1 00:00:16,434 --> 00:00:19,903 How often do we hear that people just don't care? 2 00:00:20,758 --> 00:00:22,349 How many times have you been told 3 00:00:22,373 --> 00:00:25,614 that real, substantial change isn't possible 4 00:00:25,638 --> 00:00:27,713 because most people are too selfish, 5 00:00:27,737 --> 00:00:29,669 too stupid or too lazy 6 00:00:29,693 --> 00:00:32,325 to try to make a difference in their community? 7 00:00:32,348 --> 00:00:35,443 I propose to you today that apathy as we think we know it 8 00:00:35,467 --> 00:00:37,178 doesn't actually exist; 9 00:00:37,202 --> 00:00:39,376 but rather, that people do care, 10 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,109 but that we live in a world that actively discourages engagement 11 00:00:43,133 --> 00:00:46,494 by constantly putting obstacles and barriers in our way. 12 00:00:46,518 --> 00:00:48,550 I'll give you some examples of what I mean. 13 00:00:48,574 --> 00:00:50,287 Let's start with city hall. 14 00:00:50,663 --> 00:00:52,376 You ever see one of these before? 15 00:00:52,758 --> 00:00:54,376 This is a newspaper ad. 16 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,768 It's a notice of a zoning application change for a new office building 17 00:00:57,792 --> 00:00:59,863 so the neighborhood knows what's happening. 18 00:00:59,887 --> 00:01:01,809 As you can see, it's impossible to read. 19 00:01:01,833 --> 00:01:03,209 You need to get halfway down 20 00:01:03,233 --> 00:01:05,767 to even find out which address they're talking about, 21 00:01:05,791 --> 00:01:07,935 and then further down, in tiny 10-point font, 22 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:09,995 to find out how to actually get involved. 23 00:01:10,019 --> 00:01:13,146 Imagine if the private sector advertised in the same way... 24 00:01:13,170 --> 00:01:15,212 If Nike wanted to sell a pair of shoes... 25 00:01:15,236 --> 00:01:16,376 (Laughter) 26 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:18,365 And put an ad in the paper like that. 27 00:01:18,389 --> 00:01:22,376 (Applause) 28 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:24,376 Now, that would never happen. 29 00:01:25,235 --> 00:01:26,814 You'll never see an ad like that, 30 00:01:26,838 --> 00:01:29,269 because Nike actually wants you to buy their shoes, 31 00:01:29,293 --> 00:01:32,174 whereas the city of Toronto clearly doesn't want you involved 32 00:01:32,198 --> 00:01:33,450 with the planning process, 33 00:01:33,474 --> 00:01:35,890 otherwise their ads would look something like this, 34 00:01:35,914 --> 00:01:37,931 with all the information laid out clearly. 35 00:01:37,971 --> 00:01:40,423 although the font has changed on the PowerPoint 36 00:01:40,479 --> 00:01:43,220 so it's not as clear as I thought it would look in the ad, 37 00:01:43,245 --> 00:01:44,630 but you know what I'm saying. 38 00:01:44,655 --> 00:01:47,072 As long as the city's putting out notices like this 39 00:01:47,096 --> 00:01:48,522 to try to get people engaged, 40 00:01:48,546 --> 00:01:50,880 then of course people aren't going to be engaged. 41 00:01:50,904 --> 00:01:53,492 But that's not apathy; that's intentional exclusion. 42 00:01:55,324 --> 00:01:56,588 Public space. 43 00:01:56,612 --> 00:01:59,496 (Applause) 44 00:01:59,521 --> 00:02:01,856 The manner in which we mistreat our public spaces 45 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:06,140 is a huge obstacle towards any type of progressive political change, 46 00:02:06,164 --> 00:02:09,363 because we've essentially put a price tag on freedom of expression. 47 00:02:09,387 --> 00:02:11,972 Whoever has the most money gets the loudest voice, 48 00:02:11,996 --> 00:02:14,395 dominating the visual and mental environment. 49 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:17,899 The problem with this model is there are some amazing messages 50 00:02:17,923 --> 00:02:20,764 that need to be said, that aren't profitable to say. 51 00:02:20,788 --> 00:02:23,290 So you're never going to see them on a billboard. 52 00:02:29,284 --> 00:02:31,284 I'll move on to the next one - 53 00:02:31,712 --> 00:02:33,779 There was a closing line there. 54 00:02:35,014 --> 00:02:37,014 It will come back to me later. 