Political Surprises: The Good Kind

State of the Re:Union’s contributor Rich Harwood of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation is away hosting a Forum for the betterment of public innovation. This week, Carlton Sears – a Harwood Institute coach and guest writer – offers the following post telling of his recent experience resulting in a pleasant surprise. It speaks to the work and change that the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation is striving to achieve for – and in – American communities. (To read the original full text, click here.)

Every so often you get an email that stops you in your tracks. We all get them – unexpected words of encouragement, insights that provide clarity at times of uncertainty, a gentle reminder that causes us to reconsider.

It came from an elected leader. But not just any elected leader. It was from an elected official who’s been coached in the Harwood frameworks this past year. He’s a person who decided there is a better way to govern. He was writing to share how Turning Outward is helping him to do it. But this isn’t what gave me pause. It was what he had to say about aspirations.

I met him a year ago when he attended a Harwood Public Innovators Lab. When he returned home from the lab, he was encouraged to engage people in conversations that began with aspirations. Here’s what he said:

An enormous amount of what we are hearing in our Harwood community conversations is highly emotional, personal, and significant. If I had to identify the single most unifying thing I’ve heard, it’s that people want to start caring about each other again.

He shared that he’s heard people’s fears that we don’t know how to make this happen.  And he’s heard their hope that we can.

His message went on to say that as an elected leader and a person deeply involved with the Harwood Institute’s tools, his passions are now fired. Now, finally, he can clearly see the frustrations, and finally understand the aspirations of the people he serves.

It’s like a light bulb went off. I suddenly see the overlap between my work and my role as an elected policy maker.

He now sees how all the pieces of civic change fit together. He sees that he has the ability to influence the movement of those pieces that will result in the kind of change for which people yearn … Let’s work together to make sure that next year at this time we’ll have even more for which to give thanks.

Taking the community and the people it serves into account is the epitome of what civic engagement should be. The betterment of our towns, neighborhoods and lives does not solely rest upon the leaders of our communities; that possibility resides within each member of the community. It is through the act of coming together to find solutions that we become unified and find that resolve is reinforced. We are the ultimate force behind the hope in public change.

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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.

[Recently] I was in Las Vegas where I discovered a community – once on top of the world – fighting to come back in the wake of the Great Recession. What people in Las Vegas are doing offers a vision of what it will take for communities across the country to rebound from this tough economic and social time. It’s not a mere roll of the dice that’s bringing Vegas back, but intentional actions to create real change and community.

The Harwood Institute worked in Las Vegas earlier this decade with the support of the Omidyar Network. In 2004 we produced a report entitled, On the American Frontier. It captured the incredible “can-do spirit, confidence, proven track record of growth, and innate sense of vibrancy” of Southern Nevada. For many people, Vegas was the best, last chance to pursue a customized version of the American Dream. But even then people were starting to wonder if they had too much of a good thing.

Today things are different in Vegas. For starters, the area ranks near the top in the nation in home foreclosures, school dropouts, unemployment and lost jobs, while philanthropic dollars have dried up. And yet, something genuinely hopeful is happening there, something worth paying attention to.

Political and civic leaders, including heads of major organizations, funders, the state senate majority leader, and public broadcasters gathered to hear my speech. In 2004, it might have been hard to gather such leaders for a similar event, and especially one where they so openly engaged one another. But now, despite the Great Recession – or maybe because of it – folks are creating new groups and relationships to get things done.

Many people came up to me during my time there to say that our work some five to 10 years ago had helped to seed the growth of new groups and strengthen existing ones. They told me we had helped them to see why it is so critical to turn outward and to think about change differently. One person even asked how I felt being back in town given that so much current activity can be traced back to our work. What I told her is that the real credit goes to people in Vegas – those individuals and groups that chose to step forward and use our work to innovate, experiment, and are now connecting their efforts to others. And it is an amazing collection of groups, which includes:

• Three Square
• Community We Will
• Southern Regional Nevada Planning Coalition
• KNPR and Vegas PBS
• Nevada Gives

What’s so promising in Vegas is that public innovators are creating a new civic foundation. Each group has its own promising story, and together they represent a major shift in the community. Now, all this movement is still just emerging, but the trajectory is clear.

These groups are boundary spanners, network builders, engagers of the community, and most importantly action oriented. It is this very foundation that is essential for a community to move forward. We all know the Vegas line, “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.” Well, I want to add a new line today: “What Happens in Vegas, Spreads beyond Vegas.”

