Every week every Monday morning, we start again, with vigor and vision.
Yet to move forward, we need to look back, learn and improve e.g. auto companies are steering away from just-in-time manufacturing (shortage of chip components).
In other realms, we watch the fall-out of a huge presidency…most likely, self-inflicted.
Michael Lewis calls this “Premonition” in his latest title.
We already saw the hand-writings on the wall…yet we ignored them: crumbling physical and mental infrastructure.
More people addicted to opioid than to books, more of homeless than housed.
The rhetoric has been: “Drain the swamp”, “Build the wall” and “Hang Mike Pence”…
Herd mentality vs health/healing.
Mob vs Mop-Up.
The world has longed for the right Leadership (capital L).
Not run-of-the-mill types who seek short-term profits over long-term gains.
Right after the War (WWII), FDR figured he needed to build on the momentum (of good will and national confidence), to harness the skills and strength of both women and men back from the front.
We saw the G.I. Bills for college education and housing subsidies.
We saw a nation that discovered Paris (Hemingway at his Immovable Feast) and its own potential.
We saw an America in the 50’s and early 60’s with exuberance and, oh well, to slip back and grow stale.
But right now, we can’t even have our turn at “Revolutionary Road” those “good” boredom (Richard Yates’ view of cookie-cutter’s housing and housewives).
Then their kids revolted….mud-sliding and spiritual awakening at Woodstock 69.
Hell “No”, We Don’t Go!
Average wages in the 70’s in today’s dollars were in the low $900. Today’s somewhere in the mid 800’s.
The American Dream diminishes and dismantled, with more broadband and less connection (human).
The new scapegoat for all ills? Asian Americans: that Filipino nurse, this Indian soft-ware programmer and the Chinese cook (Japanese “Chef”), Korean massage parlors and Vietnamese drive-ins.
Easy targets.
Easy preys (they were waiting for the bus – the elderly).
Fix the infrastructure, zero in the root causes. All boats will rise. All men/women count their daily income.
America back to school, learning new set of skills e.g. what does it mean by civility, by leadership (self-leadership)
It’s a new century and a new world, come about due to past investment e..g. steam ships, electricity and women in war time. Today, we need to make full use of minorities same way we did with women when men went to war fighting Hitler. Biblically, it’s Joseph who got promoted to the King’s court, Ruth, the Moabite, who swore allegiance to her new land. America’s new poor gave rise to “Dollar” stores since they have to consume to contribute.
It’s easy to blame others for the failure of ourselves. It’s easy to follow an Easy-Answers Giver at the expenses of sanity and civility. It’s easy to blame the South Americans, the South-East Asian, the South China Seas. While the truth is, all along, staring at us, in Michael Lewis’ Premonition, in the South where CDC is, not South of the border.
Then we will have our Tuesdays, Wednesdays and rest of the week for course-correction and collaboration ( before game-time).
But first, learn from past mistakes or, it’s We who turn to be one.
Thang Nguyen 555 