THE RAGING 2020s: Companies, Countries, People — and the Fight for Our Future

 The Detroit Economic Club puts on some great stuff. They are where many business professionals seek to gain new knowledge and understanding.

THE RAGING 2020s: Companies, Countries, People — and the Fight for Our Future

An Exclusive Live Virtual Event

Alec Ross New York Times best-selling author & Distinguished Visiting Professor at l’Universitá di Bologna Business School For 150 years, there has been a social contract. Companies hold the power to shape our daily lives. Governments hold the power to make them fall in line. And the people hold the power to choose their leaders. But now, this balance has shaken loose. Today’s global companies are as powerful as countries and on issues ranging from privacy to sustainability to diversity and workers’ rights. As the world rages amidst pandemic, rising inequality and increasingly frequent climate disasters, Alec Ross offers a path forward in THE RAGING 2020s. He examines the economic and political forces that brought us to where we are today, looks at the trends shaping the decade to come and answers the question: will we come together to rewrite our social contract?  Purchase The Raging 2020s on Amazon by clicking here. To Access the Zoom Meeting URL Once You Register: Under your eTix account, visit the 'Manage Tickets' tab. Find the event name and click 'Print Ticket'. You should see all the meeting details on the right-hand side.  Special Instructions will be sent to the email on file with the Zoom Meeting URL the day before the event as well. Click here for DEC Virtual Event Best Practices

Meeting Date: Thursday, January 20, 2022 Meeting Agenda: 11:00 a.m. ET Program 11:45 a.m. Adjourn Registration: RSVP Required through eTix Members: Free Non-Members: $25 REGISTER TODAY!

December 02, 2021, Escanaba Regular City Council Meeting (Tuckman's Team Development Model)

Escanaba City Council Meeting. Not a whole lot to say this time around. The Agenda is HERE. New administration so there will be some kinks to sort of work out but that is pretty normal in the forming, storming, norming, and performing stages of any new team (See Tuckman's Team Development Model. ). I would say them are in Stage 1 and 2 and some general rules and ways of dealing with each other are going to come out and then everything will get smoother. This looks standard to me as each member is elected based on something they want to accomplish and they are feeling each other out to find their place in it all Sea legs coming soon!

  

Why I Call Myself an "Old Guard" Republican?

I'm not sure where our politics are going but I'm pretty sure I understand what I believe. That puts me as a light right Republican (I guess to some that would be a RINO but If my basic values are central to the history of Republicans then I'm not sure it would apply accurately in this instance. It would seem there are others using the term Republican to gain support when they do not necessarily believe in many of the long standing Republican values. Its not my call though to define these terms as they are collectively negotiated.). 

At the same point its very hard for me to be far right (or even far left) because I think these perspectives are narrowly limited. The best solutions are when you can see both sides of an argument and can take the wise pieces from either to find the best solution that has the most applicability. I seek to create logic and rationality as much as possible (I often fail but usually I'm on my own course in divergent thinking.). 

I also have minority kids (in many ways minorities of minorities in an aggressive world where the rules don't always apply) and I can't engage in any level of hate or support hate in any form. Its not fair to them or to the majority of society who no longer fits into a perfect "glass house" perspective of "American". For the most part, I think that hate will end up cracking this society much like some theorists have predicted if we don't eventually get a handle on it (A responsibility of all Americans and parties. One could even make an argument a national security issue.). 

As a general rule I think focusing on small business, people and developing a strong diversified economy will help not only "average" people but also our long-term corporate options. Policies are often skewed toward a limited sliver of corporate support (because of the nature of politics and financial influence) but don't really think about the whole economic picture and the long term need to create and develop a sustainable economy through innovation (Different economists see different things but I see small business and MNC large businesses partnering to help each other.).

Furthermore, I'm conservative in my values. I believe religion is helpful for people and most religions focus on describing the very same events of life and our duty to a higher set of values and power (Its not my place to say which religion people should follow.). If we all focused on ourselves, parties and people we would suffer many of the same problems we are currently experiencing on a national level. There are just some values that help keep society together but many of us have lost our belief in humility, kindness, thoughtfulness, love, inner strength, wisdom, honor, forgiveness, etc... because we replaced them with false images of brutal strength, quick judgement, hate of things we don't understand, and selfishness on the upper spectrum limits in our modern politics and social lives. 

