Reboot Alberta (http://www.rebootalberta.org/) is an emerging movement of progressive Albertans who are re-engaging as citizens and taking on more personal responsibility for the changing nature and the fluid future of the province. The Reboot Alberta movement people were asking what it meant to be a “progressive” in Alberta in the 21st century. To help answer that question a conjoint survey was done tracking 22 progressive values to see what were the most important to those in the Reboot Alberta community. The survey results were shared with the Reboot Alberta participants at a gathering called Reboot 2.0 in late February 2010. I will now share the results with you in some blog posts.
THE REBOOTERS VALUE PROPOSITION FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT:
When we asked what values progressive Albertans wanted politician and policy makers to apply in making laws and decisions that impact the lives of citizens we found some dominant values that were to guide and drive those decisions. The top level values of the 544 non-random, self-selecting Reboot Alberta people who completed the survey, in order of priority, were:
Integrity which should bring a sense of soundness; unimpared or uncorrupted, wholeness and completeness to any policy decision making process.
Honesty which means policy processes and outcomes should be free of deceit and untruthfulness, sincere, fair and just in character and behaviour in coming to a decision.
Accountability is about taking responsibility for one’s actions and conduct and being understandable too in reaching and explaining a decision.
Transparency which means citizens must easily see through and easily discern the motives as well as the intent of actions and clarity of intended consequences of policy positions and decisions.
Environmental Stewardship which has to see political and policy decisions being concerned with a longer-term, integrated management of the entire environmental element of Alberta's natural capital. This must include promoting biodiversity, conservation, reclamation and mitigation in conjunction with economic and social considerations in an inter-related protection and preservation perspectives.
SOME CONTEXT ON THE RESULTS:
What was interesting about these values, except perhaps for Environmental Stewardship, was their normative nature. By that I mean they are standard answers to the normal questions we get day to day. It is like people say "fine" when you casually as them how they are. That is not necessarilly the truth, just a customary answer. I tested that normative answer theory at Reboot 2.0 where about 80% of those in attendance had done the survey. The reply was that these values were chosen because they are important not just the usual answers. What is more they were chosen by people because they do not feel the present political culture of Alberta is delivering on these most important values for them.
If that is the case, transformational political change may be in the air and coming sooner than you think. Will Alberta shift to the far right with the Wildrose Alliance? What will happen to the PC Party in the next few years leading up to the next election? Why aren't the Liberals and the New Democrats getting bumps in the polls from progressive voters? What will those who can't fathom a reactionary right-wing governing party do if they are concerned about a political culture to best serve Alberta's interests in the future? Will voters just stay home in even larger numbers and grow more cynicial than they are now?
For more context about the progressive value mindset here is the next group of mid level values that Alberta’s progressives perceive as foundational to forming sound public policy. They were concerned about policy and political decisions that showed Wisdom, promoted Well-being, were Equitable, committed to Fiscal Responsibility, illustrated Respect for Diversity and supported Learning. Again this is in the order of priority. The other eleven attributes were all below the median and while still considered important even though they were significantly lower priorities.
ARE REBOOTERS ENGAGED PROGRESSIVE ALBERTA CITIZENS?
These findings in some ways were expected because they reflected previous opinion poll results done by other pollsters. For example 86% of Rebooter’s were dissatisfied to some degree with the Stelmach government and 77% felt strongly negative towards the current government. That is consistent with previous poll findings.
Another 83% of Rebooters do not feel that their government listens to them and 72% do not believe that their opinions have any influence on the government of Alberta. If this sense of isolation and alienation will happen with the highly informed, influential, opinionated and progressive Reboot people how is the ordinary citizen going to stand a chance of having their voice heard by a largely indifferent government...except at election time?
Before anyone presumes the prior paragraph is merely dripping with self-aggrandizing arrogance of progressives in Reboot Alberta, consider that 88% of them are Influentials compared to 10% of the general population. The Influentials according to Jonathan Berry and Edward Keller’s book of the same name are connected to between 5 and 7 personal social networks. They have opinions that are trusted by others and their advice is sought by others too. They are trend spotters and trend setters and more likely to get involved in organizations, issues and causes. Influentials and the thought leaders and opinion leaders in any group or society. They usually are in the small groups that Margret Mead said should never be underestimated in changing the world. The question is will Rebooters become a citizen's movement that is intent on change in Alberta?