More towns across the nation are heeding a similar community call as that of Las Vegas. Bettering the public through our actions now will carve out a path of change that helps guide representatives down the right path for your community. Isn’t it beyond time that a chance is taken on changing community through our own actions?

Does this sound like something already happening your in community? If so, we would love to hear some key concepts you think makes it work. Change only happens when action is taken, so write your thoughts in the box below and keep the momentum going.

Interested in learning more about what happens in Las Vegas? Click here to check out the SOTRU Las Vegas episode to find out about what’s going on.

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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.

A Reflection of Meaning

Although Thanksgiving has come and gone, the spirit that it ushers in is one of charity, thankfulness, well-wishes and acts of kindness. This spirit has a tendency to last through year’s end, but what of the other months in the year? Where does this spirit go, but most importantly, why does it go? State of the Re:Union contributor Rich Harwood of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation shares some of his reflections on Thanksgiving, including the proverbial turkey chase, what it means to us and how it intertwines with our daily lives.

I’ve never been on a real turkey chase, and maybe you haven’t either, but with the passing of Thanksgiving, I suspect we’re all in pursuit of something. But where will your own chase lead you, and why are you headed there? Here are some thoughts concerning “the chase” to think about as you reflect over this recent Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season.

Turkeys hold a special place in American culture — from defining early historical meals and current Thanksgiving menus, to Wild Turkey whiskey, to calling something we deem unsatisfactory “a turkey!” It was even the bird Benjamin Franklin suggested be our national symbol instead of the bald eagle. And on every Thanksgiving, there are all kinds of “turkey runs,” 5K and 10K races sponsored in support of some charitable cause.

And yet, the notion of “a chase” conjures up the pursuit of the unattainable. Think: “chase dreams,” where you cannot bring closure or finality to something in your life. Think: “ideals,” which we strive to place within our grasp, knowing that they may never be fulfilled. According to Wayne Capooth, in Delta Farm Press, “Turkey chases have been a part of American history since our earliest days. Samuel Kercheval in his A History of the Valley (Shenandoah), 1833, said “the native youth is taught the wiles of the turkey hunter.”

This season you may be “chasing” your own way to a holiday gatherings. Maybe it is across town, or in another community, or at your home. But, wherever the places you go, this time of year puts each of us in a precarious bind: running to complete our work, running to get somewhere, running to get back to work. That’s me too.

I’m in the middle of writing a new book about how people can make good on their urge to do good. There are many subtexts at work, but there are two that shed light on the notion of the turkey chase.

First, there is the pressure of inwardness, which is our proclivity to see our work in public life through the prism of promoting and spreading our own efforts. Inwardness tells us to start with our own needs and programs, rather than the community in which we live and work. The second factor is the push for busyness — a kind of “activity happy, yet action deprived” approach. Such busyness can make us feel we are doing something, moving ahead, and soothing our own anxieties about the lack of progress. But for all the running, all the activity, little changes.

I raise the ideas of inwardness and busyness because they launch us on a chase of the unattainable. If we are not careful, we risk losing sight of what we care about, and what change or goodness we hope to effect. What about you?

What is that path for you? Is it the “chase” — the proverbial unattainable, unachievable, even undesirable; or, is it something that you should stop to see and feel and know? There is something noble about Thanksgiving, [the start to the holiday season] about how it has the power to halt our busyness and inwardness; for many, it creates the space that might not otherwise exist to come together with family and friends (however difficult that can sometimes be!).

Maybe it is trite to say that this Thanksgiving should be about something doable, and that is intrinsically decent: giving thanks. It’s a simple idea, I know, and one that you have already thought about. But it may not be something we each do.

As we go through this holiday season, what are some ways we can integrate the hallmarks of Thanksgiving and this season into our daily lives? What does the “chase” mean to you, and how does it intertwine with your everyday living? How do you make your busyness count? Is it satisfying with how you spend your time, or do you think your “activity” could include notes of “action” offering more fulfillment? You can tell us, we always have an ear to bend your way.

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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.

On this Tuesday, State of the Re:Union contributor Rich Harwood of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation shares about one young man serving as an inspiration, offering an uplifting story to counter that of the scandalous tragedy currently inundating the airwaves.

A horrid child-abuse scandal is unfolding at Penn State University, where people’s integrity, care of vulnerable children, and betrayal of privilege all are at issue. Today I offer a counter-point: a short, 5-minute speech by Michigan State University’s quarterback, where he speaks about privilege and responsibility. In these times, his words are uplifting and worth listening to.

