Anger and Fear

The people of Alberta went to the polls yesterday and elected a Conservative majority government for the next four years. 

There were two major players in this year’s election, one on the left and one on the right of the political spectrum. The election campaign had been a tough battle with accusations of wrongdoing from both sides. 

One of the things we heard often in campaign speeches and advertising was anger and fear. Anger and fear at what the NDP had done or failed to do. Anger and fear at what the Conservatives may or may not do. Policy took a back seat to these more primal emotions.

Problem is, you cannot govern a province or a country or build a society based on anger and fear. Nothing gets built when people don’t rally to assist one another, when everyone is angry and afraid. Suspicion, rather than trust, underlies relationships and they break down. 

Sometimes, I wonder, is this on purpose? You can get away with almost anything as long as you focus anger and fear on the other side and away from yourself.

Those who use anger and fear are usually on the autocratic side. These leaders are more interested in power and their own agenda rather than what is good and necessary for the governed. They readily short-circuit laws and norms to further their own agenda.

We have seen anger and fear used in a number of countries. Anger and fear dominated the 2016 US presidential election campaign. It drove the move toward Brexit in Britain. It drives the Yellow Vest movement in France. We see it in Brazil’s right-wing autocratic government and in Venezuela’s left-wing autocratic government.

There is little hope for freedom or growth when anger and fear are in control.

In the labour movement, we often see the same motivation. Labour leaders think they must control the membership through anger and fear to counter the power of management and shareholders. The workplace quickly becomes a battleground. Autocracy takes over, and hope for cooperation and prosperity recedes.

Since its inception, CLAC has rejected anger and fear as a way to conduct labour relations. Sometimes, this means that resolving problems between our members and management may not move as efficiently or as simply. Sometimes, things can get a bit messy. They may take time to work through to reach a resolution that works in everyone’s interest.

But by working from a position that recognizes that everyone has value and dignity—even those we disagree with—we can help our members and the enterprise flourish. When people in the workplace community are not constrained by their fear and anger, they are free to work together and find lasting solutions that benefit everyone.

Anger and fear are shortcuts. They do not solve the problem. They may seem to at times, but in the end if that is what motivates us, whether in our politics or in our workplaces, everyone loses. Winning shouldn’t always mean that someone has to lose.