Read below for forewords from fellow volunteer Greens about this fantastic, groundbreaking VGM.
Jan Slakov -
Congratulations fellow Greens! We made it through a time that sent many fleeing for the nearest exit. And maybe it’s more than a certain steely resolve that keeps us going :) Maybe we know that our communities, our world, need a healthy GPC.
We need our party to “do politics differently,” to speak the truth, to help engage citizens in constructive politics, to refuse to treat politics like some kind of horse race spectacle. But it’s not always easy to be a political party that lives up to our principles when there are so few examples to follow or be inspired by, at least in North America.
What does it mean to exemplify “participatory democracy”? In working with other Greens, I think I’ve received some good pointers. For most indigenous cultures the world over, there is an emphasis on understanding the world through the lens of relationship. By respecting “all our relations” (all the other beings and entities made of stardust) we learn to act in responsible ways. Margaret Wheatley has helped bring insights to human organizations about how living systems organize and change. Just as Wheatley learned that people and organizations can operate well as self-organizing entities which outgrow the tendency to resort to using aggression and fear to achieve their goals, I see our party moving in that direction as well.
One of the most beautiful examples of that was a meeting of the VGM organizing committee which I attended via Zoom. Fund Co-President John Willson had prepared a spiffy slide presentation to explain the tough decision the committee faced: after various roadblocks had appeared, and facing ridiculously tight time constraints, the committee could carry on with established plans for organizing a VGM, but they would be setting themselves up for failure. Alternatively, they could postpone the VGM yet again, giving themselves more time to organize, and meanwhile create a small event for Nov. 26 that would have very limited elements of a VGM.
This second option could have seemed like the only reasonable choice, but some observers and committee members simply weren’t comfortable with postponing the VGM yet again. Michael Strumberger has learned a lot about a self-organizing tool called sociocracy; his facilitation skills were crucial for helping the group come up with a third option. With a rather daring commitment to transparency and participatory democracy, committee member Natalie Odd did a phenomenal job of monitoring and sharing the chat, where “observers” also weighed in.
That “third option” is what we enter into now: a VGM that starts this weekend, that will run for two days, and that will continue in the new year. The virtual approach to this gathering (which will allow many more GPC members to join in without needing to expend money and GHGs travelling to some convention centre) is new for us. We’re bound to make mistakes.
We could jump on these mistakes to “prove” that our party can’t really do politics differently, that involvement in self-organizing groups or circles to move the party forward is unworkable. But I’m hoping we’ll use these mistakes as fodder for learning. We know that “traditional” party politics is failing miserably. We know that if we venture into new territory, there are bound to be unforeseen problems. But if we support each other in learning to overcome those problems, we could chart a path that will be indispensable for protecting what we love. As Gandhi said, each of us has a piece of the truth. This VGM invites you to bring your piece in the context of a mutually supportive culture that fosters learning and healthy growth.