Blog
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Hooray for South Carolina Gov. Sanford's Wife
South Carolina Governor Mark
Sanford is holding onto his job for dear life.
The state capital and TV and radio talk shows
are abuzz with political gossip and elbowing.
On many levels, this is an open and shut case:
Sanford got caught in an extramarital affair
and moreover went AWOL for five days – he
should go. But, before we slam shut the door on
Sanford, I can't help but ask, "What can we
learn from Mrs. Sanford?"
I followed the unfolding news about Gov. Sanford, when he couldn't be found by either his staff or the news media. At first we were told he was away, getting some much needed rest; then, it was said that he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Eventually we found out that neither his staff nor his wife knew his whereabouts. Such a disappearance would be odd for anyone, let alone a governor who holds responsibility for state affairs. After all, what would have happened if there had been some kind of emergency?
Of course, in reality, there was an emergency. A governor and husband and father had gone missing, no less on Father's Day. I can’t help but wonder how Sanford got himself into this mess. In mid-life myself (ouch!), I can understand his own restlessness and desire to fill the missing pieces in his life. I know lots of people in the 40s and 50s struggling with such things. That the struggle is common does nothing to change the reality -- his actions were reprehensible.
And then there's Mrs. Sanford, whom I don't know, but have come to deeply admire. She has exhibited a sense of balance, character, and authenticity that all too often are missing from public life, even from our own private lives. Consider, for example, that she didn't show up at Sanford's mea culpa press conference, as so many "political wives" have done for their overcharged husbands. She wasn't going to be used as a prop, merely to buttress a man who went astray. In effect, she said, the Governor, her husband, would have to stand up and account for himself.
When asked in the past couple of days to talk about her husband's political future, she said that was his concern, not hers; her only concern was the health and viability of her family and four young boys. Indeed, she told Sanford to leave their home after his latest escapades because she wanted to maintain her dignity and integrity in the eyes of her boys.
For Mrs. Sanford there has been no histrionics, no bearing of her soul publicly, no cheap therapy sessions before the cameras. But nor has she covered up the pain, or pretended that everything will be fine, or sought to maintain the picture of a perfect family. Even more, she hasn't gratuitously dressed down her husband in public, because she doesn't need to: her actions say it all.
What separates Governor Sanford from Mrs. Sanford is that he bloviated about morals and ethics, pointed fingers at others, engaged in political posturing for news cameras. Along the way he got lost. She, on the other hand, seems to know what’s important in life, and has found what it means to be authentic: it is not whether we are "liked" or admired or even loved, but rather whether we are able to see and hear the reality around us, and reflect it for what it is, and stay true to it to the best of our abilities.
I believe deeply in redemption, especially when people somehow lose their footing and must find their way back onto a better path. Maybe now Governor Sanford can find his way. But I also appreciate people like Mrs. Sanford, who stand up for what they believe and demonstrate through their actions what it means to be real in a world that often seems fake. -
Iran, Twitter, and the Human Spirit
The events overseas in Iran have been nothing less than breathtaking. Just weeks ago the conversation within the U.S. was focused almost entirely on Iran’s nuclear weapons, but today the most powerful weapon in Iran may be the smallest voice that comes from a Tweet. And, by far, the most important lesson of all may be about the human spirit itself.
I remember watching TV during the weekend when the Iranian election returns had been “counted” and many pundits and onlookers declared that U.S. foreign policy would need to go back to square one. The incumbent in Iran had been declared the victor, and the U.S. policy of engagement had been declared over. But what these observers failed to notice was the strong undercurrent within Iran, the sheer force of people declaring that enough was enough.
Many of us rushed to focus on the role of Twitter in this surge of public action, and there is little doubt of the power and force of this technology. Twitter and other technologies helped to create the enabling environment in which people no longer felt isolated and alone, where they could believe that if they stepped forward others would be there alongside them, and that collective action was possible. Every study I have ever done has pointed to the need for these very conditions to be present in order for anyone to step forward.
And yet, technology is simply a tool, an instrument that ultimately must be employed by someone. In Iran, its use demonstrated that something powerful and filled with meaning existed deep within people’s hearts. A deep desire for change already resided within them. Such desire transcends any specific technology or policy or speech. It lives within people, and is made real when people find one another.
