Change Won't Happen Without Us

We need bold leadership in order to move from our current health care construct to a new future state. But unless we can agree on a shared vision there will be no political pathway for us to use to get there. Governor Kitzhaber often quotes the Roman Senator Seneca who said: "No wind is the right wind if you don't know what port you're sailing for."

Leadership must start with us. We do not believe that this shared vision can emerge from our current political process - which means it has to emerge from us - from people who are actually delivering health care at the community level, from people who believe that we can no longer simply accept the status quo, who believe we are not powerless.

In the United States we have the wisdom, the perspective and the experience to describe what the optimal health care system should look like. We can lay the foundation for a shared vision of the future.

What you need to do is speak out individually and collectively; in your communities, in your professional or community associations; and through local, state and national organizations like the Archimedes Movement which we launched in Oregon but is creeping into other states

It requires the courage to look beyond your own short term economic interests to the future we are shaping for those who will follow us. It requires the courage to begin to reconcile the growing contradiction between the world we say we want to leave our children and the one we are actually creating through the actions we are taking - and not taking - today.