A Bookish Summer

Friedrich Nietzsche used to say, “All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down.”  I guess I’ve been trying to do that for years, only with a keyboard.  Mostly I write in the attempt to urge politicians to act on the foundations of their conscience and for citizens to rise up and grasp for the democratic torch that has been handed to them.  It’s likely all that writing has little effect.

I read an article in the New York Times last week that said, “If you want your blog to be popular, write for your audience - talk about them and their interests.”  Trouble is, I can’t work like that. The problems that we face as a generation are far more expansive than most people’s knowledge set (I include myself in this group) and require advocacy and enlightenment.  In the main, citizens don’t naturally consider those things that lie outside of their interest.  But what if they don’t consider climate change, stubborn unemployment, a broken democratic estate, or a disengaged citizenry.?  Like it or not, the importance of such issues can’t be merely left to those occasions when Canadians might finally take an interest.And so I write - not to please readers but to embrace the challenges set before us.  I tend to follow the advice of Franz Kafka: “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to be popular or make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion of the day.  Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”This will stand as my final written blog post for the summer.  In its place I will be posting podcasts on citizen engagement.  They’ll only be about three minutes long and will run Monday-Friday for July and August.  They form the essence of a book I’ve just completed on citizen engagement and which I have dedicated to John Fleming and the Planning Division at the City of London as a kind of tribute for all their hard efforts in undertaking our community’s ReThink process. To date, some 10,000 local residents have participated in a grand exercise to create the city of their aspirations - an impressive effort.Each morning a new audio post will appear on the blog page.  Just click on it and consider some thoughts on what surely must be one of the most pressing issues of our age - the need for citizens to take back their communities from those with vested interests.Our family always volunteers at an autism camp for kids in northern Ontario at the beginning of summer.  Then I’m taking the summer months to finish off two books I have been working on - one a novel, and the other the importance of personality.If you’re interested, I’ll post here the links to some new books I have finished in last few months and which are available on Amazon. You can also view a sampling of the books I’ve written in the “Books” panel on this website.Eternal Return is a novel about a woman Environment Minister for the Canadian government who is forced to make decisions between her political career and the health of the planet -  actions that will ultimately alter the course of her life.  It’s available in both hardback and soft cover editions.The Long Road Home tells the story of how Jane and I first got involved in south Sudan and how our ongoing commitment to that region has ultimately changed the course of our lives and expanded our family in the process.  You’ll hear of those early efforts at fighting slavery, working in wartime, the establishment of peace, and how we found young Abuk following a year’s search and how we eventually adopted her, her twin sister Achan, and their older brother Ater.  It also puts some hope back into politics.Identity is a small pocket-sized book that delves into the necessity of our establishing a collective presence in the midst of all of our individual pursuits.  Effective democracy requires it if we are to get through the difficult decades that lie ahead of us.Enjoy your summer, and thank you for your ongoing interests in at least some of the subjects essential to our democracy.  Have a listen to the daily podcasts (starting July 2nd), maybe read a book or two, and the regular blog posts will return after Labour Day.