"Hope, Not Fear" Won't Cut It Anymore; "Courage" Might

Before we get to the essence of this piece, a bit of context for the title.

I was the last EVP/CEO of the Bronfman Foundation of the Seagram Corporation.?That foundation closed when the company merged out of existence 20 years ago.?The chair of the company and of the foundation was the late Edgar Bronfman Sr.???Enough years have passed that younger readers may not know his name, so a few facts will be helpful.?

Edgar Bronfman Sr, born in 1929, was a “BFB” – a billionaire from birth, long before the days when there were billionaires by the hundreds.?In its day, the Seagram company was the leading liquor company, the premier wine importer, and ultimately also owned Universal [theme parks, music, movies, etc.]?He was also the longtime leader of the World Jewish Congress, in which capacity he was treated like a head of state.?Over the years, he was mentioned in both the business and social press all the time.?As an insider I can attest that some of what was written was even true.

It was later in his life, though, when he discovered meaning in his own Jewish identity and, inter alia, became Chair of the Board of the Hillel Foundations.?That coincided with a time, the early to mid-1990’s, when Jewish institutional leaders were bemoaning the erosion of loyalty to legacy institutions, especially among young people. There was an abiding sense of foreboding that the institutions that defined Jewish life in the second half of the 20th Century were vulnerable.?A negativity about the future was palpable.

Into this mix came this well-known world business leader who challenged that negativity.?His mantra was “Hope, Not Fear”. It was the title of some of his writings and of his many talks.?The world was being redefined, recreated, “venture-capital”ed.?Why couldn’t Jewish life and institutions??That world was in need of new ways of thinking, organizing, identifying.??Don’t be afraid of the future, he implicitly argued; rather invest in new and different models appropriate for the new millennium.?Fear doesn’t guarantee survival but hope in the future might.

Edgar Bronfman’s words, and the creativity of many others, served to shake up much of that world [a story for another time and place.]?What is relevant for the remainder of this piece is to see if that mantra can inform us today.

About “fear.”?Frankly, we should be very afraid.?Two overriding examples:

Climate Change:?

Our world’s shameful and laggardly response to climate change should inspire fear in all of us. ?The response is especially shameful in the USA. Does anyone dare think that the heat domes over Europe and much of the USA are simply bad luck? ??Can we simply ignore the droughts and wildfires which jeopardize the food chain in many corners of the world??What about the impending massive migrations which will be forced by the loss of arable lands and the total elimination of whole islands and miles of shorelines??

It is not as if there is a mystery about what to do.?Our willful and stubborn unwillingness to act at a time when incrementalism might have been enough means that we have a lot of catch-up to do.?But we can, even now, do a lot.?We can – and must -pass appropriate legislation that prioritizes investments and taxation that sustain rather than decimate.?We can - and must - stop subsidizing fossil fuel companies, especially now as they are reaping unconscionable profits.?We can and must change our personal behaviors, even if only in modest ways.?We can - and must - recognize that climate recognizes no national boundaries or political systems. It is truly not rhetoric to describe these as existential matters. In the USA, we can - and must - hold elected officials accountable for their stubborn unwillingness to do what is right for us, for our grandchildren, and for the world.?Can it really be that 51 US Senators are blind to the reality of climate change??[Of course not!]

I am very afraid. ?To make a difference, a difference on which all of the world depends, hope won’t get us there. It is far too passive.??It needs more. Courage of our convictions and, more important, courage of our actions might. ??

Civil Society and Civil Liberties:?

I trust that few readers of the articles on this site need too much commentary on this topic either.?I speak of the erosion of liberties, civility, and social weal of the last generation, most particularly in the last few years.?This is true in too many places around the world, and frighteningly and ominously increasingly in the US.?In this country we have underfunded education, health care, and childcare for at least a generation.?We have functionally tolerated the elimination of the separation of powers which has politicized the judiciary beyond recognition.?We have enabled antinomian and anti-social behavior.?Many, too many, have been willing to avert their eyes to insurrection, institutionalized racism through extreme gerrymandering, willful and intended disenfranchisement of whole swaths of the population, excuse hate speech and xenophobic, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, and related behavior of all kinds.?Many have allowed their cynicism of public institutions and governance as an excuse to atomize and remove themselves from even exercising their plebiscite.

Need I go on??I am sure that you realize that my critique is unequivocal toward nativists, isolationists, and those who simply assume that science and truth don’t matter when it is inconvenient.?

But others, those with whom I politically align, are not exempt.?Seeing that systemic issues transcend individual sectors is absolutely true.?They need multi-sector responses. But multi-sector coordination should not devolve into politically defined “intersectionality” that defines one as either wholly with or wholly against.?It has led to paralysis of the majority.?Yes, I share the profound disappointment that we have not yet achieved any of the big picture changes this administration promised.?But we are also letting this moment of possibility dissipate because of harsh ideological lines – even among those with whom we largely agree. ?

I am very afraid.?Those who would impose anti-democratic laws and norms are single minded in achieving those goals.?And they are winning!! Those of us who believe in democracy, privacy, civil liberties, education, civil society do have multiple agendas.?If we want to halt the deterioration of what we think of as civil society and civil liberties, we cannot simply “hope” for a better day.?That might have worked for a couple of administrations in the past, but it is far too passive for today.???

Hope won’t work to reverse these trends. ?Courage of our convictions and, more important, courage of our actions might. ?

….

Of course, I am not the first or only person expressing these thoughts.?There are many in social media and among elected officials who fully concur.?

And I am also very well aware that many of my colleagues and institutions in the philanthropy space are putting time, money, and energy into addressing both of these profound challenges to our lives.?

But this is not a normal time, when it is sufficient to simply acknowledge that others have said things and done things.?It is a time that cries out for those of us in the philanthropy space to model a courageous and unequivocal advocacy, with all that entails, to save the physical world in which we all live, and to save our democracy on which our future depends.?

I am very afraid.?It is not hyperbole to say that history will judge all of us by how we respond to these frightening times.

Three decades after Edgar Bronfman’s mantra helped to mobilize the Jewish world. I fear that his words “Hope, Not Fear” no longer ring true.

An ancient proverb says: “True courage is moving forward when the outcome is uncertain.”?Anything less is not enough.

Also published as #442 on the WisePhilanthropy.Institute site.