentials and the majority of thought-leaders in Alberta are these days seem to fall into this non-engagement category. They are safe and secure themselves and can afford to disengage and wallow in disillusionment without taking any responsibility to apply their skills and experience to change things. The reason for non-engagement comes from a past of anti-intellectualism in the provincial government's political class. Arrogant abdication? Absolutely...by both sides!
We also have Separation that shows up as alternative coming out of a Power Struggle. That leads to a sense of abandonment of hope for the future as social cohesion breaks down and a "we versus they" attitude emerges. It is seen in the rhetoric of in real political separatist who are still around in Alberta who believe the federal government is expropriating Alberta's wealth and giving it away to others, most notably Quebec. The Alberta Separatists are below the radar, on the fringes but they appear to be quietly infiltrating the WAP.
There are others who feel separated in their relationship with government and governors. They have started to abandon hope as they get marginalized and misused. They are those people who are over-extended, burned out and over-burdened trying to constantly do more with less in the voluntary not-for-profit groups. These folks are now also being bullied and intimidated by government politically and administratively into alleging a feigned loyalty to the status quo of the current government. They are particularly vulnerable because they do a lot of work for government and depend on good political relations for fiscal and operational survival.
There are many tragic stories from these people who are now afraid of their own governors but who merely want to serve the greater good and public interest to the best of their abilities. They are qualified, caring and compassionate people but they are turning into cowering compliant operatives who are abandoning any hope of being effective in their work or in taking truth to power. This is especially true in these times of a political Power Struggle in a pending election. Power, it would seem, is not interested in truth. It has it's own agenda...retain power at all costs.
The more hopeful and generative option coming out of the Power Struggle is Curiosity and that leads to Integration where the struggle is resolve issues or at least mitigate the consequences through Integration. Integration in a political cultural sense is what progressive Albertans in Reboot Alberta want to see happening in a renewed and revived democracy. Progressives see Integration as a political and public policy tool to redefine and determine a different destiny for Alberta where control is returned to citizens and citizenship matters again.
The progressive citizen's movement within Reboot Alberta seeks a new trajectory for the province in all aspects from the economy and environment as well as social policy and democratic and political reform. Integration in these terms would be a renewed governing and political philosophy that would ensure that social, environment, economy and democratic elements are all taken into account in any public policy decisions that were being considered and the best outcomes for each governing element would be accommodated.
Integration simply means; all things considered, consider all things. Integration and integrity are closely related and would be achieved even if all these elements were embraced in some honest, open, obvious and authentic public policy, political or governance approach.
What emerges out of Integration is a Commitment to a direction and a destination for Alberta that is based on the clear intention as well as the expressed and committed will of the governed (citizens) as well as the governing(politicians and policy operatives). The consequences of Commitment is action but action that is about being together on achieving a clear intention and goal. The action step is not to vote or not vote. It is much more complicated than that, even though voting is key to creating change.
The lawyer in me knows the concept of being together and intentional about a direction and a goal is captured int the Latin phrase "ad idem" When parties are ad idem, they are of the same mind and spirit. It helps enormously to be ad idem in reaching agreements and in contracts for example. When misunderstandings or differing interpretations appear, ad idem parties can return to intent and spirit of the agreement to resolve, reconcile or even revisit the agreement based on going forward towards even more mutual respect and trust. This is all about being adaptive. Being able to learn and to create a culture of practical applied wisdom instead of the win-lose adversarial model that merely breeds litigation as the default solution space to settle disagreements or misunderstandings.
What comes out of being ad idem in action and intent is a nice framing for the next relationship stage known as Co-Creativity. This is were there is a possibility to synergistically change everything but still reaffirm what is important and vital to our society, our sense of self-respect and overall well-being. I will share in later blogs my sense of the change of everything we need as we strive for as Albertans to integrate all things in a progressive approach. I will explore how we can ensure we are clear on our political values as we express our individual and inter-dependent intents. I will look at how we can, as citizens, use our democracy to insist and be assured that our governors act accordingly to our values and align policy decisions with our aspirations.