So I'm not 100% sure where I fit on the political perspective because the definitions of our parties have changed and what I believe doesn't seem to have much connection with what many of our politicians are saying (at least publicly leaving more and more to the fringe.). I'm not sure if I'm part of one party, two parties, or no parties at all.  At the moment I can say an "old guard" Republican with the right to have my own opinion (same problem with Democrats. I have lots of liberal friends and even a few radical one's who can't accept others opinions so I just don't talk to people who lose their rationality; not really party specific.) Time will tell.....we will just have to wait and see. ⏳

The Importance of Deradicalizing Politics for National Solutions (Policing as an Example)

As a nation we have been discussing policing and police reform for some time without resolution. Solutions don't come easily forward when both sides of the political spectrum are hyping up their base in ways that are wholly destructive and not in the best spirit for national growth. Radicalism within politics is a serious problem because common sense solutions can't be found when ears are plugged and mouths open. Our national leadership should listen to their inner voice and find pro social positive solutions that benefit the institution of policing while still addressing the needs of our people (duh!).

The Blind leading the Blind
Pieter Bruegel the Elder 1568

For example, If I say I support police and I support protestors that creates a lot of confusion among our radical politicians and supporters (meaning there are lots of great politicians that can think complexly but the loud mouths are often skewing the debate and solutions!) If I say I want to enhance the effectiveness of policing it "must" mean I'm against minority rights. Likewise, if I say we should listen to peaceful protestors that also "for sure" means I'm against law and order! (Do you see the black and white thinking and how people interpret information through their own ideological perceptions? There is no middle ground and thus no solution. 🦇💩🤡 Hyper Politics)

Yet that isn't my interpretation at all. I'm 100% in support of police and I'm 100% in support of peaceful protestors. There is always room for improvement and removing bad/corrupt officers is part of the solution as well as engaging with peaceful protestors to understand their concerns (while arresting those who engage in violence and destruction). The solution isn't left and right ideological radicalism but truth that seeks to find "common sense" solutions. 

A study conducted at Cambridge found that radicals have a hard time doing complex mental tasks and simplify their world through black and white type of thinking (You can see a description of the study HERE You can read the actual study HERE.). Before you jump to one of those "radical" conclusions consider while the study is focused on one ideological outlook it really applies to the process of not thinking through complexity which certainly can apply to some Democrats and some Republicans. 

We should encourage our leadership to start thinking in non-radical ways and find middle ground where the most rational solutions that will have the widest public support are found (Cognitive Teams). When I say I saw bad police behavior that should be held to account while saying I actively support our police that means what I say it means (Regardless of others confusion.). Those who miscue this information do so because of their own radical ideological bent that favors their limited perspective. 

We can't run a nation well without positive well thought out solutions if we are unable/unwilling to think complexly about leading issues of the day. When only 1/4 of people trust what our politicians are saying the problems move way way beyond my comments of supporting police, listening to peaceful protestors, holding to account anarchist violence/protestors, as well as removing "bad apple" officers to maintain institutional integrity (See Pew Study). 

Not sure what kind of country you want or who you are going to listen to? We need to deradicalize our politics to find pathways for societal advancement. We might someday look back 100 years in our virtual reality history books and say, "Wow...how simplistic was our thinking during the times of the Covid pandemic. Thank god we evolved as a society and species!" (Vervet Monkeys). More systems thinking is needed in government. Perhaps continued polarization is our solution? 🤷  (Systems Thinking, Perception and Reality Race Relations, Stoic Concept of Justice, Warriors of Past and Future, The Soft Side of Extremism, Conducting Research, Biggest National Threats, Social Stability, Don't Get Upset!

Stuff a Blue Goose Gladstone-Giving Back and Good Will

 Policing is tough business and they support our communities in important ways. As you can tell for the "Stuff a Blue Goose" campaign from the Michigan State Police they do more than give tickets. Many of the officers volunteer their time and seek to create good will by supporting those in need. 

In many cases police are the first to come across people in poverty. Many of the youth that get in trouble do have poor backgrounds and often not the support or resources they need to develop to their fullest of abilities. They start with a limp and without shoes in an economic race that would make even Micheal Jordan pant. 

According to an article in TV6 'Gladstone troops collect over $14k in donations during ‘Stuff a Blue Goose’ event' (our local channel) Meijers, Walmart, Marines Toys for ToTs, Pats Food In Gladstone (one of my favorite stores), Marinette County Sheriffs, Marinette City Police, and Salvation Army were all involved. Helping others is a community affair.

You can gain some additional information at MSP Newsroom. I suspect they could give you direction on places you can donate if you have cash contributions and missed any deadlines. There are lots of people in the area that could use a little help and I encourage more wealthy members of society to donate. 

Information on Upper Peninsula of Michigan Hunting

For those of us who live in the Upper Peninsula we have a whole different way of life when compared to others who might live in more populated locations. Water you can drink directly from many spring fed lakes, miles of untouched forest, wild bears running across highways, snowshoeing during the winter and water skiing during the warm summer months. I came across this flyer. It looks like hunting (not to mention tourism in general) impacts our local economy in significant ways. That is why I support eco tourism and digital nomad destinations like Escanaba (Digital Nomads and Smart City). 

