Occupy: Political Party or, Well, Just a Party?

May the best narrative win.

Looking around in the golden glow of the wall sconces at the Roebling Tea Room, I found Anthea and Vanessa at the bar talking about Occupy. Anthea, in for a short stay from the UK, and Vanessa, from Venezuela, were recounting a conversation with a protester from earlier in the evening.

Still damp from a fine and chilly mist blowing around in the November evening, I just wanted a little whiskey in a glass. But I was all ears.

“She was young, yes, but so very eloquent,” said Vanessa. “These people have no agenda but to say 'there is a problem.'”

“But is that enough?” asked Anthea. “When I asked her what they wanted, she couldn't answer. What kind of protest movement has no goal?”

Vanessa thought for a moment. “I don't think there is a goal in the traditional sense. They just want to be heard. They have reasonable complaints, I think. Companies have too much power.”

Anthea smiled. “I just don't think I understand exactly what they want. What would it take for the protestors to say they achieved something?"

It's a good question. What is happening down there at those Occupy protests? I contend that how you answer that question says more about where you get your Narrative than it does about what is actually happening.

Narrative: A Working Definition

We are not Fact or Data Driven. We are Narrative Driven.

Here's how it works: something happens. People talk about what happened. People who weren't at the event must rely on how other people talk about the event. Different versions of the event are passed around. One or two versions rise to the top and become the “Narrative.”

The Narrative need not be fact-based or fair. These are incidental. It merely needs to be believed. It's often shocking, scary, sexy, or funny and almost always has a spin or slant to it.  When the event is political in any way, like Occupy, there are often at least two competing Narratives battling for your support.

It's American Idol for Stories.  It doesn't matter who can sing better.  It only matters if we like the singer.

Occupy: Waterloo or Bonnaroo
As far as I can tell, the Narratives told by supporters of the Occupy protestors include:

1. The 99% of America wants the 1% to pay more. These percentages refer to the proportional amount of total US wealth that individual people have.

2. Wall Street and Washington are corrupt, filled with criminals who use power and influence to “game” the system to unfairly and unethically amass wealth.

3. American democracy is broken and until drastic changes are made in how people are allowed to participate in politics, the US will continue to decay.

4. College debt is burying young people; education should be a right, not a burden.

Those who are critical of Occupy largely seem to think that there is NO legitimate protest at Occupy-- the only story is about the protestors themselves:

1. The protestors are anarchists and communists, interested in destroying order in America.

2. Most people involved in the movement are drug users, criminals, or opportunists who want a free lunch and state-supported unemployment.

3. Many protestors are college kids out to get wasted and bang on drums.

4. A significant number of protestors are hypocrites: wealthy kids who are “slumming” with the unemployed for the sake of adventure or to collect great stories.

There Is No "Truth," Only Narrative

In this, I see a larger view of all conversation about politics in our country.  The battle lines of politics are not idealogical; they are anecdotal.  Most people form opinions about the President, Congress, candidates, political parties based on the dominant stories in the media.  Because people tend to get their media stories from one side of the political spectrum, we are in a constant state of story battle.

Subsequently, the strongest Narratives are the ones that transcend media lines:  killing Osama was great for America, Congress sucks, unemployment is too high. When the Narrative differs across different media, the story gets less strong.  Is Obama a failure?  Are taxes too high?  Is there too much regulation? Your answer is merely an extension of the Narrative that you believe. 

Which story will solidify the Occupy Narrative?  Will it be rich, hypocritical protestors staying at the W hotel?  Filthy, violent communists raping naive coeds and pooping on cars?  Evil Corporations swinging sweetheart deals with politicians?  How about the police brutalizing protestors?  Maybe it'll be well-intentioned emergency officials getting attacked by crazed protestors.  Perhaps it'll be bailed-out Wall Street execs awarding themselves huge, end-of-year bonuses while unemployment numbers creep higher.

Which brings us back to the charming Vanessa and Anthea, two foreign nationals with the perfect amount of objectivity. Their conversation, on a stormy night in late autumn, affords a telling glimpse of American culture.  They don't know what Occupy is because there is no dominant Narrative. The competition over the successful Narrative is still in full swing.

Which Narrative will win your vote?

The Friendly Skies

“You'll have to turn that off.”

The flight attendant stared at her crossly, his company blue blazer squeezing his shoulders.

“Excuse me, ma'am. You have to turn that off.” Her eyes didn't leave her magazine. Either she couldn't hear the steward or she was ignoring him. He bristled and stopped the pre-flight safety instructions.

The whole plane was suddenly involved.

“Ma'am! Turn that off that electronic device right now!” I looked around the plane. Eyebrows raised. A few people shared smiles. I turned around in my seat so I could get a better look. Halfway down the aisle, a stewardess shifted from foot to foot anxiously.

The passenger looked up slowly from her magazine. She drawled her response. “It's off. See?”

“You'll have to take out your headphones.”

“But it's off.”

He stared down at her. “The headphones have to come out.”

She shook her head and took out one headphone. For a moment, she silently dared him to demand the other phone. Satisfied, for the moment, the steward returned to his work. It's very important to know that your seatbelt operates with a latch mechanism.

She caught me smiling at her.

As a teacher, I've seen that a thousand times: authority versus rebellion. It looks like a question of enforcement or control. It's a tempting perspective. It looks like a test of wills, a “high noon” standoff. It's not. It's really a question of culture.

People in authority make the culture. They are the tone-setters, the weather-makers. Sometimes the person in charge of a situation makes the rules; sometimes she doesn't. No matter what the rules are, however, the authority figure has the greatest impact on the tone and civility of a situation.

Our flight attendant stopped being a leader and became a member of the mob. He did this because he made the interaction personal. In that moment, he became more interested in his own personal experience than he was in being the leader. His lack of focus on the job at hand made the situation far worse than it could have been.

As a teacher, a mentor, and an art director, I've learned that good leadership is all about culture setting. Create an environment of fluid stability and people will follow you almost anywhere.

Be a better leader:

1. Be kind. No matter what. It's not about being nice. It's about setting the tone of discourse.

2. Be professional. It's not about you personally. Ever.

3. Be clear. If your people don't understand you, that's your fault.  And your problem.

4. Pay attention. Respect all input and use as much of it as you can to achieve your goals.

5. Set enforceable boundaries. Negotiating them is the last resort.

6. Be charming. It's not your job to be liked. But they'll do a lot more for you if they like you.

If you get to be the one in charge, focus on the culture of those who look to you. The best way to avoid the midair collisions of poor group dynamics is to make the skies as friendly as possible.