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Archive for October, 2018

Lesson 460 Anger, Division, and Mass Voter Confusion

Posted in Leadership, Lessons Learned, Media Literacy, Public Affairs, Strategic Communication on October 31, 2018| 2 Comments »

We now live in a media-ecosystem where constantly repeated lies sound true, vicious personal attacks abound, and celebrated experts disagree on everything. The accumulated impact of all this on the nation’s culture is deep social divisions, dangerous feelings of anger, increasing acts of hostility, and growing voter confusion.

Gerald Seib, Washington Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal, offered that no matter the election outcome, Mr. Trump already owns the soul of the Republican Party. My concern, however, is more for the soul of the American people!

Candidates who support the president have rationalized that they can overlook his cruelty and lies because they support his policies. They accept that ends justify any means, and are willing to overlook that it’s the “means” that establish the country’s cultural norms. And many candidates on the other side don’t seem to understand that counterattacks only widen social divisions. What is needed from each party is an inspirational and unifying vision that is grounded in our country’s founding ideas of freedom, opportunity, and justice for all. In the past, if one party doesn’t provide that, the recourse has been to vote for the other.

Anyone who ever studied communication knows that words really do matter. CEO’s and presidents have the power to choose to be a force for the common good, or a force that stirs angry passions, or a force that calms when events require. The problem is that this president doesn’t have enough empathy to know what’s appropriate. As a result, he awkwardly reads the few sensible scripts that are written for him, and then quickly reverts to the only style he knows… that of a dramatic television entertainer. Once he get’s started, the only material he has is what he makes up. He never had the patience to study social issues, and never paid attention in history class.

Sadly, the only solution I see is at the ballot box. A BIG surprise in the election next Tuesday could be the catalyst needed for some immediate change. Not that one party is the victor over the other, but rather that maybe all this election mess will convince both parties to finally make the system work more respectably.

Beyond that, we sorely need intensive media and civics literacy training for our schools, universities, social media initiatives, Internet sites, professional association programs, community organization agendas, and other critical issues projects. Admittedly, this is a long-term undertaking, but it will be absolutely essential if we are to survive this mess.

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Lesson 459 Winning Against Lies And Cruelty

Posted in Leadership, Lessons Learned, Media Literacy, Public Affairs, Strategic Communication on October 25, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Following this week’s pipe bomb incidents, will any candidates on either side have the fortitude to condemn all the lies, bullying, and angry attacks that have become tactics in too many campaigns, including the president’s? 

Certainly there must be traditional Republicans, thoughtful Democrats, Independents, and heretofore non-voters who are finally disgusted enough with the fear-mongering, constant lying, and angry attacks on individuals devastating our politics.

After this week, it should be possible for candidates in both parties, and at all levels, to call out this loathsome behavior, and to do so without getting down in the gutter themselves. Really, how can any candidate with a conscience go forward if they don’t condemn and help clean up this mess?

Here’s what a candidate can do when mud begins flying: Temper tantrums, “me first” boasts, vulgar and vicious attacks, false claims of immigration horrors, supportive references to violent acts, senseless fake news charges, strings of bold-faced lies, and campaign rallies that are no more than political wrestling matches, can be labeled, described, condemned, and countered, from a position of self-confidence and strength. Accomplish this quickly, and the real substance of the campaign message can become practical and substantive ideas and plans for a better America.

Some candidates have sidestepped this mess by focusing on healthcare, tax cuts and jobs. These are important issues.  But what we have now is all out attacks on individual people, legitimate news organizations, and common decency by too many candidates. And this is creating dangerous societal divisions that are threatening the very foundation and future of our democratic republic.

Our country desperately needs candidates who will take this on. And people of good will in both parties should do the same.

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Lesson 458 When An Ally Goes Rogue…

Posted in International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Public Affairs, Strategic Communication on October 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

When an ally goes rogue… words matter. They really matter.

Beginning with the deliberations that culminated in the U.S. constitution, human rights has been a major feature of American exceptionalism. It is the core idea that resulted in a war to eliminate slavery, and what countries the world over have come to count on as the lead idea of U.S. foreign policy.

The recent crisis with Saudi Arabia certainly tests this core American value. Even with periodic sanctions, there is little doubt that financial benefit is replacing human rights as the primary concern of the current U.S. administration.

