Blog
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The President's Vacation Questions
Listening to the car radio on my way into work this morning, I heard more rumblings about whether President Obama should be on Martha’s Vineyard vacationing when his agenda seems to be spiraling out of control. My hope is that he takes a serious vacation – he needs and deserves one! But during his time away I would ask him to reflect on three key questions.
The president left for vacation not a moment too soon. People on the left are complaining the president isn’t driving “change” fast enough. Those on the right argue that all he wants is big government. If you believe the polls, independents are peeling off, increasingly dissatisfied with him. Fearing this situation, The White House is now scheduling the president for more and more press events while he’s away.
Living right outside Washington, D.C., I can still remember the feeling during President Obama’s inauguration. The crowds on the mall were overflowing; the sense of pride throughout the nation was real. I remember even many of those who voted for Senator John McCain shared in the celebration. The president’s election was a truly historic event. Where have those days gone?
We can argue over different policy issues, but I think there is one fundamental condition within the country the president and his advisors have forgotten. We are living in what I would call a classic Impasse Stage (see Community Rhythms). Coming up to the 2008 election, there was agreement that the nation had seriously veered off course, and something had to give; but that agreement was misread as common ground about what should be done. In fact, recent debates on all sorts of issues – from health care to bailouts to torture and many others – reminds us there is little agreement in the nation about big change. This doesn’t mean that action shouldn’t be taken.
But what should be done? Here’s my plea: “Mr. President, please think about the following questions on your vacation.”
1. What was it about your campaign that inspired so many people? For me, it could be seen once more in how you handled the most recent health care town halls, or the Henry Louis Gates incident. In those moments, you rose above partisan politics and talked directly to the nation. You insisted on reframing traditionally polarized debates and helped people to see what was at issue and how we might approach it. You engaged people as intelligent actors in the political process and public life. We need more of this now.
2. What kind of change do people want today? You know the challenges we face are huge. They always are when a country or community hits an impasse like the one we are experiencing today. But such gigantic need typically cannot be addressed with equally huge responses. There simply isn’t enough trust to build the necessary political coalition within Congress or among the American people. Highly targeted, impact-driven, leveraged change is what is called for.
3. What does hope mean right now? You know there is a difference between false hope and authentic hope. The dividing line is very thin, and it often blurs. The point is, when conditions are what they are today, it’s essential to stay as far away from the line as possible – that is, to be clearly and unambiguously on the side of authentic hope. This is especially the case when the political cross-currents are so strong and formidable. Thus, the intent and purpose of your proposals must ring true to people; people must be able to see themselves in them; and they must believe they will lead to meaningful change. With all due respect, too many items on your agenda do not seem to meet this test. Intentionally or not, you are skating too close to false hope.
I do not offer these three questions as a partisan of any kind. Rather, I believe there are breaches to repair in our society today, and I believe that many people – most people – want to come together and figure out how to move ahead. That sentiment, that feeling, that desire, has not gone away.
Please think about these questions. We all want change and hope – but how we get there is up for grabs.
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The Michael Vick Question
About two
years ago Michael Vick, then the Atlanta
Falcons’ star quarterback, was convicted for
running dog fights and for that and other
crimes was swiftly sent off to prison. Now,
he’s out, and he’s playing football again,
and people are split about whether that’s
right. The Vick case raises a question for all
of us: when do we forgive someone?
This past Sunday, Vick sat for a lengthy 60 Minutes interview. As I watched the interview, I kept wondering whether I should believe him, even forgive him. Here’s a man who was on top of the world before being convicted – a star athlete, with $135 million worth of contracts in his hip pocket, and a promising future.
Now, he’s served his time, and so in a legal sense he has paid his debt to society. But forgiveness often goes deeper than serving time. It involves people believing that you understand your transgression, that you seek to better yourself, and that you are willing to walk a different path.
In our society, we have a mixed record on forgiveness. Often we simply give people a “pass” when they do wrong. Our culture is filled with people who have violated the law, our trust – or both – only to come forth with the perfunctory apology, tears, and histrionics. Then we all say “ok.” Think of any number of political officials. The recent exception is Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina; he’s holding onto his office for dear life, but has lost his standing and family in the process.
There are other instances where people have transgressed, and where we simply write them off. The most obvious case for me is convicted felons, who seek to re-enter community life only to be cast aside. We often fail to offer education, family, employment, or other necessary supports to help these individuals get back up on their feet. Indeed, many of the signals we send to them are, “Don’t bother coming into our community!”
