13 Things You Can Do to Kill Your Community
by Doug Griffiths, MLA Battle River - Wainwright

For instance, number eleven on the list urges you, if your goal is failure, to ensure that you don’t retain or attract outsiders or immigrants to your community and don’t capitalize on their abilities.

I have spoken before about not involving youth (who have ideas and energy) and not involving seniors (who have time and money) in your community, and now I am speaking about outsiders and immigrants. I have spoken about each of them separately because each group brings unique skills and strengths to the table, and each has the ability to single-handedly grow your community. When it comes to outsiders and immigrants, it is their entrepreneurial attitude and their community spirit that makes them a threat to the successful failure of your community.

A book called The Millionaire Mind is a short expose on what type of mindset breeds success and new millionaires. One of the most interesting items in the book was the statistics that show that most of the new millionaires made in North America are actually immigrants from other countries. They become wealthy because they have often come from nothing and have nothing to lose, risking everything they have, which is often very little, in order to get more. They understand this is the land of opportunity. So, while we are often complacent (we complain about what is wrong or what is lacking but are content enough to just sit by, hoping someone else will take care of it) immigrants often are not. They appreciate the opportunity they have here and capitalize on them.

To be completely frank, they often come from places where there is no democratic government or no government resources available to assist them in building their community, and so they simply do it themselves. They come from places where self-reliance isn’t a virtue or is just talk in political circles, but where it is the only option that exists. They therefore don’t wait for someone else to do it, and don’t spend a lot of time talking about what can’t be done or how it is someone else’s responsibility… they just get it done for themselves, for their children, and for the future of their community.

As well, outsiders, even from other communities, don’t often fit into the mindset of the community. They don’t know what was done in the past in the community and don’t care. They don’t care about past grudges, they don’t care about past failures, and they don’t wait for someone else. They see the potential within their new community and want to build on it; after all, it is the community in which they choose to build their future. They have often come from somewhere where things were done differently, which can cause the entire community to think differently, which leads to success.

Both groups can cause success, through businesses that develop and in community projects that need a push. They are a dangerous lot that are sure to cause success. The best way to deal with those people is to shut them out of all community organizations, shut them out of town and county councils, shut them out of successful business ventures, and shut them out of economic and community development organizations. They will only cause trouble and success. You may even want to consider spending time in the local coffee shop talking about them and their ’strange’ ways. Make them feel excluded and different, make people stare at them, and if you are lucky they will not only feel excluded but may in fact change their mind about your community and leave. That will not only ensure the long-term failure of your community but will grant immediate success by chasing newcomers away.