Sounding Off Social
Every major sports league has a time in its schedule where things shift to a higher level of play. Oftentimes there’s more at stake and team chemistry is a must. For baseball, the game considered as America’s pastime, that point in the fall calendar starts with the playoffs and ends with the World Series.
Not to suggest that the See America In Color campaign is on par with that kind of excitement, but we’re working with administrators, teachers and parents to spotlight some breakout performances too. It’s the kind where the essay contest will remind us that Kids Say the Deepest (and sometimes Dopest) Things.
As the essay contest ramps up at the regional level before selecting statewide winners, it has its own ‘playoffs.’ There may even come a time as new features are added in the future where SAIC has its own Essay Contest World Series to deliver a better picture of civic/social issues for a higher level of citizenship.
How we get there represents the next big move in culture where communities aren’t relying on national optics but building on hometown civics. It’s where there’s a willingness to fight for the greater good. It’s where ‘looking out only for #1’ isn’t seen as the social contract that drives America’s cultural endgame.
A winning spirit in biz and sports reveals something about a civic spirit in community and culture. Think about how teams enter the playoffs with the goal to win the big prize. How they get there is by having a system of practice, games and film study to improve their chances and raise their inner beliefs. Well SAIC came out of a system and is inspired by a dream, some tragic events and the study of modern history.
So for SAIC to raise our inner beliefs and achieve its goals depends on how we boost our civic faith. It’s in having a citizen’s vision bigger than self where our ‘juices’ flow. Back in the 60s President John F. Kennedy declared we’d put a man on the moon. This made ‘citizens juices’ flow at all levels of society.
Go back even farther when the Founders described in the Constitution’s Preamble “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union.” That was a statement of Ideals that paved the way for having a civic purpose. It gave us a kind of social landmark and civic reason for being.
These days we use GPS to get to new places or see historic landmarks. Sometimes the route is obvious, other times it takes ‘seeing ahead’ towards the destination. That’s how SAIC as a system is a civic guide for directions. If we miss a turn or go off track, we can count on the system for re-calculating.
The magic of having a system in sports is it gives players a framework for practice and games. The system also serves as a glue to keep the different parts on the field working together as a team. With SAIC we hope it will be a kind of civic glue as hometown teamwork makes the ‘I Have a Dream’ work.
So as the contest moves through its stages, we hope to select winners and plan a Campus Block Party. Some see SAIC as having a sort of ‘man on a mission’ vibe like in JFK’s time. But it’s possible there’re Hometown MVPs out there (Most Valuable Parents, Professionals, Pupils, People) who hold the keys to the kingdom in making SAIC bigger than just selfies.
Tracks: Oh The Larceny (Suits Music) – Man on a Mission – https://youtu.be/bF8B7wjizlA
Beyoncé ft Tiwa Savage, Mr. Eazi – Keys to the Kingdom – https://youtu.be/QvHCdROc4Jk
See America In Color 