anybody can serve

“Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” — Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This month, the charity I’ve chosen to highlight on my website’s front page is not a charity at all – but an effort to engage citizens around the country in a National Day of Service on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, in honor of the Presidential Inauguration and Martin Luther King Jr.  As Dr. King’s daughter Bernice points out, “This year the Day of Service takes on special meaning as we mark the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.”

The inauguration website suggests seven ways to get involved and provides a quick search feature to help Americans find an event in their area and serve with others in their community. Here’s the link. And in the tech-savvy style of the Obama administration, individuals can even use the Inauguration’s phone app to find volunteer events in their neighborhood.

The effort even encourages participants to tell friends why they’re taking part in the National Day of Service by taking a picture with an #iserve sign (download one or make your own) that says why they’re pledging to serve their community – then share it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the #iserve hashtag.  So how will you get involved?

As Bernice King reminds us, “The beautiful thing about service is that everyone can do it. We can’t all stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial or the steps of the Capitol and inspire a nation to do what’s right. But each of us, in our own way, can follow in our leaders’ footsteps and make a difference for someone today.”

alignment

In the past few days, politicians and pundits have tried to offer their explanation for the results of Tuesday’s Presidential election.  Regardless of your political affiliation, you will probably agree that the election was most impacted by the confluence of demographics and economics.  In fact, Chuck Todd, Chief White House correspondent for NBC News, observed that “the Obama campaign used a secret government document to win: the 2010 Census.”

To be more precise, demographics can’t fully predict how people will vote. Rather, President Obama’s victory demonstrates that his campaign was more skilled at aligning their campaign’s strategies and messages to reflect the values of the populations they were targeting. As I’ve discussed in this column before, we (as a nation) are on the fast track to becoming a minority majority country. In fact, according to projections by the Pew Research Center, the minority groups that carried Pres­ident Obama to victory by giving him 80% of their votes are on track to become a majority of the nation’s popu­lation by 2050. But what prevented Gov. Romney from securing a larger portion of the minority vote was his failure to embrace the policies and programs that were aligned with the values and preferences of that increasingly important segment of our nation’s population.

What’s the takeaway here for marketers? Alignment!

Just ask Antonio Swad. In 1986, he moved from Ohio to Dallas to open a traditional pizzeria. Realizing the large concentration of Hispanic consumers in his market, he changed his restaurant”s name to Pizza Patrón and focused his marketing efforts on the Latino community. He aligned his marketing messages to project an image as “a brand that celebrates and honors the diversity of the Latin culture and lifestyle.” Today the Dallas-based chain has 106 locations in seven states and just announced plans to open eight restaurants in New Mexico.

Whether pizza or politics, causes or chocolate*, success requires attention to alignment with your market.

 

* speaking of chocolate and causes, don’t miss AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s World of Chocolate on 11/29/12.

our journey forward

There is much to be learned about a well-crafted campaign message from the final moments of the 2012 Presidential campaign.  President Barack Obama’s speech in Chicago after his re-election Tuesday night (as transcribed by Roll Call) is like an exclamation point on the campaign’s consistent messaging:

___

Thank you so much.

Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward.

It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.

Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come.

I want to thank every American who participated in this election, whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time. By the way, we have to fix that. Whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone, whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference.

I just spoke with Gov. Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign. We may have battled fiercely, but it’s only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future. From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service and that is the legacy that we honor and applaud tonight. In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Gov. Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.

I want to thank my friend and partner of the last four years, America’s happy warrior, the best vice president anybody could ever hope for, Joe Biden.

And I wouldn’t be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago. Let me say this publicly: Michelle, I have never loved you more. I have never been prouder to watch the rest of America fall in love with you, too, as our nation’s first lady. Sasha and Malia, before our very eyes you’re growing up to become two strong, smart beautiful young women, just like your mom. And I’m so proud of you guys. But I will say that for now one dog’s probably enough.

To the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics. The best. The best ever. Some of you were new this time around, and some of you have been at my side since the very beginning. But all of you are family. No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together and you will have the lifelong appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way, through every hill, through every valley. You lifted me up the whole way and I will always be grateful for everything that you’ve done and all the incredible work that you put in.

I know that political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly. And that provides plenty of fodder for the cynics that tell us that politics is nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain of special interests. But if you ever get the chance to talk to folks who turned out at our rallies and crowded along a rope line in a high school gym, or saw folks working late in a campaign office in some tiny county far away from home, you’ll discover something else.

You’ll hear the determination in the voice of a young field organizer who’s working his way through college and wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity. You’ll hear the pride in the voice of a volunteer who’s going door to door because her brother was finally hired when the local auto plant added another shift. You’ll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse who’s working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who fights for this country ever has to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home.

That’s why we do this. That’s what politics can be. That’s why elections matter. It’s not small, it’s big. It’s important. Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated. We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy.

That won’t change after tonight, and it shouldn’t. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty. We can never forget that as we speak people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did today.

But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America’s future. We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers. A country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation, with all the good jobs and new businesses that follow.

We want our children to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt, that isn’t weakened by inequality, that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. We want to pass on a country that’s safe and respected and admired around the world, a nation that is defended by the strongest military on earth and the best troops this — this world has ever known. But also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war, to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being.

We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America, open to the dreams of an immigrant’s daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag. To the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner. To the furniture worker’s child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president — that’s the future we hope for. That’s the vision we share. That’s where we need to go — forward. That’s where we need to go.

Now, we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get there. As it has for more than two centuries, progress will come in fits and starts. It’s not always a straight line. It’s not always a smooth path.

By itself, the recognition that we have common hopes and dreams won’t end all the gridlock or solve all our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building consensus and making the difficult compromises needed to move this country forward. But that common bond is where we must begin.

Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. A long campaign is now over. And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you, and you’ve made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead.

Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together. Reducing our deficit. Reforming our tax code. Fixing our immigration system. Freeing ourselves from foreign oil. We’ve got more work to do.

But that doesn’t mean your work is done. The role of citizen in our democracy does not end with your vote. America’s never been about what can be done for us. It’s about what can be done by us together through the hard and frustrating, but necessary work of self-government. That’s the principle we were founded on.

This country has more wealth than any nation, but that’s not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military in history, but that’s not what makes us strong. Our university, our culture are all the envy of the world, but that’s not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth. The belief that our destiny is shared; that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations. The freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights. And among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. That’s what makes America great.

I am hopeful tonight because I’ve seen the spirit at work in America. I’ve seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own pay than lay off their neighbors, and in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see a friend lose a job. I’ve seen it in the soldiers who reenlist after losing a limb and in those SEALs who charged up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew there was a buddy behind them watching their back.

I’ve seen it on the shores of New Jersey and New York, where leaders from every party and level of government have swept aside their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a terrible storm. And I saw just the other day, in Mentor, Ohio, where a father told the story of his 8-year-old daughter, whose long battle with leukemia nearly cost their family everything had it not been for health care reform passing just a few months before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care.

I had an opportunity to not just talk to the father, but meet this incredible daughter of his. And when he spoke to the crowd listening to that father’s story, every parent in that room had tears in their eyes, because we knew that little girl could be our own. And I know that every American wants her future to be just as bright. That’s who we are. That’s the country I’m so proud to lead as your president.

And tonight, despite all the hardship we’ve been through, despite all the frustrations of Washington, I’ve never been more hopeful about our future. I have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope. I’m not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. I’m not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight.

I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.

America, I believe we can build on the progress we’ve made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.

I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We’re not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.

And together with your help and God’s grace we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on Earth.

Thank you, America. God bless you. God bless these United States.

3 things to do today

Today is World AIDS Day.  Let’s see if we can flex a little social media muscle today with these three easy steps: 

1. On your cell phone, text “change” to 80077 to make a $10 donation to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and ask your network of friends to do the same.  It’s fast, easy and makes a huge difference.
2. Post the link to this open letter to President Barack Obama and the World AIDS Day panelists (including President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, California Rep. Barbara Lee, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Bono and Alicia Keys) on your blog or send it to your elected officials  http://huff.to/sogW6F
3. Post this quote from Hillary Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, or whatever social media platform you use: “The goal of an AIDS-free generation may be ambitious, but it is possible.”

World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to help raise awareness and unite in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  Thank you for doing your part.

money, money, money

According to a report in the New York Times, the United States Federal Reserve said yesterday that “a complete economic recovery was still years away.”  That grim assessment of the US economy sent global stocks into decline today.  Add to that the news of unending gridlock over the President’s jobs bill,  new census data on families living in poverty and renewed debate over millionaires’ tax burden – and you can hardly get through a day without thoughts about money.

But what are you thinking?  How do you process these news stories?

A few years ago I had an opportunity to work with Lynne Twist, author of The Soul of Money, preparing a not-for-profit board to embrace their role as fundraisers.  Throughout her career Lynne has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and trained thousands of fundraisers to rethink their relationship with money.  She has an amazing ability to strip away the myths many of us hold about money.  It was a transformative experience for many.

So the headlines of the past few days prompted me to reread portions of her book and I appreciated anew her approach to our cultural beliefs about money – especially her discussion about the mindset of scarcity and the sufficiency of life.  I particularly appreciated her reflections on our interconnectedness and her challenging of the current economic paradigm of “us vs. them”, “rich vs. poor”, “have vs. have not.”

So if you’re starting this day with fearful thoughts about the economy, take a few moments to consider this brief 10 minute video from Lynne’s Soul of Money Institute and reflect on your relationship to money.  Feel free to share your comments.

are we fooling ourselves

New York Times op-ed columnist Charles M. Blow wrote a powerful opinion column entitled “Empire at the End of Decadence” in which he challenges us to look honestly at our country’s condition, compared to other industrialized countries.  It is definitely worth our time to consider our actions (both locally and nationally) against the backdrop of this reality:

obama’s rally in chicago

Yesterday I wrote about tuning out of this election… but old habits die hard.  In this final weekend before the election I’m shifting from “tuning out” to “turning out”:   

Moving America Forward Rally with President Obama
Saturday, October 30th

Location:
The Midway Plaisance Park, Hyde Park, Chicago
59th Street and Dorchester Avenue

Ticketed and Special Guests entrance:
58th and Dorchester Avenue.
Accessible from the From 57th Street Metra Station. Approach from 57th Street and Dorchester Avenue.General Admission entrance:
North and South sides of Woodlawn Avenue at both 59th and 60th.

ADA Entrance:
58th and Dorchester Avenue. Accessible from the From 57th Street Metra
Station. Approach from 57th Street and Dorchester Avenue.

Parking:
Parking is limited. Public transportation is highly recommended.

Doors open at 4:00

Attending:
Rally is free and open to the public on a  first come first serve
basis. RSVP is strongly encouraged via this link:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/Chicagorallyrsvp

Musical guest:
Common

Security:
Attendees will go through airport-like security, please limit personal
items: the more brought, the longer it takes to process. No signs, no
sharp objects, no folding chairs, no big bags.
Transportation:
Parking is limited, use of public transportation and carpooling is
strongly encouraged. Site will be accessible via the 57th and 59th
Street Metra Stations as well as the Cottage Grove Green Line CTA
Station. Service will be increased on both the Green Line and the
Cottage Grove CTA Buses.