I have been a fan of Kirk Cousins, MSU’s quarterback, long before I heard about and then listed to his speech, where he had been given the huge honor to kick-off the Big Ten annual conference. There, he spoke before his follow Big Ten football players and coaches, among others. His speech drew widespread media attention and plaudits. He received an extended standing ovation. Here’s why – and why I urge you to watch this short video.

In his speech, Kirk Cousins did not obsess about himself, his football exploits or serve as mere cheerleader for the Big Ten. Instead, he stood tall before all his peers and coaches from throughout the Big Ten and laid down a marker. Remember, Kirk Cousins is all of 23 years old.

He said that playing big-time college football is a ‘privilege’ because of the platform big-time football provides. He and his fellow players are treated to playing on television – a life-long dream many have held since their childhood; that kids seek them out for autographs; that they are granted opportunities to speak to young kids; and that they have the unique opportunity to come together as players to achieve something that none of them could achieve on their own. In short, each player holds a special place that is afforded to them.

But Kirk Cousins then makes this point: “But it is here in this place of privilege that danger lies.”

He asserts that this danger can lead to a sense of entitlement: “The notion that I deserve to be treated special because I am privileged.” For Kirk Cousins, it’s just the opposite. He believes deeply that such privilege leads to a ‘responsibility’ – in fact, it leads to holding a greater responsibility because of the nature of the privilege and an athlete’s standing in society.

For instance, he believes college football players hold a special responsibility to children. He talks simply, and thus with a beautiful eloquence, about how players can set a standard for how to treat others – that they can embody what it means to be a person of integrity – that they can show young people that excellence in the classroom is a worthy pursuit. He says that players can demonstrate that it is more important to do what is right, than what feels right.

At the end of his talk, with wisdom beyond his years, he remarks: “While I believe that we as players do not deserve the platform we’ve been given, we have it nonetheless. It comes with the territory of being a college football player in the Big Ten.” He then offers this, “May we as players have the wisdom to handle this privilege, and the courage to fulfill the responsibility we’ve been given.”

Perhaps folks at Penn State will watch the Kirk Cousins speech once more and remind themselves of their own privilege and responsibility to others; and they will hear the call to step forward and do what is right. Meantime, may the rest of us, in our own daily lives, listen to Kirk Cousins words, and let them be a reminder of the innate goodness in people, and that we must be vigilant in our response to the forces that weigh upon us each day.

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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.

After last week’s blog, “Let’s bring together the Tea Party & Occupy Wall Street,” Michel Martin, from NPR’s Tell Me More, asked me and representatives from the two groups to have an on-air conversation. All the potential peril in trying to do something productive could be heard during this conversation. But I remain undaunted, and I hope you are, too. Here’s why.

First, it took a nice dose of courage for Michel to invite the three of us on. Not surprising coming from Michel, but noteworthy nonetheless. Joining me were Shelby Blake, from the Tea Party Patriots, and Kyle Christopher, from Occupy Wall Street.

From the get-go the conversation took a turn for business as usual. The two individuals saw themselves as representatives for their respective groups, and so what came forward were the well-worn talking points, name calling, bomb throwing, and insistence that “We’re Right, You’re Wrong!” No matter what Michel asked, the responses towed the party line. This is the reality of where we at the national level – we cannot deny it. Right now, these groups are talking past each other.

The key to moving the conversation forward will be to get folks around the table who do not see themselves as either “leaders” or “spokespeople.” When I talk to everyday individuals who subscribe to one of these movements, I have found among them – as I have found among most Americans – that they want to find ways to move the country forward. Like many of us, they too are anxious about where the country is headed, scared about their own jobs and keeping their homes, and lack trust in various leaders, institutions, organizations, and groups to hear their concerns.

That is why on Tell Me More I said the best place to get things moving is on the local level. On the national scene, too many groups (not just these two) are happy to indulge in gridlock, because that’s their ticket to “success.” They want to rally more members, more financial support, and more clout. Making progress on the national level will require the shifting of broader conditions in the country.

Still, there is a ripe opportunity before us: to tap into a growing groundswell in the country. This represents what I believe is the big missing story in America today. People want to come back into the public square. People want to make a difference. And people want to be a part of something larger than themselves. They feel they can no longer go it alone – it simply doesn’t work. Nor do they think that outage alone will change current conditions – they say we must note it, understand it, and then get beyond all the outrage.

