perspectives

President-Elect Obama: Together we are changing!

It would be hard to deny that this hasn't been a week of great promise for our Nation and the world. For one clear reason...we had the shared experience of electing a new President with the whole world watching and cheering with us --- a President for all of us with a family that mirrors our diverse and inclusion ideals in the US. Even with all the uncertainty and harsh realities of our economic meltdown, having a new President-elect Barack Obama with a mandate and a vision of a new direction for our country has left me elated. Having a beauitful, young First Family-elect with Michelle, Malia, and Sasha (and the new puppy) is a boost for a country --- a relief from years of what seemed at times to be overcome with the utter darkness of war, greed, division, injustice, disrespect of our neighbors and neglect.

Even if you cast your vote differently, what we know for sure is that what we're doing hasn't worked. We need a fresh new approach and through the millions of votes by United States citizens, we boldly opened the way for a new beginning. 

It has been a week that I never imagined that I would see in my lifetime and I am so grateful to have had my family experience a sense of unity across the US that we just have not seen on this level in my memory. There have been signs since election night that we are coming together. Emails have flown in to congratulate the U.S. on this incredible achievement and mandate for change. For example, check out these "love notes" from blues to reds each reaching out to make peace.

I was especially moved by the Time magazine article. The first paragraph said it all. "Some princes are born in palaces. Some are born in mangers. But a few are born in the imagination, out of scraps of history and hope. Barack Obama never talks about how people see him: I'm not the one making history, he said every chance he got. You are. Yet as he looked out Tuesday night through the bulletproof glass, in a park named for a Civil War general, he had to see the truth on people's faces. We are the ones we've been waiting for, he liked to say, but people were waiting for him, waiting for someone to finish what a King began."

...and we have a new song from Will.I.am. It's a New Day debut on Oprah.

I end this week deeply grateful for this new day. May we work to ensure that by putting our differences to work, we live up to the promise of our actions this week.

Your thoughts?

Best...

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

New Book! Putting Our Differences to Work
Learn more: www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com
Berrett-Koehler - BK Business

 

9-11 COMMEMORATION:A time for self-examination

IN COMMEMORATION of all the man-made tragedies in the world.

In America, the bells will toll all over this land in commemoration of 9/11. With all the tragedies, anguish and loss since then in every region of the world --- most caused or at least, worsened indirectly by man's own lack of leadership, greed, ineffectiveness, will for power, lust for war or inhuman treatment of their brothers and sisters or disregard and disrespect for living creatures that inhabit this planet, it is hard to just think of our tragedy. One would think that 9/11 would have led us to be more caring and thoughtful of others, but the deaths, disregard, disrespect of human life we have caused as a nation since that horrific day doesn't speak well of lessons learned. Instead we continue to:

• point fingers
• call people degrading names and make fun of them
• allow our dedicated service men and women to be abused by leadership failures
• kill and maim innocents without proper respect and care

...and never stop to examine the root cause of all the hatred felt for our country around the world. It's not our freedom people abhor, is it really? Or is it our behavior and actions --- our contemptuous approach? Our demands on others, while we ravage others' resources, break laws and violate trust of our neighbors, creating a breeding ground for the world's disgust of our policies and practices.

This day for the sake of lives lost calls for self-examination, don't you think?

First, we must start with the long-awaited "Report on the Iraq War" by General Petraeus on Monday. I know the Iraq War has nothing to do with 9/11 --- but this is why today was such a sham. It was disrespectful to the tragedy of 9/11 and its aftermath to listen to another bunch of gobbledygook no one would understand --- obviously prepared to deceive and deflect any real accountability. At this senior executive level of "reporting" if it were done in a business, it demand measuring RESULTS against PLAN. There was little one could decipher as RESULTS reported. There was what I learned in management school was called X=GOOD statements flying around all day long. They appeared to really tell us nothing different than we were told last time, which was NOTHING.

