Returning Dignity To Discussions in the US - by Dale Nienow
My mom passed away recently.  As my family recalled stories of her life, I was reminded how important relationships are in society.  Mom was an active community volunteer, and I remember delivering food in the “Meals-on-Wheels” program with her, bringing meals to those who were “shut-in” or unable to get out to pick up food.  As we drove around the area, we saw many different living conditions.   Occasionally, I would see a dilapidated house that had a color TV – less common in those days—or a snowmobile out front.  I remember asking Mom about this, wondering how they could spend money on these items if they couldn’t buy their own food.  She responded, “Who are we to judge others?” We didn’t know the story of their lives.  She taught me that every person deserved to be treated with dignity and that we needed to extend respect to others, not judgment.

Mom was a fierce advocate for the dignity of others.  Her approach stands in stark contrast to current discussions about our safety net and how we treat each other in this country.  In recent discussions about extending unemployment payments to people struggling to cope with the bad economy, some Congressional representatives described the unemployed as “freeloaders.”  These leaders made it sound like the limited money the unemployed received was somehow a “lavish payment” that provided disincentive to work, rather than a lifeline to help hard working folks get by.  The elected leaders eventually approved the funding for benefits, but only after demeaning fellow Americans in need.

We have also witnessed this harsh treatment of others in the discussions about health services for women and inclusion of contraceptive services by health insurance.  Elected officials holding public hearings convened an all-male panel to consider this issue and excluded women from testifying or serving on the panel.  This denied the dignity of women and inserted the judgment of a few men in the place of the women whose experiences were not heard.  If we are to have fair, respectful discussions about public policies, we need to honor the voices of people affected by those policies.

This situation was made worse by a popular talk show host attacking the character of a woman wanting to testify about the need for contraceptive services for women.  It is certainty fine to have honest disagreements about how we should construct our social contract in society.  But it is completely unnecessary and unhelpful to use harsh and demeaning rhetoric to describe others or to restrict their voices from the public  processes of democracy.  While it is often politically convenient to describe others negatively, it does little to advance a society worthy of the American promise.  All those years ago, my mom was right.  We need a more respectful approach to each other in this society. 

How do your conversations about our social contract honor the dignity of others?

Using Stories and Places of Social Transformation to Inspire Community Action
The Center for Ethical Leadership and partners recently held a Community Learning Exchange (CLE) at Texas State San Marcos, the alma mater of Lyndon B. Johnson.  As an undergraduate, he took time off to teach full time in the town of Cotulla, in south Texas, to earn enough money to finish college.  He taught poverty-stricken fifth-, sixth-, and seventh graders at Welhausen Mexican School.  In later years, he reflected on the impact of this experience.  “I shall never forget the faces of the boys and girls…and I remember even yet the pain of realizing and knowing then that college was closed to practically every one of those children because they were too poor.  And I think it was then that I made up my mind that this nation could never rest while the door to knowledge remained closed to any American.”

As president, Lyndon Johnson brought to life the “Great Society,” a series of social legislation providing opportunities and support for people in need.  One of the notable pieces of legislation was the Higher Education Act passed in 1965.  This legislation opened the doors to students from low-income families by offering scholarships for college.  President Johnson returned to Texas State San Marcos to sign this legislation because  his experience teaching poor Mexican kids while an undergraduate ultimately raised his consciousness and shaped the course he led the nation – building opportunity into our social contract.

The Community Learning Exchange intentionally looks for settings and stories of social transformation when we choose sites to convene communities.  President Johnson’s story and his connection to Texas State San Marcos provided a powerful setting and context for a learning exchange on “the Politics of Education and Community development.” The CLE in San Marcos brought together twelve teams from eight states to work on their local issues in education and community development.  President Johnson’s story suggested helpful questions to consider as they formed their own plans:

• What are the stories that raise consciousness of disparities in your community?
• How can you translate these stories into actions to improve our public institutions – government, schools, etc.?
• What could be done to create greater educational opportunities for people in your community, particularly those not currently engaged?

As community teams walked the campus and saw the statue of a young Lyndon Johnson, they shared their stories and the experiences of their communities.  Just as Johnson used his stories to shape future actions, these teams imagined what they could do in their communities.  To reinforce the idea that public institutions are for the people of a community, we held action-planning sessions in meeting rooms at the State Capitol in nearby Austin.  At each step of the learning exchange process, the context supported the work of these teams.

Where President Johnson used his positional power to help those who were left out, community members are coming together to create collective power to accomplish the same ends.  We think President Johnson would be happy to know that the overlooked communities he sought to serve are now building their own leadership to make their communities more just.  For more information contact Dale Nienow or go to communitylearningexchange.org.