I have to start by admitting that I love Micheal Buscemi who has played many memorable roles in movie after movie ... I just couldn't think of a better visual to go with this posting ... his look in Mr Deeds summarizes the scattered and borderline crazy thinking that has run rampant in places like Minnedosa for too long ... thinking serves only to hinder and hold back the community in its attempts to achieve something more ...
As way of illustration, I would cite the criticism that was lobbed at me a while back after I spoke out about the "work" of Boards and volunteers in the community ... the person calling me down offered the blatant implication that because at the time I was the Minister - I should not have offered any comment about the work of groups in the community that could be construed as critical about the effort of "hard working" volunteers ...
It is an interesting quandry to consider ...
My first thought was to dismiss that notion as foolishness ... but ...
I then wondered if jealousy and envy played a roll ... that may be a possibility - one learns to fear and attack that (and those) which we don't understand ... in short - ignorance often leads us to savage those who are smarter, more articulate and better spoken then ourselves, rather than opening our minds to the possibility that there exists more than one way to view the world ...
The reality is that volunteer boards often lose their way, and become SO focused on what they are doing that they DESPERATELY need fresh perspectives - but in small towns, too often that fresh perspective is blocked and actively denied ... in short - they become gridlocked and are unable to envision creative and NEW solutions. The status quo becomes defended at ALL COSTS and no contrary opinion is welcomed.
Witness as an example the Chamber of Commerce in our own little town ... they've publically stated that perhaps the economic path of salvation for this town is by attracting businesses like a Pizza Hut or a Subway ... blithely ignoring the sweat and devotion a half dozen small restaurant and food service enterprises have invested in their place of businesses that would suddenly find themselves in an even tighter battle for survival. The actions of the Economic Development Officer and the Chamber is NOT only counter-intuitive, it runs counter to EVERYTHING out there about Community and Economic Development (something they would know if they had an EDO who had even a little bit of training in the field)!!!!
Today I read a comment by Rabbi Edwin Friedman who points out that often the grid locked systems display three dominant traits:
1) an unending treadmill of trying harder (with less and less achieved)
2) constantly looking for answers rather than reframing the questions (and thinking outside the box)
3) the predominance of either/or thinking that creates and perpetuates false dichotomies
Today I realized that I live in a community (thankfully I no longer have to work in it) that is totally GRID LOCKED ... it is dying, no longer incrementally, but rapidly ... Those of us who want to see change are NOT welcomed ... those of us who want it to be better than it is are excluded and shunned ... and those of us who actually care about seeing the community prosper are criticized and cast out for it ... the treadmill of destruction is fully engaged ...
Thankfully though ... there is a small and very dedicated group of people who not only want to see this community - THE TOWN OF MINNEDOSA - live, we are working actively to see it happen ... the funny thing is - the majority of them are not long term residents - we are outsiders - ... and we have never been integrated into the life of the community beyond a superficial "welcome" that left us like the last kid picked for a school yard game - standing wondering "WHY?"
Yet as outsiders, WE WANT TO BREAK THE GRID LOCK AND SET THIS TOWN FREE FROM ITSELF !!!!
AND we won't take no for an answer ...
We will work that much harder to illustrate the short-sightedness of those who want to maintain the status quo ...
We will set our goals and work to inspire others to join us so that Minnedosa will become more than it is now ... instead of rubbing our hands together in distress and taking our hard earned dollars down the highway to spend them in Brandon (like too many of the voices who have spoken out harshly against me and others) we will continue to invest our time, our energy, our enthusaism and our committment into this beautiful little town ...
We will NOT let Minnedosa simply wither away ... instead we will raise our voices and speak out and WE WILL bring the change this town needs ...
There is more to this town than the hockey rink and the golf course ... there is HUGE untapped potential all around us ... the problem is:
MINNEDOSA isn't a WARM and WELCOMING Place like it thinks it is ... so, instead of waiting to be welcomed in, WE (the outsiders and the newcomers) will create our own place of warmth and welcome ... and in the process WE WILL CHANGE THE VERY FABRIC OF THIS TOWN, and make it BETTER.
Who says you can't criticize a volunteer on a Board who has been there too long, and who has only thier own interests at heart, and not the best interests of the community OR the group they are volunteering with ??? The last time I checked Canada was a free nation where our right to speak was guaranteed in the Constitution ... and as part of that right to speak, we have the obligation to hold Boards, Committees and our elected officials responsible for the TRUST we place in them ... they ANSWER TO US !!!!
So, not only will I continue to speak up ... I WILL encourage others to do the same, and together WE WILL CHANGE THE WAY THINGS ARE TO THE WAY THEY ARE MEANT TO BE !!!
... and so, let the revolution begin ...
Oh, and to those who take offense to what I've said here - instead of huffing and puffing about what I wrote here, either piss or get off the pot ... you either part of the problem or part of the solution ... and so far the so-called solution isn't working ... SO make your choice ... but first - JUST STOP TALKING !!!
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