The Reboot Alberta survey of progressive Albertans also revealed that 86% of Rebooters are Cultural Creatives. The characteristics these people are big picture types who have serious concerns for ecological and planetary perspectives. If any group of Albertans are gong to see the good, bad, ugly and potential implications of the oilsands as owners of the resource, progressives will be at the front of the line.
Cultuiral Creatives have a strong personal emphasis on relationships, they have personal commitments to personal development and spirituality, but religion, not so much. They are distrusting of large institutions of modern life including left versus right old-style adversarial politics. They reject conspicuous consumption and avoid displays of status. They are focused on solutions that entail a change in worldviews that is values based including changes in personal lifestyle about how you spend you time and livelihoods, about how you make and spend your money. Cultural creatives demand authenticity in all things, especially in politics.
The more amazing thing from the Reboot survey participants was that 76% of us were both Influentials and Cultural Creatives. The potential for a transformative movement to change the political culture of Alberta is potentially to be found in these Reboot progressives who are pushing for policy solutions that go beyond merely updating enviromental regulations and moving into real sustainable ecologically based integrated solutions.
DO PROGRESSIVE ALBERTANS MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
While we do not think our government is listening to us or care about what we think Reboot Alberta progressives believe they are making a difference. While 93% of us believe our personal actions are making Alberta a better place and 96% of progressives are committed to improving the future of Alberta, we are not walking the talk very well. With all that personal commitment only 51% of us strongly agree that we will tell others great things about living in Alberta. What is worse, only 44% of us would strongly recommend that a friend move to Alberta to live. Then consider that only about 46% of us have an intense desire to remain in Alberta or feel strongly that it would take a lot to get us to leave the province.
So we have great hopes and aspirations for the province and our personal commitment to the place is exemplary. However it would appear that we are not all that proud of the place we are committed to improve, given what we are prepared to say to others about how great Alberta is and even the tepid response to our intent to stay in the province. I wonder how that reflects the feelings of the more general population, or is this unique to progressives. Based on these responses it appears that only about 56% of the progressive survey participants are in any way really engaged in their citizenship responsibilities as Albertans.
WHAT IS NEXT?
The next blog post will be about the various responses of survey particpants as Influentials and Cultural Creatives. We will get into the kinds of issues that interest Alberta progressives and the implications for the future of the Reboot Alberta citizen engagement movement. There is a lot to do to make this movement more of a force to influence the future directions and desitinations of Alberta but given that Reboot Alberta is only 4 months old, a lot of awareness and engagement has already been accomplished.
If you want to know more about the Reboot Alberta community go to http://www.rebootalberta.org/ and explore the website.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Survey Says Where Reboot Alberta Should Go as a Citizen's Movement.
Reboot Alberta was started by Ken Chapman, Dave King, Don Schurman and Michael Brechtel who came up with the idea at a lunch meeting at Rigoloettos restaurant in the late summer of 2009. The concept was to invite some folks we all know and invite them to get together and see if anyone was really interested in finding and facilitating a progressive voice in Alberta’s politics. That was the question.
The answer from those people who were contacted was an overwhelming YES and Reboot Alberta was born. Reboot Alberta is an early-stage and emerging citizen’s movement of progressive thinking Albertans. It started in late November 2009 with the first gathering in Red Deer and the second gathering happened in Kananaskis at the end of February.
Over 540 individual Albertans have signed up so far at http://www.rebootalberta.org/. This group of individual citizens is now forming into a diverse on-line and real life like-minded community of citizens who are concerned about the future of Alberta and the political trends they see shifting the province too far to the reactionary right.
Coming out of the gathering in K-country was the request for a newsletter to keep people informed and to help organize local events under the Reboot Alberta banner in communities throughout Alberta. We did a short survey to get a clearer sense of what was wanted by Rebooters for the future of this citizen’s movement. Here are some of the key findings of the 100 survey participants and it moves Reboot Alberta into the next stage.