Last Saturday I spoke at the Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp at UC Berkeley. At one point, in one of my talks, I found myself saying that what we are witnessing in Iran is the exercise of the human spirit, and that the human spirit can be kept down for only so long. It has an undeniable currency and absolute beauty. I said that we can find the same spirit closer to home, in communities like Detroit, and in many others.
My point is this: I am excited about the use of Twitter and the conditions it can help to create in Iran and elsewhere, including our own communities. But I am moved most by the rise of the human spirit, and what can happen when we find ways to tap into it, give rise to it, help people find one another, and create real ways for people to take action together. In our society, with all the technological inventions and innovations it is easy to become enamored with them; I do from time to time. But what often remains hidden beneath these gadgets and applications, and all the celebrations of them, is the most enduring and simple element of all: the human spirit.
Make no mistake, finding the right mechanisms to help create positive enabling environments is no easy or small feat; it requires good minds and hard work. Part of my own Institute is dedicated to this work.
But making room for the human spirit to come forth, express itself and turn into meaningful action is the actual work we must do to make hope real. In the end, the human spirit may be the most powerful weapon we have.
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The Compelling Moment
Is this really happening? What are we to make of all the changes occurring
around us now, and what can we do to tap into the emerging energy, momentum, and
possibility? For those of us who seek hope and change, the question is, "Now
what?" Here are some quick tips for making our way forward.
In just the last week, there have been any number of changes that are
compelling in terms of the possibilities around us. Just watching the Iranian
election and reform movement in the past few days has been absolutely
incredible. Of course, the usual talking heads on weekend news programs quickly
reported that the election results signaled more business as usual: no new
openings, no real progress, and no hope! But the people of Iran are
demonstrating their yearning to create a more open society and their fundamental
desire to re-engage and reconnect.
The same could be said about my recent week in Detroit, the same week GM
announced its bankruptcy. As we engaged Detroiters we discovered their own deep
desire to reconnect with one another, and to build a community where people
know, care for and help one another. There was a human spirit within the
community that most onlookers had assumed had been extinguished.
Later this week I fly to San Francisco to join the Craigslist Foundation Boot
Camp, where 1500 volunteers and leaders will come together to learn how to bring
their ideas for stronger communities into reality. I'll be on a panel with Craig
Newmark (Craigslist founder) and Arianna Huffington (Huffington Post), among
others. But one of the breakout sessions will focus on All for Good, a new
online platform which, among many cool things, enables people to distribute
volunteer opportunities across the Web and on social networks. The site's
potential for scale, reach, and engagement is simply amazing; and the fact that
it has legs is yet another sign of the changing conditions around us and the
potential that stands before us.
But what can we do with these and other signals? How do we tap the potential
before us, especially given the role of technology and social media and its
power? How might we accelerate and deepen the change we seek? For me, there are
some basic points we must keep front and center in anything we do:
1. Are you ready? While people want to re-engage and reconnect, at issue is who
will people trust to create productive and safe spaces, focus on relevant
concerns, and create real impact? Whether you are truly ready to meet this
challenge will have everything to do with your success.
2. Have you turned outward? I believe the central challenge of our time is how
to make hope real for all people, not just some. This will require that we turn
outward toward the community. And yet, so many of us are looking inward, focused
more on our programs than the community itself. This is a challenge of mindset
and orientation.
3. Do you understand the community's context? Creating real change requires that
we are deeply rooted in the communities where we work (whether offline or
online). We must understand people's real concerns, the capacity for change at
any given moment, and the aspirations that people hold. Otherwise, we are simply
engaged in window dressing.
4. Will we authentically engage people? Civic engagement has become a business
-- a relatively big business! -- but for people in communities it is about their
lives. Will we focus on creating the conditions for people to engage on concerns
that are relevant to their lives, create engagement pathways that are meaningful
to them, or will people become inputs into our own processes?
5. Are you focused on impact? Here, we must consider the specific challenge or
issue we're addressing, but also how we create the community conditions and
capacities for change. Without building the leaders, networks, relationships and
norms of a community, we will be left with lots of programs but little community.
6. How can we create sustainability? There are lots of things to mention here,
but one key I believe we must wrestle with is -- metrics -- how will measure
change on issues people care about, the conditions for change in communities we
must generate, and the boundary spanning organizations and public innovators we
need as catalysts for change.
