www.ChrisLaBossiere.com

As many of you are very well aware, I have increased much of my blogging around Provincial political discussion. It probably takes up well over half of my posts, and obviously that is because I am impassioned on the future of this province, and my city.

But, I am not a politician, I am not a paid journalist, nor am I even 100% convicted in my opinions. I am a regular family man, business owner and citizen. The more I look inward to my own thoughts, beliefs and opinions, the more complicated I find the discussion around what makes for good government. Don't even get me started about politics, which clearly has very little to do with government.

What I do know however is that the far end of the political spectrums are the playgrounds of the ideologue. Because free speech is something that cements our very societal foundation, it would be ridiculous to criticize their right to say what they do. Because also, you can't influence the opinion of a close-minded ideologue, it would be a waste of energy to even try. Trust me on this one, I have wasted a lot of my energy falling for the trap of debating them, only to find that the joke was on me.

But what we can do and we should do, at least when it comes to politics, is to shift our glance to whom the ideologues' are supporting politically. We should ask why that party accepts them, even if they have to plug their noses doing so, to gain the votes of their followers.

Next to Grassroots, I think the term Big-Tent is one of the worst metaphors used in politics. If you are a party, or a party leader who professes to be a "Big-Tent" party, then that should mean you want people with all types of beliefs to be a member of your party, AND be able to express them freely in your party. In my opinion, a true big tent party would actually have policies and tools which create an environment that fosters this type of open-thinking. Not only that, and perhaps more importantly, the party would have leadership that actually disapproves of ideological close-mindedness, speaking out against it, to help the discussion along. As a business owner, and leader, I do know that it is my responsibility to foster an environment that is healthy and respectful for all of my employees. A parties leader should do the same for all of the residents of their "big-tent".

I have always thought this would actually be good politics. Don't even get me started on how this would be great for good governance.

Today's politics, which are based on gaining power then sharing it back to the interests that help you get elected, are perpetuating the problem. In my opinion however, and many of my good friends believe I am being naive, I think that the world is changing. I think that transparency of information, the ability for nearly anybody to publish their opinions, and the highly increased ability for people to come together (first on electronic social networks, but then together in person), makes it more and more difficult for politicians to maintain exclusivity on the distribution of power. We have more power today, and it's time we started using it.

The party that finds a new way to govern within this new reality, will be the one that wins the votes of the masses. In my opinion, no party in Alberta today does this. I'm not prepared to accept that it's not possible to blend good government and good politics. But right now, as I see it, that will take a new party, using new techniques.

p.s. If you visit the link above, you will see that Reboot Alberta is rapidly becoming the place where like-minded Alberta citizens can challenge a new way of thinking for democracy in Alberta. I was at the first event and it was attended by a perfect balance of rural, urban, young and old. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the the home for anyone who would subscribe to old terms like Liberal or Conservative. That's why I love it, and you should spend some time on the site reading about the movement. I have no doubts that the next political party that I support in this Province will get it's start from this movement. Their next event is at the end of February in Kananaskis, and if you would like to discuss how democracy can be practiced in the 21st century, then I would suggest you come along.

Tonight begins a weekend that is certain to start SOME kind of movement, or several for that matter in Alberta politics. So much has been written about the event that I will skip over the details and even opinions on it.(My vote for best post on it however goes hands-down to Alex Abboud, which you can read here)

I have one personal expectation from it, and that's to use it as a personal opportunity to LISTEN to other Progressives and hopefully come out of it firmer in my convictions as a member and advocate of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, with specific ideas on how I can help my party find it's way back to it's progressive roots; or leave it behind and join a movement I can subscribe to.

I have been politically inspired as of late by a great book that friends Chris Hendrson and Michael Janz suggest I read, The Last Campaign. The book studies and story tells about the 82-day campaign by Bobby Kennedy as he ran for the DNC primaries prior to the 1968 US presidential election. What inspires me of this book, was Kennedy's passion for speaking frankly, showing great compassion for the under-privileged and protected, yet still believing in the American dream of individual rights and responsibilities, and entrepreneurship.

I strongly suggest that you read the book, and here is just one of many excerpts that I have highlighted. I see some parallels with the intent of the Reboot Alberta event, my own personal ideologies and politics, and Kennedy's:

"Instead of ideology, Kennedy was guided by a set of principles grounded in his upbringing, religion and experience. Some of these principles struck liberals as conservative, so they distrusted him; others struck conservatives as radical, so they feared him. He believed in sacrifice, family, community, and love of country. He was skeptical that democracy and consumption were inseparable, or that there was a connection between economic growth and personal happiness. He was all over the map ideologically: worried that big government programs crushed individual initiative and committed to empowering local entities, yet convinced that the federal government had a responsibility to protect minorities from discrimination and serve as an employer of last resort. Whatever Kennedy was, he was not a compromiser searching for a middle road. instead, his speeches in Indiana expressed his belief that poverty, discrimination, and starvation were wrong, sacrifice and moral courage were right, and it was the duty of the president to convince Americans of the fact"

So, I am not going in with any expectation, other than to listen, self-assess, and learn. If you want to watch what happens, you can does so by following the #rebootab hashtag on Twitter, or by visiting the CoverItLive website where you won't need to be a Twitter user, and still watch the discussion.

One last quote from the book, of which there are many, that perhaps might act as a forshadow to a new way. Note that this was 1968!

"In the book Bobby Kennedy and the New Politics, author Penn Kimball defined a New Politician as a candidate who relied on personal organization instead of party machinery, employed sophisticated media techniques, sought to consolidate than divide voters...."

Sound familiar...?