Communications Key to Reboot Alberta as a Citizen's Movement:
Two newsletters have been sent out so far and 87% of Rebooters are reading them with 65% wanting it to come by email to them on a monthly basis but with they what other emailed information on more current events and issues.
According to 60% the newsletter should be used to connect Rebooters to interesting community events and progressive websites and 87% want more of this kind of content in the newsletter. The newsletter information is used by 57% of Rebooters in their conversations with others about Reboot Alberta and issues of citizen engagement. This is not surprising when you consider that 88% of Rebooters are Influentials and 86% are Cultural Creatives. They are natural connectors. The desire for a continuing sense of community amongst progressive thinking Albertans is obvious from these numbers.
Making it Relevant but Local and Provincial at the Same Time:
In terms of local community events for progressives to get together there are 75% who have not yet contemplated organizing such a meeting using Tweet-Ups or Meet-Ups but 60% want to know how to do it and 70% want tips on how to find other progressive thinking Albertans in their communities.
If there are going to be help in organizing local gatherings and events for Rebooters and other progressives, 67% wanted suggestions on topics and questions to be the focus of such meetings and 57% want updated information on those questions concerns and issues to be provided by Reboot Alberta too.
Sustaining Reboot Alberta Focus and Momentum is a Key Issue:
How to sustain Reboot Alberta is a fundamental question too and 85% said it was acceptable for the organization to accept donations to help lower event costs, administer the organization like maintaining the website and keeping up the communications. Province-wide face to face gatherings are important to Rebooters and 42% want them to happen twice a year, 23% want it annually and 22% want to have larger events three times a year.
Reboot is About Influence and Issues but Not About Political Parties:
As to what Reboot Alberta should focus its efforts on going forward 79% of survey participants want it to organize and sponsor issues oriented political and public policy events. Some 73% say Reboot Alberta should be a citizens-based political movement to communicate with Albertans and politicians. There is an obvious desire to influence public policy considering 63% want Reboot Alberta to advertise and advocate on public policy issues of concern to progressives. This is not to be done in a partisan context as only 24% of Rebooters want to promote political parties or platforms and 38.5% are in favour of supporting individual candidates, regardless of party affiliation.
So the future direction being dictated by these survey results are pretty clear. There are new faces and new energy being brought to Reboot Alberta all the time. This growing movement is intent on making Reboot Alberta a force for the common good of Alberta. It is focused on making a difference with a non-partisan citizen-based approach and promoting progressive perspectives on public policy issues. Of course you can ask what those progressive public policy issues are. That will be decided on a decentralized basis by Rebooters self-selcting amongst themselves over time.
Suffice to say Reboot Alberta is not going to be a political party but a way of thinking and an approach to political culture based on a consistent values set of like-minded progressive Albertans. We have the results of another conjoint survey of Rebooters that shows us what are those progressive values. I will be doing a series of blog posts on Rebooters this coming week and will clarify those progressive values. I will also shed some light on what is progressive thinking in Alberta in a 21st century context.
I encourage all Albertans who are concerned about the future of Alberta and see the issues in terms of an integrated economic, environmental, social, political and even spiritually you will find your tribe at Reboot Alberta. So join in the Reboot Alberta citizen's movement and sign up at http://www.rebootalberta.org/. It is time to re-engage and assert your citizenship once again.
The answer from those people who were contacted was an overwhelming YES and Reboot Alberta was born. Reboot Alberta is an early-stage and emerging citizen’s movement of progressive thinking Albertans. It started in late November 2009 with the first gathering in Red Deer and the second gathering happened in Kananaskis at the end of February.
Over 540 individual Albertans have signed up so far at http://www.rebootalberta.org/. This group of individual citizens is now forming into a diverse on-line and real life like-minded community of citizens who are concerned about the future of Alberta and the political trends they see shifting the province too far to the reactionary right.
Coming out of the gathering in K-country was the request for a newsletter to keep people informed and to help organize local events under the Reboot Alberta banner in communities throughout Alberta. We did a short survey to get a clearer sense of what was wanted by Rebooters for the future of this citizen’s movement. Here are some of the key findings of the 100 survey participants and it moves Reboot Alberta into the next stage.
