Coloring Outside the Lines: Creative Civic Engagement

After reading Jón Gnarr’s memoir, Gnarr!, I was struck by his focus on leading by example - his confidence in comedy’s power to change the world for the better and his belief that we should encourage others by our actions.  During his campaign, many Icelandic career politicians essentially blew him off, and even during his term as mayor, foreign politicians weren’t quite sure how to handle him – all because he challenged and rejected the traditional hyper-masculine stereotypes of politicians as sharp-witted, calculating, and prepared for anything.  Rather than playing by the rules of the political structure, he chose instead to deconstruct it by operating outside its confines, thereby revealing its inherent flaws and weaknesses, like a “virus” (Gnarr, p. 168).  Rather than being an armchair activist, he chose to do something about the issues he saw, and thereby inspire others to have the confidence to do the (seemingly) impossible.

So what does this mean for philanthropists?  For me, it means that you should never be afraid to challenge a system you see as corrupt, even a philanthropic one.  Do you have an issue with the way a charity handles its use of funds?  Call them out on it.  Propose a restructuring of their finances.  And if that doesn’t work?  Start your own philanthropic endeavor and do a better job.  Sometimes, as Gnarr pointed out, a system is too sick to be saved; it has to be killed off to make room for a superior one.  Simply saying that the system is bad isn’t enough – you have to work to ameliorate it.

What does that take?  For Gnarr, it requires humor, positivity, and adaptability.  Facing the looming challenge of confronting the system can be nerve-wracking and depressing, a seemingly insurmountable task – it certainly appeared that way to Iceland after the political and financial meltdown that ushered in Gnarr’s term.  But for Gnarr and his Best Party, this was a chance to take a step back and approach the situation from a totally fresh perspective.  Using ingenuity and most of all, positivity, we can effect real change.  We as leaders have a duty to inspire people and to make civic engagement fun.  People want to enjoy themselves, and they ought to; it’s a natural human desire to be happy, so why present civic engagement as deathly serious?  Why can’t we make a difference and have a good time doing it?

A leader, by definition, guides people.  Some leaders do it through words.  Better ones do it through actions.  And great ones – great ones not only lead by example, they make you have such a good time you want to keep coming back.  People are more invested in the things they enjoy, it’s as simple as that.  Positivity, humor, and imagination: with these we can change the world.  But we have to be willing to use them.  Don’t be afraid to think outside the limitations our society has imposed upon us. 

What does it mean to be a change-maker?  It means thinking creatively.  It means inspiring others with your passion and positivity.  It means being bold, being daring.  Don’t settle for what we already if what we already have isn’t working – create something better.  Step outside the bounds.  Color outside the lines.  Make change.