Larry D. Lauer

For the past two weeks the demonstrations and accompanying violence in Ferguson, Missouri, over the police shooting of a young black male has concentrated the world’s attention on just how much tension exists in many of our cities. And now we have still other police brutality issues in the news, including one on the streets of New York. This is causing a number of international adversaries around the world to point out that while we like to preach human rights issues we have some serious ones of our own.

A recent blog post of mine discussed where a president should be located during a crisis in order to exercise effective leadership. Different crises bring different expectations. Should he stay at the White House? Should he go to the site of the crisis? Or should he locate somewhere else?

A panel of journalists on Face the Nation Sunday discussed whether or not President Obama should go to Ferguson to facilitate a community conversation in order to heal the wounds. John Heilemann of Bloomberg Politics, argued strongly that Obama should go there because only he has the credibility to help bridge the gap and find some common ground. And besides, since he is in his final years as president he need not worry about political consequences. He is free to focus totally on understanding the issue and finding ways forward.

Michael Crowley of Time Magazine, however, pointed out that attempting productive dialogue in a setting where all the facts are still not clear could very quickly become counterproductive. Opinions about what actually happened would no doubt become and remain the focus.

Crowley suggested that Obama should find a city that could serve as a model for how such police-community relationships are already being discussed and improved. In such a place he could lead a constructive community conversation while bringing his personal experiences and insights to bear on the topic. In such a setting, the focus can be on coming to understand all the ramifications of this complex issue and how it can be addressed in cities everywhere.

In crisis management you always try to know all the dimensions of the issue at hand and all the details of exactly what happened before you make any comment. The reality, however, is that each crisis has its unique aspects, and you are likely to encounter new facts as the story unfolds. Since the case in Ferguson still has facts under contention I favor Crowley’s approach. By working with a city already addressing the larger issue Obama can bring insights and experiences to this topic that others cannot. He simply should not miss this opportunity to handle this in a constructive and positive way.

In this context, 24/7 television might actually turn its attention away from the drama of street violence and business burnings to feature the dramatic human interest stories on all sides of this very complex issue.