What If We're All Wrong...

Every so often, I get phone calls in the newsroom from people who take issue with how certain stories are written or are perceived to have been written (because let's face it, some people hear what they want to hear).

Sometimes, they are ridiculous phone calls that I try to end in the first couple of minutes.  The accusations can go from fairly tame to downright aggressive.  And that's fine.  Everyone has their right to an opinion and I can handle it.  In all of those cases, I present the facts, as they're laid out, and a reasoned discussion on how and why a story was covered.  I'd say 99% of those who call irritated hang up the phone feeling a little less upset and, at the very least, a little more enlightened.

But once in a while, I get a phone call from a listener who makes me think a little.  Such was the case today with a gentleman who wanted to talk about the state of the economy in Alberta.  He didn't want to pin blame on anyone in particular, but felt like Albertans should all be taking responsibility for where we're at now.

He seemed to be of the mindset that we missed opportunities years ago in trying to diversify our economy.  Whether it was in technology, manufacturing or some other industry, we seemed to miss the boat because we had the blinders on, thinking that we could live off the avails of oil and gas forever.

But on the flipside, he was also unimpressed that we're now seemingly trying to make up for lost time by diving head-first into a number of different "possible" sectors, while throwing our "bread and butter" under the bus.  He compared it to throwing mud against a wall to see what will stick.

Then he brought up the most interesting point of all: what is Alberta going to look like in 50 years?  Will it be all oil and gas?  Will it be solar and wind?  Will we discover some other revenue stream that will keep this province humming along? 

I didn't have the answer to him, but I then asked him if he's heard any vision on that topic from anyone.  And that's the point he wanted to make.  He went on to say that while politicians and political watchers stumble over themselves trying to pin the blame on others, we haven't really heard anything about what a future Alberta could look like, with or without oil and gas.

It was a very interesting conversation, and as I sit here and dissect it, it made me think of a few questions that I think we should be pondering:

#1. Are we afraid of economic diversification, or are we afraid of the potential of walking into an unknown world, away from oil and gas?

#2. What does this mystical creature known as "economic diversification" look like, and how does it pertain to Alberta?

#3. Should we be willing to throw the oil and gas industry out with the bath water while we go searching for this mystical creature, or should we trying to make it fluorish while we go on our expedition?

#4. What if those who think we can shut off the oil and gas taps right away are wrong?

#5. What if those who think nothing should change and we can live off oil and gas forever are wrong?

Personally, one of the challenges we're having with this discussion is that we're trying to have it 140-characters at a time.  It's an issue I think with many different debates, to be honest.  We should be opening up the dialogue and not be afraid to ask some pretty point questions, demanding well-thought out answers.

We owe it to ourselves.