Comments on: My New York Times Letter to the Editor http://www.clf.org/blog/massachusetts/my-ny-times-letter-to-the-editor/ For a thriving New England Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:21:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: John Kassel http://www.clf.org/blog/massachusetts/my-ny-times-letter-to-the-editor/#comment-1999 John Kassel Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:58:08 +0000 http://www.clf.org/?p=6722#comment-1999 Thanks for your comment, Deborah. You’re absolutely right that it’s time to pool resources and create scalable solutions. We don’t have time (or resources) to waste. To that end, I did not mean to provoke a sense of rivalry. There are nationals and there are regionals. All have roles to play. Sometimes one role is more called-for than another. In my view, now is one of those times when more forward progress will be made by those playing the regional/state/local role. And that role can be any org that wants to play it – nationals included. It’s simply where the action is. Thanks, John Thanks for your comment, Deborah. You’re absolutely right that it’s time to pool resources and create scalable solutions. We don’t have time (or resources) to waste. To that end, I did not mean to provoke a sense of rivalry. There are nationals and there are regionals. All have roles to play. Sometimes one role is more called-for than another. In my view, now is one of those times when more forward progress will be made by those playing the regional/state/local role. And that role can be any org that wants to play it – nationals included. It’s simply where the action is.

Thanks,
John

]]> By: Deborah http://www.clf.org/blog/massachusetts/my-ny-times-letter-to-the-editor/#comment-1994 Deborah Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:03:55 +0000 http://www.clf.org/?p=6722#comment-1994 I don't think it's necessary to manufacture a perceived rivalry between national organizations and local/regional ones. Just like CLF, national groups work on localized issues too -- they just have the capacity to work on them in regions across the country. I think we'd all agree that it's tackling issues at the local level that can be replicated in other states -- and often are -- are what gives them national significance. The only way we're going to make real progress is by having national, regional and local groups pooling their resources and working in coalition to come up with scalable solutions to these problems. I don’t think it’s necessary to manufacture a perceived rivalry between national organizations and local/regional ones. Just like CLF, national groups work on localized issues too — they just have the capacity to work on them in regions across the country. I think we’d all agree that it’s tackling issues at the local level that can be replicated in other states — and often are — are what gives them national significance. The only way we’re going to make real progress is by having national, regional and local groups pooling their resources and working in coalition to come up with scalable solutions to these problems.

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