DUAL REALITY*: Holding Two Truths Simultaneously
I am flooded with emotion. I just listened to Dave Matthews and Brandi Carlile perform “Paper Town.” The song, written for a new documentary of the same name, captures the heart-wrenching impact on the community and the over 1000 people who lost their livelihood with the closing of the 115-year-old paper mill in Canton, North Carolina. The town is now fighting a data center. Shattered economy. Shockwaves. Frayed resilience. Unemployment. Loss. Wiped out identity. Dismantled social bonds. Broken social contract…
I know I “should” pause and allow myself to just feel these emotions for at least a few moments – after all my family were in the forest products industry for multiple generations, and have lived the sense of identity, bonds and life-long relationships inherent in both a small business and a small town. Just yesterday my brother and I were reflecting on the frustration of the failed effort to orchestrate an employee buyout when our family needed to close the business.
I am drawn instead into the bigger picture story so strikingly illustrated by the juxtaposition of the devastating personal, economic and community impact inherent in this and other plant closures and the critical need facing humanity: economic, social, environmental and governance transformation.
The Instagram post comments reveal this duality. In addition to the well-deserved and numerous song accolades (including “chorus of angels” and expressions of support to the town) were comments from people whose families have worked in paper mills for their whole lives were comments about the 115 years of pollution dumped into the Pigeon river then flowing downstream, that ”the little town of Hartford TN , also known as Widowville, was uninhabitable because of this papermill…”; and “Beautiful song but I actually was born in those hills and the paper mill was a blight on the earth that polluted the air and water for decades”.
We must hold these two truths simultaneously. And, design economic and social systems that care for people and the environment, while also ensuring everyone’s basic needs are met and co-creating thriving, sustainable and regenerative economy. And, importantly, care about the impacts on people and minimize the harm through the transition.
Music and art have the magical ability to seize our hearts –– and, I hope, opens them at bit, creating room for not only caring and compassion, but also a deeper listening. And, just maybe, “pop-up” community events where we join together in imagining a different path. A third way. I have every confidence that working together, rather than from polarized positions, this can be done.
Notes:
* Dual Reality, in addition to being an important academic and social term, is a contemporary circus performance by Montreal based The 7 Fingers engaging the audience in not only witnessing but experiencing a mild form of instant crowd tribalism in advocating for one of the two teams—and then offering an uplifting, life-affirming, “third way” resolution to the Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliette tragedy. Highly recommended!
**As I write, I am “home” in the south-eastern slopes of the Alberta Rockies –– visiting the small town I grew up in after moving in from the logging camp in the foothills. The area’s economy centers around the oil and gas industry, agriculture and agri-food processing including cattle ranching and feedlots, coal mining, and forestry, and renewable energy. Juxtaposed with my industry and academic career in World-class Management Systems, Sustainability/ESG, Innovation, and Leadership Development. I live holding these dual realities.