Communications Key to Reboot Alberta as a Citizen's Movement:
Two newsletters have been sent out so far and 87% of Rebooters are reading them with 65% wanting it to come by email to them on a monthly basis but with they what other emailed information on more current events and issues.
According to 60% the newsletter should be used to connect Rebooters to interesting community events and progressive websites and 87% want more of this kind of content in the newsletter. The newsletter information is used by 57% of Rebooters in their conversations with others about Reboot Alberta and issues of citizen engagement. This is not surprising when you consider that 88% of Rebooters are Influentials and 86% are Cultural Creatives. They are natural connectors. The desire for a continuing sense of community amongst progressive thinking Albertans is obvious from these numbers.
Making it Relevant but Local and Provincial at the Same Time:
In terms of local community events for progressives to get together there are 75% who have not yet contemplated organizing such a meeting using Tweet-Ups or Meet-Ups but 60% want to know how to do it and 70% want tips on how to find other progressive thinking Albertans in their communities.
If there are going to be help in organizing local gatherings and events for Rebooters and other progressives, 67% wanted suggestions on topics and questions to be the focus of such meetings and 57% want updated information on those questions concerns and issues to be provided by Reboot Alberta too.
Sustaining Reboot Alberta Focus and Momentum is a Key Issue:
How to sustain Reboot Alberta is a fundamental question too and 85% said it was acceptable for the organization to accept donations to help lower event costs, administer the organization like maintaining the website and keeping up the communications. Province-wide face to face gatherings are important to Rebooters and 42% want them to happen twice a year, 23% want it annually and 22% want to have larger events three times a year.
Reboot is About Influence and Issues but Not About Political Parties:
As to what Reboot Alberta should focus its efforts on going forward 79% of survey participants want it to organize and sponsor issues oriented political and public policy events. Some 73% say Reboot Alberta should be a citizens-based political movement to communicate with Albertans and politicians. There is an obvious desire to influence public policy considering 63% want Reboot Alberta to advertise and advocate on public policy issues of concern to progressives. This is not to be done in a partisan context as only 24% of Rebooters want to promote political parties or platforms and 38.5% are in favour of supporting individual candidates, regardless of party affiliation.
So the future direction being dictated by these survey results are pretty clear. There are new faces and new energy being brought to Reboot Alberta all the time. This growing movement is intent on making Reboot Alberta a force for the common good of Alberta. It is focused on making a difference with a non-partisan citizen-based approach and promoting progressive perspectives on public policy issues. Of course you can ask what those progressive public policy issues are. That will be decided on a decentralized basis by Rebooters self-selcting amongst themselves over time.
Suffice to say Reboot Alberta is not going to be a political party but a way of thinking and an approach to political culture based on a consistent values set of like-minded progressive Albertans. We have the results of another conjoint survey of Rebooters that shows us what are those progressive values. I will be doing a series of blog posts on Rebooters this coming week and will clarify those progressive values. I will also shed some light on what is progressive thinking in Alberta in a 21st century context.
I encourage all Albertans who are concerned about the future of Alberta and see the issues in terms of an integrated economic, environmental, social, political and even spiritually you will find your tribe at Reboot Alberta. So join in the Reboot Alberta citizen's movement and sign up at http://www.rebootalberta.org/. It is time to re-engage and assert your citizenship once again.
Don't Close Schools! Integrate and Adapt Schools into the Community!
There are more Reboot Alberta people speaking out in the Edmonton Journal's Letters to the Editor. This time it is about school closures in Edmonton by the Edmonton Public School Board.
This time Dick Baker is commenting and noting that communities need more say in what happens to a school.
Also read the letter from Rebooter Christopher Spencer on school closure.
Full disclosure: Last year my firm, Cambridge Strategies Inc. did a conjoint study for the Edmonton Public School Board. It focused on the key values that Edmontonian feel that should guide and drive issues and approaches to school closure. Here is a link to the Powerpoint on the survey findings that underscores the points being made in these letters from Rebooters
The most important values attributed to a school to a community were dominated by two criteria. There is the balance between space and cost issues but the dominant need was for a focus on being able to provide a quality education. Distance from school was not so critical povided kids did not have to go beyond 3 kms.
