One Is Not Singular

It was an intimate engagement as a couple dozen local community leaders and engaged citizens gathered in the basement of the First Baptist Church on Richmond Street tonight.

The meeting served two purposes; the first was to raise money for a legal battle with the city to save an area in the northwest called Stanton Drain, the second was to hear from Journalist and Editor Phil McLeod.

A legal battle with the city was sparked after a group of environmental and wild life advocates took concern with a wetland northwest of Hyde Park Road and Gainsborough Road.  Spearheading the suit against the city is AnnaMaria Valastro, who also organized tonight’s event.  The wetland is home to beaver, turtles and a significant amphibian population.  The city has been working for over a decade to have the area destroyed to make way for a storm management pond.  However, it has now turned into a legal battle because the city has flat out ignored the concerns of citizens and failed to consult the public on the development, which they are legally required to do before sending in the bulldozers.  This situation shines a glaring light on the issue of public engagement, or the lack there-of here in London.

London has, or had, a Community Engagement Task Force.  The task force was set up to create a policy that would hopefully do things like help identify citizens’ issues and concerns, decrease barriers to participation and increase the community’s role in some decision making processes.  In a seemingly scripted video on the City of London website, mayor Joe Fontana and councillors express their gratitude to those on the task force and their desire for community engagement.  The last time the task force met was over a year ago on December 7, 2011.  In that meeting, they drafted their Community Engagement Policy to be brought forward before council for approval.  The policy was approved, but there have been no meetings or follow-up in regard to the Community Engagement Policy since.

So, this leaves us with an attempt to engage the people of London and get their input into to decisions that will shape the future of the city.  In the case of Stanton Drain, any glimmer of authenticity about community engagement seems to have been quashed.  A few citizens raised their concern and it had to escalate to the courts for the city and council to take note.

Phil McLeod writes a daily column on his website with a focus on the happenings at city hall.  Contrary to an admission that public speaking is not his forte, he is rather well spoken and has a candor that engages your attention.  In his talk, One is Not Singular, he brought up Sherry Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation.  The ladder is an outline for the different levels of civic engagement privy to a given society.  Listed from one to eight, with one being in the realm of “Nonparticipation” and eight being “Citizen Power”, McLeod gave London a level 4 assessment of Consultation placing us in the category of “Tokenism”.  It would suggest that council seems interested in hearing what Londoner’s have to say, but when it comes to making decisions, they vote alone.  For example, MacLeod brought up the issue of chickens in backyards; an idea many Londoner’s expressed their interest in, but was eventually shot down.  It was suggested that council doesn’t see themselves as part of the public, but the one’s who govern the public.

The first time I met McLeod was when he was a guest speaker in a class at Fanshawe College where I am studying Broadcast Journalism.  He recommended the book Tribes by Seth Godin and I actually went to the bookstore that night and read it cover to cover.  The book is empowering.  Tonight, McLeod reaffirmed two important messages from Tribes; one, individuals today have more power than anyone in history, and two, there is only one thing holding you back; lack of faith.

When I first met AnnaMaria Valastro, I thought she was a nice woman who had an interest in saving the lives of a couple beaver.  After many meetings and conversations since, I have realized the importance of the idea of community engagement.  Valastro has been branded names like aggressive and abrasive, but in reality, she is neither.  Standing on the outside looking in, I can see that she has exposed an important fragment of our society that, for some unknown reason, has been ostracized and quelled.  Valastro is a Londoner who has taken issue with something she feels strongly about and because she has raised her voiced, she has been labeled a rouser.

McLeod showcased individuals throughout history who have been the catalyst for change.  There’s the Tank Man, or Unknown Rebel, at Tianamen Square who stopped Chinese tanks in their path.  There was Solonge Denis who stood up to former Prime Minister Brain Mulroney over pension promises and left him with the scar of being “Lyin’ Brian”.  Most recently, an editor from Adbuster’s Magazine, Micah White, who thought there needed to be a little protest against the one percent spawned the global occupy movement.  McLeod reiterated the theme; one is not singular.

As anticipated, McLeod concluded with practical advice:

1. Pay attention.  I immediately thought of the people I occasionally interact with on social media who have an opinion based on a headline.  Read the story.
2. Get involved.  It’s not enough to report disdain on your Facebook or Twitter account.  Go to a meeting, or sign a petition.
3. Take a stand.  It's not a lot of effort or cost to make a sign stating your position.
4. Let the people in charge know you want change.

Many people are afraid to take a stand because they fear the reaction that could ensue.  I felt a strong call to be brave in the face of opposition to what you (or I) view as right.  When you pick a fight with someone, expect a fight back.  Consider the victory of activating the change (or preservation) and the blows that you might have to endure versus the regret of doing nothing.

McLeod’s talk concluded with a quote by Margaret Mead that can not be shared enough: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

In AnnaMaria Valastro’s case, she is committed to her cause, has support from the community, and, no matter what the outcome, will change the change world - even if it’s just a small part.

Flashback: Hungarian Jam

A Simple Test

I’ve been a Bee Gees fan as far back as I can remember.  I’m not talking about the disco-era Bee Gees.  I’m talking about the singer-songwriter Bee Gees who wrote some of my favorites, including Don’t Want to Live Inside Myself, My World and Run To Me.  When I married my true love, my dad made a slide show of memories and chose The Morning of My Life as the soundtrack to photos of me from a baby to my adult years.  My dad loves lyrics and is the reason I appreciate songs about love and life so much.  The Bee Gees wrote about their emotions and if you actually listen to some of their lyrics, it might explain why I’m kind of a quirky person.

On October 30, 2012, my true love came home from work, and together we were about to get some news.  Since I like to have a soundtrack for moments that could be forever etched on the wall of my personal history, I opened iTunes and the first song that caught my eye was the Bee Gee’s, World.  It’s a short song.  It was raining outside.  I pressed play and waited for my true love to reveal what could be a life and identity changing bit of information.

One little circle with a blue plus sign in it.

Together we stood in our dining room gazing at this small plastic stick with a mauve cap, the rain falling outside, World playing in the background.  I looked at the instructions for the small plastic contraption to make sure I had read them properly.  The feeling that swept over me was indescribable when my true love exclaimed, “I’m pregnant!”

That little circle with a plus sign managed to bring my true love to tears.  I remember spending the next few moments hugging her, and then staring at the plastic stick, then looking at her and smiling, and then staring at the plastic stick again.  Suddenly everything in the world seemed so far away and so small.  I wonder if the people that work at the factory that produces those little plastic sticks have any idea how much power they have over people’s emotions.  I remember looking at my true love with wet eyes and thinking, I’m going to be a dad.

We spent the rest of that night under blankets on the sofa with the plastic stick on the sofa’s arm beside us.  The shock of our news had us mostly speechless and numb with happiness.  My true love had been studying the book, What to Expect Before You’re Expecting for a couple months.  She told me that our baby is probably the size of a period right now, a Times New Roman size 12 period.  All I could think about was how that little dot was going to change everything about our life.