Page 48 - FCW, August 2020

TheLectern
We need to talk about
social responsibility
Individualism alone doesn’t define American culture. Leaders must encourage the other aspects.
BY STEVE KELMAN
T he United States’ terrible COVID- 19 performance is in a league only with Brazil’s. All the major European countries have bent the COVID-19 curve much more effectively than we have. This reflects a failure of our political leadership at the top, but it also reflects a problem at the bottom, in our culture. Americans are famously individ- ualistic. This is an attractive feature of our culture that undergirds our commitment to freedom and propels us to achieve. But the COVID crisis has also reminded us of the dark side of American individualism, what former British Prime Minister Edward Heath referred to as the “unacceptable face
of capitalism.”
That dark side is a selfish disregard
for others. We have observed this in the demonstrations against mask wearing and more recently in the shocking “COVID parties” where young people — one of whom is infected — get together to compete to see who else can become infected first. Last week, a 30-year-old who had attended such a party died of COVID-19.
There have been occasional examples of people in the United Kingdom and Germany griping that mask orders violate individual liberty, but they have almost never involved organized protests. To my knowledge, no country outside the U.S. has had COVID parties. Friends
in China, including critics of the Chinese government, have asked me incredulously why there are people in the U.S. who object to wearing masks.
The unacceptable face of individ- ualism has also appeared in the behavior of our leaders. The last president who
call out egregious examples of reckless disregard, such as COVID parties or defiant refusals to wear masks in public.
In the past, other leaders at the national level have given that message. John F. Kennedy famously said, “Ask not what your country can doforyou—askwhatyoucando for your country.” Many Americans responded to that call by joining the Peace Corps or participating in civil rights protests.
The good news is that social responsibility is also a part of our culture. However, when conflicting messages exist, the job of leaders is to emphasize the constructive messages. That’s what we need now: a president who calls on Americans to join AmeriCorps or any of the nonprofit or religious organizations that encourage concern for others. Mayors and local leaders who are seen in public wearing masks or who show up on a regular basis to help out at soup kitchens or homeless shelters. Leaders who consciously try to be role models.
Let’s bring back a thousand points of light. We need that now. n
Steve Kelman is a professor of public management at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and former administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. His blog can be found at fcw.com/thelectern.
Americans are famously individualistic.
This is an attractive feature of our culture that undergirds our commitment to freedom and propels us to achieve.
talked about the social responsibility of individuals was George H.W. Bush, with his “thousand points of light” initiative praising volunteerism. By contrast, in 2018, Trump stated, “‘Thousand points of light,’ I never quite got that one. What the hell is that? ‘Make America great again’ we understand. ‘Putting America first’ we understand.”
We want to avoid any kind of hectoring tone of the kind that got former President Jimmy Carter into trouble with his so-called malaise speech, but our political leaders should
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