A Message to Garcia
I remember the first time I read this. A friend of mine in my old law firm insisted that everybody in the firm read it. The lawyers bought copies for every associate. It seemed a cheesy thing to do, but I went with it. I’m glad I did.
If you haven’t followed along, you can download a free copy of Message here as a PDF. It is very short.
The gist of it is simple: the President needs to get a message to Garcia, who is fighting in Cuba. The President thinks Garcia could be a useful ally. The President gives the message to Rowan and just says to get this to Garcia. The President does not say who Garcia is, where he is, or how to get there.
Rowan, on his own initiative, figures this all out and successfully delivers the message.
This is the essence of the present tea party movement. No one told these people how to organize, what to put on their signs, where to meet, etc. People just did it. This is the heart of activism.
A Message to Garcia is a timely reminder when we want to be spoon fed every detail that we should instead take initiative ourselves to get things done without waiting for others to lead us. Every man is a leader if he chooses to be. That’s the message.
