So...um... What would local government look like, then?

As my dialogue regarding an increased 'relationship of engagement' has increased...snail-like, but progressing nonetheless...questions have popped up, ones that leave me wanting to consider more than merely 'How do we get there?'

-How would things look were we able to change the general default from 'I'll vote every four years and hope for the best; don't bug me in the meantime,' to 'We're heading down the monthly town-hall exchange with our Councillor; we've got some neighbourhood progress to report, and I know she's got some good news for us.'? Keep in mind that while enthusiastic candidates are stressing their side of the equation, I'm stressing ours; I believe that the major changes would be seen on the residents' parts. And I have to point out that the way I'm envisioning this newfangled paradigm, this 'engorged engagement' with our elected officials is merely a manifestation of a 'respect-infused' community spirit, not the actual goal. (In the same way that being able to run a fifty-minute 10K might merely be a manifestation of better health and greater fitness after the person has quit smoking, lost forty pounds and dropped their blood pressure numbers significantly.) In fact, maybe what I'm proposing is best thought of in this way: a lifestyle change. So imagining the other aspects of the change is more the real task.

-How long after 'initiation' of this new approach would there be signs of change? I consider myself to be cynical optimist, so I think you'd need a minimum of a half a term to really start to see some entrenchment...but you'd have to have everything else going on at the same time, as noted above. Because except in a crisis, changing the status quo usually takes far more time than we'd like. But once again: my proposed 'relationship of engagement' is not the 'be-all and end-all', it's merely a prime fruit of this new way of approaching 'farming'.

-How would the day-to-day habits of Councillors change? Would the increased time spent engaging with residents be offset by any sort of streamlined infrastructure? This too, might take time, because by rights, if there's a better brand of input, a healthier communication going on, a collaborative effort, then one would certainly hope that some of the faffing about, some of the bottlenecks and delays and general grandstanding would...well, disappear. More focus, more accountability more efficiency...a different dynamic...a different outcome.

-How would Councillors feel about perhaps less latitude, less independence, their 'boss' effectively 'looking over their shoulder'? I guess my response here is 'The playing field will have changed entirely.' Maybe future potential candidates won't be motivated by the same things when entering politics, given a new paradigm. There would, no doubt, be instances of chafing, of this new approach to governance just not being a good fit for some politicians. But really; does anyone sincerely believe that the system we currently have works? Moreover, do you really believe that in a changing world, that it's in anyone's best interest to move forward with a system so clearly flawed and in dire need of reassessment?

-Perhaps the most intriguing question is: 'Could the Pan Am Games Stadium Débacle have been prevented had this new 'relationship of engagement' been in place? You betcha.

As a final note to this exercise, I want to say this: from my perspective, we're at a crossroads in this world we've created. Actually, 'crossroads' doesn't do the situation justice: there are seemingly endless junctions about which decisions will have to be made. Not only about the kind of world we want to live in...but about the lives we'll be living in that world.

If you go through this blog and read what I've proposed in terms of this 'relationship of engagement' and the bigger picture associated with it, you'll see that for all of these 'junctions', for every aspect of Life, each one has at its core the notion of respect.

Respect for the environment, leading to an evolved relationship with the world in which we live. (No more raping of the land, no more unconsciously thinking of it as a dumping ground-cum-bottomless resource, no more detachment from it, but rather, a more holistic approach to this, our only home.)

Respect for our physical selves, leading to an evolved relationship with our bodies. ('Cook fresh food, be active, have fun.' Revering the physical forms we've been given by way of fitness, being more conscious of what we put in our mouths, accepting responsibility for our addictions...addressing the symptoms of a skewed value system such as obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc.)

Respect for society, leading to an evolved relationship with those around us. (Understanding that a 'consumption-based' world is inherently doomed, that at the end of the day what matters most are the interactions we have with each other, that the quality of our lives lived is not determined by how many possessions we garner, but what we generate experientially.)

Changing how we view our role in local government is an organic outgrowth of these elements. It has to be, because in the end, everything is organically connected. Nothing exists in isolation. How we view ourselves, our bodies, our families, our communities, the environment, everything...it's all connected, there's a wonder-full organic synergy to it all...whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.

In each of the areas I've just listed, there are actions to be taken by the individual, behaviours that can be addressed by each and every one of us. Small, seemingly insignificant elements of how we live our lives. the knock-on effects are potentially profound.

Securing a more evolved 'relationship of engagement' with our local politicians is one of the most powerful 'goals' we might hope to accomplish with an altered approach to Life, yet actually one of the least daunting processes.

And it all begins with respect.