I am transfixed by the pictures of devastation on the television surrounding the tragedy in New Orleans. I am struck by the observation that the faces of many of the adults sitting listless in the New Orleans Superdome are very similar to the individuals who have participated in our Leadership Training for New York City public school parents.
I asked myself, "What is the difference between the people trapped inside their homes and the New Orleans Superdome as compared to those who managed to evacuate?"
To me, being "trapped" in this horrific situation was a heartbreaking reflection of what continues to keep many urban poor people being "trapped" in their environment generation after generation. It cannot be denied that society hasn't always supported the notion that these impoverished individuals deserve better. In fact, maybe if the powers that be thought these people deserved better there might have been a greater rescue effort in the first place. But, it is my experience that no one is going to give you what you don't think you deserve. Maybe the real issue is not what society thinks someone deserves, but more importantly what individuals think and feel they deserve.
Of course, there were residents who weren't trapped, but instead made a conscious decision to stay for reasons such as: protecting their home, the experience of making it through past hurricanes, being given inaccurate information, wanting to stay to help others and for other personal reasons. But, it is my opinion, after 13 years of working at an intimate level with an urban public school parent population, that there were a significant number of people who wanted to leave but could not imagine a possible way to get out of the city to safety as a choice that was available to them personally.
I am clear that this segment of society will never move out of a lifestyle based on poverty and survival into a world of possibilities and abundance until they are self-empowered; until they realize at the deepest level that they create, promote and allow whatever is happening in their lives. It is the realization that we have something to do with the way our life looks at any particular moment. It is viewing our lives through the eyes of what we feel we deserve as creative and powerful human beings. We call this skill "taking responsibility for our lives" as opposed to "being a victim."
During our 18-hour program participants realize there is not just one habitual way to live life, but different choices to be made in how we listen, communicate, forgive, achieve goals and deal with conflict. This journey of taking personal responsibility is enhanced as we are able to observe how viewing reality through the limiting filter of past pain, unhealed suffering and habitual ways of responding to life and its challenges has limited our potential and full expression. As a result, these parents are able to live more in the world of choice and possibilities. Their children also benefit by growing up in a home where reflecting before acting, choice and taking self-responsibility are being exemplified.
I am committed to assisting people in developing the skills that make personal empowerment a reality. I believe this learning must become an integral part of the experience of every family member that participates in our system of public education for the possibility of significant societal change to occur.