{"id":2456593,"date":"2020-04-01T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=323607"},"modified":"2020-04-01T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T11:00:00","slug":"britta-gustafson-its-time-for-radical-self-accountability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/britta-gustafson-its-time-for-radical-self-accountability\/","title":{"rendered":"Britta Gustafson: It\u2019s time for radical self accountability"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/britta-svs-022620-1-768x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/britta-svs-022620-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/britta-svs-022620-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/britta-svs-022620-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/britta-svs-022620-1.jpg 1249w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Taking a proverbial temperature in Snowmass Village, it doesn\u2019t seem that we have reached fever pitch \u2026 yet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But in this climate of uncertainty, where our minds are left to wander, can we keep cool?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With all this social distancing, I felt compelled to peruse Facebook for the first time after a three-year hiatus. And it\u2019s just as I remembered. Filled with noise, boasting, public shaming and clueless cacophony.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But a few productive local conversations caught my attention. I was reassured we have strong minds in this community and the capacity to innovate, but it still seems we stunt productivity when shifting blame, pointing fingers and venting. I think that\u2019s the principle trouble with conversing online.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/at-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/donate\/?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=news%20article&amp;utm_campaign=donation\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Yes, there is plenty for us to feel enraged about in an era of pandemic. And because of this, I think we feel adrift. Who is leading the way forward? We look to the federal level and find nothing but politics and fear mongering. It certainly feels safe to assume that there is probably no leadership coming down the pipelines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Snowmass residents seem to be craving order, by definition that\u2019s what makes up a civilization, and we gravitate toward leaders. I think, even as an unintentional nonconformist, predictable rules can be comforting. But as each day seems to dawn with a new set, we feel as lost as school kids on an endless spring break.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Perhaps that\u2019s why outrage turns inward and blaming local government inaction feels empowering. Still, misappropriating frustrations and sometimes personally attacking our local leaders doesn\u2019t seem productive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">If you think of energy as a collective, we are all experiencing trauma to varying degrees. And life is hard when coupled with uncertainty, fear and lack of unity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But I see some genuine leadership emerging. Reed Lewis, Jonny Boyd, I\u2019d vote for you! And other local business owners who are adapting, journalists and editors who are taking pay cuts while shouldering twice the local news load and still finding ways to give of themselves. And there are outspoken community members who have creative suggestions for which I\u2019m grateful. Keep leading the way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">And as you do so, let us all keep our collective energy productive and charged with hope, using caution and civility when we formulate our suggestions. It\u2019s easy to yell at the coach from the stands. But please offer up some innovation, if you want to get in the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Local government may be lacking in visible response, but isn\u2019t it hard to see the response from your front porch? And by the way, we are still printing a paper, at a loss.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">We have leaders, civilians and elected officials alike. And if you don\u2019t know our mayor, you should know that she is a compassionate, diplomatic, rational community leader. She is down to earth and anything but self-serving. Above all, she doesn\u2019t deserve undue criticism; her hands are often tied. Government is almost dysfunctional by design these days. If she could, she would.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">You also should know that beyond all of her hard work around our town, her valley-wide efforts and volunteering to chair the Pitkin County Board of Health, she also takes time to make daily phone calls to many of our most vulnerable citizens, and on top of that, she has even been delivering life-sustaining supplies to those in need. I\u2019m pretty sure that\u2019s not in her elected job description.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Like all of us, she is navigating blind in unmapped territory. We are fortunate to have such a thoughtful and energetic leader. Please, let\u2019s not criticize her character. This isn\u2019t a time for schoolyard behavior, we aren\u2019t in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Our collective energy should be put to good use. Avoid backroom gossip and overzealousness, instead let\u2019s talk about local food sourcing, private funding opportunities, self-sustaining methods; let\u2019s keep it civil and get super creative.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">First call to action: radical self accountability.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Second: flexible, innovative, design thinking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Third: use precious communications wisely; there\u2019s no room left for simply complaining.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Let\u2019s hold ourselves accountable for our behavior and actions right now. Be our own leaders and set our own boundaries before this storm hits, because it\u2019s going to hit soon, and hard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Let\u2019s accept the public trade off for health and safety. Find that balance between needs and wants. And more than anything, let\u2019s attack the virus \u2014 not each other.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\">Let\u2019s exchange a piece of my mind for a little peace of mind; after all, if we always agree what will we talk about? Britta Gustafson appreciates an open mind; share yours and email her at <a href=\"mailto:brittag@ymail.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">brittag@ymail.com<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/britta-gustafson-its-time-for-radical-self-accountability\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taking a proverbial temperature in Snowmass Village, it doesn\u2019t seem that we have reached fever pitch \u2026 yet. But in this climate of uncertainty, where our minds are left to wander, can we keep cool? With all this social distancing, I felt compelled to peruse Facebook for the first time after a three-year hiatus. And [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2456593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 06:49:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2456593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456593\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2456593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2456593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2456593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}