Summary: According to the US Senate’s website, “the (US President's ) swearing-in ceremony represents both national renewal and continuity of leadership. As each president has offered a vision for America’s future, we reflect on the heritage of Inaugurations past.” Presidents do not lead because they are paid to do so. They lead at the will of the people. And while it is wonderful and important to take pride in and pay attention to the swearing-in of our nation’s newest leader, it is just as important to remember that our identity as a country is deeply rooted around a sense of continuity because of the Constitution, more so than the vision of any single president. The Constitution of the United States is the greatest American example of all time of a document clearly stating the alignment of the values and vision of a long ago group of stakeholder leaders from 13 colonies. They knew that a written document about shared vision and shared values, tempered by measures of success appropriate for the day, would be an invaluable beacon of light, long-term, to a fledgling country of disparate people committed to thrive long past the time it took to put it down. Every nationally elected leader and staff member since its writing has been responsible for serving those values that we, as Americans, agree define us and guide us. Today, we’re sending this e-card out a little early as an encouragement for you to be a part of the national reinvestment of our American values and vision via the Inauguration ceremony, no matter where you are. With this week's program I invite you to think about how you can make a difference in your own community by being a stakeholder leader at something. In today's show, we're talking to Jordan Brandman. He had many years of interest and experience in working with community groups when he decided to run for School Board Member. He wanted to take what he knew about schools, management, and building strong relationships across multiple community sectors, share it, and make a difference. Jordan Brandman, is a political community stakeholder leader. Listen to his story to gain some critical insights into what it means to be elected to a community leadership position and the kind of difference you can make if you stick with it for a while. Along with an acute awareness and experience with government’s roles and responsibilities, Jordan also understands that we as citizens must hold up our end of the citizenship bargain, and be actively engaged in our communities, know what the rules of law are, and be effective stakeholders in the implementation of policies that our elected government produces. For all of that, we are pleased to have him on our show. On Birth2Work Radio, we consistently address big, complex questions, with a long term and systemic view of the solution. Often our society’s focus on the big picture issues seems to pass over the importance of local actions. Distracted by complacency, or even a lack of personal crisis, we can fail to act in time to avert a looming disaster. And now look where we are. The crisis has finally landed at our front doors. There is no argument over whether or not our economic security is in crisis. What we must ask is how we entered our current economic situation again, without seeing the signs of it years ago? What can we do differently on a local level? Must our country confront a similar meltdown with our future workforce issues, or are we capable of tackling a big problem like understanding how to prepare capable people for the future before it bites us? Yes we can. - Elane V. Scott www.Birth2Work.org