The outcome of this Co-creativity is described as Renewed Imagination. I can't think of a better working definition of Romance in political cultural terms than "Renewed Imagination." When this happens we get progress, learning, wisdom and the culture of adaptive change that we want and will benefit from. This is the path being proud again to be a citizen of and a co-creator in designing and delivering the next Alberta. And that stages leads to a new romantic period and starts the whole relationship building process anew.
So my fellow Albertans - it is time to rethink the trajectory we are on as a province and to set another course. We have to come to grips with the harsh reality that way we are being governed is broken. We have to fix it by rethinking the decision making criteria we use as citizens when we show up at the ballot box to grant politicians our consent govern us. We need to become better informed and more engaged in our roles and responsibilities of citizenship. And then we need to show up to vote in a way where we are least make a conscious positive decision about who we want to run our province instead of a forlorn choice between lesser evils.
We have to insist that we get offered a better choice than picking one set of SOBs instead of another group of SOBs to recklessly abuse their political power for their own ends. Abdication of citizenship is a luxury we Albertans can't afford anymore. The world is run by those who show up. Wouldn't it be nice if those who showed up knew what they wanted and had a positive progressive alternative.
That can happen but progressives are going to have to make it happen. Reboot 3.0 is all about starting to make that happen. It is in early planning stages but it is happening November 5-7 in Edmonton. You will get time to talk and plan with others who are longing and yearning for a positive progressive political alternative for Alberta. Block off this time to become a citizen again. It is time to revive your love of this province and restore your pride as an Albertan.
Here is a link to an earlier blog post that will give you a sense of what Albertans are thinking about politics and politicians these days. It will give you some context of how other progressives in Alberta are thinking and feeling.
Join the Reboot progressive citizen's movement and send a message to the powers that be that the status quo is not good enough - nor are the options that we are currently being offered. Start making a difference and start making a different Alberta. Reboot 3.0 is where it will all start. Plan to be there.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Vue Weekly Talks About Progressive Politics
Ricardo Acuna from the Parkland Institute has an interesting piece in Vue Weekly. It is on his perceptions of who is "progressive" in the Alberta political firmament. He seems to settle on the NDP as the only party close to being what he sees as a progressive. Fair enough but progressives Albertans are mostly not in political parties.
I would recommend reading the piece but also suggest people go to the Reboot Alberta site and click on the What's a Progressive link and read the thoughts of what is a progressive many non-partisan citizen participants in the Reboot Alberta movement. It will add to the sense of what we are missing in Alberta political culture - even from the current progressively aspiring political parties.
If you red something at the Reboot Alberta site that resonates with you, consider registering on the site and become part of the broader progressive citizen's engagement movement in Alberta.
I would recommend reading the piece but also suggest people go to the Reboot Alberta site and click on the What's a Progressive link and read the thoughts of what is a progressive many non-partisan citizen participants in the Reboot Alberta movement. It will add to the sense of what we are missing in Alberta political culture - even from the current progressively aspiring political parties.
If you red something at the Reboot Alberta site that resonates with you, consider registering on the site and become part of the broader progressive citizen's engagement movement in Alberta.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
What do Progressive Albertan's Believe and Why?
The last blog post on the Reboot Alberta Progressive Values survey covered the priority ranking and intensity levels of some 22 values we tracked that relate to a progressive point of view for a 21st century Alberta. If you have not read it yet you should. It will help you to understand this related blog post. Here is a link.
This survey was part of the process to help people get a better understanding of what people in the Reboot Alberta citizen’s movement meant by the term “progressive.” There is more discussion exploring the modern meaning of the term “progressive” in a series of blog posts at http://www.rebootalberta.org/ at the “What is a Progressive” button.
This post is focused more on how the Reboot Alberta progressive thinking survey participants saw themselves in terms of Paul Ray’s research on Cultural Creative values in the United States. It was research conducted over more than 20 years and included over 100,000 people and hundreds of focus groups. I recommend his book "The Cultural Creatives" if you want to get a better understanding of the rise of powerand influence of this group of citizens.
It is an open question if this research can translate directly into the Alberta context. But for the purposes of getting some insight into what progressive Albertans see as some priority issues and what level of concern they have, the American Cultural Creatives survey results are instructive. Ray says all Cultural Creatives are progressives but not all progressives are necessarily Cultural Creatives. My sense is the same in meeting and working with both types of people for over a decade in Alberta.