Consumer Data Privacy Laws-Functional or Dangerous?

Companies and marketing functions seek access to as much data as possible and have scooped up large swaths of consumer information. Some have argued it has gone too far and others argue that government shouldn't get involved. The problem is that swinging the pendulum one way fails to protect our consumer information (national security risk) or the normal privacies people come to expect and if we swing it wildly the other way companies will likely be upset that its unfair government influence. At present we haven't solved the problem and our current laws are lagging behind technological development. 

An article in the Iowa Law Review entitled, 'Privacy Losses as Wrongful Gains' by Bernard Chao that highlights some of the risks consumers face and the difficulty they have recovering damages if information is lost, stolen or misused. What they indicate is....

"Companies often violate their own privacy policies by selling customer data or by using the information in ways that fall outside their policy. Yet even when there is indisputable misconduct, the law generally does not hold these companies accountable. That is because traditional legal claims are poorly suited for handling privacy losses." (Chao, 2020, para 1). 

We thus run into a problem of information being collected and sold without consumer knowledge and these large data banks often move across the globe with little to no account. That not only creates security risks but it also doesn't help consumers ensure that their information is actually private. It isn't difficult for foreign adversaries who have access to large swaths of data from major companies and government institutions (mostly from hacking) that creates telling profiles of consumers (likely sometimes key officials). 

Yet it is more than that isn't it? Consumers often don't have a clue what information is being collected on them and they also have no idea how its being used. Even when they take the time to understand the process their information may not be used appropriately and can cause them all types of headaches in terms of credit and theft. Having some levels of protection are important. 

Don't get me wrong I'm not against companies coming to understand their customers. However, I am against misleading information, selling that information without disclosures, large data banks, and little consequence if that information is misused and in turn damages either national security or consumers rights. There should be a way to handle this and I think there are a few things we should consider. 

A Couple of Things to Think About:

(Disclaimer: It takes many different opinions to sort of ferret out the most plausible solutions. I'm not the expert but these are just opinions for mental consumption.)

1. Smaller Data Banks: Help avoid theft from hacking.

2. Encryption and Block Chain: Makes it more difficult to collect and understand.

3. Upfront disclosures of Where, Who, When information is sold and options to decline while still receiving services. Helps to put the consumer in control without forcing them to provide information outside of normal security requirements (i.e. banking and account verification). 

4. Civil and legal penalties for misuse of information. When companies take advantage of consumer data there should be civil and legal penalties. The law may need to change.

5. Work with other countries to help protect data. Collecting and cracking down on countries that misuse data is important for protecting overall security of the global business environment.

6. Review of current legislation and update laws regularly in shorter intervals to keep up with technological adjustments. Technology changes much faster than government can understand it. Making sure laws are updated more often is helpful (That also includes removal of outdated laws). 

Chao, B. (2020, para 1). Privacy Losses as Wrongful Gains. Iowa Law Review.

106 Iowa L. Rev. 555. Retrieved 11-30-21 https://ilr.law.uiowa.edu/print/volume-106-issue-2/privacy-losses-as-wrongful-gains/

Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs: Treasury Secretary Janel Yellen and Fed Chair Jerome Powell Testify

Its important to keep up with government legislation and changes in our economic and regulatory environment. Inflation, diverse growth and strategy are likely to be part of the discussion. One thing I'm going to agree with is we could have tanked our economy and slipped in international standing and if we play our cards right with the hard infrastructure bill we could lead well above our slipping Chinese counterpart for the next 50 years (China Real Estate Decline, Next 50 Years, US. Competitive Position, Attracting HQ, Legislation Infrastructure Inflation). The question is where do we keep the gas, where do we release the pedal, and where should our focus be?

The Necessity of Law & Order: And When It Defaults

The Path to Freedom
Integrity and Public Good Will

Law & Order is a good thing when its applied wisely it ensures a peaceful environment where beneficial open dialogue leads to national solutions.  Where corruption goes unchecked it begins to eat at the foundations of trust that erodes the concept of "authority". This is why I detest corruption in policing as much as I detest violence in protests. Where extremism and hate (of any kind whether pro or anti police) is left unchecked the foundations of democracy begins to erode.  No one has the right to destroy institutional foundations for self gain or to please the distorted views of their social and/or political networks.  

For those who have been reading my blog they may be aware that I take issues of corruption very seriously based on the experienced actions of a few "bad apples" and the harm they have caused to their community. Acts of intimidation, improper investigations, following targets, spreading  rumors to gain support for what appears to be ethnic oriented pressure are inappropriate in the U.S. 

When the innocent are being put in harm's way a red line must be drawn. Before making an assumption it should be noted that I have supported  police many times in my lifetime and continue  while still being opposed to rogue elements that violate our American  principles and in turn our agreed upon social contracts as codified in our national Constitution. 

