Unravelling the Drama of 2016

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I have so many thoughts and opinions on these various topics, I'll try to be cohesive.

1. Public Service
I do not want ever to be governed by men or women who have not subjected themselves to the election process and have thus learned humility. This conviction was strengthened in 1974, after President Nixon left office. A large poster showed sixty-four members of his team who had either landed in jail or been forced to resign under pressure, and not one of them had ever run for office, not any kind of office. They had been called from private life to positions of great power without ever undergoing the sobering experience of asking voters for their support or the humbling experience of having lost. I am terrified of being governed by such men whose worth has not been tested. Let them undergo public scrutiny and prove themselves.
James A. Michener  “The World is My Home: A Memoir”

I read James Michener’s memoir more than 10 years ago, and this position always stayed with me. Michener had run unsuccessfully for Congress, but still worked in the political arenas due to his passion for government. Running for public office is a unique experience. You are humbling asking people to believe in you and your capabilities. You will listen to them, and agree to help them. Yet, they are the true deciders of your future. They decide whether you, as a candidate for public office, will be able to move forward and help them. They will be putting their future in your hands. Can they trust you?

The challenge is that not everyone will. Many will question you, stay with you without being fully committed. Others will walk away. Can you imagine being on a job search and having doors slammed in your face based on the political button you wear? They’ve made a decision before you have had a chance to explain yourself. This is where one becomes humble. Every day is a battle to convince someone to accept you. One has to dig deep to find the strength and the confidence to continue. Move your ego so it doesn't blind you from the true purpose.

This is called Public Service, and one becomes a Public Servant. Unfortunately in so many countries as well as the US, we refer to "Politicians" in a derogatory way, as ones who are self-serving instead. Yes, many have run for office yet they never learned their humility or focus on the greater good. These days they are losing their logic and credibility with absurdity.

The 2016 US Republican presidential candidates has become a race filled with belligerents, bullies and battling egos. They all have self-serving agendas, and through the whirlwind of creating witty sound bites, they have lost focus on the true intent.

2. Melting Pot or Alfredo Sauce?

I have always been impressed with Barack Obama's 2004 speech: "Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America.”

Having lived my life in the northeast USA, I have a different perspective of the diversity in this country. We have pockets of different ethnic communities (e.g., Little India, Little Pakistan, Korea Town, Japan Town). I joke that people land at JFK Airport and it’s hard to move further west. However, the world is flattening. We have access to the world at our desktops. Between startups and established corporations, people will go to where the jobs are. There are people of all religious, class and ethnicity in different states. While some are still majority white, it is not as if there are no people of color or non-Christians across the country. My Facebook feeds show me friends or friends of friends who are scattered across the world from different backgrounds.

It bewilders me that the political leaders forget this and focus on specific sects. While targeting one group of the voting public, they have alienated the rest of the voters. This is the wrong approach – making short term wins while losing the long term potential. The internet has a long memory, people. We will remember what you said about everyone else. 

3. Integrity
The most dangerous part about Donald Trump’s tirade is that he believes there is room for only one at the top. There is only 1 leader at the top, only 1 country at the top. We must disregard the interests of the world and our allies in order to succeed.

Any former president or individual with diplomatic experience will disagree, Democrat or Republican. The world does not work in a silo with the US being the ultimate authority, and consequentially, bearing the entire burden. We are a whole planet of people that need to work together. Our business, technology and scientific platforms are all reliant on each other. This is another spot where humility and integrity come into play. Knowing our humble place in the world as a leader, not the out of control cowboy mentality.

While it seems promising to bring in someone with new perspective of the business world, but corporation runs differently than the government There are many levels of regulations that restrict movement, as well as dependencies on relationships. One is simply not the "CEO of the USA" and can tell everyone what to do. They have idealistic vision of what Presidential powers are, yet they berate Obama for taking those executive steps when Congress obstructs him.

I have to laugh at candidates who promise to get rid of different government agencies such as the IRS and Department of Education. Wow, why not identify what is wrong and fix it to make it stronger? Is it much better to lay off thousands of government employees to fulfill a hollow promise to woo voters? Once in office, they won't be able to do it and then everyone will complain they didn't fulfill their promise. Why not promise realistic goals?

4. Political Correctness

Take this scenario. I have invited you over for dinner. You have told me you do not eat spicy food and it affects you badly. I have made a dish that I don't think is spicy. In fact, this is always how it's made and no one had a problem with this before. However, you try this dish and cannot handle it. You have heartburn, face is all red and are sweating. I cannot feel your pain, but now I know that you cannot handle it. You did tell me up front, but I didn't truly understand the extent. So, next time, I will make something mild for us to have a better experience.

So, now, am I the "politically correct" cook if I have to make something mild? Or you could call it being considerate and acknowledging another person's (or community's) experience and pain, even if it does not apply to me?

I hear people saying, "He says what's on his mind and not being politically correct." Frankly, there's a line between common courtesy and political correctness. To declare "I'm not going to be politically correct for you" means I'm going to disregard your feelings. You say your eyes are burning, here's more hot sauce for you because I like it this way.

By dismantling the 'politically correct' or "common courtesy", it will bring down society. I work for a large corporation and I cannot fathom a VP rudely waving his hands to hush another individual or sharply talking over him. Yes, there are heated arguments in the corporate space, but there's a common courtesy to hold your emotions and present a compelling case. Others in the meeting will step forward to help control the situation. They see it's their responsibility as participants to keep everyone in line. There's a sense of decorum and maturity needed for discourse.

This goes back to Michener's point of humility when asking for supporters. Attacking others doesn't move or impress anyone. We might as well revert to cavemen whacking each other with clubs.

5. Presidents
I have this ingrained memory of my elementary school hallway. They had posted framed pictures of all the presidents of the US. We used to walk down the hallway and read the names. Even today, my frame of reference is a mental image of the hallway and where Founding Fathers were. It probably ended with Ronald Reagan.

I hope that the next President on that wall will be respectable and honorable in that line up next to dignified men like John F Kennedy, Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt. And, hopefully in her pant suit.

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