Cultural Creative Citizen Movement Rooted in the 60s:
Rebooters and other progressive Albertans need some context on the roots of the current consciousness of Cultural Creatives. For that, Ray takes us back to the struggles in the various social justice and protest movements of the 60’s. The women’s movement, the anti-Vietnam war movement, the race issues in the American south, the emergence of the environmental movement, according to Ray, all “…fed the longings and hopes of a vast population.” He notes at the same time there were “…new consciousness movements for spirituality, new forms of psychology, and holistic healing and health” happening.
These earlier movements changed the world views and mindsets, especially of the Baby Boomers who are still dominant the control of weath, opinions and the thoughtscapes of our society and culture today. Some significant progress has been made on these concerns but ironically the cynical indifference and distain for politics by these same people who were at the centre of the 60’s movements have put us back into protesting the same kind of crap today. Our democracy is frail, fragile and disappearing. Power gets more centralized in a reckless and abusive command and control, authority driven, politically expedient governance culture.
This retreat to traditionalist culture represented by the Wildrose Alliance is socially, environmentally and economically unacceptable, especially to progressives. The current government’s modernist mindset based on rapid, unrestricted growth in the consumption of natural resources to feed the short-term brand of success found in the Stelmach government is also being rejected by progressives. That is why Reboot Alberta is resonating with so many people. It is seen as a gathering place to transform the current political culture into something more representative, responsible, sustainable, conservationist, inclusive and participatory than the current conventional institutional models allow.
The Progressive Albertan's Worldview and Mindset:
So what exactly is the Alberta progressive worldview and mindset? One can’t be totally comprehensive in answering that question but the key is a 21st century progressive Albertan does have a different worldview and mindset from the current conventional conservative or the ultra-conservative options being touted today as worthy of our consent to govern us.
From the answers to the Cultural Creatives survey results we have some indication of where the hearts and minds are at of those progressive Albertans who are gathering together in a community and an adventure called Reboot Alberta. Here is a sampling of what they said:
When asked if they wanted Alberta’s politics and government spending to put more emphasis on children’s education and well-being, on rebuilding neighbourhoods and communities, 87% agreed.
Consistent with the enormous commitment of progressive Albertans to engage in helping make Alberta a better place, 86% of survey participants said they wanted to be involved in creating a new and better way of life in our country and province.
There were 85% who said they were concerned about violence and abuse of women and children, including when it happens around the world. There are 80% who volunteer for one or more good causes as well. Some 70% want more priority focused on equality for women in the workplace and more women in leadership roles in business and politics.
Consistent with being Influentials and having many vibrant and active personal networks, 83% said they placed a great deal of importance in developing and maintaining personal relationships. Progressives are very concerned about their relationships with nature, 79% said they love nature and are deeply concerned about its destriction and 76% are stongly aware of problems of the whole planet including concerns over global warming, destruction of forests and the lack of ecological sustainability. Given this ecological concern 76% said they would be prepared to pay more taxes for consumer goods if they were assured the money would go to clean up the environment and stop global warming.
Some 67% of Progressives are unhappy with the old-style left versus right of conventional politics and want to find a new way that is not the “mushy middle.” There were 64% who said they were somewhat optimistic about the future but they distrust the dominant cynical and pessimistic view as perpetrated in the mainstream media.
There are 74% who reject the consumption model of “making it.” This is aptly expressed in the rejection of the bumper sticker philosophy of “He who dies with the most toys wins” mentaility. There are 77% who are also concerned about what big corporations see as success in merely making more and more short-term profits by cutting costs and creating social, safety and environmental problems as a result.
Is it Time to Return to Progressive Citizen Activism?
In conclusion I see progressive Albertans preparing for the 21st century with a potential for a very positive image of the future. But many things will have to change, including citizens returning to active participation in creating that positive future. Without a positive image of the future a culture stagnates, declines and eventually dies. Remember we also found in this survey that Albertans are not as proud of being Albertan as the mythology suggests.
There is nothing inevitable about being an Albertan these days, nor about the kind of future that lies ahead of us. Progressives in Alberta are pretty clear that the future they want for their province and it is not to be alienated or disconnected from Canada and the larger world even with its complex and inter-related issues.