I think I heard something at one point fly out of General Petraeus' mouth that sounded a lot like "deaths are down 55%  --- 55% of WHAT and SINCE WHEN and WHERE?  Throwing out numbers that don't add up and connect to nothing does not inform the American public, nor justify the human treasure lost and $450,472,654,000 + cost of the IRAQ WAR. This kind of reporting from the TOP BRASS surprised me actually. I expected more. They are the ones that taught us HOPE is not a METHOD; EFFORT is not a RESULT. One is left feeling duped. 

The American People have spoken;
unfortunately, no one is listening. Why do we accept this?

When the tragedies of the world trouble me, like they do with the passing of this symbolic day of remembrance of all tragedies, I find strength in voices that echo from the great sages of history---from the role models who inspired change in individuals and the world in ways that endure. Today, I heard three of their voices calling out to me...

Nelson Mandela spoke to me. The memory of his courageous journey told in Long Walk to Freedom remains with me. "I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. ...For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The true test of devotion to freedom is just beginning," he reminded me.

I also came across a page where I had written a quote from Paramahansa Yogananda that a friend shared with me some time ago. He reminded me to stoke the embers inside, because there remains much work to do. “To be alive is to be on fire with purpose, to move forward with undaunted determination toward a goal. Many people think great things but do not act on them. However it is the activity that creates the greatness.” The Life of Paramahansa Yogananda

But what difference can I make? There are days when I worry that my work, my actions and passions are not enough. I see so much need. I feel so inadequate, don't you. Today is a reminder. However, Mandela and Yogananda had me thinking and feeling a sense of urgency about what I've been called to do. As I walked by my bookshelf this this morning in quiet desperation, a little book of Gandhi's wisdom caught my eye. I opened it at random and he spoke again,

"Good travels at a snail's pace. Those who want to do good are not selfish, they are not in a hurry, they know that to impregnate people with good requires a long time. ...The trial of one's conviction is just beginning. Greatness in contribution requires action. Doing the good requires selflessness and patience."

Let this day be a day of commemoration for all human tragedy, not just our own. May we leave it with a sense of personal responsibility to create a better world than we know today, one action, one behavior, one person at a time.

The great sages are speaking to you in the distance?? Listen.

Debbe Kennedy
Founder of the Global Dialogue Center

Come visit us ... www.globaldialoguecenter.com

Falling Bridges and Other Sorrows

I chose an icon marked with an L. In this case the L in this case if for LEADERSHIP. We somehow have a great lack of it at the moment and tragedy-by-tragedy we continue to see this truth unfolding before our eyes.

I had the good fortune to work for IBM in my first career. It was a wonderful value-based organization with the highest standards for its leaders. This instilled in me a consciousness that has carried me a long way and stayed solidly part of my belief system for leaders at all levels. One of the key lessons I learned in my early leadership training as an IBM Manager was that our key role was not manage problems, but to avoid them. We were charged with the stewardship for our span of influence. This not only meant managing day-to-day issues, but it also meant holding the responsibility and accountability for all of our company assets under our command. These values meant something then.  Many times, I witnessed, upclose or from a distance, that if managers violated the company's trust or failed to effectively manage our company assets, they were YANKED out of their jobs---discreetly, respectfully, but they were not left to do more damage or to destroy the integrity of leadership we all grew up believing to be the standard of any leader. As a young leader looking on this left a lasting impression on me. What examples do our leaders provide for our children today?

This week, we have again watched another example of our country's failed policies in action with the tragedy in Minnesota. But our leaders accept no responsibility for the unsatisfactory performance this tragedy demonstrates. There is no fingerpointing. They hold the funds. They aren't the least bit embarrassed to visit for photo ops. I saw Bush sending Laura today to open the way for him --- probably a trial balloon to see how he is received tomorrow when he arrives for his photo-op. It is hard to believe they have the gall to show up in the face of the facts that have been streaming on the news the past few days ---- 77 of our key bridges in the U.S. are rated a FOUR on a scale of 9 (or 10); taxpayer dollars have been diverted to athletic stadiums, bridges to nowhere, as well as billions and billions to Iraq. Meanwhile, a great source of national prestige and national security is left at great risk with shoddy work, not enough funding and leaders with a mentality that is so full of self-interest that they cannot properly perform the duties for which they are being paid: To be the stewards of our country's assets and to keep its citizens safe.