Words matter a great deal when it comes to establishing a country’s brand identity. The words you lead with are the ones that define you. It makes a big difference whether you lead with human rights concerns and follow later with protecting your financial interests, or whether you lead first with your financial priorities and add a few sanctions later.

And what makes matters worse with the Saudi’s is that constant lying and disdain for journalists on both sides raises serious questions about the overall autocratic interests of both leaders.

It therefore is critically important right now for Americans who understand their heritage, and want to preserve those basic values, to speak out in support of universal human rights. 

With this Saudi situation, the rest can play out later. But it will only do so if Congress finally performs its proper checks and balances duties.

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Lesson 457 Promoting Democracy and Global Leadership

Posted in International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Media Literacy, Strategic Communication on October 15, 2018| Leave a Comment »

A recent program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, cosponsored with the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU, explored the theme “Promoting Democracy and America’s Global Leadership.” While the program examined the news of the day, it also demonstrated how organizations are able to continue promoting a more traditional idea of America, even when the administration in power is not.

Susan Glasser, staff writer for The New Yorker, moderated a conversation with Daniel Twining, President of the International Republican Institute, and Derek Mitchell, President of the National Democratic Institute. And while the names of these organizations obviously convey a partisan bent, the conversation that evening clearly demonstrated that both organizations continue to promote very traditional ideas of America.

Just imagine the impact that concerned university presidents, business executives, NGO chief executives, executive directors of nonprofit, and active volunteers can have… all still operating effectively in today’s America. By merely promoting their cultures, values, visions, and societal initiatives they demonstrate their freedom, and the essential role they play in American enterprise. In fact, these institutions and leaders are what really make America great, and truly distinctive in the world.

We must therefore encourage everyone to take every opportunity to speak out on behalf of democracy and our institutions. We must encourage our friends to do it. And we must let journalists know that we expect the same from them. Telling more success stories about American institutions and individuals will provide much-needed context for our daily diet of negative news.

And word-of-mouth is still our most powerful form of communication. In today’s digital world it’s called “buzz.” But no matter the name, it remains super powerful. So get out there… and keep talking!

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Lesson 456 After Kavanaugh… What Now?

Posted in Leadership, Lessons Learned, Public Affairs, Strategic Communication on October 8, 2018| 1 Comment »

The main lesson of the Brett Kavanaugh battle is that mean-spirited politics, extreme partisanship, and fear-mongering leadership too often lead to seriously divided communities, a lingering climate of anger, and periodic shootings which often grow into widespread violence. This one-sided victory for some has divided our nation even more.

I informed my readers in my last post (Lesson 455) that I was taking several weeks off to refresh my thinking about the mess in Washington. My reason was that more and more people were telling me they were turning off the political chaos just to preserve their mental health.  

I was discouraged by the endless Trump-generated confusion. Republicans were focused only on winning in the legislature. Some were adopting the president’s autocratic style of “attack and divide” leadership. Democrats were behaving as partisans in their own reactionary way. And no one was championing the kind of American values that could unite the nation. So when I began hearing about people turning off to save their sanity… it made me think that they might actually be part of a larger unhappy, silent majority.

I first worked on the political predicament, and concluded that a total “system correction,” was needed.

It seemed to me that the only system correction that could work would require unhappy Republicans, non voters, minorities, legal immigrants, energized women, young people, and discouraged others, to vote for democratic candidates. If enough democrats won, this kind of shock might result in the silent majority becoming visible enough to force both parties to re-think their purposes, redraw their districts, debate their ideologies with mutual respect, and govern collaboratively.

Realizing this might not happen, I began to study the feasibility of drowning out the negativity of Washington with positive voices about American society and institutions.

Imagine the collective communication power of institutional leaders, business executives, NGOs, social services, educators, artists, musicians, journalists, clergy, foreign policy experts, allies, traditional Republicans, pragmatic democrats, independents, immigrants, minorities, and more! Apart from political extremism, America is alive and well.

Maybe my many years communicating and marketing institutions will yield some clues about how to accomplish telling this story. I will explore the possibilities in future blogs, other writings, and meetings with all levels of leaders and learners.      

This could get interesting. I hope you will join in.

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