In private conversations I have often expressed my belief that it sometimes takes more courage to try to bring about institutional change from the inside than from the outside. In the extreme, I cannot explore this subject without seeing a mental image of a lone, young Asian man in a white shirt defiantly blocking the path of a column of tanks in Tiananmen Square. A lifetime of courage could be experienced in that moment and, for better or worse, most of us will never know how that feels.
That is not to say that it doesn’t take courage to act in opposition to an organization, system or government from the outside, because it most certainly does, but if those tanks had been manned by foreign invaders rather than his own countrymen, we would perhaps view that young man’s courage as the product of pure patriotism and in that context it would be easier for us to accept, perhaps even to expect. What made that event truly remarkable was the courage that it took to face the moral dilemma of challenging one’s own government, not simply the specific actions the government was undertaking, but the rightness of its authority to govern.
I am left wondering if those of us who champion the changes we see as necessary to assure a more sustainable future have the courage to ask the hard questions about our institutions out loud, and although the immediate situation we face may lack the gravity of the choices faced by the Founding Fathers, their Declaration of Independence has never been more relevant than it is today.
In order for the United States of America to remain viable and relevant to the future of the world in this, the third century of its existence, we need to remember that governments derive “their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed”, and that the right to govern ourselves rests on a delicate balance between two simple and sometimes contradictory elements.
One is the central idea of democracy itself, which is at the core of the spirit of our agreement as citizens, that we will honor and uphold majority rule even when we find ourselves in the minority, that we will maintain the letter of our agreement by enacting and then obeying laws which have been carefully created to provide the maximum benefit and security to the greatest number of citizens while causing the minimum compromise of personal freedom to the individual.
The second is the idea that we are bound by that same agreement to defend and encourage the right of each and every individual to disagree, to express that disagreement openly, and to accept that, as a part of our rights, we each also have a duty to alter the rules of governance when they threaten our security and our liberty.
Self determination is not an exercise in the quest of a perfect ideology, rather it is the understanding that the future of America depends on our ability to adapt to a changing world while holding onto those “self-evident” truths.
Fortunately, at this moment we are not faced with a decision as difficult as whether we must overthrow our government and start over, but those of us who are involved in organizations which advocate on behalf of special interests, such as the building industry, and who find ourselves in disagreement with policy resolutions and positions on issues we hold dear - like the responsibility we have to account for the negative effects our activities have on the environment and consequently on the legacy we are leaving future generations - must somehow summon the courage to challenge conventional wisdom and find within ourselves the leadership to risk our personal and political currency in order to make changes.
It is not easy to stand firm when you know you will likely offend your colleagues and friends, nor to bear with honor the accusations that you are a provocateur seeking to make trouble because you are willing to question an established belief system and authority. However, it is easier to look at yourself in the mirror when you know that you have honored your own values and confronted the politics of denial and fear so often employed to ensure the maintenance of the status quo.
My hope is that we can step out of the shadows, overcome our fears and confront the “powers that be” in the broad light of day so that together we can lead the way to a better future.
Posted: 7/3/2009 12:00:00 AM by
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