The 2014 Ontario election is drawing to a close - by now, most voters (who are actually going to vote) have either already made up their mind, or decided not to make up their mind until they get to the polling booth. The contending Political Parties have their supporter lists and are rallying their GOTV (Get Out The Vote) teams for a big push tomorrow - because, you know, the stakes are so high.
Meanwhile, most voters are disenfranchised with the whole ordeal. It's just another election, just another bunch of politicians selling lines to get into power. Some partisans are angry, or scared, or trying to be angry or scared, conveying a message that A or B need to be stopped.
At the same time, many of the people who have championed the style of politics that has contributed to our general political fatigue are calling this campaign soul-sucking, dispiriting, depressing. It's rather telling, this.
Expectations are we'll have another minority, meaning the cycle is only going to reset itself; agitated Parties seeking an end game are going to dig in further, as will their various stakeholders.
As this constant brinkmanship plays out provincially, and federally, and even municipally, people are starting to say "enough!"
It's one thing to be agitated, though - another to do something to correct the problem.
Enter the growing Open Community, the Aquarian Conspiracy of our times.
There are public servants out there who really want to serve the public interest - they don't see their job as a push function, but one of engagement. There are corporations like Microsoft and Socrata who have realized that altruism is selfishness that plans ahead - they want to be open, they want to support community, because they have clued in to the reality that committing sociology is actually good for business.
Add to this social entrepreneurs, grassroots groups, forward-thinking consultancies like Swerhun and Exhibit Change on top of civic engagement groups ranging from Samara to Why Should I Care to the Maytree Foundation and there is a picture starting to emerge.
There are politicians out there running for office who spend more time educating people about how our system works or raising the voices of marginalized communities than they're spending selling themselves. Two favourites are Idil Burale and Morgan Baskin. They might not win office, but by engaging their communities in the process, they are winners none the less.
As the political water hole shrinks, the open community is growing.
Both these things are happening on an increasingly frustrated landscape where burnout at work, income disparity, democratic disengagement and in some cases, civil unrest are on the rise.
Poll after poll (for what they're worth) says that Canadians/Ontarians/the people want change, but it's not entirely clear that they know what that change looks like.
Lurking in the background like the sun behind a cloud is Open Government and Open Data - transparency, collaboration, community, rooted online but spreading out into neighbourhoods literally across the globe.
Here in Canada, social catalyst Richard Pietro is taking his OpenGov motorcycle across the country on a speaking tour. Along the way, he will be experiencing Canada, meeting Canadians, sharing the vision that so many of us have embraced.
Open Government on the Open Road across one of the most amazing landscapes in the world. It's a pretty cool idea, the kind of thing people can totally get immersed in.
In fact, that immersion is going global already. There's interest from Australia in maybe seeing Richard take his tour down under.
It's important to note that Richard isn't doing this to build his brand or to land promotional deals. He is 100% authentic; his values are recorded online, so that everyone can hold him to account. More importantly, he feels in his bones that it's his role to hold himself to account, too.
He lives what he believes, which is what most politicians only talk about - transparency, engagement, community empowerment, moving forward together.
Richard's an inspiration, but he's hardly the only player out there. People like Bianca Wylie, polymath facilitation genius, are actively working to put themselves out of business by sharing how they do what they do with others, so that they can do it on their own.
Make Web Not War is doing the same thing; so is SoJo. So is Wakata, as we start to get our feet under us.
We aren't the first. There is a whole movement of Social Entrpreneurs already being the change out there, making some money but more than anything, investing in their communities because they are forward-thinking enough to see the consequences if nobody does this.
If not us, who, if not now, when is not a saying for all these folk catalyzing change - it's a way of living.
It's not hard to look at politics and become dispirited - even the people in the system are losing faith in its ability to function under our current, partisan-centric model. If VoteON has taught us anything, it's that we have collectively lost our way.
This isn't a bad thing - it's a starting point. When we're no longer confident with the direction we're headed, we are forced to explore the landscape, consider new frontiers and then, as happens in times of uncertainty, reach out to each other for support on how to get there.
We are all on the open road with Richard, exploring our democracy with fresh eyes and seeking the Undiscovered Countries of new pastures.
One door is closing, but a window is opening - a little reminder that we don't live in silos, and that the whole world is ours to explore and build upon, together.
Hop on - we're ready when you are.
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