A Movement Moment

Over the years I've struggled to reconcile my progressive stance on many issues with the Ivory Tower education I received at Harvard. My experience there prioritized the Top Dog over the Underdog, and introduced me to hosts of prep-school educated, famous-name folk. Public school kids were the minority and progressive values a subtle thread, a subtext, of the vibe and message.

But with the launch of the Resistance School by students at Harvard's Kennedy School, I am poised to reclaim my alma mater and at least one segment of its teaching / learning population. Though the movement burst on the scene only a week ago, the first lecture, "How to Communicate our Values in Political Advocacy," (https://www.resistanceschool.com/session-one/) had garnered over 36,000 views by the time my friends and I watched last night. The presenter - my former Quincy House suitemate and Harvard Professor Timothy Patrick McCarthy - gave a stirring lecture in which he described this time as "A Movement Moment,"  further explaining that he meant not just the Resistance School, but the overall arc of rallies, marches, phone calls, letters and social media postings that arose in lieu of the November 8, 2016 election.

Tim's lecture was inspirational and instructional, describing America's roots as a protest nation in which "dissent is the engine," and also the tension between the values expressed in our Declaration of Independence and our nation's imperfect  record of expressing these values in public and private life. He noted the "paradox of progress and prejudice" in our history, and how each progressive movement built on those preceding it to "fill in the gaps" of our imperfect practice, to strive more fully to realize the life, liberty and happiness of all our people.

I commend the lecture vigorously to everyone, particularly those who have felt adrift in the last seventy-seven days. As Tim noted in his lecture, we all have the right and responsibility to partake in public discourse, to tell our stories, and to listen to the stories of others. He urged us to be "fierce and generous" as we move  to further evolve this nation, to share and to understand, to practice and make connections. Amen, brother, and thank you for the welcome home.