With every single citizen of Alberta holds the ownership benefit and burden of the oilsands our responsbilities are clear. We need to start acting like owners and making demands of our government and industry tenants so that they align with our better Alberta values and citizenship expectations. With the world attention on Alberta and our “world famous” oilsands that means we are under a microscope environmentally, economically, politically, and socially. The chance for Alberta to be an isolated island and aloof from engagement with the planet and its people is nil.
It is Not About Alberta Being the Best Place IN THE WORLD But the Best Place FOR THE WORLD:
Our challenge as Albertans is not to be the best place in the world but rather be the best place for the world. That capacity to realize such an aspiration is within us as a people and a province but we cannot achieve it with the limitations and ineptness of the current political and governing culture. Citizen’s let this happen and citizens have to fix it. Reboot Alberta is one way to get responsible citizenship as a means to regaining responsible representative government in Alberta.
Rebooting Alberta is all about Controls, Alternatives and Deletions. It means we have to return contol of democracy to citizens. The politicians are merely our agents, not our masters. We have to design some new alternative political institutions that are more effective to replace the current atrophied institutions. I think it was Buckminster Fuller who said in effect, you don’t change things by opposing the current realities. You design new models that made the old ways obsolete. Then we have to delete some of the destructive directions, decisions and policy approaches that are inappropriate because they are not responsible, sustainable, accountable, and transparent nor even honest in too many cases.
If this intrigues you and you are a progressive who want to help make a difference to Alberta’s destiny, then go to http://www.rebootalberta.org./ Sign up, show up and step up as a re-engaged citizen. You will be glad you did and you will find your tribe there too.
This survey was part of the process to help people get a better understanding of what people in the Reboot Alberta citizen’s movement meant by the term “progressive.” There is more discussion exploring the modern meaning of the term “progressive” in a series of blog posts at http://www.rebootalberta.org/ at the “What is a Progressive” button.
This post is focused more on how the Reboot Alberta progressive thinking survey participants saw themselves in terms of Paul Ray’s research on Cultural Creative values in the United States. It was research conducted over more than 20 years and included over 100,000 people and hundreds of focus groups. I recommend his book "The Cultural Creatives" if you want to get a better understanding of the rise of powerand influence of this group of citizens.
It is an open question if this research can translate directly into the Alberta context. But for the purposes of getting some insight into what progressive Albertans see as some priority issues and what level of concern they have, the American Cultural Creatives survey results are instructive. Ray says all Cultural Creatives are progressives but not all progressives are necessarily Cultural Creatives. My sense is the same in meeting and working with both types of people for over a decade in Alberta.
Cultural Creative Citizen Movement Rooted in the 60s:
Rebooters and other progressive Albertans need some context on the roots of the current consciousness of Cultural Creatives. For that, Ray takes us back to the struggles in the various social justice and protest movements of the 60’s. The women’s movement, the anti-Vietnam war movement, the race issues in the American south, the emergence of the environmental movement, according to Ray, all “…fed the longings and hopes of a vast population.” He notes at the same time there were “…new consciousness movements for spirituality, new forms of psychology, and holistic healing and health” happening.
These earlier movements changed the world views and mindsets, especially of the Baby Boomers who are still dominant the control of weath, opinions and the thoughtscapes of our society and culture today. Some significant progress has been made on these concerns but ironically the cynical indifference and distain for politics by these same people who were at the centre of the 60’s movements have put us back into protesting the same kind of crap today. Our democracy is frail, fragile and disappearing. Power gets more centralized in a reckless and abusive command and control, authority driven, politically expedient governance culture.
This retreat to traditionalist culture represented by the Wildrose Alliance is socially, environmentally and economically unacceptable, especially to progressives. The current government’s modernist mindset based on rapid, unrestricted growth in the consumption of natural resources to feed the short-term brand of success found in the Stelmach government is also being rejected by progressives. That is why Reboot Alberta is resonating with so many people. It is seen as a gathering place to transform the current political culture into something more representative, responsible, sustainable, conservationist, inclusive and participatory than the current conventional institutional models allow.
