Exceptional Times Call for Exceptional Leadership
by Jane Gruenebaum, Chief Operating Officer
The world looks very different to Americans now.
Uncertainty and insecurity are pervasive. The heady and somewhat narcissistic era of booming growth and domestic focus has given way to a more somber atmosphere of economic uncertainty and global concerns.
Exhortations to return to normal life leave us puzzling over what that means. What does
"normal" look like when you’re not sure if your job is secure,
if your children will be called to war, or if a
family outing will be put to an abrupt and tragic end
by some anonymous act of hatred?
Perhaps, we should cast our vision higher and aspire not to act normally, but exceptionally.
Rather than trying to live as we had "before," we might
strive to think and act beyond our normal boundaries.
In recent weeks, we have witnessed extraordinary acts
of courage and compassion that inspire us to reach
for higher goals. We are reminded that such responses
to need and tragedy encompass the best of America
and its history.
The tragedy of September 11 cut across age,
race, income, gender, nationality – all the constructs
that tend to separate us. So did the outpouring of
help that followed the attacks. As we continue
building sound structures of physical and economic
security, we should act from the values that unite us,
crossing over divisive demographic and economic boundaries.
Is there really any difference between people struggling to support their families after September
11 and those who had been struggling before? Do we owe less to those who contribute to the social fiber
by working at low-paying, no-benefit jobs than to
those who lost jobs after the attacks? Are children
abandoned by parents less needy than those bereft
of parents? Is stereotyping by religion or national
origin any more heinous than profiling by race or
income? The scales of justice are not unbalanced by acts
of war or terror, but they bear a heavier burden.
We can honor the lives already lost and the
lives now jeopardized in the fight against terrorism
by reaching beyond palliatives of the moment and forging solutions for the future. The elected
officials and activists in CPA’s network are frontline
leaders, playing vital roles in healing our nation and
helping to find solutions to issues of economic and
physical safety and security.
We look forward to gathering together as a community in December at the Summit on the
States and to supporting each other as we work from
our deepest values to fashion a future of peace,
prosperity, and freedom.