Like I support honorable law enforcement personnel I also support peaceful protests to help ensure a feedback loop for positive change. That does not include anarchists and street militias of either ideological bent. We must find a safer path through the fog where compromise and good judgement makes sense so as to deradicalize the fringes within our society (civilian, law enforcement, politicians, youth, etc...).

For those of us who maintain loyalty to certain core American principles and values we must persevere them to ensure a free nation for generations to come. Our efforts turn the tide against those treading down the dark paths of either ultra or anti nationalism.  There are certain values our ancestors, veterans, leaders and the general population agree up and have fought for through generational sacrifices. No party, side, or group has the right to circumvent the public's will outside of legislative channels.

That is why the best way to protect our institutions is to maintain the highest standards of integrity and transparency in all of our law enforcement endeavors.  The "Shield" is of value only as long as it continues to represent our collective values of protecting and serving its people. Rogue or corrupt elements detract from that honor and I encourage good officers to break the "blue code" to report illegal behaviors so as to remove corrupted elements in fulfillment of their sacred oaths (Not to mention it is also within their best interest for the profession, culture, and opportunities.).

We are one nation, free nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. They are not dead words and are still supported by most policing activities and other national institutions. I have helped officers on a number of occasions within my lifetime sometimes at great personal risks. I have made my peace with my maker a long time ago (multiple times like a cat) and will stand tall in the face of hate. Federal oversight becomes increasingly clear when embedded networks can't be rooted out effectively within compromised departments.

If the strategy of " ethnic cleansing" those who are different didn't work out how about we change our strategy and "clean house" of rogue elements within our departments? 🤷 We must only ask ourselves, "Which strategy will likely lead to the greatest benefit for everyone involved?" Trust is fundamental to Law & Order and it is incumbent on department leadership to ensure every officer serves with integrity and "bad apples" are investigated and removed promptly. 

I hope and pray that these events act as a lesson in which we can learn about how to create the most effective police departments we can. Wiggle room to solve problems "internally" may snap taunt as the hour glass sifts over the opportunities to make choices over the charting of ones own course. Failure to uphold the law is a failure of protecting our officers and the populace through mutual and shared values and goals. National development requires a collective commitment to higher order values and living.

“The police must obey the law while enforcing the law.”
– Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren

“Justice may be blind, but she has very sophisticated listening devices.”
– Edgar Argo

The Analysis of 'Power of Death' Painting (1889) by William Holbrook Beard

Painting is one of the highest forms of human expression. It carries with it time honored traditions and values that would be forgotten without sharing them from generation to generation. These values come from our very core coding as a species and will manifest in each generation in one form or another because they are based in our inherited survival skills (i.e root such as love, hate, anger, fear, etc...). Art is a manifestation of interior experiences (See Art Psychology Evolution) as an outward expression of core cultural expressions (especially if the are seen over and over from different societal corners.).

The painting 'Power of Death' by William Holbrook Beard symbolism focuses on the inevitability of death in which no powerful creature on the planet can avoid or escape (i.e. no matter how much the tiger claws.). You can see from the different carcasses, triumphant foot on elephant's neck and the strangling of thrashing tiger that our lives are temporary no matter our perceived skills and abilities. The big elephant is not immune and the tiger can claw but he will also succumb. (Covid might have helped us change some of our assumptions of mortality).

One might be able to look at deeper symbolism such as the pure burial shroud, the brutality of a club, half skull face, Death's gaze into the heavens, the background of scorched earth and the setting of the sun into darkness. To Death he is doing his job and has done it 1000's of times before and seems to feel no real connection to his victims anymore than a person might feel pity to a chicken in a chicken farm factory (This is why the absence of empathy doesn't give honor to life and we call it evil. In modern times we use more scientific concepts to describe this absence of remorse.)

While we should fear death in some respects, or more appropriately we should fear not living a meaningful life, paintings such as these help us think about our responsibilities and legacies. We will all end in the same place but it is those who think about life before death (called self-reflection on self and society) that can seek to contribute meaningfully to the world around them. In other words, if we are all here only for a short time then we should spend that time wisely; assuming we are aware of our mortality. 

Art tells us an awful lot about society and in turn also reflects our culture; whether American or other (See Sociology of Art). Art is a cultural artifact that often taps into essential values and in turn influences our perspective of life within our cultural vantage point. It isn't just an exercise in awe and wonder but also of understand the roots of our collective conscious (See Jung and Collective Conscious) Being familiar with different artifacts of repeated cultural experiences often tells you the assumptions of values within our society and how those are applied to our experiences.

The painting "Power of Death' is more accurately depicting the sanctity of life and the misguidance of a false self of importance.  We all have value and when guided through education and prosocial behaviors can create meaning to life. 

William Holbrook Beard, Power of Death, c. 1889–90, oil on board, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge