Frontline leadership

Published June 10, 2008

Good day everyone,

Attached (see right) is a picture taken last week near Masstown, Nova Scotia, on a farm that produces eggs and pumpkins. This farm is using small wind turbines to generate close to 60% of their electrical needs. In the picture are members of Truro’s local Kairos organization, myself, and farm owner Glenn Jennings.

Kairos is a Canadian interdenominational faith group devoted to ecumenical justice initiatives and the local chapter has been inviting me out to their events the past few months. In April I met Rhoda, a Kairos member, at a Department of Environment roundtable consultation event about future water policy. Rhoda stands to my right in the picture. Rhoda insisted I become involved in Kairos after hearing me provide input at the roundtable event and have been asked to come back ever since.

The reason why I share this with you is because it highlights frontline leadership and the tremendous value of staying connected with people and taking the time to learn for oneself and educate others. It’s great to talk about why we should follow Green values, but what is the good of talking about it if there is no direction and guidance for people to follow. How do we apply Green values?

Frontline leadership is beyond politics, though there is a time for the latter, I feel strongly that citizens of this province want direction and leadership beyond any political entity as we are heading into a period of consequences and uncertainty. The oils days of the cheap and easy are over and the necessities of life are going to be more expensive to acquire. I feel the Greens can be great educators and providers of knowledge to help citizens find ways to fill their bellies and heat their homes with true frontline leadership and education. If elected leader I would like to devote some time doing just this, right in peoples homes, showing them how to save energy, how to access fresh healthy affordable food, and many other Green values and approaches to life.

As Mr. Watson has pointed out about the importance of building our party internally, I agree as well. I have learned quite clearly over the past few years the importance of having a robust political organization. My vision is to draw people into our party by proving we can be effective now in people's everyday lives as well. In short make our party more than just politics or the political process, make it about the common good and effective change. Green philosophies can be applied more readily in peoples everyday lives than any government can force on us.

As we head into the oil crunch people are going to be looking for a new way of living, we can show them a Green way. Our province needs leadership, vision, and direction, we cannot wait for people to come to us, we need to reach out and affect people’s lives as well.

There are times for meetings, door knocking, canvassing, speeches, fundraising, and everything traditional about building political parties, but there comes a time when reaching out to affect peoples lives is much more powerful. I feel frontline leadership is the most powerful way to draw in support, it connects people, it shows people that one truly cares.

For facilitation, consultation, and vision, please vote for me as leader, Barton J Cutten.

Sincerely yours.