55 00:02:37,355 --> 00:02:40,767 The media plays an important role 56 00:02:40,792 --> 00:02:43,976 in developing our relationship with political change, 57 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,351 mainly by ignoring politics and focusing on celebrities and scandals, 58 00:02:48,375 --> 00:02:51,228 but even when they do talk about important political issues, 59 00:02:51,252 --> 00:02:54,105 they do it in a way that I feel discourages engagement. 60 00:02:54,129 --> 00:02:55,347 I'll give you an example. 61 00:02:55,371 --> 00:02:59,563 The "Now" magazine from last week: progressive, downtown weekly in Toronto. 62 00:02:59,588 --> 00:03:00,776 This is the cover story. 63 00:03:02,900 --> 00:03:05,388 It's an article about a theater performance, 64 00:03:05,412 --> 00:03:08,170 and it starts with basic information about where it is, 65 00:03:08,194 --> 00:03:11,719 in case you actually want to go and see it after you've read the article... 66 00:03:11,743 --> 00:03:13,526 Where, the time, the website. 67 00:03:13,550 --> 00:03:15,955 Same with this... it's a movie review. 68 00:03:15,979 --> 00:03:17,563 An art review. 69 00:03:17,587 --> 00:03:20,725 A book review... where the reading is in case you want to go. 70 00:03:20,749 --> 00:03:23,459 A restaurant... you might not want to just read about it, 71 00:03:23,483 --> 00:03:24,910 maybe you want to go there. 72 00:03:24,934 --> 00:03:28,707 So they tell you where it is, the prices, the address, the phone number, etc. 73 00:03:28,731 --> 00:03:30,708 Then you get to their political articles. 74 00:03:30,732 --> 00:03:34,192 Here's a great article about an important election race that's happening. 75 00:03:34,216 --> 00:03:36,545 It talks about the candidates, written very well, 76 00:03:36,569 --> 00:03:39,796 but no information, no follow-up, no websites for the campaigns, 77 00:03:39,820 --> 00:03:43,345 no information about when the debates are, where the campaign offices are. 78 00:03:43,369 --> 00:03:44,798 Here's another good article, 79 00:03:45,322 --> 00:03:49,919 about a new campaign opposing privatization of transit, 80 00:03:50,100 --> 00:03:52,814 without any contact information for the campaign. 81 00:03:52,838 --> 00:03:54,362 The message seems to be 82 00:03:54,386 --> 00:03:57,797 that the readers are most likely to want to eat, maybe read a book, 83 00:03:57,821 --> 00:04:00,584 maybe see a movie, but not be engaged in their community. 84 00:04:00,608 --> 00:04:03,746 You might think this is a small thing, but I think it's important, 85 00:04:03,770 --> 00:04:05,166 because it sets a tone 86 00:04:05,890 --> 00:04:11,519 and it reinforces the dangerous idea that politics is a spectator sport. 87 00:04:13,963 --> 00:04:16,208 Heroes: How do we view leadership? 88 00:04:16,232 --> 00:04:18,894 Look at these 10 movies. What do they have in common? 89 00:04:18,918 --> 00:04:20,084 Anyone? 90 00:04:21,838 --> 00:04:23,912 They all have heroes who were chosen. 91 00:04:23,936 --> 00:04:26,651 Someone came up to them and said, "You're the chosen one. 92 00:04:26,675 --> 00:04:28,949 There's a prophecy. You have to save the world." 93 00:04:28,973 --> 00:04:32,275 And then they go off and save the world because they've been told to, 94 00:04:32,299 --> 00:04:33,858 with a few people tagging along. 95 00:04:33,882 --> 00:04:35,038 This helps me understand 96 00:04:35,062 --> 00:04:38,089 why a lot of people have trouble seeing themselves as leaders... 97 00:04:38,113 --> 00:04:41,637 Because it sends all the wrong messages about what leadership is about. 98 00:04:41,661 --> 00:04:44,174 A heroic effort is a collective effort, 99 00:04:44,198 --> 00:04:45,376 number one. 100 00:04:45,728 --> 00:04:49,096 Number two, it's imperfect; it's not very glamorous, 101 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,302 and doesn't suddenly start and suddenly end. 102 00:04:51,326 --> 00:04:53,388 It's an ongoing process your whole life. 103 00:04:53,412 --> 00:04:55,189 But most importantly, it's voluntary. 104 00:04:55,213 --> 00:04:56,631 It's voluntary. 