Let me be clear: What I’m suggesting is no silver bullet. Nor is it about all of us “getting along” or “liking each other.” The times demand that we be more practical than that. At issue is how best to change the trajectory and dynamics of a gridlocked and mistrustful public life and politics.

One good place to start (among others) is to bring people from The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements. As I’ve said, what I don’t mean is to bring representatives of the two groups together; instead, my hope is to engage everyday Americans who happen to subscribe to these two groups. If we can show even some progress, it will be an important sign to all Americans – and to the leaders and spokespeople of these movements – that people want to get to work.

At the Institute, we’re actively pursuing ways to push this effort ahead. Please, let me know your own ideas and ways for us to work together.

All this is possible. We can do this.

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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.

State of the Re:Union contributor Rich Harwood of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation proposes what would happen if community truly came first in the realm of political agendas. Stripped of political hyperbole and getting down to brass tax, what would two leading groups have to say about and do for we the people? After all, public and community is the bedrock of democracy, and in a perfect world, what is good for every community would come first.

Like you, I have watched as the Tea Party has taken shape and now as the Occupy Wall Street movement is spreading – and my desire is to bring them both together around a single table for a real conversation. My experience tells me that they probably share some important things in common, and the nation would do well if those things could be uncovered and explored.

When I “Google” the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street what appears is the well-worn and typical frame of how to view these two groups. The stories go in for the kill: how the two groups are doing battle against one another, which one has raised more money, and how they each seek to out muscle the other.

Recently, in the Washington Post, a new survey only underscores and deepens this divide and sense of gridlock. Here is what the paper said about the poll results: “Although newly minted movements, Occupy Wall Street and the tea party have been thoroughly absorbed by the preexisting, all-too-familiar partisan divide.” In other words, the two groups are just reflections of what we already tend to believe: everything can be explained by the Red/Blue Divide. But rather than try to explain away the groups, I want to bring them together.

Now, before going on, I could understand if you said at this point, “What, Rich, are you crazy? There’s no way anything positive could come of this.” What’s more, I can hear people saying, “I just don’t trust the other side. They’re nuts!” But, please, read on, and you’ll see why I think we must take this step.

My goal is to bring people from both groups together for an extended, in-depth conversation. In this conversation, I would not focus on questions about their party affiliation, or who they plan to support in the 2012 presidential race, or ask them to raise their hands in quickie surveys to gauge which pre-existing policy positions they support on key issues. Each of these questions would be off limits, as would others like them.

The point is to create a space in which we would sweep off the table all the icons and triggers and stereotypes that are often used to quickly categorize people, their beliefs, and their positions. My intention here is never dismiss or temper people’s passions – but to hold at arms’ length the all-too-familiar, knee-jerk shortcuts we use to describe people and ideas that we may revile or detest or wish to push away or, simply, fear.

I would start with a simple question about their aspirations for their community. I would then ask them what their chief concerns are. I would want to know how they experience their lives and what they hope to create in them – and for the country.

From there, the conversation would go to what kinds of actions can be taken – by citizens, political leaders, and others – to reflect these aspirations and start to address their concerns. These lines of inquiry enable people to see and hear one another – something that is in short supply these days. For when opposing groups are forced into political clusters and language that demonizes the other, the possibility to find a different path is squeezed out. It is shut down.

I hold faith in the possibility of bringing these two groups together because, over the past six months, my colleagues and I have been traveling across the country asking people from all walks of life, and across all political affiliations, these types of questions. What we’re discovering is that amid all the differences, noise and finger pointing, people actually do share enough aspirations and common concerns that there is a basis for moving forward; and they are able to articulate basic steps that could be taken to kick-start a different trajectory for the county. Taking such steps would begin a process of building greater trust, and helping to restore people’s faith in themselves and one another that it is still possible to get things done together.

Let me be clear: I am not suggesting that there aren’t deep splits between these groups on some fundamental concerns. But, the truth is, there are also emerging differences within each of these movements. Each movement is not monolithic, nor do people within them walk in lock-step. And even if they were monolithic and in lock-step, the change each wants  can only come about through action taken with others beyond their groups. This is the fundamental challenge within a democracy.

The urgent step I want to take is to bring folks from both movements to the table to see and explore what areas of commonality do exist, and what those openings might suggest for how to get the country moving forward.

Now’s the time.

No matter your political agenda, preference or lack thereof, many issues concerning our communities surface during times such as these. Were Rich able to achieve a peaceful meeting of party members, what type of positive result do you think could be achieved? What question/s would you ask concerning any issue/s in your community?  We would love to know.

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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

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