The Progressive Albertan's Worldview and Mindset:
So what exactly is the Alberta progressive worldview and mindset? One can’t be totally comprehensive in answering that question but the key is a 21st century progressive Albertan does have a different worldview and mindset from the current conventional conservative or the ultra-conservative options being touted today as worthy of our consent to govern us.
From the answers to the Cultural Creatives survey results we have some indication of where the hearts and minds are at of those progressive Albertans who are gathering together in a community and an adventure called Reboot Alberta. Here is a sampling of what they said:
When asked if they wanted Alberta’s politics and government spending to put more emphasis on children’s education and well-being, on rebuilding neighbourhoods and communities, 87% agreed.
Consistent with the enormous commitment of progressive Albertans to engage in helping make Alberta a better place, 86% of survey participants said they wanted to be involved in creating a new and better way of life in our country and province.
There were 85% who said they were concerned about violence and abuse of women and children, including when it happens around the world. There are 80% who volunteer for one or more good causes as well. Some 70% want more priority focused on equality for women in the workplace and more women in leadership roles in business and politics.
Consistent with being Influentials and having many vibrant and active personal networks, 83% said they placed a great deal of importance in developing and maintaining personal relationships. Progressives are very concerned about their relationships with nature, 79% said they love nature and are deeply concerned about its destriction and 76% are stongly aware of problems of the whole planet including concerns over global warming, destruction of forests and the lack of ecological sustainability. Given this ecological concern 76% said they would be prepared to pay more taxes for consumer goods if they were assured the money would go to clean up the environment and stop global warming.
Some 67% of Progressives are unhappy with the old-style left versus right of conventional politics and want to find a new way that is not the “mushy middle.” There were 64% who said they were somewhat optimistic about the future but they distrust the dominant cynical and pessimistic view as perpetrated in the mainstream media.
There are 74% who reject the consumption model of “making it.” This is aptly expressed in the rejection of the bumper sticker philosophy of “He who dies with the most toys wins” mentaility. There are 77% who are also concerned about what big corporations see as success in merely making more and more short-term profits by cutting costs and creating social, safety and environmental problems as a result.
Is it Time to Return to Progressive Citizen Activism?
In conclusion I see progressive Albertans preparing for the 21st century with a potential for a very positive image of the future. But many things will have to change, including citizens returning to active participation in creating that positive future. Without a positive image of the future a culture stagnates, declines and eventually dies. Remember we also found in this survey that Albertans are not as proud of being Albertan as the mythology suggests.
There is nothing inevitable about being an Albertan these days, nor about the kind of future that lies ahead of us. Progressives in Alberta are pretty clear that the future they want for their province and it is not to be alienated or disconnected from Canada and the larger world even with its complex and inter-related issues.
With every single citizen of Alberta holds the ownership benefit and burden of the oilsands our responsbilities are clear. We need to start acting like owners and making demands of our government and industry tenants so that they align with our better Alberta values and citizenship expectations. With the world attention on Alberta and our “world famous” oilsands that means we are under a microscope environmentally, economically, politically, and socially. The chance for Alberta to be an isolated island and aloof from engagement with the planet and its people is nil.
It is Not About Alberta Being the Best Place IN THE WORLD But the Best Place FOR THE WORLD:
Our challenge as Albertans is not to be the best place in the world but rather be the best place for the world. That capacity to realize such an aspiration is within us as a people and a province but we cannot achieve it with the limitations and ineptness of the current political and governing culture. Citizen’s let this happen and citizens have to fix it. Reboot Alberta is one way to get responsible citizenship as a means to regaining responsible representative government in Alberta.
Rebooting Alberta is all about Controls, Alternatives and Deletions. It means we have to return contol of democracy to citizens. The politicians are merely our agents, not our masters. We have to design some new alternative political institutions that are more effective to replace the current atrophied institutions. I think it was Buckminster Fuller who said in effect, you don’t change things by opposing the current realities. You design new models that made the old ways obsolete. Then we have to delete some of the destructive directions, decisions and policy approaches that are inappropriate because they are not responsible, sustainable, accountable, and transparent nor even honest in too many cases.
If this intrigues you and you are a progressive who want to help make a difference to Alberta’s destiny, then go to http://www.rebootalberta.org./ Sign up, show up and step up as a re-engaged citizen. You will be glad you did and you will find your tribe there too.
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