Sunday, August 18, 2013

Is The BC New Democratic Party A Movement Or An Institution?

AllTheFiguringThatFits
DipperVille


Corky Evans, in an Email that has been making the rounds, says it has become the latter. He also thinks that is the root of the problem:

...The only way I can think of to describe our problem is to say the Movement that we were has become the Institution that we are.

{snip}

...Please do not misunderstand my intent. I do not wish to denigrate the folks who dedicate their lives to make us function. They Are Us. Our problem is not ”who” they are, it is that they exist in critical mass and their voice is perceived to be our voice and their voice is not interesting. It is an institutional voice. It is pretty much like listening to the Ford Motor Company or the BC Medical Association...



Ian Reid feels very differently:

...Here’s what I believe. The BCNDP isn’t the movement. It is the electoral ally of a series of movements that have at their heart ordinary people trying to live whole and fulfilling lives against all odds. As well it is the electoral arm of a series of movements that have at their heart our planet and the way those ordinary people wish to steward that planet for all.

The BC NDP’s job is not to be everything to everybody. It’s job is not to be “the movement”. That is so presumptuous and self-important.

The BC NDP’s job is to get a group of people who share the above values elected in enough quantities to form a government and to do something....

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Why does this stuff matter?

Because, regardless your point of view on the real politick of the thing, it is critical for the NDP to both want to do the right things and to put together the infrastructure so that it can actually win.

And it has got to do this fast.

Because, if it does not, I fear that we will wake-up one day soon and find ourselves living in a....





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And, ya, I do have enough raw material in the can (finally) for a new Sunday Setlist (old ones archived here)...Just have to go through it all now and find out what stays and what goes...


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