Last night, I was watching the news, and Sen. Christopher Dodd was on, all but calling the head of GM a dink. Now, in DC that kind of direct talk is rare. This is a risk adverse town in which you seldom hear folks at any level of the chain really speaking their mind, let alone calling somebody o-u-t.
I smiled to myself… since I had been beating myself up a bit yesterday over my inability to keep my opinions to myself.
In the recent Chronicle of Philanthropy, I was quoted as saying some pretty harsh comments about Dan Pallotta. I think what I said was true, but it follows on the heels of being called to task by the Chair of our local food bank over some comments I made in the Washington Post, which—again–I think are true, and I told him as much in my reply.
But this has become a trend. Reporters call me for quotes about all kinds of issues…mostly regarding the state of the sector, measurements, politics or hunger. But I also gets lots of “asks” for my opinion of the work of colleagues, and, quite frankly, I do not suffer fools gladly.
Needless to say…that can really stir up the coffee grinds. Over the years, I’ve heard from quite a few board chairs or executive directors, all but insisting that I adhere to the code.
“What code?”, you ask….the code that says the we, as nonprofits are never supposed to say anything bad about another nonprofit.
Normally I laugh. Really…as in out loud, when I hear that call to fraternity or solidarity from a scoundrel who is trying to avoid the glare of real analysis, which if applied to most of my targets, would do my dirty work for me.
But that doesn’t mean I take to the task with relish.
But let’s be honest. For all our talk of metrics and outside analysis, and how that would tighten our collective ship, if more of us just spoke the truth, and called out the people and organizations that we know drag us back, hold us down or retard our growth, then we might not be flailing about right now, fighting at times for our very survival.
I loathe being the heavy. Really. I mean, as much as I dig him, I worry that I’m becoming the Christopher Hitchens of the nonprofit world…the guy who seems to hate everyone. The crank. The scold. The Know-It-All. The dick.
But like Mr. Hitchens….you cannot dismiss the argument being made just because the person making it seems to enjoy the role. And like him, I deeply care about my craft—the nonprofit sector—and our future.
And I’m going to fight for it.
Everyday.
So be warned….if you want to argue the deets, debate or even wrestle in the mud and the spit and beer like a Boy Named Sue–I’m your Huckleberry. But if you want me to stay silent in the face of folly in the name of “keeping it all in the family”, well…tell it to yo Momma.
And to the rest of you….don’t sit silent and think you are doing anybody any favors, or that you are being diplomatic. A friend just wrote to tell me that diplomacy is saying “nice doggie” until you can find a rock. If you love our work and long to see merit rise, then stand up. Fight for it. Be honest. Be polite if you can, measured if you must, but for heaven’s sake, tell the truth. It will set us free.
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