So, here we have Michael Vick. Upon his re-entry to society, Vick is being mentored by Tony Dungy, the former coach of the Indianapolis Colts, a deeply religious man, and someone who does significant work with men in prisons. He met with Vick before his release to gauge his remorse and his potential, and he decided to put his sterling reputation of integrity and forthrightness behind him.
Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, has also publicly vouched for Vick. In a deft public relations move, Vick reached out to the Humane Society to work with them, no doubt trying to fix his image. Not only did Pacelle say “fine,” but they have worked out a true partnership where Vick will do more than requisite public service announcements. Pacelle said on 60 Minutes that dog fighting has become a major hidden problem in the U.S. and that Vick is a believable, effective spokesperson.
But is all this even enough? What strikes me about the Vick situation is that not only does he have Dungy and Pacelle standing beside him, but he has them to hold him publicly accountable. The lingering question is only that of Vick’s own authenticity.
So, do we give him another chance? Has he stepped forward to adequately express remorse? Does he have enough people in his life to truly hold him accountable? Can he run, but not hide? At what point, can someone take all the necessary steps possible, at least for the time being, and still not receive a nod from us?
For me, I believe we cast too many people aside without giving them a real shot, and give too many people who no longer deserve support a pass by looking the other way. I hate what Michael Vick did. But here’s someone who is at least trying to look us in the eye. Only time will tell if he truly succeeds. -
Turning Outward: The Strongest Predictor of Success
The blog this week is a video excerpt from Rich Harwood's “Stations Turning Outward” videoconference. The videoconference was a call to public broadcasters and others to turn outward toward their community. In this segment, Rich argues that the strongest predictor of success and impact among the numerous organizations he's worked with was the extent to which they were turned outward.
“If you want to reengage and reconnect with your community you must turn outward. It’s about what our purpose and intention is in doing our work.”
Download
The Organization-First Approach Report
which documents the pressure to turn inward and
put one's organization before the
community.
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Finding (Public) Solitude
I’ve been thinking lately about “solitude” and what it means and where we find it. Maybe it’s because so many people I know feel under the gun, rushing around trying to make their organizations, their jobs – indeed, their lives – work. All this busyness can produce the desire to retreat or hunker down. But solitude is not about that; rather it’s a way to deeply connect with the individual and public lives we lead.
I’ve long been interested in language and its implications for community and public life. For instance, I’ve looked at the connection between “grace” and one’s public work, as well as notions of “devotion” and “civic faith” and “hope” and the relationship between “imagination and reality.” Each word or phrase holds special meaning for us in our public efforts, and special implications for what we say and do.
“Solitude” is no different. So, my first question for you is: “Where do you find ‘solitude’ in your life?” I already noted that I don’t think of solitude as being about escaping from others, from our troubles, from our work, but rather a stillness that enables us to hear ourselves, to return to our essence, to regain a sense of our bearings. To escape would mean to run away from others, even ourselves; solitude is about turning toward ourselves.
When people think about where they find solitude, they often talk about the “space” they are able to create or enter. In such space, they tell me, a shift in consciousness occurs that enables them to gain a different perspective, to discover a new take on things. This shift enables each of us to see and hear ourselves again.
But there is an important difference at work here between being alone and being lonely, much like there is a difference between being with yourself and removing yourself from others. One person said to me recently that their most intense and meaningful moments of solitude occur in noisy cafes. Perhaps it is the comfort of being around others that gives this person the ability to gain solitude. What about you?
My next question for you is: “How do you connect your solitude and what emerges from it to your unfolding life?” We live in, or through, time; this is different from simply occupying space at any given moment. Our lives, our work, our emotions are created over the course of time, through experiences, connections, iterations – and pure chance. If this is true, which I believe it is, then how do you connect your moments of solitude over time?
This leads me to one last point, which is about solitude and your relationship to community and public life. When we think of solitude it’s easy to think about it in terms of ourselves. We do it by ourselves, even if we are sitting among others in that café; and it is often our own small voice that we hear whisper to us in the silence of solitude. But one beauty of solitude is that by reconnecting with ourselves we are opening up the possibilities to connect with others. By turning toward ourselves, we make ourselves able and willing to turn toward the other. When we reclaim our urge to do good – to be good – we rediscover that we can only achieve this with others.
We must make room for solitude so that we can remember who we are, and why we must be in relationship with others to create the world we want.