Light at the end of the political conventions

America needs every one of us to lend our energy, our talents, our ambition to making our nation better and stronger — where you can get a good job and send your kids to a good school, no matter what zip code you live in, where all our children can dream, and those dreams are within reach.

When I am President, I will work to ensure that all of our kids are treated equally and protected equally. Every action I take, I will ask myself: Does this make life better for young Americans in Baltimore, in Chicago, in Detroit, in Ferguson who have in every way the same right to live out their dreams as any other child in America?

There is an old saw that says: “I went to a hockey fight and, lo and behold, a game broke out.” I watched much of both political party conventions — and, lo and behold, amidst all the partisan rhetoric and campaigning, at least one common “issue/concern” was raised.

{mosads}The above are direct quotes from Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, as they accepted their party’s nomination for President. The first paragraph is from Clinton’s speech, the second from Trump’s. Taking them at face value, the challenge is now for a public dialogue to “break out” that begins to build consensus around responses.

The common sentiments these statements express require actions than cannot be achieved by whoever is elected President, through the power of that office alone. Ultimately, as an electorate and as stewards of our future, we need to insist on a dialogue that goes beyond expressing these sentiments to developing practical and proximate strategies — public and private, professional and voluntary — that will enable us to realize them.

In such a dialogue, Democrats may stress the need for public responses that provide additional income and service supports and a proactive government that ensures a living wage to reduce material poverty. Republicans may stress the need for greater personal responsibility and community initiative based upon indigenous leadership that fosters more points of light within poor communities to enhance personal efficacy. In the end, the solution (for reasons of achievable politics and most effective policy) is not a matter of either/or, but of both/and.

These statements should be seen and used as an opportunity for us to insist on further, deliberative dialogue — dialogue that goes beyond sound bite proclamations mapping out a partisan political position. It is incumbent, for our children and our nation, that this dialogue does “break out” in ways that lead to that action, not only at the Presidential campaign level but in our states, communities, and neighborhoods.

At least that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Charlie Bruner is Director Emeritus of the Child and Family Policy Center, which he founded as he completed twelve years as an elected Iowa state legislator. Prior to that, he received his Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University and has had different stints at both teaching and research. Thus, he brings three dubious backgrounds — academic, politician, and advocate — to his current work as a co-principal investigator for the Learning Collaborative on Health Equity and  Young Children (see: www.childequity.org for his website).

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