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Regular thoughts on the human condition and corporate social responsibility by the CEO of a "for-benefit"company.
January 2008 - Posts
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This whole week, the folks in my office are working together to learn about freedom and history and, more specifically, civil rights and racism. Many served in the community with colleagues and family members yesterday on Martin Luther King Day -- "a day on, not a day off", as it has appropriately come to be interpreted. Today, the whole office, led by a 22 year old and prepared by a series of readings, participated in an overview of the civil rights movement and a discussion of race relations in today's world. Tomorrow, at the company's expense, a few of our folks will head to Memphis to the National Civil Rights Museum. On Thursday, those folks will lead another discussion...
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Today we celebrate the life and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King... now viewed -- in the words of biographer Harvard Sitkoff -- as "a moderate, respectable ally of Presidents and a facile spokesperson for the American Dream." Indeed, virtually every modern presidential candidate invokes the image of Dr. King as as model of peaceful, incremental change. This view is wrong and dangerous. 40 years ago, Dr. King's agenda was radical, not moderate. He preached the need for cataclysmic change. He was hated by many in the population, especially by the FBI and state and local governments all across the South. He was attacked, discredited, sent to jail and, finally, murdered. And...
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Tony Romeo off to Cancun with Jessica! Marine Murder Suspect Found! Or, how about this: College Students Build Basketball Court for Indigenous Community! I was supposed to have been in Chiapas, Mexico, last week with a few co-workers to serve alongside a group of Elon University students in a remote region governed by the Zapatista rebels. For several reasons, we were unable to make the trip, but the students -- all part of the unique "Periclean Scholars" program at Elon -- are there now for a 30-day winter-term experience. The Periclean Scholars program is highly selective, grounded in service and raises the students' awareness of the global human condition though intense, personal...
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Like most of you, I have been overexposed to the tv news media for the last few days. And, as several of you have commented, I much prefer the relative sanity of the print media. Still, I find myself wondering why they both insist on covering polling in much more depth than they cover the substance of the issues or the candidates. As we watched the treatment of both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, we learned much more about who was likely to win and, later, why the polls were wrong than we did about the differences between the candidates. On last night's edition of PBS's "The News Hour" -- generally a terrific source of informative news -- Judy Woodruff admiitted...
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It's barely dawn in the Gulf of Tonkin on August 4, 1964 and the US warship Turner Joy is under attack by the North Vietnamese. 21 torpedoes, machine gun fire... the ship is evading and counter-attacking: full battle stations, high drama in international waters. That night the US President, Lyndon Johnson, goes on national tv to tell all Americans that there was "unequivocal proof of an unprovoked attack" on a US vessel. Then, he went to Congress and on August 7 both houses passed a joint resolution called The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allowing the President to use miltary force to "support" any Southeast Asian nation threatened by North Vietnam. And the Vietnam War begins...
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One out of two isn't bad... I told you Mrs. Clinton might be a distant third and she was. What I missed was more important: a black man won a Presidential preference caucus in a white state. And, by doing so, Barack Obama proved that this process is color-blind and that he is no amateur: he won in the 5 largest precincts and he won on the realignment of supporters of unviable candidates -- precisely where I thought John Edwards would win. Good for Mr. Obama and good for the people of Iowa. The process of major change began today and almost exactly one year from today, we'll inaugurate a new President... one who will, again, make us proud to be Americans. Tomorrow, the candidates will...
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Tonight, it will be 19 degrees in Iowa, a dramatic improvement over last night. And about 120,000 Democrats will go into homes, schools and churches and choose, in full public view, the presidential nominee of their party. Across town, in a slightly different process, Republicans will do the same. All across the state, Iowans will have begun the essential process of healing our country so desperately needs. Most thinking people now admit that we have lost our way in the past 7 years. We are not a country that fights wars of choice. We are not a country that tortures. We are not a debtor country. We are not an isolationist country. We are not a country that leaves poor people on rooftops for days...
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I can't remember a time when a few days away from the office was more helpful to me. Like most folks, I took some time to reflect on 2007 and to look ahead to the new year. I have been so very blessed in so many ways and, watching my kids relax at a beautiful beach with their mom and grandparents, I recognized again how fortunate I have been. Of course, like most folks, I also thought about some things I need to do in the next year: lose ten pounds, spend more time with my family, excercise more financial restraint... I thought a great deal more, though, about what more I -- and all of us -- need to do for others. In reflecting, my thoughts turned again, as they often do, to The Millenium...
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