Leaders in our government aren't held accountable for anything. Few of us vote and frankly, waiting to deal with our issues in elections is unacceptable, especially when you consider that the elections we are to believe in have already proved to be faulty at best, and fixed at worst. I am certain that the founding fathers never thought about us electing and paying a corrupt system of officials, especially ones that have shown such contempt for the values that make up the foundation of our country and that we once proudly, if not perfectly, espoused to the world.

AGAIN I HAVE TO ASK --- What has happened to us?
How many more tragedies will we watch before we do something? How many more times will we elect the very leaders that are responsible for this mismanagement. Today, I heard Lou Dobbs and others punching hard with their words about Obama's lack of foreign policy and leadership experience. Look around folks. You will get a good look at what "EXPERIENCE" has created. I would take integrity over experience any day. Another important lesson I learned at IBM is that the key to a great leader is learning how to develop an idea, plan it out, execute second to none and achieve superior results. I believe that is what we need in a president and Obama is showing great promise in my book. I have to admit that at least Obama represents NEW THINKING and a NEW APPROACH and appears to have a set of values that have not been shaken. As Einstein said:

"You can't solve problems with the same thinking you use to create them."

We are run by leaders that are stuck in the money-filled groove of a broken record of mismanagement. We have allowed it by our complacency, indifference and lack of attention ---- or if you are like me, I'm lost in knowing what to do to stop it in a kind of citizens paralysis. With just this failing of the bridge in Minnesota this week, our Congress and Administration should be YANKED out of their jobs and replaced with leaders who are willing to accept the responsibility and accountability for the stewardship of our country and its people. It is obvious that Washington is not doing it. How many more tragedies do we need to see before we recognize we are entrusting our lives, our children lives and our country's tattered reputation and its existence to incompetents. Even those we see as the best in Washington, bear responsibility for mismanagement of our nation's assets and for crimes of negligence and abuse, don't you think?

I am deeply saddened for the families who have lost this loved ones in Minnesota and also deeply sadden for others who lost loved in Katrina and the Iraq War and other sorrows here in the U. S. and around the world that our lack of leadership at all levels caused.

MAY WE FIND A WAY TO RISE UP AS A COMMUNITY and be the generation that STOPS the falling bridges and other sorrows here in the U.S.

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com

AMERICAN DREAM traded for VIOLENCE and GREED: How did this happen to us?

I suppose most of us could all find fault with how we grew up in some way --- there is always mom, dad and Uncle Joe to blame things on. However, for me, with all its imperfections, what I remember MOST now is the gift my big brother gave me, when he focused my attention on the importance of striving for EXCELLENCE in all I did. Some of his early lessons for me came when he was still in high school and became my “surrogate father,” when my dad and mom split up. He qualified his advice with a sense of realism (or was it a reflection of his own doubt?). "You may not get to do this or that, he would tell me, "...because we can't afford it, but you, little sister, should always work as if all these dreams will come true for you and EXCELLENCE is the differentiator."

Later on, my brothers lessons were affirmed with each achievement that emerged in small and big influences on my future. Working toward EXCELLENCE, became almost addictive. I loved achieving and it fueled working hard, which had its generous rewards. I am most grateful to attest that the ability to dream, a high regard for ethics, deeply held values and a strong belief that the best opportunities are produced through EXCELLENCE have stood the test of time.

The truths about EXCELLENCE were deeply rooted in history. Aristotle's words have been an ever-present reminder:

"We are what we repeatedly DO. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."

