This Thanksgiving Mitt Romney and many other conservatives have much to be grateful for. Not getting the White House, a loss CBS reports they didn't expect, provides exactly the kind of bottom which forces them to change. At speaker meetings, recovered drunks in Alcoholics Anonymous gush about how wonderful being in jail was since they got it that drinking was the problem. They hammer how they have such an attitude of gratitude for being locked up with menacing lowlifes since that's what it took to do what no one wants to do: Change.
The adventure Romney et al. could be embracing is what kind of narrative will they be creating for the 2014 elections and then down the road for the 2016 run for the White House where they might encounter Hillary Clinton. The prerequisite to that, though, is to accept the reality that America is diverse. And, brother, is it ever.
Divorce meditator lawyer Alla Roytberg recently published an article in the NYSBA NEW YORK DISPUTE RESOLUTION LAWYER about the ethnic diversity in Queens, New York. Here is that article. In order to create a fair emotionally satisfying resolution for the parties in a divorce, Roytberg hammers, the facilitator has to identify and factor in the unique values of both the cuture and each of the two parties. The Queens community is made up of cultures such as Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Haitian, Indian, Bukharian, Italian, Hispanic, African, Russian, Iranian, Hindu, Moslem, Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist.
The role narrative plays in politics can't be over-emphasized. Last Sunday, the influential THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE deconstructed how Barack Obama's ability to create a narrative in 2008 was central to winning. As we remember, conservatives had the celebrity power of a Sarah Palin and war hero John McCain but no story which resonated.
What are resources for putting together a narrative?
There's the new book "You Can't Make This Stuff Up," by Godfather of Creative Nonfiction Lee Gutkind.
Also Millennial communications strategist Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, identifies the common ground among generations, the private sector and nonprofit, and genders. Her special area of expertise is building partnerships and getting them off the ground through special events.
But, most important, just go out there beyond one's comfort zone. Observe, listen, and then engage those very different from you in a conversation. Don't evaluate the values. They probably don't consider your values all that hot either.
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