In DC, I was struck by how much wider the street blocks are in comparison to NYC. In New York, we always feel like we’re moving quickly because it’s easy to see progress in our movements. DC has more space and so it feels like a slow march to our destination.
As we have watched the antics play out in Washington in the past month, I couldn’t help but link the seemingly too slow progress on the Hill to the too slow progress I felt as I traversed the city on foot. I pride myself on having a quick New Yorker step. In DC, my progress was slow and steady no matter how quickly I put one foot in front of the other. It felt like I covered so much more ground with so much more effort in DC than I ever do in New York.
And maybe that’s the trick. I know you’re frustrated by Washington politics. I am, too, and I really do believe that the majority of politicians on both sides of the aisle are also frustrated. As I stood in front of that great Capitol Dome, I couldn’t help but feel a very strong sense of responsibility. The awesomeness of its size and detail is overwhelming, but small in comparison to the decisions that are being made inside.
Our government housed in that Dome is an enormous, gangly beast. To tame and then reform it is quite possibly the most complicated task in the world. It takes time, patience, and commitment. There is no slam dunk answer to any problem facing government today. There is no silver bullet despite the clever sound bites being thrown around by those jockeying for a more powerful position. It is a long, multi-term slog. We will take steps forward and back in an unpredictable dance because we are so intricately intertwined with our global neighbors. The butterfly effect is more potent than ever, and it is inescapable.
It would be easy to throw our hands up and buy into the propaganda being highlighted in every major and minor media outlet. It would be so (temporarily) comforting to pin all our hopes on a political messiah who claims he or she can wave some magic Washington wand and sprinkle the glitter of prosperity across our stubbornly depressed economy. That is the stuff of fairy tales.
Recovery will take many small and courageous acts by ordinary folks like you and me. We vote every day with our purchases, large and small, as much as we do at our polling stations on election day. We decide to go to work or look for a new job. We show up and do our best, or we don’t. We decide to work hard or slack off. We decide to innovate or phone it in, on every level of our lives. We decide to be numb or be present. We are teaching everyone around us in every moment through our words and actions. Those are the choices that will create lasting and fruitful change or continue to send us down in a potentially fatal spiral. These small opportunities for choice are so embedded into the fabric of our lives that we sometimes don’t even realize we’re making them. We forget how much impact and power we really have.
I turned these thoughts over and over in my mind as I made my way up to meet friends in Northwest DC for dinner and drinks. Visiting our nation’s capitol, my former home and maybe one day home again, reminded me of the incredible responsibility that rests with all of us. If we are going to truly reap the benefits of a free nation and free markets, then we cannot turn our backs in frustration when it so desperately needs our attention. Keep tuning in. Keep asking questions, searching for solutions, and raising possibilities. It’s a big ship, and we will all need to work together to turn it around.
Christa Avampato 