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Member EssaysVirginia
Swain Virginia Swain is CEO and President of the Institute for Global Leadership, which provides consultation and training to develop and support the personal and professional goals of existing and emerging leaders. As I See It This
essay was originally published in the,
Worcester
Telegram and Gazette, October 30, 2006. As
I observe the lack of civility and destabilization in local and
international political life, I remember Lee Atwater. Chief
political advisor to the first President George Bush, Atwater
sabotaged Michael Dukakis’ presidential campaign with his Willie
Horton strategy. He suggested Mr. Dukakis name furloughed rapist
Willie Horton his running mate. He told Mr. Bush his vision of a
kinder, gentler America wouldn’t win any votes. All
that changed when Mr. Atwater learned he had a brain tumor. Suddenly
he saw that what was missing in society was what was missing in
himself - a little heart and a lot brotherhood. He apologized to Mr.
Dukakis. He wrote about his spiritual awakening, turning to the
Bible instead of The Art of War, realizing too late how much he
missed spending time with family and friends. He realized his
emphasis on greed and materialism had overtaken him. His fatal
illness gave him an awareness of a “tumor of the soul” that was
in him and in the American political leadership. Lee
Atwater’s life and death demonstrate how the practice of accountability
rather than blame, forgiveness rather than revenge, and
reconciliation rather than perpetration are essential for
co-existence. Without them, humanity will repeat the suffering
and horror of the last century’s wars and this century’s ethnic
conflict. At
the international level, if we understand how the United Nations
runs, we can empower it to combat the world’s instability by
playing a stronger role in peacebuilding through the new United
Nations Commission on Peacebuilding. Many Americans think the
United Nations is impotent, not realizing that if we want to change
the UN it has to be done through each country - especially the
country with the most power, the United States. Despite a movement
at the end of World War II to strengthen the UN, the attempt failed,
and now 192 countries work in their own self-interest to resolve
problems rather than keeping collective and global interests in
mind. The Security Council veto that strangles political will
remains the stronghold of the five countries who were the victors of
World War II. As one of those victors and the strongest of the
five - the only superpower - we are accountable to strengthen the
United Nations so that there is political will to enact its
resolutions. Closer
to home, in Worcester, where we have more influence in our daily
lives, public citizens can begin to address our spiritual vacuum in
our own backyards. Change has a ripple effect. By reflecting
on what is truly important, we can alter our behavior accordingly.
We can get off that treadmill of old habits. If
I have an unresolved argument with my neighbor that has escalated
into an intractable silence, I can step off the treadmill of ill
will, take that first step and say hello. If
I know a gang member that is ready to reclaim his/her freedom, I can
offer a helping hand to step off that treadmill of revenge. Or
if I have a sense of mistrust in the way my life is going, I can
step off the treadmill of inertia and change direction, at whatever
age. One of my mentors, Dr. Elise Boulding, Professor Emeritus
of Dartmouth College, got her PhD at 50 and has written several
dozen books since then. People
can stop being immobilized in their powerlessness. The first
step is to rebuild trust within ourselves, our family and our
neighborhood. We
can extend that olive branch. The ripple effect of our actions
begins a turn of events. The way we treat our most vulnerable fellow
citizens is a sign of our own health. I
dream of a new phoenix rising out of the ashes of our
incivility—one where the peoples of this country truly care for
each other as well as for the peoples beyond our borders. Lee
Atwater’s final message inspires me to encourage people to speak,
to care for one another, to rebuild trusting relationships by
apology and atonement, and step off the treadmill, looking out
beyond our roles as victims and perpetrators to our shared humanity. © 2006 Virginia Swain |
