Here are some ideas that will get you branded a troublemaker.
Advocacy
People should not be pushed to the edges of our society.
Some people cannot get on their feet without some help or advocacy.
We all do not have the same opportunities because our history and circumstances vary so much.
Programs
Most government programs have a way of evoking the law of unintended consequences. Think Cabrini Green.
Too many social service programs measure output, not outcome.
Too many of them are about running programs, not helping people.
Too many of them do not treat individuals with dignity.
Too many of them are not sustainable. Many of them have or will to shut down.
Too many of them are social service providers, instead of advocates working in tandem with individuals to improve their circumstances.
Leadership
Most leadership structures are closed, self-protective, and definitely, not visionary.
Many people in leadership are not leaders, but are there are in their position because of tenure or relational capital.
Elected officials should have term limits so they don’t become too powerful, so they don’t become too possessive of their responsibilities, so they don’t become career oriented in their elected position, so voters have the advantage of fresh ideas and leadership, and so they remember who they work for.
We should hold these elected officials accountable.
Encouragement
If you have a fresh idea, find a way to do it that does not rely on an old power structures. New wine and old wine skins are not a good combination.
Do let anyone discourage you from doing a new thing and trying to right a wrong or improve upon the system.
Powerlessness is a tremendous blessing for only then do we truly understand.
Originally posted May 6, 2011.