It seems at one time, the pursuit of EXCELLENCE, was a constant theme in working toward our own individual American Dreams. Our achievements, and some of heroes were widely admired all over the world. Our pursuit of EXCELLENCE drove GPAs in college, the ambitions of our athletes to reach new records, helped children to dream, businesses were in search of it and "the American Dream" was made of it. Today, EXCELLENCE isn't a word you hear much from people, young and old and in-between. I’ve even heard companies shy away of its ideals, because it raised the bar to a level that seemed less than anyone expected to achieve. Also, perhaps our replacements of the pursuit of excellence have exacerbated the major tragic problems that weigh heavy on our lives, our human family, living creatures, the world and this planet.

It seems that perhaps by choices we made carelessly, we have let go of the pursuit of EXCELLENCE as our driving force and allowed the AMERICAN DREAM to be traded before our eyes for an intentional seductive flow of VIOLENCE, SEX and GREED that has grown like a cancer on our society. This brainwashing has gone way beyond “free speech”. It has us hooked and its tantalizing realities are popping up in our lives and in the lives of our children and grandchildren, while lining the pockets of the wealthy and filling our minds with garbage ---- neutralizing the gruesome to point it doesn't even matter to us anymore ---- and sadly, it appears we can't get enough. We want it more and more ---- or at least, the seduction or indifference keeps it coming --- or it wouldn't sell.

OUR PURSUIT OF VIOLENCE, SEX and GREED

This notion was fully revealed yesterday during the SUPERBOWL. The ads for the extravaganza, included previewing the top shows over and over again. Every drama show that was previewed for MONDAY, TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY was full of the grotesque and violence beyond imagination. Even the new popular show, HEROES demonstrated that our culture is now redefining today’s HERO in a backdrop of VIOLENCE and DESTRUCTION ---- not EXCELLENCE and ACHIEVEMENT. Even the comedy shows previewed and the advertising shown in prime time afternoon, where our young children are present, were full of violence, sex and things that are far from values like the pursuit of EXCELLENCE. Today, taking it still to another LOW POINT to titillate perverse minds further and chalk up profits, one of the key magazines, featuring Britney Spears and Paris Hilton as teenage idols, reportedly has brought a new gross term to life, questioning if we are raising a new generation of young women, they labeled "prostatots". Who is to blame for this?

I'm not a prude, or raising any moral flags, but it saddens me --- and I hope it saddens you too --- to visibly stop, look and recognize just how low our society has stooped to seduce our desires for pleasure, power and dough. I suppose there are plenty people and corporations who bear part of the blame for this erosion of values and decency in our country and our world. What has happened to us? How did we allow this to happen?

LEADERS SET THE TONE

That is what I was taught as a leader. Certainly, there have been gross things happening since the beginning of time, but I believe our recent generations have taken violence, indecency and greed to a new lows as we've all witnessed. Violence, sex and greed have progressed further than one can imagine in the last 10 years. Since LEADERSHIP sets the tone, our self-proclaimed WAR PRESIDENT and the BILLIONS of our hard-earned dollars spent on killing, destruction and lining the pockets of the WAR PROFITEERS has been part of the VIOLENCE SEDUCTION we've all bought into as citizens.

If we are as Aristotle said, what we repeatedly DO, we, the American people, own part of this era of VIOLENCE and GREED. We have accepted less than the best in our politicians, for our military, in our leaders, in our policies, with our media and for our human family across the world.

John Perkins, famed author of the New York Times bestseller, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, wrote a compelling piece that will make you think.
READ IT and see what you think.

Any thoughts? I welcome your perspective.

Debbe

NEW BOOK: The Secret History of the American Empire by JOHN PERKINS 
Pre-Order at Amazon.com

Visit the John Perkins Collection at the Global Dialogue Center
Confessions of Economic Hit Man with new material in paperback

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

IRAQ:BUSH's "LAST CHANCE" - QUESTIONS TO ASK ??

It must be difficult to wake up in the morning and read headlines in news reports worldwide that chill the soul, knowing the catastrophes overnight are a direct implication of six years of your personal failed policy, decision-making and leadership. This assumes you feel a sense of personal accountability for your actions, behavior and decisions---not just in your rhetoric, but in the heart and in your subsequent demonstration through your action and behavior.

