Former Gov. Dean urges students to get involved
Toolbox
By JOSH O'GORMAN Rutland Herald Staff - Published: December 1, 2009
SPRINGFIELD — Standing in the shadow of the school that bears his name, Howard Dean drew comparisons between his generation and the next and urged young people to engage in public service.
Monday, the former three-term Vermont governor and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee addressed Springfield High School students next to the Howard Dean Education Center. Dean was invited by the high school Student Council to drum up interest in the group's newest program, Project VISTA.
"He's been a big figure in giving back to the community since the 2004 presidential run and we thought this would be the perfect opportunity for Student Council to use him for our benefit," said Council co-adviser Kevin Coen.
Project VISTA (Vision to Improve Springfield Through Action) invites students — either alone or in groups — to develop ideas for ways to improve the town. The call for young people to volunteer is one of the many parallels Dean drew between the 1960s and the present day.
"The victory of Barack Obama was the biggest deal in this country since 1960," Dean said, referring to the election of John F. Kennedy, whom he called "our generation's Barack Obama."
Dean noted Obama would not have been elected without the unusually high number of black voters and voters younger than 35 who went to the polls.
"For those of you who were able to vote, Barack Obama is literally your president," Dean said.
Much as Kennedy, as a U.S. senator in 1960, challenged students at the University of Michigan to volunteer in developing countries — a call that led to the creation of the Peace Corps in 1961 — Dean urged young people to remain engaged and not to do what his generation did.
"A lot of us took a vacation from politics," Dean said. "Democracy, which I think is the highest form of government, is a human creation and like any other human creation, it dies if you don't take care of it," he said.
Dean also encouraged students to use technology keep alive his generation's spirit of protest.
"We talked a lot about getting a million people to go down to Washington to the Mall and protest," Dean said. "Today, the younger generation sends a million e-mails to Congress and shuts down their e-mail system for three days."
Lastly, Dean urged the future Republicans and Democrats in the audience to focus on their common goals rather than their ideological divide.
"Stop fighting about the things we can't agree on and do something about the things we do agree on because they are unbelievably important and the things we don't agree on should not be used as an excuse anymore to avoid doing what ought to be done and we do agree on," he said.
Dean's speech resonated with sophomore Carrie Mobus, who was considering a project for Project VISTA.
"I think it's a good idea for him to come here and let us know what some of the issues are because a lot of kids don't really know what's going on in our country and don't get educated well enough," Mobus said. "There's a lot of poverty in Springfield and I think somebody could do something about that."
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
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