“Always Flexible”
Whelp… after midday this Monday, things might start to get a little chaotic, following the second presidential inauguration of Donald Trump.
You might be surprised to hear that when I worked at FEMA, things were a little chaotic. I jest. Almost no one will be surprised to hear that. Different kinds of chaos, for sure, but still chaos.
Working at FEMA was not for the faint of heart if you wanted to get things done quickly and efficiently. One of the problems with the small agency is that there are like 37 or so political appointees, so a bunch of “leaders” are usually trying to push the agency in different ways.
I digress! That’s not the point!
Because of the chaos, mess, instability, and constant change… my boss at FEMA used the phrase “Semper Gumby” like all the time.
It means “always flexible.” If you haven’t put it together, it’s a play on the phrase “Semper Fi” from the US Marines, loosely meaning “always faithful.”
If you’re not familiar with Gumby, here’s 3 hours of the old TV series showing the clay figure who is remarkably flexible because, of course, he’s made of clay:
Anyway, Gumby is an American icon.
And, Gumby is all about being flexible. That’s kind of his thing.
The point here is that this is a tool we can all use for the chaos that’s coming.
Staying flexible. That’s the tool.
In any disaster, transformation, time of change, pandemic, catastrophe, or whatever… the people who can be flexible and adaptable have the best chance at getting through it.
That’s not to say that aspects of privilege don’t contribute as well, or help with flexibility — like wealth, location, good health, and so on.
But wherever we are and whatever we have available to us in any given moment… the point here is use what we’ve got to be flexible. We’ve got assets, we’ve got skills, and we’ve got capabilities. Being flexible is all of those things.
We’ve got to be ready to roll with fast-changing circumstances.
We’ve got to be ready to track those fast-changing circumstances, too — to keep on top of what’s happening. That includes some flexibility in how we get and confirm information, and in how we assess its relevance for us.
This might be a bigger challenge than it’s ever been. Social media is changing and selling out and deregulating. The incoming administration is known for pushing its own fake news, for propaganda, for lies, for gas-lighting, and for making up reality.
Trying to figure out what’s happening and what’s relevant in the middle of all that is going to take some adaptability.
We’ve got to be ready to solve-problems-on-the-fly. We will absolutely have new problems. We have very big brains so that can help. We’ll need to be big creative and to use our critical thinking, too.
The problem-solving sometimes works better, also, if we can adjust to new paradigms and let go of old ideas.
We can often be more flexible if we can let go of expectations about how things should work or did work before. Lots of things are about to change. Holding onto what was, before, can help to a point — but being able to pivot fast is likely to be very helpful.
Related — flexibility can also help us drive change. Those that figure out and leverage action, power, influence, reach, and solutions during times of chaos, instability, and disruption often have the most influence at defining new directions and new realities. Food for thought, especially as work at this nonprofit is set up to help shift this country.
The point is: remember that it’s a time where flexibility will help. That can fit in to any aspect of life. It may well help with some of the challenges, fears, and barriers that unfold with this new paradigm.
When something new shows up… is there a way to be flexible and adaptable in response? Even in very creative ways? Even in ways that might be hard or suboptimal?
We’re going to need to be able to roll with change, to think creatively, to make change fast, and also to let go of ideas about how things work or should work or did work. All of that and more is related to being flexible.
Semper Gumby.
Now, speaking of flexibility, let’s get ready for National Penguin Day…
Zoom On Monday Night — “Big Chaos Preparedness”
You may or may not be aware — but this Monday January 20 is both Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a day of service for many, and it’s also National Penguin Day.
We’ll be honoring both with a zoom Monday night on how to be of service where we live through civic engagement that helps us deal with climate change. It’s part of our “Big Chaos Preparedness” zoom series.
Alternately, if there’s some big inauguration-related emergency that happens Monday, we can address that instead but let’s plan for now to talk climate.
The need for dealing with climate resilience where we live is bearing down. We’ve seen it in California the last few weeks in super intense wildfires. We saw it last fall when Hurricane Helene dealt devastating blows to the whole Southeast.
What’s next? And who’s going to help?
Uh — we are. All of us.
Given this new administration change and also the majorities in Congress, its likely that we’re going to need to deal with climate disasters and developments ourselves… where we live. So let’s get into it Monday.
Plus, it’s a good diversion from whatever else is happening Monday.
Holler
Hey — if you or your group are looking for new civic engagement things to do or try given this new era of politics that we’ll be doing… give us a holler.
We’re set up to help people and groups use civic action tools for driving pressure, for pushing change, & for navigating disruption.
Be well, be safe, and be flexible. Good luck. Huge things are coming our way.
Godspeed to us all as we find our way through.
Semper Gumby.
PS — We just exceeded 700 free subscribers here on this Substack this weekend! Join us!
PPS — Another post called “Semper Gumby” was published here in 2022. The advice there is good but the context is outdated… although the post does have a nice short story about my first interview at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Vanessa Burnett is the Executive Director of Shift the Country, an unusual nonprofit promoting civic action tools for public pressure, for driving change, & for navigating disruption. We can push for a more resilient, sustainable, caring, just, & equitable U.S. even in the midst of instability. Vanessa is a former homeland security professional with 25+ years experience in resilience, big disasters, wildland fire, emergency management, land management, continuity of operations, public communication, and disaster information sharing.