Below are two examples from today's headlines that must leave all of us questioning even more deeply the audacity of BUSH and his administration requesting the American people support a "LAST CHANCE" to succeed, when we've witnessed six years a proven failed policy, failed decisions, amidst a sea of half-truths and worse:

Five girls killed in Iraq school attack
"Five girls have been killed in a mortar attack on a secondary school in a Sunni area of western Baghdad. The mortar attack occurred about 11am. at the Kholoud Secondary School in the Adil neighborhood of western Baghdad. Several projectiles exploded in the courtyard of the school, shattering windows in the classrooms and spraying pupils with shards of glass. Blood smeared the stone steps and walkways. ...Hours after the attack, grieving parents wept as the bodies of the victims were placed inside wooden coffins. Police said four girls were killed instantly and a fifth died later." The IRISH Times

U.S. helicopter shot down near Najaf
"...The [news] correspondent observed the helicopter shot down about 1:35 p.m. Iraqi time Sunday (5:35 a.m. EST). ...No information on U.S. casualties was available. Military public affairs officials in Baghdad said Sunday afternoon they were unaware of the helicopter downing. What?
The Mercury News

LAST CHANCE without Consequences for ALL
What haunts me is that this LAST CHANCE request from failed leadership has no direct consequences in the lives of those making such a request --- oh, perhaps a "self-made legacy of failure" to live with for the rest of your life on a generous pension the American people will fund, but I don't find this a compelling consequence, do YOU?  [Photo: Associated Press ]

This morning as the BUSH pundits hit the talk shows, I didn't hear one of them say their son or daughter ---- or any of them --- were suiting up for this LAST CHANCE noble cause. BUSH also has not "bellied up to the bar" on the LAST CHANCE request himself. Where are his family members that are willing to sign up for his "one-man strategy" that the most qualified experts have gravely questioned and rejected?  Why aren't we seeing the Commander-in-Chief making a field trip to get a "real feel" for his REQUEST in the neighborhoods with our soldiers? Sounds crazy, I know, but haven't past leaders made such sacrifices, never asking others to go where they were unwilling to go themselves?

General Petraeus said in his confirmation hearing this week that when "our men and women are putting themselves in harm's way," he owed it to them to tell the President if the strategy was wrong. Excuse me! Our men and women are BEING PUT in harm's way by BUSH. He owns this action, not the men and women who are following his orders.

It seems WE, the AMERICAN PEOPLE, own this mess too, as we sit, many of us feeling helpless, indifferent and silent. We have watched, hoped, blindly supported and now sit before an even more broken system --- and lack of involvement has upped the ante and left us in a dangerous place. Are we willing to risk everything on incompetent leadership? The LAST CHANCE will have CONSEQUENCES, but BUSH will not be bearing them, YOU and me and our children and grandchildren and our global family worldwide will bear the ever-rising consequences unless we can own up to it all ---- collectively shift our consciousness ---- thinking, questioning and letting our VOICES BE HEARD to stop the madness.

NEW QUESTIONS TO ASK OURSELVES Do we have a dictator???
When I looked up this word, I was stunned by its definition that I knew but didn't want to say out loud:

DICTATOR:
a person granted absolute emergency power; especially  (one appointed by the senate of ancient Rome) [remember, what happened to them?] b : one holding complete autocratic control; one ruling absolutely and often oppressively.

Can the world accept two more years of failed policy?
Can we, the American people, accept two more years of failed policy?

As I ponder these questions, I am reminded of futurist, Joel Barker's compelling call-to-action:
"You can and should shape your own future, because if you don't someone else surely will."

BIG QUESTION: If we don't shape the future at this LAST CHANCE junction, who will it be that chooses to liberate us from our dictator?

I ask you these new questions, trembling --- in disbelief that my optimistic mind is typing such words --- all the while praying to be bold enough to see the TRUTH and the CHOICE that sits before each of us.

