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March 30, 2009 This is from a friend’s blog. Marty Linsky is a Professor of Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and he was writing about the populist anger that has been spewing forth from the right-wing for many months now, but more recently bubbling up from the left as well. He concludes: “Look, I love politics. I am a junkie. But this is no time for politics as we know it. We are in a moment of fundamental change and opportunity. Take that anger and that anxiety and channel it into activity that will help change yourself and change the world.”
Now that we’re nearly eight weeks into the Obama administration, I’d like to highlight a quote from a man I had the pleasure of meeting in Denver last summer, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. Back during the days of the heated primary season, in a speech on Boston Common, he made a comment some criticized as a refusal to take a stand, but really cut to the core of how we should be choosing our leaders. He got it right, and the value of the message is clear in the actions of President Obama in the most challenging economic times this country has faced in eighty years. “I don’t care whether the next president is the first black president or the first woman president or the first whatever, to tell you the truth. I care that the next president has moral courage, a political backbone, the humility to admit what he doesn’t know, and the wisdom to learn from others.”
“A more perfect union” President-Elect Obama was correct. This is not about him, this is about us. We have earned our self-respect back. Our friends and allies abroad recognize this; more importantly, we recognize it. I talk below about Bobby Kennedy, and what he means to me. It’s been forty years since his assassination, and forty years since the police riots in Grant Park, Chicago, during the Democratic National Convention. Election night the future President spoke to the American people from that same Grant Park, another very astute touch to the most remarkable campaign in American history. My cynicism has completely dissolved, as I’ve watched my peers, but, more importantly, my children and their peers, rise up and claim this country for themselves. They left nothing on the road. Of course, we strive for a more perfect union, though we will never reach it. And the journey itself, as evidenced by the prejudice of those stripping gay men and women of their rights to equality in California and elsewhere, is far from perfect. But the overwhelming sense today is that America is back. The work begins now on the federal level, reaching out to all of America. Shortly we will begin the job to change Maryland for the betterment of all. I welcome all of you on that journey.
John F. Kennedy School of Government HARVARD UNIVERSITY
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Beyer Completes Program for Senior Executives at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government Cambridge, MA – Dana Beyer, Senior Policy Advisor, Montgomery County Council, completed the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government on July 25, 2008. This Executive Education program, offered at the John F. Kennedy School of Government is a three-week course which focuses on the development of conceptual frameworks for addressing policy issues, explores the relationship between citizens and their government, and examines the ethical and professional responsibilities of leadership. “We are proud of the leaders who attend our Executive Education programs. They are a dedicated group of professionals who are committed to working for the public good across various sectors of society,” said Harvard Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood. “We are confident that they will help create effective solutions to public challenges and inspire others with their ideas and their talent.” “This class of participants was chosen through a highly competitive application process,” said Linda Kaboolian, Program Faculty Chair. “They were a tremendously diverse group who brought a wide range of geographic, political, and cross-sector perspectives to the class. They experienced an intensive and challenging program that encouraged them to stretch beyond the boundaries of their everyday work environments and formed a network of lasting friendships and professional connections.” Professor Kaboolian continued, “It was a pleasure to have Dana in our program. Dana is a creative intellectual with an encyclopedic knowledge of science and the world. She demonstrates leadership as an effective advocate for the GBLT community by generously educating people who are unfamiliar with GBLT issues. She is persuasive, using data, theory and humor strategically.” The John F. Kennedy School of Government is the graduate professional school at Harvard University dedicated to training people for excellence in government and public service. Harvard Kennedy School has emerged as a forum for passionate debate about the past, present, and future of public service and governance. Executive Education programs at the Kennedy School serve senior public officials, nonprofit executives, and corporate officers whose work directly affects the lives of their fellow citizens. Our mission is to advance the public interest by training skilled, enlightened leaders to solve public problems using best practices, world-class scholarship, and practical management techniques.
I’m writing this on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, a day that plunged my political soul into a despair from which it did not recover until three years ago. Today, my children’s generation is finding the art of hope in itself, thanks to the candidacy of Barack Obama. RFK made my dreams seem possible. His conversion from a scion of America’s most aristocratic family into a man of the people was truly inspiring, and spoke to a youth who one day hoped to have the courage to make her own improbable journey. The excitement of the early months of 1968, forever marred by the tears I shed standing in St. Patrick’s Cathedral on June 8th, are mirrored by the cynicism and despair of the Bush years. That despondency is finally giving way to a confidence I thought I would never see again. When I was asked during our District 18 forum in 2006 the name of my political role model, I answered, “Bobby Kennedy.” He was living history to me – tangible, present. But still history. My sons, on the other hand, have a guiding leader who does for them what Bobby did for me forty years ago – make belief in America real. For this I am deeply thankful. Over the past two years I have had the pleasure to serve Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, a leader in her own right on the County Council. A freshman member in 2006, she has already left a mark on Montgomery County, having sponsored legislation to ban toxic trans fats, establish a Family Justice Center to provide a full measure of support to battered women and their children, and fully protect the rights of the transgender population. She was an architect of the 2008 budget compromise, standing tall for fairness for all residents and taxpayers in the county. She has brought her concern for the marginalized and vulnerable into the corridors of power, and made a mark at not even the halfway point of her first term. It’s been my pleasure to take part in those accomplishments.
Beyond my work with Councilmember Trachtenberg, I am engaged in:
A new progressive agenda of liberty, security and opportunity is taking shape in America. More are speaking out clearly in support of policies that will benefit all, rather than winner-take-all. But we need new leadership that is not just progressive in name, but progressive in the sense of stepping forward to transform the landscape to allow life to flourish once again. Leadership willing to take risks, to try innovative solutions, to consider our most vexing problems from a new and daring perspective. I work every day, in all my endeavors, to provide my children and their generation, as well as my parents and theirs, a more secure and hopeful future. |
Contact Dana
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301-652-1917 |
