The Race Is On

This has not been the best of summers for the Canadian professional chuckwagon racing community. The action at the sport’s signature event, the 2010 GMC Rangeland Derby with prize money of 1.15 million dollars, resulted in four dead horses.
The death toll triggered a furious wave of public condemnation reflecting a huge change in public opinion in favor of animal welfare. People who had been ambivalent about the sport, and even some former supporters, are now calling for its’ abolition.
Chuckwagon racers see the four horse’s deaths as unfortunate but unpreventable, and refuse to consider the possibility that the sport could be banned. Yet how they ultimately respond to the Calgary deaths will determine the sport’s future.
Denial is not an option. The chuckwagon honchos can bluster and blow until their tarps fly off, but their CBC television coverage and major sponsorships are toast unless they get ahead of the onrushing change.
People have learned to vote with their wallets. It is no accident that McDonalds- yes Ronnie Mac and the burger folks-is among the most powerful forces for farm animal welfare reform. They don’t want to face well-organized consumer boycotts. Is GMC prepared to face a buyer boycott if it continues Rangeland Derby sponsorship?
Adaptation to change threatens all communities, not just folks racing chuckwagons. All of us must accept some hard realities pertaining to change. Change is inevitable, and in today’s world, hits at warp speed. Social networking technology makes it possible for people all over the world to create megalinks overnight supporting causes that “stick” with people. The picture of four beautiful horses dying to satisfy their owners interests is easy to draw, and resonates deeply.
The only way to outrace change is through creative thinking. It’s time for innovative thinking on the part of the chuckwagon community. Ideas that may seem flat-out goofy, such as reducing the prize money, should be on the table. After all, like Corb Lund says in his great “Trouble in the Country”, cowboy song, “ When the money gets big, people get hurt”.
What if all competitors had a direct stake in horse welfare? Why not put a chunk of the prize money into a special pool paid out to all competitors if no horses die? If horses die, the money goes to the S.P.C.A.
The chuckwagon racer’s fight for survival is not unique. They are not the only community under siege. Rural communities wither as the social infrastructure disappears; young people leave, and local businesses close. Inner-city communities watch as homelessness and drug addiction strangle their neighborhoods.
How do we adapt to high-speed change? We won’t adapt by enlisting the help of the usual suspects- governments of all stripes. Dramatic change happens from the inside out.
It takes courage for a community to accept the reality of change, and to find the adaptability to meet change head-on. While that sounds like a tall order, that’s exactly how our forebears built western Canada. Are Alberta’s communities up to the same kind of challenge? All we know for sure is that the race with change is underway, and right now the outcome is in doubt.

The Change Challenge

Today, around the world, a battle is raging between two powerful and competing themes. While global in nature, the conflict has profound implications for local communities like yours and mine.
The first theme is that change is inevitable and powerful, and that humankind must adapt to new realities. It believes that we will adapt through education and training and by constantly revisiting, reviewing and revising old norms. The desired outcome is an optimistic and egalitarian society in which social and cultural values and norms morph into a more global sense of community citizenship.
The competing theme sees change as a negative force requiring powerful resistance. Change is a threat to traditional social and cultural values, and is an inherently destabilizing force in communities. This view sees comprehensive public education as an agent of that threat, undermining the anointed or appointed community leadership. “Educated elites” are mistrusted and gender separation is encouraged.
That’s the general nature of the opposing forces in this global battle- and it is truly a global conflict. French lawmakers are debating legislation forbidding women from covering their faces in public. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, girls attending school are the targets of acid attacks. Israeli political debate swirls over whether or no there should be forced gender segregation on public transit. The legal code of Saudi Arabia mandates caning for women observed talking to men other than their husbands. In the U.S., recent federal government initiatives to reduce the public health threat posed by the over consumption of salt is being strongly resisted by groups raging about “Elites” trying to regulate and change “the American way of life.”
That’s a snapshot of the nature of this very nasty battle. It’s a war without rules and without boundaries. Canadians– including Albertans– are seeing the opening tussles in our communities. In Quebec and British Columbia’s lower mainland, we have already seen community pushback against the changing face and values brought about by change.
Where does your community stand on the preservation of its’ historic nature? Does it see change as inevitable, manageable and desirable, or is it as seen as a threat to the community value structure? Is the community focus on planning for the evolution of the community, or is it on protecting and preserving tradition and heritage?
Active, committed and engaged communities should thoughtfully prepare their response in this battle for the future direction of their communities. How they respond could well determine their long-term community survival.