Last week, in Oak Park, IL, right outside Chicago, I kicked off my two-year, nationwide speaking tour. I’ll have more to say about the tour in the coming days. But, for now, I simply want to talk about why I decided to wear an American flag lapel pin at each tour event and why I have chosen to openly discuss it in my speeches. Many people are downright surprised by this.

Dear Governor: Having to cancel the first stop of your “racial reconciliation tour” at Virginia Union University is a sign of just how difficult your road ahead is. What will you do from here? You face a fundamental choice. Is your reconciliation tour about your own political survival, or can you become an instrument of society?

Watching the unfolding events in Virginia this past week has only deepened my personal commitment and drive to address two key topics: identity and sorrow. These will be a new focus of our Studio on Community moving forward.

In just one hour this morning, I read or heard a series of news stories that made me wonder if the world is spinning out of control and if there is anything you or I or anyone else can do about it. Or, do we simply have to wait for some new political savior to get things right? Amid my moment of helplessness and exasperation, I know we must not wait.

While we watch in disbelief the unfolding White House drama, congressional members scurry for cover, and everyday Americans continue to lose faith in leaders of all sorts. There is one individual in America today who represents the kind of leadership we need: Pat Llodra, the First Selectman, or mayor, of Newtown, CT, who recently announced her retirement. Pat helped guide Newtown after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre of twenty first graders and six adults.