November 8, 2002 Speech by Stephen D. Landfield, Esq. at Fall Induction Ceremony of Raritan Valley Community College—Phi Theta Kappa Leadership Honor Society (Edited)

Thank you for inviting me tonight and for allowing me to speak.

I’ve been thinking long and hard over the last few days, about what I could possibly say to you that would have meaning, or make any real impact on your life. While kicking this around, a couple of really momentous things occurred this week that helped me to decide what to say.

First, this was Election week. I’m sure that wasn’t lost on any of you. You should know that I am absolutely passionate about politics. While the average person is said to spend about five minutes a week on politics and political issues; for me, it is more like five hours a day. I read constantly. I discuss politics with many people, since we generally tend to surround ourselves with people who share common interests. And of course, I write about it, as a newspaper columnist, when I am not doing one of the many other things which get in the way, like earning a living, writing my columns, my law practice and of course, my family.

This was Election week. It was the holiest week of the year for political junkies like me. And, I’m sure that it wasn’t lost on you, whatever your politics may be, that there were some momentous changes in the political and social landscape of this country which occurred on Tuesday night. I’m not really going to comment about those changes or how I feel about them. Republicans or Democrats, that isn’t what we are here about today. If you want to know what I really think, you can easily find my columns and read them.

No, that’s not what this is about. Instead, I want to address a different phenomenon of the political process. The surprising influence of a small group, and even, (and it’s true,) an individual, in the political process. What do I mean? Well, first consider the declining rates in voter turnout in this country. Less than half of us who are eligible actually bother to vote, despite the major consequence that vote has to our lives. Taxes, schools, the judges we end up with, their views on crime, on reproductive choice, on guns, on our very safety and security are dependent upon choices at least half of us don’t even bother to make.

Add to that the fact that we have seen time and again how a small number of people can make a difference, and it should give you hope about the power of the individual. Do you realize that in the Year 2000, with over two hundred million people in the United States, the presidential election was actually decided on the basis of the votes of just 537 people in Florida. A group of people just a few times the size of this crowd made a decision that affected over 200 million people. That’s power.

Look at school boards and local elections. They play major roles in our personal lives. One of the complaints we have constantly heard in New Jersey is a lack of participation in school board or school budget elections. Sometimes, only 15% or less of the electorate turn out to decide how much money we should spend on our schools, who should run them and who should make the important decisions about how our children get educated.

That is pathetic. People in many other countries don’t have the ability to freely make the decisions we routinely ignore. And, people in this country have given their lives to protect those freedoms that we simply don’t care enough about to exercise them.

But, once again, that is not my point My point is, in the current political climate, an individual really can make a difference, on his or her very own.

Even on Tuesday night, recall how close some of the elections actually were. In the end, decisions which will affect 200 million of us, about homeland security, taxes, judicial selections and the like, were ultimately made by very small groups of people, in very select areas of the country. That is power. That is influence.

I have served as an Election Day attorney for many political campaigns over the years. I have on countless occasions had to deal with situations where local elections are decided by a margin or only 1 or 2 votes. What does this mean? It means that the people who tell us that we have reason to be cynical, that we can’t affect the system, that we can’t really change anything that matters are just plain simply wrong. You can make a difference. Your one vote might have in a very real sense, changed the course of local government, changed the course of local education and made things more the way you would like them to be. I call this the Power of your “disproportionate influence.”

But, I didn’t just come here tonight to talk about politics. The second influence on me this week was a friend of mine, who I have been talking with a lot, because she has been kind of picking on me for being so focused on the things that light a fire for me, and as she herself has been trying to find something to “feel passionate about.” Something to do where she can “make a difference.” And, yet, she simply hasn’t found it. But it is out there. You just need to keep looking. Yogi Berra may in fact be a real source of wisdom in this area, when he said, “When you come to a fork in the road…take it!” Take a chance. Don’t just be another sheep in the herd. Instead, lead the herd in a direction that you think it should go.

I’ve tried to help my friend. We’ve spoken a lot about it. We’re not so sure what she is really passionate about, but we believe that deep inside she is passionate about something. We just need to find it. That’s not the point, though. The point is, that first, we all need to be like her. We all need to want to make a difference. We need to reflect on what we can do, and how we can make that difference. We need to accept the fact that we can make a difference someplace.

We frankly need to find and develop our own area of “Disproportionate Influence.” We need to recognize, to put it tritely, the “Power of One.” The power of the individual. Then we need to act on it. Quoting Jules Feiffer: “If you look at a half empty glass and say it’s half full, that doesn’t make you an optimist. It makes you a fool. Somebody who looks at a half empty glass and says “It’s half empty…now what can I do to fill it?” Now, that’s an optimist.

Some people are passionate about children, others about teaching, about law enforcement, about fires safety, about the environment, about drama or poetry. Some, for animals. There are no limits. There are only people who want to make a difference. And of course, by contrast, there will always be people who don’t even try to make that difference, and who passively take what is handed out. Which kind of person would you rather be? There is simply never really any excuse to say “I’m bored.” “Nothing interests me.” There is always work to do.

Education is important, but so is life experience. Mark Twain put it very well when he said that “I never let my schooling interfere with my education.” The recognition you achieve today is a start, not an ending.

Some people are able to do things that are truly heroic. But heroism is all relative. Ronald Reagan said—“Heroes may not be braver than anyone else. They are just braver five minutes longer.” It is true that not everyone can be a “hero” in the traditional sense. Not everyone gets the opportunity in life to “step up to the plate,” and do heroic acts. Or then again, maybe that’s not really the case. Maybe it’s a matter of just defining “heroic” in a broader sense.

I have been fortunate , as the Vice Chairman of the New Jersey Human Relations Council, for the last several years, to give out awards to outstanding high school and middle school students, as part of the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation of New Jersey, named after Raoul Wallenberg. For those of you who don’t know who he was, it’s time you became familiar with him, as he truly signifies the power of a single voice.

Wallenberg was born in Stockholm in 1912 and he was a member of one of Sweden’s most prominent Lutheran families. At the age of 32, he volunteered to leave the safety of his neutral homeland and go to Hungary, which was definitely a dangerous thing to do in July, 1944. There he is credited with leading the rescue of 100,000 Jews from almost certain death at the hands of the Nazis.

As part of the annual program I have given awards out to students whose positive attitudes and determination have had an impact on their communities.

By way of example, and to illustrate just some of the kinds of things that people can do to make a difference, some of the honorees have stood up to bullying of their fellow students, due to their ethnic or religious background, have run charity drives, or helped to create dispute resolution mechanisms in their schools.

This should give you a few more examples of the ways that we all can do simple things, things we already know how to do, to make a difference in the world.

My message to you then, is first, take a lesson from the political process, from the life of Raoul Wallenberg or from some of these students. Notice that one person really can make a difference.

Second, if you are like my friend and haven’t found what gives you a passion for life, then keep searching. Find that thing. It is out there for you somewhere and it will help you to recognize your own “disproportionate influence” on the world.

November 8, 2002