Schools were seen as vital to the health and vibrancy of the overall community. So the school closure issues are much more than cost, it is about education quality and the sense of community. There was a dominant value focus on keeping a school open and adpated to meet community needs regardless of enrollment statistics.
The education focus of a school was the most important consideration. That was seem as providing extensive programming, with a focus on an adaptive school culture that really prepares students for their future. The key education element there was seen as a focus on creativity and social integration skills, preparation for post-secondary. Other important educational concerns was about developing the individual skills of students to prepare them for the workforce and also deal with citizenship and character development. Standardized test results were not highly vallued as measures of quality education.
This all begs questions of governance and how the province, school boards, municipalities and community groups work together to not only save a school but turn it into a community facility that provides quality education and better integrates and also serves larger community needs. It is a culture shift that is all about integration of uses and recources to meet more community needs including education.
The studies have been done and wrap-around schools are concepts that are well proven to work and benefit education and community outcomes. The full cost and life cycle accounting methods for multi-use adaptive facility design is ready to be made the new standard for educational infrastructure decisions. The political will is there to make this cultural shift from the current Minister of Education. There a need for a more effective collaborative linking of the local community, the municipality and school boards to serve the greater good of neighbourhoods and students best interests when considering school closure decisions.
The question is larger than just enrollment levels. It is about what we "value" as a society and not just about what it "costs" in dollar terms alone. Citizens know this and have told us that they value community needs and school services as integrated wholes, not as isolated silos. It is time for some comprehenseive, forward thinking good governance coupled with a dash of political courage. We need to change the old culture about such decisions where school closures are mostly about dollar costs and not the value of a school and its facilities to serve community concerns. Simply closing a school forecloses the adaptive and imaginative opportunity costs and chances for community capacity building. Those options are lost in a shortsighted school closure decision.
This time Dick Baker is commenting and noting that communities need more say in what happens to a school.
Also read the letter from Rebooter Christopher Spencer on school closure.
Full disclosure: Last year my firm, Cambridge Strategies Inc. did a conjoint study for the Edmonton Public School Board. It focused on the key values that Edmontonian feel that should guide and drive issues and approaches to school closure. Here is a link to the Powerpoint on the survey findings that underscores the points being made in these letters from Rebooters
The most important values attributed to a school to a community were dominated by two criteria. There is the balance between space and cost issues but the dominant need was for a focus on being able to provide a quality education. Distance from school was not so critical povided kids did not have to go beyond 3 kms.
Schools were seen as vital to the health and vibrancy of the overall community. So the school closure issues are much more than cost, it is about education quality and the sense of community. There was a dominant value focus on keeping a school open and adpated to meet community needs regardless of enrollment statistics.
The education focus of a school was the most important consideration. That was seem as providing extensive programming, with a focus on an adaptive school culture that really prepares students for their future. The key education element there was seen as a focus on creativity and social integration skills, preparation for post-secondary. Other important educational concerns was about developing the individual skills of students to prepare them for the workforce and also deal with citizenship and character development. Standardized test results were not highly vallued as measures of quality education.
This all begs questions of governance and how the province, school boards, municipalities and community groups work together to not only save a school but turn it into a community facility that provides quality education and better integrates and also serves larger community needs. It is a culture shift that is all about integration of uses and recources to meet more community needs including education.
The studies have been done and wrap-around schools are concepts that are well proven to work and benefit education and community outcomes. The full cost and life cycle accounting methods for multi-use adaptive facility design is ready to be made the new standard for educational infrastructure decisions. The political will is there to make this cultural shift from the current Minister of Education. There a need for a more effective collaborative linking of the local community, the municipality and school boards to serve the greater good of neighbourhoods and students best interests when considering school closure decisions.
The question is larger than just enrollment levels. It is about what we "value" as a society and not just about what it "costs" in dollar terms alone. Citizens know this and have told us that they value community needs and school services as integrated wholes, not as isolated silos. It is time for some comprehenseive, forward thinking good governance coupled with a dash of political courage. We need to change the old culture about such decisions where school closures are mostly about dollar costs and not the value of a school and its facilities to serve community concerns. Simply closing a school forecloses the adaptive and imaginative opportunity costs and chances for community capacity building. Those options are lost in a shortsighted school closure decision.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Connectivity is Key to Improved Productivity
I harp about Harper a lot on this blog. But when they do something right I like to applaud the effort. There is a disasterous state of digitization in Canada. There is poor rural access to high-speed Internet. We have userous wireless cost structures run by the oilgarchy of Rogers, Bell and Telus. An we have the indifference of the CRTC to the pubic good in terms of effective regulation.
