Voice of the party.
I’ve just received an email from AOC, it’s great (they almost always are).
It addresses that feeling we all have, the feeling when the problems in the world feel overwhelming and we can feel like there is no action we can take that could have any impact.
It compares revolutionary and transformational change to mosaics…
“Think of it like this: no matter who we are, how visible or invisible or big or small, each one of us is just one tile. Whether you see that as liberating or disempowering is a matter of perspective. When you have your eye pressed all the way up to the single tile of a mosaic, it can look quite meaningless. A single piece of shattered glass could look worthless. Or perhaps a piece of small painted porcelain could seem beautiful, but too small to “be” anything. Or maybe a stunning rare slab of stone may think itself as the biggest piece when it is really a corner tile. The secret is, it’s all significant.
The two secrets of mosaics are:
Each piece (us + our small actions) is far more powerful and meaningful than we know, and
Each piece (we) need each other far more than we realize.
When we are able to step back from thinking our own broken, unfinished pieces are not enough, and start to see how all the other little pieces glistening alongside us start to form eyes and ears and abstract beauty and landscapes and symbols and more, we realize that just because we didn’t see the big picture at first doesn’t mean we weren’t part of one. So just do the small thing - for yourself and others. Choose your actions with humility, love, and enthusiasm. It means more than you know, and the world thanks you for it.”
I love it. I especially love it because it reminds me of a wonderful woman called Abigail Frost.
A long time ago, back when the Labour Party were winning elections I led the team that worked on their account at an agency called Pell & Bales.
Abigail was a caller at P&B. She was Labour through and through and as well as being a key member of the team was very active in her local party. She even worked in the telephone team at Millbank for a few years, sharing her shifts between head office and P&B.
Abigail worked on far more general election campaigns than me. I only did three 1997, 2001, 2005, I’m sure she did 1992.
Abigail was awkward and difficult to manage.
Abigail refused to stick to any script guide I had written for her.
Abigail never knew that I was trying to capture her voice in all the scripts I wrote.
Abigail once told me in front of 30 callers that ‘this (the script) is one of the worst things you have ever written’.
Abigail was one of the best callers I have ever heard on the phones for Labour. Ever.
Abigail is no longer with us. I think of her often, and when I think of her it’s this snippet from a call when Mr X was telling her why he felt let down by the party and was considering leaving.
“I think of the Labour Party as a beautiful red mosaic Mr X, there are many shades of red in that mosaic, but it wouldn’t be as beautiful as it is, unless your particular shade of red was present”
She convinced him to stay.
