The idealist, the realist, the skeptic and the cynic
February 9, 2010For an idealist, the world has become surreal. Most of us start life with hopes and dreams. As the year’s pass, we recognize that we live in shades of gray. The institutions that we once thought were rock-solid are not so. In 2010 that can be said for our banks, cars, government, schools and others which we all assumed would provide us with safety and maybe even tranquility.
Like any wide-grinned young person, I believed that anything was possible. The only difference was that I believed this until only a few days ago. Not really — I think on September 12, 2001, I knew that we were headed into a dark place from which we would not soon emerge.
Hence, we have not. There have been glimmers of hope and possibility, but for the most part, we have witnessed downright scary times in the form of weather, war and the failure of reliable institutions.
Like many of you, I am afraid that my days of idealism are behind me. We try to hold onto realism and not head for the hills with the skeptics and cynics. To be Americans, means to continue to hope. To break the malaise of shades of gray requires us to march on, with vigor.
I write this for you as much as for me. Ghandi said “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” As public relations professionals, we must lead the charge in the change of behavior. It is up to us to put forth our client’s best face and to harness hope and possibility in an otherwise hopeless time.
News is a downer. We learn that more young people have died in the war (yes, we are still in one), that the stock market has taken a bath again, that the money left may not be safe in the banks and, that, if we bought that hybrid to save the environment –we are likely to careen out of control and create danger worse than unsavory fuel emissions. Go figure, no amount of PR would have helped many of these situations. But then again…
Pubic relations is to deal in hope. I don’t mean to say that we are dream weavers, but our charge is about garnering support at a time when folks may be well out of strength or good will. It is about telling an honest story to a skeptical public and helping them to believe again. And sometimes, it’s about just telling the hard truth or saying that you are sorry.
While we can’t often count on world leadership to straight talk to us, we can rely on one-another. We can change the paradigm by determining that these are the times of opportunity.
Year’s ago I waited outside of music lessons for my daughter. The child before was three and her mother (one of my oldest friends was a world class piano player). The child was tired and exited her lesson. Her dad loudly exclaimed, “But Rachel, our people don’t give up.” I thought it funny (to a three-year old) at the time, but it is a story that I remember.
PR people, spokespeople, public affairs professionals, media gurus..all of you…we don’t give up. For every challenge, there is another option. You will find the path. Be the change. Hunker down. Take a chance. Create your destiny. Live large. Our ancestors came this way before.
Wearing sunglasses knowing that the sun will come out again (someday),
Jennifer
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