Now the Harper government seems intent on at least shedding light on this situation.
In Alberta we have a wonderful opportnity to leap ahead in terms of digital connectivity and productivity because of the foresight of the SuperNet. However our goverment seems disinterested in making it available to every citizen, which is possible if you have a copperwire telephone line in you home or business.
Telus owns those lines and have refused to negotiate Internet access to the SuperNet through them. The CRTC recently bought a bogus argument that such use would interfere with other telephone use, something called crosstalk. The technology has advanced way past that problem. Nevertheless, the CRTC recently refused a complaint by an Edmonton based Internet Service Provider to require competative acces to the Telus copper wire and in the process the Commission embarassed themselves in holding to such an arcaine misunderstanding of the technological reality of today.
Poor productivity is a major issue facing the Canadian and Alberta economies. Connectivity is a key to improved productivity. The world gets it and has started to move way past the pedantic and pathetic connectivity policies of Canada. Alberta is perhaps the most to bear the brunt of such criticism. We have the SuperNet and a government with no sense of its potential or how to realize it for the benfit of Albertans. Sad but true.
Now the Harper government seems intent on at least shedding light on this situation.
In Alberta we have a wonderful opportnity to leap ahead in terms of digital connectivity and productivity because of the foresight of the SuperNet. However our goverment seems disinterested in making it available to every citizen, which is possible if you have a copperwire telephone line in you home or business.
Telus owns those lines and have refused to negotiate Internet access to the SuperNet through them. The CRTC recently bought a bogus argument that such use would interfere with other telephone use, something called crosstalk. The technology has advanced way past that problem. Nevertheless, the CRTC recently refused a complaint by an Edmonton based Internet Service Provider to require competative acces to the Telus copper wire and in the process the Commission embarassed themselves in holding to such an arcaine misunderstanding of the technological reality of today.
Poor productivity is a major issue facing the Canadian and Alberta economies. Connectivity is a key to improved productivity. The world gets it and has started to move way past the pedantic and pathetic connectivity policies of Canada. Alberta is perhaps the most to bear the brunt of such criticism. We have the SuperNet and a government with no sense of its potential or how to realize it for the benfit of Albertans. Sad but true.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Feature Story on Reboot Alberta Supporter Fred Martin is Worth a Read
I met Fred Martin for coffee and a chat in anticipation of Reboot Alberta 2.0 at the end of February. We talked a bit of shop as lawyers do but mostly we talked about the need for change in the political culture of Alberta.
Fred is part of the Reboot Alberta progressive citizen's movement. We talked about what it meant to be a progressive in Alberta in the 21st century and how it had to be different from the values that dominated the 20th century. The new progressive movements that are forming in the States are grounded in the kinds of consciousness that was so much part of the social justice movements in the 1960s. Fred Martin was there!
Fred is featured in the Edmonton Journal today around his personal involvement and commitment to social justice issues in the States back in the day and yes, even today. Fred's story is worth a read. It will help those of us already in the Reboot Alberta movement and others who are still at the curious stage to get a sense of what Reboot Alberta is about. It is an emerging citizens movement intent on influencing the direction and destination of politics in Alberta. It is not a political party.
I don't remember who said that "History does not repeat itself. It rhymes." We can learn a lot from the values, commitment and socila justice experiences of citizens like Fred Martin. What we learn is to build on past strengths and events but do not presume tomorrow will be a repeat of yesterday.
Modernists, like the PC Party, and Traditionalists, like the Wildrose Alliance Party make that mistake all the time. For example, PCs seem to be waiting for oil and gas prices to return and that will be enough to attract the same old kind of economic investments of the past. The oilsands are the exception to such short term thinking because they are long term investments. Oilsands companies as tenants and Albertans as resource owners have lots of work to do on the social and environment impacts of oilsands development.
