Forging an alternate path in Minnesota
Thursday, November 10, 2005
(The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation)“I’ve been retreating [from public life]
for 20 years. I just came here because I was
lonesome.”
That was the message of
one older gentleman from Rochester, Minnesota,
home of the world renowned Mayo Clinic. On Nov.
8, he took a step across the threshold into the
public square with more than 70 of his fellow
citizens on a cold, blustery election night to
hear Rich Harwood speak about his latest book,
Hope Unraveled: The People’s Retreat and
Our Way Back. Rich spoke to a capacity
crowd at the Heintz Center at the University of
Minnesota- Rochester.
The man from the
crowd, an icon for citizens across the country
who have left public life because America’s
local and national leaders no longer reflect
their realities, went on to lament how
people’s roles have been reduced to merely
consumers. “Every letter I get asks first for
my treasure,” he said. “Ask for my time,
talent, and treasure in that order. If you get
my time, you will get my talent – and the
treasure will come.”
Similar messages
like this man’s have come up time and again
as Rich has spoken with thousands of people
across the country on the Hope Unraveled
book tour. People are tired of being
consumers only and long to be engaged as part
of something larger than themselves.
Rich has been traveling through
Minnesota for the past two days to talk about
his findings and how we can begin to forge an
alternate path for a more vibrant public life
and politics. This particular story came from
an event hosted by a coalition of foundations,
civic groups, government organizations, and
media entities in the Rochester area. Rich was
introduced by State Sen. Sheila Kiscaden, a
member of Minnesota’s Independent Party.
Last night at another event that took
place on the campus of Macalester College in
St. Paul, more than 250 people came out to hear
Rich share his message of hope and to shed
light on the context of today’s public life.
This event was made possible by the generous
support of Minnesota Public Radio and the
Citizen’s League.
During the speech,
Rich implored people to join the fight for
America’s public life and politics. “We
need to make a decision,” he said. “Are we
going to square up with people’s reality? Are
we going to pursue authentic hope, or are we
going to continue to peddle false hope?”