Sorry it has been a while.
I have a huge teaching load this semester and those of you who know me know that it's all about the show. So my preparation time has gone way up.
Then I went away for some fun in the sun. Lucky me.
I have come to believe that winter requires three things - long underwear - a hat - and a couple of weeks away in the sun. Maybe that is just my age...
My writing has been sparse and not up to calibre so I haven't been sharing much of it. But it is what I love. So now I am back.
Before I left however we had a good speak at Trent.
Thinking about power and the then pending federal election.
Gunther arranged it through the Trent Sociology Students Union.
We had a good chat about the power in the youth vote. That power goes beyond the end result of an election.
About 80 Million Gen Y in North America. About 2 Million voters in Canada.
If each one committed to cast a ballot and donate $5 each to the party of their choice, the parties and their candidates would be all over them to find out what they wanted in exchange.
Power is about choice. It resides in needs. Politicians know all of their power comes from votes and the money they spend to acquire them. They are always willing to consider new ideas if it leads to votes and donations.
And the Bipolar Nature of the Power Dynamics tell us that the need of the politicians is the source of our power.
Seeing this leads to an opportunity to have power.
Simple but effective.
The students at Trent enjoyed the idea and we had a long and heart felt discussion afterward. These are people who really care about their world and the power they have in it.
I want to thank Gunther and his colleagues for making me welcome. It was a meaningful time.
No comments:
Post a Comment