The WAP wants to return Alberta to an even older and even more inappropriate set of parternalistic authoritarian social values. They want to take Alberta all the way back tothe 1950s where government, as the father who knows best, controls our morality and defines our society on an "Us versus Them" approach. That old-style Tea-Party kind of anger and anguish comes from people who are longing for a time that is has outlived its usefullness and effectiveness decades ago. But they are becoming a force in Alberta's politics these days.
Progressive values for the 21st century come from a place in the hearts and minds of people like Fred Martin. Alberta is full of such people but we have to find each other and reactivate our responsibilities as citizens in some forceful and effective way. Progressive Albertans have to reassert ourselves and return to activistists in the political culture of the province. Progressive values and ideas are vital if we, as a people and a province, are ever going to realize our full potential in a responsible and sustainable way.
Reboot Alberta is trying to facilitate that renewed sense of responsible citizenship in Alberta. Check it out and join us in helping the next Alberta to become more than the last Alberta was. Reboot Alberta is only 5 months old so give it some time to gel and get some focus. We know the value drivers of the Reboot Alberta movement members from a recent conjoint survey that will be published soon. A new survey of what Reboot Alberta should become is being circulated to current members and that will bring some clarity of where this citizen's movement goes next.
If you are concerned about the legacy of debt, environmental degradation and social problems that we are leaving our children and grand-children you might want to get involved in Reboot Alberta.
Fred is part of the Reboot Alberta progressive citizen's movement. We talked about what it meant to be a progressive in Alberta in the 21st century and how it had to be different from the values that dominated the 20th century. The new progressive movements that are forming in the States are grounded in the kinds of consciousness that was so much part of the social justice movements in the 1960s. Fred Martin was there!
Fred is featured in the Edmonton Journal today around his personal involvement and commitment to social justice issues in the States back in the day and yes, even today. Fred's story is worth a read. It will help those of us already in the Reboot Alberta movement and others who are still at the curious stage to get a sense of what Reboot Alberta is about. It is an emerging citizens movement intent on influencing the direction and destination of politics in Alberta. It is not a political party.
I don't remember who said that "History does not repeat itself. It rhymes." We can learn a lot from the values, commitment and socila justice experiences of citizens like Fred Martin. What we learn is to build on past strengths and events but do not presume tomorrow will be a repeat of yesterday.
Modernists, like the PC Party, and Traditionalists, like the Wildrose Alliance Party make that mistake all the time. For example, PCs seem to be waiting for oil and gas prices to return and that will be enough to attract the same old kind of economic investments of the past. The oilsands are the exception to such short term thinking because they are long term investments. Oilsands companies as tenants and Albertans as resource owners have lots of work to do on the social and environment impacts of oilsands development.
The WAP wants to return Alberta to an even older and even more inappropriate set of parternalistic authoritarian social values. They want to take Alberta all the way back tothe 1950s where government, as the father who knows best, controls our morality and defines our society on an "Us versus Them" approach. That old-style Tea-Party kind of anger and anguish comes from people who are longing for a time that is has outlived its usefullness and effectiveness decades ago. But they are becoming a force in Alberta's politics these days.
Progressive values for the 21st century come from a place in the hearts and minds of people like Fred Martin. Alberta is full of such people but we have to find each other and reactivate our responsibilities as citizens in some forceful and effective way. Progressive Albertans have to reassert ourselves and return to activistists in the political culture of the province. Progressive values and ideas are vital if we, as a people and a province, are ever going to realize our full potential in a responsible and sustainable way.
Reboot Alberta is trying to facilitate that renewed sense of responsible citizenship in Alberta. Check it out and join us in helping the next Alberta to become more than the last Alberta was. Reboot Alberta is only 5 months old so give it some time to gel and get some focus. We know the value drivers of the Reboot Alberta movement members from a recent conjoint survey that will be published soon. A new survey of what Reboot Alberta should become is being circulated to current members and that will bring some clarity of where this citizen's movement goes next.
If you are concerned about the legacy of debt, environmental degradation and social problems that we are leaving our children and grand-children you might want to get involved in Reboot Alberta.
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