105 00:04:56,655 --> 00:04:59,018 As long as we're teaching our kids 106 00:04:59,042 --> 00:05:02,464 that heroism starts when someone scratches a mark on your forehead, 107 00:05:02,488 --> 00:05:04,714 or someone tells you you're part of a prophecy, 108 00:05:04,738 --> 00:05:07,767 they're missing the most important characteristic of leadership, 109 00:05:07,791 --> 00:05:09,478 which is that it comes from within. 110 00:05:09,502 --> 00:05:13,376 It's about following your own dreams, uninvited, 111 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,376 and then working with others to make those dreams come true. 112 00:05:17,500 --> 00:05:19,476 Political parties: oh, boy. 113 00:05:19,899 --> 00:05:24,392 Political parties could and should be one of the basic entry points 114 00:05:24,416 --> 00:05:26,343 for people to get engaged in politics. 115 00:05:26,367 --> 00:05:28,632 Instead, they've become, sadly, 116 00:05:28,656 --> 00:05:31,542 uninspiring and uncreative organizations 117 00:05:31,566 --> 00:05:35,476 that rely so heavily on market research and polling and focus groups 118 00:05:35,500 --> 00:05:37,548 that they end up all saying the same thing, 119 00:05:37,572 --> 00:05:40,668 pretty much regurgitating back to us what we already want to hear 120 00:05:40,692 --> 00:05:43,476 at the expense of putting forward bold and creative ideas. 121 00:05:43,500 --> 00:05:46,256 And people can smell that, and it feeds cynicism. 122 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:52,256 (Applause) 123 00:05:52,624 --> 00:05:54,068 Charitable status. 124 00:05:54,092 --> 00:05:57,846 Groups who have charitable status in Canada aren't allowed to do advocacy. 125 00:05:57,870 --> 00:06:00,401 This is a huge problem and a huge obstacle to change, 126 00:06:00,425 --> 00:06:03,897 because it means that some of the most passionate and informed voices 127 00:06:03,921 --> 00:06:06,804 are completely silenced, especially during election time. 128 00:06:06,828 --> 00:06:10,191 Which leads us to the last one, which is: our elections. 129 00:06:10,596 --> 00:06:11,764 As you may have noticed, 130 00:06:11,788 --> 00:06:13,895 our elections in Canada are a complete joke. 131 00:06:13,919 --> 00:06:15,410 We use out-of-date systems 132 00:06:15,434 --> 00:06:17,735 that are unfair and create random results. 133 00:06:17,759 --> 00:06:19,476 Canada's currently led by a party 134 00:06:19,500 --> 00:06:21,948 that most Canadians didn't actually want. 135 00:06:21,972 --> 00:06:25,587 How can we honestly and genuinely encourage more people to vote 136 00:06:25,611 --> 00:06:27,888 when votes don't count in Canada? 137 00:06:27,912 --> 00:06:31,280 You add all this up together, and of course people are apathetic. 138 00:06:31,304 --> 00:06:33,364 It's like trying to run into a brick wall. 139 00:06:33,388 --> 00:06:36,705 Now, I'm not trying to be negative by throwing all these obstacles out 140 00:06:36,729 --> 00:06:38,329 and explaining what's in our way. 141 00:06:38,353 --> 00:06:39,506 Quite the opposite... 142 00:06:39,530 --> 00:06:42,863 I actually think people are amazing and smart and that they do care, 143 00:06:44,117 --> 00:06:46,476 but that, as I said, we live in this environment 144 00:06:46,500 --> 00:06:49,638 where all these obstacles are being put in our way. 145 00:06:50,388 --> 00:06:53,839 As long as we believe that people, our own neighbors, 146 00:06:53,863 --> 00:06:56,559 are selfish, stupid or lazy, 147 00:06:57,317 --> 00:06:58,609 then there's no hope. 148 00:06:59,704 --> 00:07:02,015 But we can change all those things I mentioned. 149 00:07:02,039 --> 00:07:03,476 We can open up city hall. 150 00:07:03,500 --> 00:07:05,232 We can reform our electoral systems. 151 00:07:05,256 --> 00:07:07,233 We can democratize our public spaces. 152 00:07:07,257 --> 00:07:09,029 My main message is: 153 00:07:09,053 --> 00:07:10,731 if we can redefine apathy, 154 00:07:10,755 --> 00:07:12,777 not as some kind of internal syndrome, 155 00:07:12,801 --> 00:07:17,595 but as a complex web of cultural barriers that reinforces disengagement, 156 00:07:18,229 --> 00:07:23,792 and if we can clearly define, clearly identify what those obstacles are, 157 00:07:23,816 --> 00:07:27,407 and then if we can work together collectively to dismantle those obstacles, 158 00:07:27,431 --> 00:07:28,685 then anything is possible. 159 00:07:28,709 --> 00:07:29,869 Thank you. 160 00:07:29,893 --> 00:07:31,308 (Applause)