The human spirit is undeniable these days; people want to reengage and
reconnect, and to build communities and societies in which they can tap their
own potential to make a difference and join with others to forge a common
future. This is true from Iran to Detroit to your own community. But nothing is
certain. That's where we come in.
I'll be doing videos and Twittering from San Francisco to explore these and
related issues. Stay tuned! -
My Covenant with Detroit
I believe that we rise or fall together. It’s how I was raised as a kid, and it’s a belief that still guides me. At issue today is what happens to hard-hit communities like Detroit? What commitments are we willing to make? Here’s my covenant with Detroit, my pledge about how we will work with the people of Detroit.
First, we held the Harwood Public Innovators Lab in Detroit last week. It was the largest Lab in our 20-year history. Originally the Lab was planned for Las Vegas or Miami; but instead we chose Detroit – I believe we needed to stand by the community. Right now, it’s too easy for many of us to turn our backs on hard-hit communities and people. Rather than run from Detroit, I wanted to actually go there and show support and engage with people. This is the first part of my covenant – we must see and hear all Americans; we must not turn away.
Second, during the Lab, participants went into the streets to “Ask Detroit” residents about their aspirations for the community. We didn’t merely ask people “what’s wrong” with Detroit, as so many do, nor ask people for some unattainable “wish list.” Instead, we listened deeply to people, and let them tell us what they value. Now, we’ll pass along what we learned and the discussion materials to other partners in the community so they can continue to “Ask Detroit.” The second pledge of my covenant is to always focus on people’s aspirations for change – those beliefs that live in people’s guts, that relate to their daily lives, and which they’ll go to bat for.
Third, we now have a partnership with Communities In Schools Detroit as part of our new, three-year Kellogg Foundation initiative, to demonstrate how the Harwood approach can accelerate and deepen efforts in transforming the lives of vulnerable children and families. We’re excited about helping to create and deepen this pocket of change and spreading what we gain from the experience. A third commitment in my covenant is to show impact and results and prove that change is possible.
Fourth, there are various leaders and organizations already doing good work in Detroit, and they should be recognized. They also need a safe place to come together and forge new relationships – away from politics as usual and turf battles. I am told that we have the credibility to play this role, and so we will. I pledge in this covenant to use our credibility to open up more safe spaces for people and groups to innovate and build stronger networks.
Fifth, the stories we tell each other often dictate the sense of possibility we hold. Thus, there is the need to highlight good works in Detroit, so people can gain a sense of faith in themselves and one another that they have the experience, wisdom and know-how to move ahead. We hope to build on our recent work with WDET, Detroit’s public radio station, in this regard; WDET is rapidly transforming itself, and its top staff attended the Lab. The fifth commitment of my covenant is that we must be brave enough to tell authentic stories of change, even amid despair.
Sixth, while we work for the betterment of Detroit, we will continually speak out about issues that are common to so many communities across the U.S. today – job loss, poverty, vulnerable children, inadequate public schools, the lack of civic capacity for change. Thus, in this covenant, I pledge that whatever we do in one community will benefit others in another.
Seventh, we at The Harwood Institute must recognize that our contribution to Detroit will be small in comparison to the challenges at hand. We must not have any illusions about this. Our task, then, is to join with others, always, and never operate alone. Thus, the seventh commitment of my covenant is to know humility, and understand the space we occupy, even as we charge ahead full speed.
These efforts reflect our sense at Harwood about how change occurs in communities. We must support and strengthen public innovators and boundary spanning organizations that can be the catalysts and engines of change. We must give rise to people’s voices and aspirations so efforts are rooted in the community. We must create pockets of change and tell authentic stories about that change; these are the seedbeds of authentic hope. And we must open up safe spaces for innovation and network-building so people can learn from one another, join forces, and spread change.
People ask me all the time, “Why are you doing this? Why Detroit?” Here is my answer. It is because our nation faces an historic economic recession and societal transition. And yet, communities far and wide, like Detroit, have not given up on themselves, and I am humbled by their brave efforts and courage, and feel called to stand next to them. If my own work is not about such change, then what is it about? Now is the time to see and hear all Americans, no matter their plight. Now is the time to make hope real for everyone.
We rise or fall together. This is my covenant with Detroit.