This is the text of a lecture I gave last week in Toronto, co-sponsored by Anima Leadership and The Centre for Social Innovation.

Thank you Anima Leadership and the Centre for Social Innovation for hosting this talk. I’m here tonight to talk about democratic dialogue, debate, and interaction. The wheels of democracy turn or don’t turn, on the quality of interaction between people. That’s what it comes down to. Deep Democracy offers some thoughts and some tools about that quality of interaction, and how to make it easier, less fraught with polarization and demonization.

I sometimes think of modern democracy as a Freudian compromise formation. Freud used the term compromise formation to refer to dream symbols or neurotic symptoms that satisfy an unconscious drive while appeasing the ego needs for control. Democracy, on one hand, attempts to satisfy the drive for freedom and autonomy while on the other hand satisfies the fear of widespread franchise by limiting participation. Democratic governments have developed all manner of systems and checks and balances to protect people from the unchecked abuses of tyranny, whether tyranny of Church or Monarchy (as it was originally) or tyranny of majority over minority interests, or of government over the people. (more…)

One of my favorite topics. I wrote a post a few years back, which I originally called Game Day (changed to Leading Under Fire) talking about leading under stress, and the challenges of performing under pressure. Peter Bregman’s post, The Big Test: How to Handle Performance Pressure, here captures two of the essential points I find helpful: use time pressure to your advantage, and focus in on the essential reason you’re there, a purpose that can help focus and calm you.

I’ve been a bit absent. I was offline and away for a week on Cycle Oregon. I didn’t realize that while I was on a break, my website took one as well. While I was happily pedaling along, offline and out of touch, my website was shut down because of a security breach. My emails bounced for a couple of days before I found out about it. And when I did, there wasn’t much I could do. That was just the beginning of a week of woes. On the way home, an inattentive gas attendant put unleaded gas into my diesel tank, and 30 miles later my Jetta politely but firmly informed me it would not run on unleaded gasoline. We had to be towed 90 miles into Portland, and my car took a few days to fix, could have been a lot worse.

So, I am back, so is my website, my car is back in service. But it’s good to be reminded by what fragile threads are lives are kept together. In my case, it wasn’t very essential things that fell apart; annoying, but basically not harmful. It could have been much worse.

Having my website go down also made me mindful of and appreciative for you readers who follow this blog, and those who occasionally peak in. Thank you. You make the discussion richer, and make writing a more enjoyable task.

I have a few posts I’m working on, and look forward to getting back in action soon!

In a post-game interview, L.A. Laker Ron Artest thanks his psychiatrist for helping him relax under the intense pressure of the playoffs.

First reactions to his comments were critical, yet when players thank God or Jesus for help, which they often do, I rarely hear criticism about that.

In my mind, the two are not not that different – both offer a vantage point, a detached perspective from which to handle the extreme stress and pressure of the situation. In fact, I think it would be great to hear more from athletes, politicians, leaders, and others working under fire: what do they turn to for support to help them stay awake and useful under such immense stress?

In a move which I find hard not to characterize as deliberately antagonistic, Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard and City Auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade are pushing for a vote this week on a resolution to strengthen the citizen police oversight board while Police Chief Rosie Sizer is out of town. This would be the first major overhaul of the citizen review board since 2001. After only 5 days of public process, minus the Chief’s input, Leonard and Griffin-Valade are demanding an immediate vote. Leonard characterized a request to delay the hearing until more public input and the Chief’s return from her overseas trip as a strategy of delay under the guise of ‘public process’ [which will] defer to those who will go to any length to resist transparency at the Portland Police Bureau.” http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/03/randy_leonard_portland_auditor.html

An empowered citizen police review board is vital. But due process works in both directions. The Police Chief’s complete participation in the process will only serve to strengthen the review board. Chief Sizer has gone to great lengths to make the force more accountable and transparent, from revising the training of Police Officers in the use of force to instituting processes to review racial profiling. Under her tenure deadly incidents have decreased 40%. There’s no doubt more work needs to be done, but I can’t help viewing this through my lens of conflict resolution facilitator. Leonard’s escalatory style, while it may serve to push through a resolution, will not ultimately provide the City of Portland with what it needs most: a better relationship between members of the Police force and the city of Portland.