6 | JANUARY 9 • 2020
essay
A New Year’s Resolution
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This year let’
s rededicate ourselves to political engagement.
T
here is a story in the
Talmud about a young
man who had fallen
into a coma. When suddenly
he awakened, his father was
sitting by his side. Startled
and grateful, the man asked
his son what
he experienced
during that
brief journey to
the next world
and back. The
son answered,
“I saw an
upside-down
world.”
From this brief journey
we learn that a world upside
down affects everyone. We
cannot carry on as we once
did before. We get distracted;
making decisions becomes
difficult. We lose our sense
of who we can trust.
This is a lesson to help
mourners through a difficult
time, such as the one I expe-
rienced following the recent
passing of my father. After
the passing of a loved one,
our world is turned upside-
down. We get disoriented
and lose our way. Slowly, we
find our way back. This is
also a lesson for all of us to
better understand our world
today and the opportunities
in the months ahead.
Not only are we in a new
year, we are also in a new
decade. This is our chance
for a do-over, to start from
scratch and reconnect to the
very place we got distracted
from.
It also is our time to fix
our world — together. It is
time we find purpose in what
we do, at work and at home,
with our families and in our
community. The Hebrew
word for purpose is kavanah.
It is a term commonly used
in prayer, but the concept
has a much broader appli-
cation. In prayer, it is about
being present and fulling the
mitzvot.
I recently attended a lec-
ture by Robert E. Quinn,
a professor with the Ross
School of Business at the
University of Michigan.
In his latest book, The
Economics of Higher Purpose,
Quinn tells us that the pur-
pose of a leader is to recog-
nize the common good and
sacrifice for it so that others
will follow.
There is no better time for
us to take this opportunity
to reflect on the past sever-
al years to help each of us
prepare for the months and
years ahead and to be pres-
ent in the world around us.
The past decade was a dif-
ficult one. We emerged from
a recession and saw a polit-
ical tidal wave of changes,
not just in the United States,
but all over the world. With
these changes, we witnessed
an increase in anti-Semitism
and violent acts of terrorism
targeting schools, shuls and
shops.
Anti-Semitism is on the
rise again as Jews are being
targeted by terrorists in New
York, New Jersey, Germany,
California, Italy and the
United Kingdom.
Anti-Semitism is hard to
stop, and it is hard to educate
the ignorant. But what if we
elected more Jews to posi-
tions where they can prevent
it or quash misinformation
by other influencers? If we
elected more Jewish people
to office in America and
abroad, while investing our
time in building relation-
ships and fighting against all
forms of hate, then perhaps
we can minimize the impact.
While more than 6 per-
cent of the U.S. Congress
is Jewish, with 34 Jews
among the 535 lawmak-
ers in the U.S. House of
Representatives and Senate,
in Michigan, there are just
two Jewish legislators, one of
whom will be term-limited
next year.
In 2020, we will not only
elect the next president of
the United States, we will
elect or re-elect a U.S. sen-
ator, members of the U.S.
House of Representatives,
members of the Michigan
House of Representatives,
county-wide seats, township
supervisors and trustees,
state supreme court justices,
university regents and judg-
es.
It takes courage, commit-
ment and heroism to run for
office. These people are put-
ting their reputations on the
line to stand up and speak
out against injustice, to help
their communities overcome
challenges and to improve
our quality of life.
Many of us are involved
in the community. We sit on
boards, volunteer for non-
profits and make financial
contributions to organiza-
tions that make a meaningful
impact. As we sit on these
boards or volunteer, we grow
frustrated as to how these
organizations are filling a
void left by the government.
A void left in part due to
a lack of understanding of
where the real needs are.
We can no longer hide
behind the veil of tikkun
olam; we need to take addi-
tional steps and become
more engaged politically and
with our elected officials.
Philanthropy is vital to our
community but so, too, is
political engagement.
As a community, we do a
great job of building rela-
tionships. Some of us may
even travel to Washington
to lobby Congress. But how
often are we leading cara-
vans to Lansing, to Pontiac
or Detroit? Why aren’
t we in
Lansing or in our city halls
more often supporting legis-
lation or policies that benefit
or protect our community?
Why aren’
t we part of coa-
litions to support a broader
agenda or advancing our
own? And why aren’
t we out
in the community working
diligently to encourage peo-
ple to run for political office?
The time is now to recruit
more people from our com-
munity to run for office.
April is the filing deadline.
There is plenty of time to
find more bold leaders who
are willing to stand up and
speak out, not just around
the dinner table but to take
the next step and run for
office. Then we need to edu-
cate the candidates on what
issues matter to us and how
they can help support our
community.
As we enter a new
decade, I challenge you to
think about your purpose
and rededicate yourself in
becoming a part of a network
of advocates who will not
only support our community
philanthropically but also get
involved politically, even run
for office.
Daniel Cherrin is the founder of North
Coast Strategies, a public relations
firm. He recently announced his
intention to run for elected office.
Daniel
Cherrin