Do You Have It ?
Honoring Men And Women With Courage To Make A Difference
By Penfield W. Tate III
For the GPHN
What is It?
It is standing in front of grocery stores, or in church parking lots collecting signatures for the cause in which you believe. It is pursuing a course of action and a change of policy. It is pursuing the right cause, even if unpopular or not supported by others.
The ravages of climate change are made more plain daily as reflected in persistent and multi-year droughts, mudslides continually closing I-70 in Glenwood Canyon, rivers running dry, floods, hurricanes and rampant forest fires that caused Denver to have the worst air in the world one day in August.
Government is slow to respond so It compels people to stand in the parking lots of grocery stores, churches and in parks collecting nearly 17,000 petition signatures to push for more composting and recycling as a first step to stem the tide of climate change.
If government won’t act, It requires that they do.
It compels people to appear before city council to testify about, complain, and advocate for the plight of the unhoused in our community. They see people sleeping on parking strips, sidewalks, in public parks and other areas and are moved and outraged. It compels others to be outspoken in their opposition to the sweeps of the unhoused and forcibly removing people from what “homes” they have.
In response, the City Council says it doesn’t have the authority to set policy. The mayor’s office appears committed to a combination of strategies that fails the eye test as being ineffective and non-responsive to a growing problem. It moves people to push for a change of policies and a new approach.
Leadership on display
The entirety of Afghanistan is overrun by armed Taliban jihadists. They have taken over city after city. They have scared off the established government. And they are frightening the population, and the world. They and we are in this position because It compelled President Biden to honor the commitment to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan made by former President Trump.
Many of Biden’s military leaders disagree with the strategy and many Americans are experiencing the déjà vu of our retreating from Vietnam nearly 50 years ago. It compels Biden to acknowledge that this new policy and approach, however badly it appears and feels, is a recognition of the past failures of military and foreign policy and a desire to reverse course for the sake of the future.
Many years ago It compelled the mayor of a “liberal” city to advocate for the rights of everyone and to make it the policy of the city to prohibit discrimination against member of the LGBTQ+ community as the right thing to do — no matter how unpopular or high the personal and political price.
It is sometimes in rare supply but vitally necessary for our society – leadership. And, we have seen some amazing examples of leadership over time.
You don’t have to be an elected official to possess It, just the courage, commitment and integrity to do so.
The volunteers in the parking lots collecting signatures know they may hear more noes than yesses, but it does not matter. Their leadership is on display by fighting for their vision where we are not destroying our own planet. The moneyed interests oppose them, but they hope we wake up in time to support necessary change for our own sakes and for that of our kids and grandkids — and the planet.
Our neighbors crowd city council meetings urging for a solution to the plight of the unhoused. Their leadership compelled them to pursue one unsuccessful ballot measure; expect more in the absence of real solutions from our government.
President Biden knew it was time to accept the reality of a failed foreign policy 20 years in the making. His decision was intended to prepare for a new way forward that had to begin with acknowledging the failures of the past. That’s called leadership.
The right thing to do
When my father, Penfield Tate II, fought in the 1970s to amend the City of Boulder’s human rights ordinance to prohibit discrimination against people because of what was then called their “sexual orientation,” he thought it was the right thing to do.
My father was amazed, stunned and personally hurt by the opposition launched by narrow minds fueled by homophobia and bigotry. He survived the repeal of the amendment and a recall effort, but lost his reelection badly. He was often advised to abandon the effort to pass the amendment but said his integrity compelled him to push forward regardless of the consequences.
On Aug. 21, my father’s leadership was recognized posthumously when the Boulder municipal building was renamed the “Penfield W. Tate II Municipal Building.”
Leadership. Happy school year. Let’s start training the next group of leaders.
Penfield W. Tate III is an attorney in Denver. He represented Park Hill in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1997 to 2000, and in the State Senate from 2001 to February 2003. He lives in Park Hill.