Nov 18 2018
America adjusted to new energy in their House of Representatives this week, while wondering if and how to wage age-old battles for power and political inclusion. A rising star in the Democratic party found a new way to bow out of her gubernatorial race, and foreign policy professionals warned that all is not what it seems in North Korea.
As The World Turns
Youthful vigor vs experienced hands
As America began to adjust to a wave of fresh (and younger) faces in its House of Representatives, rumblings began on whether Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi would get enough votes to become the Speaker of the House and de facto leader of her Democratic Caucus. This was not a new argument. Many first-time Congress(wo)men had run on casting a “no” vote for Ms Pelosi. There seemed to be a sense, warranted or not, that she wasn’t in touch with vast swathes of her party, and therefore could not be an effective leader.
To me, this power play is a microcosm of what’s happening in boardrooms and voting booths all around the world. With the forces of technology and culture evolving so swiftly, and with global challenges growing faster than established leaders can or are equipped to solve, young people are fed up and tired of waiting for those tides of change to hit their shores. They want change, and they want it now.
Nationalist economics
I had to include this thought-provoking Financial Times piece by global business columnist Rana Foroohar, titled “Corporate elites are overlooking deglobalisation.” Because of increasing nationalism in America and Europe, investors are beginning to put their money where they live, instead of “risking” it in (other) offshore Western countries that are placing more trade barriers in their path.
Even though production supply chains have become so intertwined because of globalization, and China remains one of the most cost-effective production centers for multinational corporations, populist forces from both the political left and right will continue to force companies to keep their financial and intellectual capital at home.
What does this mean for us, as everyday citizens, if this trend continues? I haven’t got it all figured out just yet, but these are interesting times to be sure.
An “I’m not going anywhere” exit
I’d been following Stacey Abrams’ Georgia gubernatorial campaign ever since she won her primary election in late May. Knowing the little that I did about Southern history, and the systemic hills that African American (and female) Georgians need to climb to access the halls of power, winning that primary election meant she was someone to watch.
I’d also hoped to pitch some stories about her journey to news publications…then realized I wasn’t (yet) equipped to do so. Her race to become governor was my masterclass in messaging, shoe-leather campaigning, political gamesmanship and claims of voter suppression. I’d seen political talking heads get into heated arguments about voter fraud vs voter suppression – those debates gave me a headache, and felt too abstract.
But Ms Abrams’ race breathed context and substance into that debate. In real time, I saw the rhetoric and legal wrangling from both political parties. And Ms Abrams’ non-concession concession speech kept voting rights front and center, and included an announcement that would continue her life’s work to register more Georgians to vote.
“Today, I announce the launch of Fair Fight Georgia, an operation that will pursue accountability in Georgia’s elections and integrity in the process of maintaining our voting rolls.”
Deception or new strategy?
This week, America’s diplomatic and national security community grappled with the news that North Korea appeared to be moving ahead with its ballistic missile program at 16 hidden bases, despite public claims from President Trump that there was progress in nuclear and peace talks with Kim Jong Un.
As with many other initiatives, the Trump administration is throwing out old foreign policy playbooks and trying something new. It remains to be seen if this will actually work. In the meantime, the unconventional nature of these talks makes nuclear experts nervous, because they don’t know what protocol or strategy, if any, is being followed.
Om Is Where The Heart Is
Burning, death and devastation
California is experiencing the deadliest wildfire in its history, with entire towns being reduced to ash. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, some of those choking plumes filled the air, bringing the devastation one step closer to us.
I’d become accustomed to donning a face mask back home in Southeast Asia, each time the smoke from Indonesian forest fires staked its claim on our skies and in our lungs. But walking down a Bay Area street, in a face mask, was something else altogether. We were breathing in death and devastation from the Camp Fire to our north. I couldn’t erase the images I’d conjured, of lost homes, perished souls, and ashen towns.
May those who are displaced find comfort, and a new home. And may their grief ease with the passage of time.
News and Views
Using our voice
Last week, I did a trial run of a workshop titled “How To Find – And Use – Your Voice To Do More Good.” It includes elements of the coaching work I’ve done through the years, as well as some observations I’ve compiled about the way we live and grow into our sense of self, and how to use that groundedness to weigh in on things that matter to us.
Here’s what one participant had to say:
“It was a powerful experience. Thanks for all I got out of the workshop.” – Bill Graff, Vietnam War era veteran and retired schoolteacher
I’ll host this workshop again soon, so check my events page for more information.
In the next issue:
It will be Thanksgiving week here in America, so that will guide what I feature next week. Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Till then…
Live well and lead large – Maya
(featured image by Speaker Pelosi) [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr