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• Mayor Bloomberg and the Jews

  Jun 23, 2008 Posted by Rich Harwood      4 comments      Add your comment
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  On Friday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stood before some 200 people at the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County to set straight a nasty rumor about Senator Barack Obama, intended to strike fear into the hearts of Jews. The rumor holds that Obama is really a Muslim, who will not support Israeli or even American interests. Bloomberg went to South Florida to tell Jews the real story, and his actions lead to this question: Will each of us stand up when our turn comes?
  

  Over the years Bloomberg has not made it a habit to talk publicly about his Jewish faith or ties to the Jewish community. Nor is he an Obama supporter. He even tested the waters for his own presidential run this year, and he is known to be close to Senator John McCain. But according to The New York Times, Bloomberg told the Palm Beach crowd that the rumors about Obama represent "wedge politics at its worse, and we have to reject it - loudly, clearly and unequivocally."
  
  In Make Hope Real, I dedicated Chapter 3 to what I call, "A New Breed of Leaders," and included Bloomberg among individuals who are exhibiting a new, promising kind of leadership.
  

  "The new leaders are people who have highly pragmatic approaches to policy, who seek to find ways to make public life and politics work rather than to disparage it, who vigilantly look for opportunities to engage people in the ongoing process of governing and improving their lives, who try to avoid hyperbolic and heated rhetoric." (pg 26)

  But there was another point in that chapter that I have come to believe is just as important. Over and over again, people in communities have asked me, "How communities can get the leaders they need to make public life and communities work?" My response: We must stand by our good leaders when they come under fire, even when we do not agree with their positions or political party when, to vouch for their principles and values.
  
  That's what Bloomberg did last Friday for Obama. Instead of standing on the sidelines watching people take pot shots at Obama, he stepped forward. He did so because he knew that he held special credibility on this issue with fellow Jews; and he knew that many of the people now living in South Florida once lived in his beloved New York City.
  
  The Times quoted Elizabeth Sadwith of Delray Beach as saying, "There was no other evidence, so I believed the [rumor-filled] e-mails." There are many people across America who might make the same statement; indeed, perhaps my 103-year old grandmother from Brooklyn, who now lives in North Miami, has entertained such thoughts.
  
  Whether or not people end up supporting Obama is their personal business. But whisper campaigns to make people fearful must be fought head-on. Bloomberg has done that, and I gratefully and enthusiastically applaud his actions.
  
  Now, the question for each of is: When a good leader comes under fire, will we stand next to them and vouch for their integrity and good will, even if we do not agree with a particular position or their party?
  
  If we want to change public life and politics, then more of us will need to follow Mayor Bloomberg's lead.

  Download Make Hope Real
  and learn more about this new breed of leaders

• What Al Gore's Really Saying

  Jun 17, 2008 Posted by Rich Harwood      Add your comment
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  While channel surfing last night, I stumbled upon Al Gore's endorsement of Barack Obama. At first I wanted to listen to Obama's response to Gore, but then I found myself enveloped by the power of Gore's comments and his stature. Be clear, I'm not writing to underscore Gore's endorsement; rather I want to take notice of Gore himself and to heed what his journey potentially means for each of us.

  For one of the first times in this campaign season, I heard a public figure stand up before an audience and articulate a clear and compelling view of the challenges we face and the need for a different approach to address them. His comments were not wrapped in poetic words or raw partisan appeals or a litany of policy proposals. Instead, Gore outlined his cogent view of the challenges before us in the 21st century - from climate change to international affairs to energy to the economy.
  
  I found myself drawn in by a man who still cannot deliver soaring rhetoric or move people to their feet in rabid applause; but he has something different, something potentially more powerful, and something that is proving to be more enduring. Al Gore has his integrity and a clear sense of mission.
  
  Like Gore, not all our dreams work out, and sometimes our paths take us in unexpected or even unwanted directions. In June 2006, I wrote a blog called "The Al Gore fable," in which I talked about his redemption from the 2000 presidential campaign debacle through his efforts on global climate change, Hurricane Katrina, and his launch of a new cable TV station and other private sector ventures.
  
  So, last night, I found myself again thinking about his journey, and about our respective journeys.

  • While Al Gore has regained a significant public profile, he is no longer the central character in national politics or even within his party. So, in our own work and lives, what is the difference between having to be in the lead and being a good leader?

  • While Al Gore sought to be "leader of the free world," he has found other outlets for his energy and work. So, for each of us, what are the different ways in which we could exert leverage for the kind of change we seek - and where do we need to stand to achieve that change, especially if our initial dreams are dashed?

  • While Al Gore seemed to lose his bearings and voice during the 2000 presidential race, he has rediscovered them over the past eight years. So, for you and me, what does it mean to rediscover our own sense of mission and purpose, especially at those times when we feel rudderless, or out of control, or even lost?

  In looking back, one cannot underestimate Al Gore's fall from glory. He was the sitting vice president with the world seemingly at his fingertips, but who seemed during his race for the presidency utterly confused about his priorities, who was openly belittled for reportedly saying such things as he "invented the Internet," and who changed clothing-styles so often during the campaign that he appeared to be going through a mid-life crisis before our very eyes.
  
  For me, Gore's words last night were powerful and moving because I had some understanding of where they came from - of the journey Gore has made, the ideas he has sought to fulfill, the humiliation he's endured, the commitment to public life he has maintained as his own life has evolved. For these and other reasons, his words had a ring of truth and conviction that seemed to rise only from the depths of his life experience. As his voice filled the arena, he was speaking not only to voters, but to each of each of us who dare to step forward to create hope and change. Each of us is on a journey that we need to understand and engage.

  
  Download a free copy of Rich's latest essay Make Hope Real and begin to step forward to create hope and change
  

  
  

• Who do you want to be by the end of this year?

  Jun 10, 2008 Posted by Rich Harwood      Add your comment
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  In December of 2007 I asked: Who do you want to be in a year? Today, six months later, I return today to that question.  Who do you want to be?  What choices will you have to make to get there? What support do you need to create and accelerate the kind of change you want for your community?
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Click here and tell us who you want to be
  

  
  

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• The Top 10 Ways to "Live United"

  Jun 3, 2008 Posted by Rich Harwood      3 comments      Add your comment
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  Two weeks ago the United Way of America unveiled its new national branding campaign "Live United," along with a bold strategy for making an impact on education, income and family stability, and health care. I like the phrase "Live United." It's forward-looking, energetic, and reflects people's aspirations. But beyond a damn good slogan, what would these two words mean in daily life for those of us seeking to create hope and change? Here are 10 keys to living united in America.
  
  1. We must help people in our communities to see and hear those individuals who are different from themselves, or who live in other parts of the community. At the heart of living united is the ability to see beyond ourselves so that we can begin to understand and work on common challenges, or support others who face challenges different from our own.
  
  2.  We must root our work in the public knowledge of our community - for instance, in how people see and define their concerns, the values they wrestle with, the aspirations they hold for themselves, their neighbors, and their community. This public knowledge then must be used to inform the ways in which we do our work internally and the how we shape our programs and initiatives.
  
  3.   We must act as boundary spanners in our communities, working to bring people and organizations together across real and imagined dividing lines. Too many efforts these days are fragmented, isolated, or even redundant. We must find ways to work across boundaries and leverage one another's efforts.
  
  4.  We must focus on undertaking "galvanizing projects" - efforts that by their very nature bring people together and demonstrate that we can step forward and work collectively. In these efforts, impact is less important than galvanizing people's sense of connection and momentum. We need early wins and they must visible to everyone.
  
  5.  We must orient ourselves toward the "public good," which in practice means seeing people as citizens not "consumers." Too often our volunteer programs become more focused on the "volunteer experience" rather than creating positive impact for communities.
  
  6.  We must be incredibly hard-nosed about selecting the right partners to work with. Well-meaning partnerships and coalitions often die from too much talk, too little action, and overblown promises. Stay focused on who you can run with.
  
  7.  We must not confuse our desire to imagine a better world with the need to root our work in the daily realities in which people live. False starts or false promises made because of our own hubris or fantasies will only bring about more cynicism and lead to further retreat from public life. For us to live more united demands our willingness to face up to the hard truths of reality.
  
  8. We must tap the energy and enthusiasm of young Americans, who bring into public life a sense of tolerance, can-do spirit, and a practical bent. Thus, our challenge is to redefine "public service" for this new generation, rather than trotting out warmed-over ideas from the past.
  
  9. We must learn to tell stories of hope and change - what might be called civic parables - so that people can see themselves in public life. But this requires us to reject the usual hype and glossed-over public relations, and instead turn to authentic reflections of people's journeys around change, including why they started out where they did, how they progressed, what went wrong along the way, and what worked. Then maybe more people will step forward.
  
  10. We must be willing to take on enemies of the public good - enemies like inertia, cynicism, mechanized responses to human problems, false hope, distorted reality, and superficial efforts to take on real challenges. Bringing about hope and change was never easy, and there is absolutely no reason to believe that our current time will be any different.

  It would be easy to translate the phrase "Live United" to mean that we all simply want to get along, that we envision a world in which disagreements and tensions do not exist. But such a vision would be naive and deny the realities of public life. For me, "Live United" is not rooted in a utopian vision. Rather, it is a call for each of us to step forward to engage with one another and to do our best to repair breaches in our lives and society. It is an entreaty to turn toward one another and make hope real.

  Click here for a quick quiz to see how you stack up on the 10 Ways to "Live United"
  

  
  

  
  

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