The Weekly Way (4/16/21)
Here's to bubble bursting.
Editor’s Note:
A lot of folks ask me why I started The Oregon Way. The answer is fairly easy: to burst bubbles.
I grew up in the Willamette Valley, but through work and play have come to have friends in every corner of the state. My own bubble burst when I sat down at Terminal Gravity Brewing in Enterprise — Portland is far from the only spot with good beer. My bubble burst when I chatted with a leader in Baker City’s art community — the I-5 corridor doesn’t have a monopoly on culture and innovation. And, finally, my bubble burst when I watched a drone zoom over a field in Brownsville, collecting important agricultural data — across Oregon people are exploring new ways to build stronger communities and economies.
None of these bubble bursting experiences are that surprising in retrospect. Of course, there’s good food and beer around the state. Of course, Oregonians are thinking of creative ways to bring people together, regardless of which slice of the state they call home. And, of course, community members are exploring innovative solutions to pressing problems.
Unfortunately, due to a whole slew of factors, most Oregonians know only their neck of the woods (or high desert, coast, etc.). And, a lot of us like to assume a lot of things about anyone who lives anywhere else. That’s a problem.
Assumptions don’t lead to solutions and they don’t build bridges. That’s where this blog wants to come in.
Behind Tom McCall’s success, the fuel that propelled John Kitzhaber’s biggest ideas, and the trust that allowed for Norma Paulus’ policy experiments were statewide coalitions and statewide relationships. McCall befriended people because they were Oregonians, not because they shared all of his views. Kitzhaber established ties with community leaders on both sides of the Cascades. And Paulus was willing to work with anyone who shared her desire for good governance.
This blog is building that same coalition and, with your help, can forge those same relationships. My challenge to you is to engage with one another — reach out to a contributor, submit a comment, send in a piece of your own. Let’s burst bubbles around this state — we’ve got a helluva lot in common and no shortage of problems to solve together.
To do:
Donate $20 today to Sustain the Way.
22 Oregonians have already contributed more than $1,070 total — join them!
Nominate a contributor
send their name and why you’d like them to join The Oregon Way team to Kevin (kfraz@berkeley.edu).
To ponder: Who do you trust in your community?
To read:
Eric K. Ward marks 100 days since the U.S. Capitol insurrection and advocates for a meaningful truth and reconcilication process. Read more here.
But at the end of the day, if we want an Oregon that works for everyone and a democracy that includes all and excludes none, then we need to be willing to explore hard truths about our own conduct, as we hold others accountable for theirs.
We’ve gotten caught up in a debate about greater versus lesser harm – police killings of unarmed Black men versus property damage caused by protesters, for example. It’s time for us to focus on how we can do no harm. It’s time for us to envision a real alternative to white nationalism. That can’t happen without us being honest, at a societal level, about the harms we have caused, from the taking of Native lands, to the disproportionate killing of Black people, to persistent misogyny and the deep alienation caused by massive wealth inequality.
Tim Nesbitt celebrates that Oregon has a rosier budget picture than it has in decades, but wonders if policymakers will learn from previous budget mistakes. Read more here.
Yes, a surplus is a nice problem to have – and a shame to waste. That’s our challenge now. Doing more with more is not as easy as it sounds. New imperatives, like combating climate change and overcoming homelessness, must still contend with the goal of “fully funding” old programs. And pouring more money into old systems is no guarantee of success.
Adam Davis wonders what “gathering” will look like in the future—the answer is that place, community, and face-to-face interactions are still invaluable.
What we do feel—what we know, deeply—is that physical community matters. Bodies in proximity matter—human bodies and geographic bodies. Boundaries matter. Limits matter. And the ideas that grow from these boundaries and limits matter too. Oregon matters not only because of its contiguous land amid ocean and rivers and mountains but also because of the people who live here and the ideas—including ideas about Oregon—that people who live here develop together.
There are deep goods that are simply intrinsic to being with others. There are even deeper goods that are intrinsic to being with the same others over time in a shared space. We now know more about alternatives to physical community than we knew before, and we are dedicated to building on what we are learning about these other ways of gathering, but we also know with even more conviction than before that it is good—if not only good—to be together, in person.
Are you a progressive or a traditionalist? Jared Wiener encourages you to think like the former. Read more here.
This is not to say that traditionalism is wrong, it’s just not well-suited to problem solving. Progressivism could benefit from considering the traditionalist’s focus on incrementalism, on making sure folks feel included and comfortable in any vision of the future, and on acknowledging that there are manifold lessons to learn from the past. As a self-described progressive, I certainly benefit from folks who pump the brakes and help me really question if an easier to implement solution may be better in the long run. Even if I ultimately move forward as intended, slowing down to assess the decision has always made it better. Thus, there is a role for traditionalism. The key, though, is not allowing our regard for the past to blind us for considering options for our future.
What can Harney County teach the rest of the state about collective impact? Chris Harder provides an answer. Read more here.
The COVID-19 pandemic and related economic and business disruptions have exposed the long-standing fragility of our systems and institutions, particularly for people and communities from non-privileged backgrounds. At the same time, the many corporate, non-profit, philanthropic, and public sector organizations that should serve as the drivers of recovery and leaders of change are facing a future of significantly limited resources. Historically, many have also operated in isolation—seeking to “solve the problem” on their own as a means of taking credit, assigning value to their programs, or more conveniently measuring ROI.
The Oregon Way is alive and well in Harney County. Now more than ever, collective impact models such as the High Desert Partnership are needed to address our most persistent challenges. As a state, let’s take this opportunity to learn from the High Desert Partnership and their commitment to collective impact and investing in programs and initiatives that bring together our public, private, Tribal, and non-profit sectors to solve our most vexing problems.
Kevin Frazier makes the case for keeping Oregon together amid talks of the creation of “Greater Idaho.”
This should be Oregon’s Sputnik Moment — the point when we collectively realized that the status quo is not sufficient. The fact that so many Oregonians are desperate to feel heard, to have their values reflected in their government, and to see that their priorities are being addressed is a glaring indictment of our current approach to integrating rural Oregon into statewide decisionmaking. We need to channel Tom McCall’s notion of an “Oregon Family,” and bring all the siblings back together.
Losing Eastern Oregon would be a monumental loss to the state’s culture, economy, and political balance. What’s more, Oregon’s failure to hold onto its own would send a clear signal that the American Experiment — governing collectively by identifying compromises — has failed.
To watch:
Did you miss Civic Saturday? That’s OK - watch Cyreena Boston Ashby, Alexandria Goddard, and Kevin Frazier here:
To quote:
Just as the tiller of the soil looks back on the field he has sown to give him courage and strength for the work ahead, so may we take courage and inspiration in solving the problems of today by looking at the achievements of yesterday.
Governor Paul L. Patterson, 1955