Time to Stop Resting On Our Laurels
By Steve Anthony

I've read the litany of editorials, research reports and other journalistic pieces which seek to explain the problems with Atlanta.

No one denies there are challenges: taxes are still too high, crime statistics are coming down but not enough, school aptitude test scores are too low, the middle class is being eroded. Everyone attempts to explain it on some academic, rational, empirical or just gut-feeling kind of way.

But what I haven't seen, heard or read from any of those great minds is where I think the primary cause of Atlanta's problems lay - complacency. We've simply rested on our laurels and haven't developed or fostered the kind of leadership we need.

Rested on our laurels? But we have hosted huge national and international conventions, the Super Bowl, the World Series, and the Olympics. However, past and present leaders have accomplished those goals because of civic pride as much as anything else. They've worked diligently to put Atlanta on the map and in a position to blow past every other southern city. Do you think its an accident Delta's hub is here and we are the center of the universe for travel?

People were once proud to be from, and in, Atlanta. We have a pretty darn good art museum because of the time and effort of regular citizens who worked hard for it only a few decades ago. Most other major city museums are much older with higher (and private) endowments. Atlanta's is here because we had good public and private sector leaders who inspired people to better their community.

We don't have enough of that now/

I am half of a white, middle-class couple who choose to live in Atlanta. We have chosen to pay higher taxes and risk whatever crime could occur because we love this state, and Georgia is what it is because of Atlanta. We support the city and what it stands for. But, what we have is very fragile and if we don't honor the legacy left for us, we'll lose it.

It's easy to move to the suburbs and write about what's wrong downtown. But it's not easy to build coalitions and alliances focusing on problems and solutions. Nor is it easy to lead such a diverse population as ours.

Race itself is not our problem. Using it as a crutch is. Selfishness, vanity and entitlement are our problems. People have worked together, side by side, for a common goal before. We can do it again. We so best when we move forward. Today we are stalled.

Elected officials can't do it alone; they need the help of the business community. We need leaders and visionaries out of both ranks. People like John Aderhold, Tom Cousins, Duane Ackerman and Bill Dahlberg have stepped forward. But more need to.

The symbiosis between business-driven improvements and overall improvements in the quality of life is undisputed. Government in this state has been awfully good to business. It's time to even the ledger.

The best area to come together is the one where everyone agrees to start - education. We need a relationship where business can help our school systems. I'm not talking about improving our public schools. To be sure, there have been efforts in the past but they have either failed to maintain momentum or needed more involvement than they received.

Thankfully, there have been new efforts in that direction recently. By the time you read this, the Governor's Education Reform Commission will be moving through the chambers f the Georgia legislature. Other forums like the Atlanta Partners for Education and the Atlanta Committee for Public Education have been created to address the problem of improving public education in Atlanta and they are looking for businesses to give their time, talent and yes their dollars to start this improvement.

We say we want local control of education but we don't want to take that opportunity and do something with it. The opportunity is here and right now.

Helping with programs that provide tutoring for at-risk students, focusing resources that support the reform movement, and creating a role for advocacy in accountability are examples of how business can make a difference. IBM has been a leader in this field hare and around the country. With the Metro Atlanta and Georgia chambers, through the Breakthrough Alliance, leading the way, all businesses can choose a vehicle to get on board in a big way to get these improvements started.