Last week I wrote about whether public school transformation was now dead in Washington, D.C. as a result of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s election defeat. Now, this week, in New York City, NBC News and a host of partners are putting on “Education Nation” to raise ideas and spark discussion about how to change public schools. In both instances, there’s a key ingredient to success missing: creating a new ethic in the nation for mobilizing people to transform public schools.

Is school reform dead in Washington D.C. now that Mayor Adrian Fenty was solidly defeated for re-election? Many observers see his defeat as a sign that people don’t want genuine reform or have the stomach for it. They’re wrong. But to create real and sustainable transformation, we’ll need to take a different path. There are lessons from DC for all of us.

I’ve been finishing up a new book on “intentionality” about how to make a difference in society and also stay true to yourself and there’s a section where I write about charity vs. change. There has always been a difference that has concerned me – oftentimes I think we get them confused. I still do; so I wanted to return to this topic amid the challenges we face.

Each year at this time I write about 9/11 and remember my friend Frank who was lost in one of the World Trade Towers and reflect on the meaning of that event for where we find ourselves today. This year I find myself numb. I still have absolute clarity of seeing the plane explode into Frank’s building as I watched it unfold live on TV; but too many events over the last year leave me without a clear sense of what that dreadful day means for us now. Here’s why.

There’s no denying it, Glenn Beck has stirred up our politics and public life. I think that’s a good thing. Many people may want to condemn him. I want to meet him. I want to ask him some basic questions and use this moment to engage more Americans in a conversation about the kind of country they want. Here’s why.

One of the central challenges people are wrestling with today is: “Who can they trust?” Look at current headlines and news reports, listen to your own conversations, and it is clear there’s a problem. So, today, tell me which leaders you trust. When you do, I’ll send both you and the leader you told us about a free copy of Make Hope Real. Let’s generate a robust list together to demonstrate that good leaders still do exist.

Our political landscape nowadays is like a landfill, filled with lots of junk. This is most apparent on the heightened debate over the building of a mosque near Ground Zero and the posturing around the upcoming mid-term elections. Republicans are fast chasing after President Obama, and Democrats are fast running away from him. But what does that mean about where we stand, especially on the mosque?

These days, people in communities often lack confidence in the ability of various groups, organizations and leaders to do what’s right and create positive change. And yet “confidence” sits at the core of our ability to bring people together to work across boundaries, put aside turf battles, and find better ways to move ahead. Last week at the Public Innovators Summit we asked the participants two questions: What will it take to engender people’s confidence in our ability to do things together? What does this mean for the work you do? How would you answer these questions?

In spending much of last week in New Mexico, I heard a great deal about Arizona’s immigration debate. Each day a new story appeared in the newspaper. Each night the television news would run another piece. When I finally got home late last night, I hopped in a cab, pining for my family. But no sooner did the cab pull away from the curb, than the conversation with my Pakistani cab driver began. His voice is nowhere to be heard in the raucous immigration debate. It should be.

Maybe you can feel the earth trembling as the stampede of “pink elephants” comes thundering toward Washington, DC, their arrival slated for election-day November 2, 2010. This is Sarah Palin’s vision out in her new (beautifully-produced) 2-minute video found on SarahPAC. Palin seeks to rev up women to vote for conservative candidates this fall. She tells us there is a “mom awakening” happening across America, so watch out! But I want to know, toward what end?