Growing up

Much has been said about Blake Ewings recent blog, "Grow up, Tulsa." There are many things to like about it, especially its focus on the unique aspects of Tulsa, and the call on leaders to celebrate those aspects, instead of trying to become something Tulsa is not. I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment.

However, his premise that Tulsa can be like other cities, such as Austin and Portland, if we all just get on the same page and stop bickering really alarms me. In my experience, when someone says we all need to get on the same page, what they really mean is that we all need to agree with him or her. And the idea that other cities don't have their share of petty squabbles and political wranglings is naïve and myopic. As I wrote previously, political struggles are as old as Moses. It is simply human nature to fight for your cause. Tulsa is not unique in that aspect.

Quite frankly, it is the political systems in which we hear no dissent that should alarm us. When we hear fighting, we know that everyone has a voice in the process; when we hear nothing, we should worry that people are being silenced. Some of the biggest mistakes we have made as humans have been the result of "group think." In his blog, Mr. Ewing says that we need to ignore the "few angry idiots" who show up to protest something new. Not only do I find that elitist, I find it quite dangerous and un-American. Like the lone Chinese student standing up to a tank, we love the individual who fights the good fight. As a Planning Commissioner, we frequently get a "few angry idiots" who come to protest something. And while I may disagree with them, and even vote against them, I have tremendous respect for those people who believe with all their heart they are fighting for their city, for their homes. And sometimes, though admittedly not often, it is the lone dissenter that in hindsight proves to be correct. Among those "few angry idiots", you never know who might be the next Jane Jacobs or the next child who sees the emperor has no clothes.

So then, how is Tulsa to "grow up" as Mr. Ewing implies? Part of the problem I see is the assumption that somehow great cities are "grown up." Cities, like people, should never be grown but should be constantly growing, changing and evolving. To "grow up" connotes an ending, not a process. What we need to determine is how we can continue evolving as a city instead of stagnating. While bickering is normal, it must move us forward, must produce new ideas and compromises. But it is actually the bickering that produces something new. Think of the city as a large chemical reaction: when the chemicals are frozen and still, they are the least likely to react. When heated, the atoms move quicker, badgering and bumping each other, until something new is formed. We need to figure out, not how to all get on the same page, but how the bumping and badgering will produce something new. I don't presume to know where our city needs to go; it will go where the entire city pushes it, and I am just one person in that process. But I do have some ideas of how people can help that process. Here are my suggestions.

1. Engage in the process. What the city needs is more, not less, voices. Whether it's PlaniTulsa, the next election, or your local school's PTA, we all have something to add, including you. If no one is listening, talk louder.
   
2. Fight passionately for what you believe, but always remember you could be wrong. When we become rigid, we stop growing as individuals and as a city. The problem I see is not that our city is fighting; it's that we aren't listening to each other. Couples don't break up because of a fight; they break up because they don't care what the other has to say. Listen to the other side, take what is good about their argument, and redefine your position. Do this again and again.
   
3. Never reject something just because it's new and unfamiliar. Be excited about novel ideas and approaches, constantly willing to try something different. Ironically—and at the risk of offending my parents—it is often grownups who are often least likely to accept change.
   
4. Celebrate the discord, and be proud of Tulsa's diverse points of view. Austin and Portland didn't get where they are by all being on the same page. In fact, what makes them great cities is the fact that they celebrate the individual, and include them in the process. It is wonderful that so many people care so deeply about this city. After all, it is the cacophony of competing ideas and points of view that slowly become the symphony of the city.