MEMORY, MEMORIALS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNIG FROM HISTORY

The frantic, rather impulsive even if understandable rapid removal of statues in public places memorializing symbols of slavery and  leaders of the Confederacy raises important questions in my mind.

I suspect much will be written on this in the coming months by people, including historians, better equipped to provide perspective on this than I am. But I would offer these very preliminary thoughts.

1. Anything that "celebrates" or appears to celebrate or condone racial, ethnic or religious prejudice or violence or the division of our Union such as the swastika or Confederate flag or KKK outfits should never be commemorated as something to be emulated in a public space.

2. We should use history--the good and the bad with all its complexity--to learn for the future and not obliterate it or pretend it did not happen.

We should recognize that some leaders like Robert E. Lee had some noble characteristics that led them to support what they felt they owed service to (in Lee's case, Virginia) even though in hindsight that decision--as well as his view on racial equality-- was wrong.

Rather than tearing down statues, we should surround them with contextual historical information which elucidates what is to be learned from them, with all its complexity. Alternatively, these statues should be placed in a museum, again surrounded by information as described above.

One way or the other, the historical learning from our history, both in conveying the best and worst of it, and the values that drove leaders to do what they did, should not be lost. We need more of this history, not less.

Deciding what to do with these statues and the interpretation which should surround them should be decided locally and time should be given to do this properly by giving a wide group of people the chance to speak so the decision will not be seen as arbitrary and will be as informed as possible.

3. I believe we may need a national museum which we may not have today which would tell our nation's history in an honest, comprehensive way, exposing what we are most and least proud of and revealing the complexity and mixture of motivations which have guided leaders, for good and for ill.
Undoubtedly,  the content of that museum would be controversial. So be it.

The Civil War Museum in Richmond (which I have never seen) could be a good place to tell much of this history from the founding of the Nation through Reconstruction and beyond.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati also has the Mission and much of the content necessary (film, exhibits) to contribute to telling this story honestly and in  a way pointing to the future.

4. Whatever, we do,  we must  continue to share and learn from the "reality(its)" of history even as we acknowledge that the definition and interpretation of those realities will be complex and likely evolve over time. There are  themes which I hope would emerge founded on the prefatory principles of our Declaration of Independence ("all men are created equal") and the call of all religions to treat others as we would want to be treated ourselves.

IN THE END IT IS ALL ABOUT CHARACTER--DONALD TRUMP

 I posted this originally on October 10th, 2016. About a month before the election.

I hoped my deep concerns then about Donal Trump's character would be modified by his actions.

They have not.

This cannot continue.

A message to Donald Trump and myself and all of us:

"Watch your thoughts; they become your words.
Watch your words; they become your actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."

Frank Outlaw

ONE OF MY SONS JUST ASKED ME: "WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THE SENATE'S HEALTH CARE BILL?"

MY ANSWER: 

This remains an ill-conceived, cruel piece of legislation. 

It should be rejected. 

The reduction in coverage (20MM plus) makes it inconceivable that we would put this in place.

It fails to deal with the cost issues that have to be addressed at the root cause level (e.g. cost of drugs; multiple profit centers picking up $$; lack of consumer visibility into true costs, etc. ). It fails to study other health care systems which are affording close to universal health care at a cost  40%  BELOW ours. 

The process followed to do this, after 7 years of seeing the flaws of Obamacare, is tragic.

There are two premises which will ultimately have to be and will be accepted:

1. Everyone should have health insurance. Everyone. We don't allow people to opt in or out of Social Security. Or having automobile insurance. It is an issue of the national interest, not just the individual. 

2. Providing quality health care is a Right, just like education is and safety is. For everyone and it is the government's responsibility to provide it. Like Social Security. For the National Interest. 

PUTTING MY P&G HAT ON: A FACT BASED PATH TO A SUSTAINABLE HEALTH CARE PLAN

If I put my Procter & Gamble hat on and assess this challenging subject, there are two things that we aren’t doing which P&G would be doing:

 

1.     We would examine what the outcomes are today in the United States compared to other countries which we know are achieving lower costs, broader coverage and strong health outcomes.  

 

It is striking and hopefully instructive to look around the world and see so many developing countries, including Canada to our north, providing close to universal coverage, with costs much lower than our own (10% vs. 17% of GDP), and health outcomes, in terms of duration and quality of life, equal or better than our own.

 

Within our own country, I would benchmark Massachusetts, which I understand is providing 97% coverage.  I don’t know what the costs are, but I would be looking at that and any other states which can be benchmarks for learning.

 

2.     I would break down with great specificity what the differences are in cost between the United States and those countries (Canada, Europe, Japan, etc.) which have significantly lower costs.  What explains the difference? I am sure a big part but by no means all are higher drug costs. There are also the profits being made by companies in the distribution chain. 

 

 

The type of benchmark comparisons I’ve referred to above would yield important learning. We are failing to do the obvious. 

