If the proverbial fire broke out in my house, what items would I rush to save? Answer: These Three Things: my Hebrew Bible, my copy of the U.S. Constitution, and Carl Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln. Why? Because these documents embody the values and ideals that have animated my life: empathy, democracy, and racial justice.
My ethical values are drawn mostly from the Hebrew Bible. For example, the injunction to love your neighbor, especially the stranger, is emphasized repeatedly in the Bible. This is fundamentally a plea for empathy: understand the needs and interests of others and, following the Native American proverb, “walk a mile in their moccasins.” Empathy resides at the core of my professional interests (in public opinion and persuasion), and at the core of my personal belief system. In my better moments, I can place myself in those figurative moccasins and walk an empathetic mile.
I also cherish the ideal of democracy. My work as a political scientist has flowed directly from my passion for democracy. In the U.S., democracy rests upon the foundation of the Constitution. To me, the Constitution is sacred, and the most sacred part is the First Amendment with its protections for freedom of religion, speech, and association. Free expression and robust deliberation are the hallmarks of a vibrant democracy.
Finally, I inherited from my father Carl Sandburg’s six-volume Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln wrestled with the complexities of slavery and racial justice throughout his life. That wrestling match has occupied my days as well. Racial justice has been a central theme in my teaching and writings. In the trenches outside the university, I have been a foot soldier fighting for school desegregation, civil rights, and educational diversity.
Empathy, democracy, and racial justice. These Three Things are cardinal points on my guiding compass.
Gary Orren is the V.O. Key, Jr. Professor of Politics and Leadership, Emeritus at Harvard Kennedy School. gary_orren@hks.harvard.edu
