Congressional luncheon keynote speaker Frank Luntz calls for inclusion, unity

MACON, Ga. — The Georgia Chamber held their annual Congressional Luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 9, and plenty of Houston County’s community leaders and staples made sure to attend. Groups such as the Robins Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Perry Chamber of Commerce all had tables at the luncheon and congregated with groups from across the state.

Several speakers took the stage at the event, such as Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber, as well Congressman Austin Scott. The event also featured topical conversations between some of Georgia’s representatives in Congress over subjects such as talent retention, with Congressman Rick Allen and Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux, and infrastructure, with Congressman Buddy Carter and Congresswoman Nikema Williams. Frank Luntz, pollster and wordsmith, gave the Congressional Luncheon’s keynote address

“Our lives are different today than they were when I was here a few years ago,” Luntz said. “Our lives have changed; we’re not the same people.

“If you tell your employees that they’ve got to go back to work, some of them are going to say no. If you tell them you can’t do it the way you used to do it, some of them will say, ‘okay, then I will do it elsewhere.’ Here’s the good news: your talent that you’re trying to attract is willing to listen to you. Here’s the bad news: some of your talent will leave you. We are reexamining where we live, we are reexamining what we do and how we do it — everything is up for grabs now politically, economically and socially.”

Luntz told his listeners that most Americans see American democracy as broken, that there is distrust in the courts and in the justice system and that people are looking to the business community to make a ”meaningful, measurable impact on the communities that [they] serve.”

According to Luntz, the grand majority of Americans are angry, and right now if you make less than $50,000 – $100,000 in a year, you are suffering. They are concerned with getting food on the table.

“Never in American history have more people lost faith or trust in more institutions than right now,” Luntz said. “The only institution in America that has a net-positive by better than two-to-one is our military. We don’t trust the judicial, we don’t trust Congress, we don’t trust the White House, we don’t trust the media.”

Luntz called for people to disagree respectfully and to work towards a higher level of inclusion.

Luntz asked his audience to raise their hand if they had children between the ages of 10 and 18. He then went through six pillars he believed are necessary to raise happy, healthy children into adults.

“How often do you eat dinner with your children? I know you’re prioritizing your business, but you need to have dinner with your children to tell them they are your number one priority,” Luntz said. “How often do you take them to religious services? Not that they’re religious, but so that they believe there is something in their life that is more important than they are.”

Luntz said that parents should be checking their children’s homework four times a week, to go on trips with your children while leaving your phone alone, to demand the truth from their children and to ensure they take part in a team sport.

“Five out of six, you’ve got a 97% chance of producing happy, healthy, well-adjusted, alcohol-free, drug-free kids,” Luntz said. “You do two out of six, the odds are horrible.”

Luntz told the government officials in the audience that the public is expecting them to do things more efficiently, more effectively and with more accountability.

Luntz took time to take questions and tell jokes, and then Congressman Scott closed out the luncheon.

HHJ News