President Obama will make the short drive from The White House to the halls of Congress on Thursday night to deliver his long-awaited “jobs speech.” What should we expect from him and other political leaders, and what will give people the confidence that we are headed in the right direction?

Last week was consumed by the childish tit-for-tat over when the president would even speak to a joint session of Congress, as if this was the salient issue at hand. After enduring some friction, it was decided that the “jobs speech” will be squeezed into a time slot just before the NFL kicks off its season later that night.

We now find ourselves mired in a great recession from which we cannot seem to shake loose. Just when a glimmer of good job news peeks through the dark economic clouds, we hear about yet another batch of lay-offs or plant closings. Recently, I saw a number of news reports on job fairs, and one in LA, in particular, has stuck in my mind, where thousands of people had lined up to give their 30-second pitch to prospective employers. It was as if they were pitching a movie to an LA film producer, where, in a matter seconds, they must make their own personal story so compelling that someone, anyone, will give them a shot.

In watching various Labor Day festivities over the long weekend, I often wondered about what those individuals in LA and elsewhere, who are without jobs or adequate pay, were thinking. To me, the speeches and rallies and cable TV shows, among other activities, merely amplified tired and worn-out political rhetoric and treated people as mere pawns in a game.

Of course, there is no silver bullet – no single policy prescription, no grand plan – that will enable the country to right itself. And I don’t think most Americans are waiting for such a magic plan; more than anyone, they recognize just how difficult these times are, that moving ahead will not be easy, and that all the game-playing is only delaying the inevitable hard work that must be done.

So, our leaders need to do a number of critical things moving ahead, all of which must take the form of a narrative – we desperately need a coherent story about ourselves. Such a narrative must capture and reflect people’s sense of reality – where we are, how we got here, and how we feel. Specific policy proposals must speak to this context and help people see why and how the proposals will help us move ahead.  And, please, during this process, spare us the false promises and inflating of expectations.

Importantly, I also believe we must find ways for the American people to step forward and become co-creators of this narrative. I’ll have more to say about this in the coming weeks. But for now, simply look at the clean-up efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, in places like Vermont and New Jersey, which show the capacity and resolve of Americans. These and other situations should be harnessed to make room for people to come together and restore their faith in our ability to get things done. Whether it’s cleaning up schools, weather-stripping homes, job training, or taking action in the aftermath of a natural disaster, there are things we can and should do. Then as we move ahead, we can begin to give shape to our new narrative.

My hope is that the president and our appointed leaders only step forward to offer their views if they are ready and willing to speak to people’s real concerns and their aspirations, and to help us create a new story about ourselves.

Otherwise, maybe they should stay home and get ready for the football game.

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A dynamic public speaker, Rich Harwood is a frequent keynote for foundations and national organizations. He is an expert contributor on national and syndicated media outlets including MSNBC, NPR, The Christian Science Monitor, CNN’s Inside Politics, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Special Report with Brit Hume, C-SPAN, and many others. He is also the author of Hope Unraveled: The people\’92s retreat and our way back (2005), Make Hope Real: How we can accelerate change for the public good (2008) and numerous studies, articles and essays chronicling vital issues of our time. His most recent written work, Why We\’92re Here: The Powerful Impact of Public Broadcasters When They Turn Outward, is being published and distributed in Spring 2011. You can follow him on twitter @RichHarwood and facebook.com/richharwood.

You can read Rich’s posts every Tuesday on State of the Re:Union’s website.

Tags: "Jobs Speech", jobs, Los Angeles, NFL, Obama, speech

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 at 7:34 am and is filed under Community Oriented, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.