This team was created to organize a comprehensive poverty reduction effort that encompassed all the citizens in need of Southwest Michigan. With so much momentum gathered in one direction, there is much to be hopeful for.
But leaders and citizens alike: be warned - this is no task for those who lack dedication. If this is not taken seriously, it has serious potential to fail. However, if pursued vigorously, it also has the potential to succeed beyond our hopes.
It reminds me of a quote from the movie Gladiator, where the emperor is speaking of the decline of his empire due to corruption and war:
"There was a dream that was Rome. I can only whisper of it now. Anything more than a whisper and the dream vanishes. It's so... fragile."The dream of a "communitarian society," ask Lewis Walker Institute's Director Tim Ready eloquently spoke, is such a whisper. Our society is on a similar verge of decline, with its vices being greed and indifference. The dream that every person have a chance to succeed is seriously threatened by our economic climate.
Hence, it will take quite the effort of both of leaders and citizens to sustain this whisper. It will take time out of personal lives, rearrangement of priorities, and eliminating excuses to accomplish our hope. It will take passion during times of despair, and hard work in times of exhaustion.
I know that now is the time in history to lift people out of poverty, an opportune moment to raise equity and create a sustainable future for all citizens.
It will simply take a lot more than lip service to accomplish these tasks. Be prepared to commit when you are asked to do so.
The leadership team meeting in Kalamazoo
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