 

GIVING PROPER RESPECT TO OUR DEDICATED PUBLIC SERVANTS--SHAME ON THE PRESIDENT

I am re-posting my blog of 3/7/17 which called out President Trump for the disrespectful, and demeaning actions and remarks he was making about our public servants in the FBI, CIA, etc.

He has done it again.

Quite apart from the rightness of the decision (with which I disagree), the manner in which he fired Comey was unforgivable and denigrating.  It reflected disrespect on him and the entire Bureau.
This is a man who dedicated his life to our country.

No personal contact. No heads-up. Decision reaching Comey by the media while he is addressing this organization.

I have never seen an uglier, more thoughtless dismissal of a top leader in any organization.

Then Trump adds to that by alleging that Comey was not supported by his own people, a charge flatly denied by the #2 person at the FBI and numerous agents.

Have you no shame, Mr. President.

Sessions shares in this shame.

HERE WAS MY EARLIER BLOG:

I have been living with a growing and deepening concern.

President Trump  should be ashamed of himself for the disrespect he is showing to the women and men dedicating their lives to public service in the:

-FBI
-Judiciary
-CIA
-State Department
-Environmental Protection Agency
-and more.

It is all too easy to paint an organization with a broad brush, serving it up as an impersonal entity, leveling attacks on it for a mistake of  the past (e.g. weapons of mass destruction in Iraq) and fail to recognize that it is made up of thousand of individuals, imperfect as we all are, but almost without exception dedicated to the welfare of our nation and working tirelessly and in some cases at significant personal risk to achieve it.

These men and women deserve our respect and that of the President.

For Trump to tweet the accusation that former President Obama engaged in tapping his phone without even consulting with one of his own team on the likelihood of this being true, is the height of disrespect and irresponsibility.

Can you imagine what it would be like as a new recruit to the CIA or FBI today? How you would feel about your career being one that was properly honored and recognized? How you would feel in coming to work, perhaps even risking your life,  with the President of the United States saying what he is?

This has to stop. The newly installed leaders of these organizations have to lead and not allow the President or anyone else destroy the morale and moral fibre of the men and women of these professional organizations.

"PURSUE TRUTH--FOCUS--ACT ON WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT"

Have we ever seen  a tornado of swirling news like this?

The President of the United States contradicting himself and leading his surrogates to do the same.

The President continuing to make unsubstantiated claims such as Obama having wiretapped him without any evidence whatsoever.

The President firing the FBI director in the most disrespectful way imaginable disrupting the investigation of Russia's ties to the election-- justifying the action because, as the President said, Comey was a "showboat" and was not supported by the members of the FBI--both assertions categorically denied by the Acting Director the FBI.

It is all too easy to get caught up in it minute to minute, to the point of having it overwhelm our daily lives and lose focus on what we can and must do to make a difference.

We cannot be complacent. The policy issues are too large. Even larger are the issues of the character and values we live by. We cannot accept lying as the new norm and pass it off as akin to a vaudeville act we have to put up with. Common decency has to be upheld.

Increasingly I say to myself:

Pursue truth at all costs.

Focus.

Speak out and act on what I believe are the most important issues which I can try to influence such as health care, early childhood development; overcoming poverty; and tax reform which drives economic growth and achieves greater fairness across incomes.

"A PROFESSOR OF THE JUNGLE"

 I love the story that Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, tells in his wonderful memoir " Shoe Dog". 

 The year was 1997.  Still haunted by the Vietnam War, Knight had vowed that someday Nike would have a factory in or near Saigon.  By 1997, he had four.  He was in Saigon.  The company was to be honored and celebrated by the Vietnamese government as one of the nation’s top five generators of foreign currency.  At one point, his hosts graciously asked what they could do for him, what would make the trip special and memorable.  

 

“I’d like to meet the 86-year-old General Võ Nguyen Giáp, the man who singlehandedly defeated the Japanese, the French, the Americans and the Chinese", Knight replied. 

 

General Giáp joined the group the next day.  The first thing Knight noticed was his size.  He was maybe 5’4”.  And humble.  Knight remembered that he smiled as he did, “Shyly, uncertainly.  But there was an intensity about him…a kind of glittery confidence,” the kind he had seen in great coaches and great business leaders.  

 

Giáp waited for Knight to ask a question.

 

It was simple:   “How did you do it?”  The corners of Giáp’s mouth flickered.  A smile?  Maybe?, Knight recalled.   Giáp thought and thought.  “I was,” he said, “a professor of the jungle.”

 

“A professor of the jungle.”  

For me, it says it all: being close to your work, close to your environment, close to your consumers, close to your competition, close to your people.  That kind of closeness--I refer to it as "intimacy"-- grows out of love, a passionate commitment to a purpose.  That kind of closeness, that kind of intimacy leads to great accomplishments, to winning, to a maniacal commitment to excellence and, ultimately, to the satisfaction of a job well done.