From the ForewordI started clocking Jaime’s father, Fred Guttenberg, in interviews and events following the shooting. At first, I could feel him gasping through his grief as if he might drown in despair. But I could feel his outrage grow after Donald Trump lied to his face about standing up to the NRA. And I could feel his resolve stiffen as the enormity and the moral bankruptcy of what he was up against revealed itself.Soon he seemed to adopt the mantra of the great John Lewis, that when we are confronted with injustice, we must be willing to get into trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble. There he was at the Kavanaugh hearing, shunned as he tried to shake the nominee’s hand. I cheered when his inability to contain his outrage in the face of Trump’s lies got him kicked out of the State of the Union.Fred Guttenberg is one of those rarest of human being who, as they endure the unimaginable, have the strength to see beyond their own suffering. They hear a call to action to do whatever they can to alleviate that suffering in others and in doing so, to hold this country up to its spectacular, unfulfilled promise. They understand that politics is the way we create our moral vision. They know that despair is a luxury the future cannot afford. And that action is the antidote to despair.
| Autor: | Guttenberg, Fred |
|---|---|
| ISBN: | 9781642505351 |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Produktart: | Gebunden |
| Verlag: | Ingram Publishers Services |
| Veröffentlicht: | 15.10.2020 |
| Untertitel: | What 9/11 and Parkland Taught Me About Recovery, Purpose, and Hope (School Safety, Grief Recovery) |
| Schlagworte: | 21st Century 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100 BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Social Activists Coping with / advice about death and bereavement Coping with death & bereavement EDUCATION / Educational Policy & Reform / School Safety EDUCATION / Violence & Harassment Educational strategies and policy FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Death, Grief, Bereavement PSYCHOLOGY / Grief & Loss Political activism / Political engagement SELF-HELP / Death, Grief, Bereavement SOCIAL SCIENCE / Violence in Society Social welfare and social services USA United States of America, USA Violence & abuse in society Violence and abuse in society |
Fred Guttenberg began his public life after the murder of his beautiful fourteen-year-old daughter Jaime in the Parkland, Florida, school shooting on Feb 14, 2018. The day after the murder, Fred decided to attend a public vigil. While there, the mayor asked him to speak. His words shook a nation and he has not stopped since. Only four months prior to the murder of his daughter, Fred¿s brother Michael passed away in October 2017 from cancer related to his service in 9/11 in New York City. He was one of the original first responders at the World Trade Center with a team of doctors who got trapped in the WTC as it collapsed. Amazingly, the room that they hid out in did not collapse and Michael and his team of physicians spent sixteen days at ground zero taking care of others. Following his involvement in these two distinctly American tragedies, Fred has traveled the country talking about both events but also talking about perspective, perseverance, and resilience. He discusses pivotal moments in our lives and how we respond to those moments, using his speech to inspire others. Prior to these events, Fred Guttenberg¿s professional life included over a decade in sales and management with Johnson & Johnson, followed by almost fifteen years as an entrepreneur, having built a business including nineteen Dunkin Donuts. Fred and his wife Jennifer now spend time challenging elected officials to do more. They began a nonprofit organization dedicated to Jaime¿s life called "Orange Ribbons for Jaime." He has been a regular on TV news programs and myriad online and print media. The nonprofit is now his full-time mission.