Now that the lidocaine has worn off my frozen brain, which
does(or attempts to) do the thinking, and the construction has stopped in the
neighbourhood, and I’ve had light workout, I can make an attempt at
contributing, since I can move my jaw to eat, and I don’t have a migraine.
Engagement is a popular buzzword these days, and I think
that it’s great to have this community.
There are so many things competing for people’s attention, and I can
understand why it’s hard to get people involved. I remember a teaching assistant remarking how
universities were bending over for students many years ago, similar to how
associations were having problems get their members to vote, or levels of
government wishing better turnouts, or prayer groups trying to sustain
membership, or work environments trying to improve employee satisfaction.
I’ve noticed this over the years in different situations,
but we can’t all be involved in all things, so we set priorities.
What’s unique about this community and it’s members is that
the members have a common fear which inhibits participation and is a disease.
I was personally afraid of looking stupid, of not having
anonymity, and of not knowing whether the forum would really help, and conflict is unattractive. I’ve regretted not being more involved in
life generally, but I have my “emotional timetable”, and respect others’
emotional timetables.
Contemporary journalist Malcolm Gladwell describes
successful engagement in his book “The Tipping Point”, if you wish to read
about his formula. He cites 3 types of
people. One is the expert who has
knowledge, another is the connector who knows people, and the last type of
person is the influencer who can convince people for the revolutionary change.
