The most exciting political news in Encinitas is the waking of the giant, New Encinitas. Despite this being achieved in part through the dissemination of misinformation and appealing to all kinds of fears, there are New Encinitas people meeting, talking, organizing – awakening.
Parallel to the excitement are attendant emotions of anger, confusion, fanciful dreaming, resentment, urgency and . . . well, you get the point.
In fact, this community consciousness awakening is a fair comparison to people waking from sleep.
First and foremost, not everyone is the same. Can you spot yourself in any of the first states described below? Waking up:
Crabby
Numb
Chirpy
Disoriented
Blaming
Sluggish
Serene
Clumsy
Confused
Wired
Some of those even sound like the person might be heading back to bed. The last could also be another way of looking at those who wake with great urgency. Although some people wake without this, some of the most urgently felt “need to do” first acts:
- Relieve oneself or other body hygiene routine
- Down coffee or other stimulant
- Feed oneself
- Responsibility to feed or tend to others – kids, pets, etc.
- Domestic tasks
- News (brain) –papers, internet, television, radio or other people
- Sounds (senses) – music, television, radio or other people
- Work one loves or . . .
- Personal mission (reason to get out of bed)
First tasks can make or break the day to come. Nobody wants a bad day. It might help to think of the diversity of responses in these lists when we think of all these people in Encinitas waking up to what is going on at city hall. Each person will probably be focused on what is closest to home. If you have been actively involved in vigilantly watching our city council majority’s antics (and Teresa Barth marginalization); try and remember what your overriding emotions, insights and first actions were all about at that beginning place. Many of us blush at our complete ignorance of how systemic the indifference to our outlooks and values were from these public officials despite heavy use of loaded words like folks, public input, feedback, deliberation and disclosure.
As much as it is fun to oversimplify, some of these issues within our city’s governance are not quick fixes. (I refuse to make a bumper sticker comment out of that last word. *mutters to self*). The overall General Plan Update is one of the most complex things within all that is going on currently, with heated buzz phrases about land use and traffic in New Encinitas, the many elements undergoing scrutiny and revisions are getting lost or
'erased' (ERAC'd) in the process.
These new advocates for public involvement from New Encinitas and other neighborhoods may well be progressing towards fully conscious understanding of the bigger picture with each meeting attended, public commentary comment, neighbor conversation, petition signed, campaign volunteer task and blog post read. There will be the eccentrics, the purists, the bigots, the experts, the liars, those believing in unicorns and rainbows and those who encourage . . . all ‘advising’ neophytes. People will hurt each others feelings, blame the innocent and betray boundaries. And all too often people will be to told how someone should be feeling.
A healthy and productive reaction to someone expressing hurt or offense is not to audit whether that reaction meets our standards of acceptability (again, with caveat that no one is required to tolerate abuse), but to try to understand why it is that the person is reacting the way [he or she] is. Empathy is the best response to causing unintentional hurt.
Empathy and respect are the ultimate goal for a city council made up of thoughtful people who empathize and respect the citizenry. So, this consideration isn't something that we put on the back burner until we have the council we desire. It starts at the beginning. When all is said and done, 2012 may well be the year Encinitas woke up to find a hundred activists looking for the sunshine and transparency promised to us all.
hat tip:
Melissa McEwan for quote
