Brexit Lessons: A Failed Community - Lesson 1

For the first Part of this series, you can read an introduction here.  In this Part I'll begin to look at meeting the needs of community members.

In any community, at any point in time, you will have some members who are dissatisfied with the status quo.  That is why people move from place to place, in search of better neighbourhoods, better living conditions, better economic opportunities or jobs.  By better, I simply mean more suited to their needs at this point in time.  When people move it does not mean that the community has failed necessarily, although it may mean that.

So, is the European Union a "failed community"?  Everyone seems to be reacting as if it is.  Back to the Oxford Dictionary we go.  What is the definition of failed?

not achieving its end or not lasting; unsuccessful

As I understand it, the European Union is largely an economic union, and many countries have wanted to join since its inception.  I think that one of the ends (or objectives), was to have this economic union continue.  This is the first time that a country has voted to leave.  The leaders of Britain and of the European Union were so unprepared for the result of this vote, that I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is an example of a failure.

If you are the leader of a community and you would like to keep your members, you must understand their needs and meet them.  Did the leaders of the European Union do that?  Many people in Britain would say not.  Given how surprised and unprepared leaders seem to be, despite continuing polls warning of the very real possibility, I would have to agree with them.

So how should community leaders respond to this lesson?  In order to keep your members, perhaps one should deliberately seek out the disenfranchised and work hard to understand their needs.  Once you understand their needs, you can decide what they mean to the community and how best to respond.  The possible responses are many.  Questions for another day.

From everyone who has been given much; much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.  - Luke 12:48