What about YOU?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

RELATED THINKING and QUESTIONING MATERIAL:

Personal Responsibility: Its role in creating a better world
An online virtual dialogue with nine Berrett-Koehler authors Learn more...

John Perkins, author, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man has a new book coming.
The Secret History of the American Empire  Learn more...

SADDAM to the GALLOWS: Will BUSH Miss His Opportunity for a BOLDER KIND OF LEADERSHIP?

RELATED AFTERTHOUGHTS TO PONDER from Robert Fisk,
described by the NY Times as...
"probably the most famous foreign correspondent in Britain"
A Dictator Created then Detroyed by America
Read NOW

Saddam Hussein, according to morning news reports, remains at the American military prison, where he is expected to stay until the day of his execution, at which point he is to be transferred to Iraqi authorities. [Associated Press].
I suppose one can look at this reality from several vantage points:

Last evening, I heard one view, which included describing the barbaric details of what Saddam's death-by-hanging will involve, moment-by-hideous moment---a full step-by-step documentation of how his body will be broken and crushed to complete the deed---an eye for an eye executed to perfection. Imagine that we, as a human society, have come to such a place that we would find satisfaction in a close public examination of the killing process of another human being, so much so, that it hit the news repeatedly in multiple segments yesterday. I know. I know. "Such lust for killing has been going on for centuries," you may be saying back to me. But this isn't about history. It is about us and an examination of conscience of OUR nation TODAY. It is about an examination of conscience for each of us as individuals in OUR time.

Our willingness and wantingness for revenge, whether it be portrayed in great detail on a public stage or be carried out in some secret way to hide and diminish our crimes, questions the state of our humanity. It is particularly stunning to the mind, when one considers the contrast of what the US government and President BUSH have banned here from the public's experience --- the censorship of the arrival home of our brave US military men and women in draped caskets, aimed at blocking the daily dose of truth about war from our consciousness ---- truth that comes as a direct result of an illegal war conceived on lies, deception and mounting profit and greed. We aren't allowed to see this truth, while no one seems to be bothered by our minds being filled with minute-by-minute coverage of Saddam's impending hanging.

Our want for revenge also contrasts our willingness to deny and ban any public accounting or even acknowledgement of civilian deaths caused by the Iraq War. "We don't do body counts." is how Tommy Franks put it, the chilling words burned in my mind. Are they burned in yours?  Our disregard and disrespect for human life, as "leaders of the free world" has set an example that serves as a catalyst for such nonsensical statements as this one today said about Saddam's hanging, "Our respect for human rights requires us to execute him...," Al-Maliki said. WHAT? This statement mirrors our leaders actions and behaviors ---- and our own indifference as citizens, doesn't it? What has happened to us?

WILL BUSH SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE HIS LEGACY?
A ray of hope still exists. Another view from a humanitarian vantage point, clearly shows the US stands before a fleeting window of hopeful opportunity that invites a bold demonstration of moral leadership.

As a nation, our leaders are still left with a decision to take the high road ---- one that could perhaps be the tipping point that would begin to reverse all that today is keeping us on a perpetual cycle of violence, killing and destruction in Iraq and other places throughout the world ---- one that could change the course of history. One that could change the legacy of George W. Bush, because it demands a bigger, bolder form of leadership that would speak to the world, reflecting the values upon which our nation was built. George Bush has an opportunity to use American influence to stop Saddam Hussein from going to the gallows, in exchange for life in prison, in a heroic stand for human life and justice, as well as perhaps what could be the beginning of a new era toward peace in the world.  Will he and his administration take advantage of it?

A CALL FOR A BOLDER KIND OF LEADERSHIP
In NOVEMBER, shortly after the elections, John Sloboda, executive director of the Oxford Research Group in the UK and co-founder of the Iraq Body Count Project, wrote a compelling call-for-leadership from the United States published by openDemocracy.net. He wrote, "...There is a window of opportunity to take a bold initiative, to signal to the world the values that the Democrats will bring back to an administration which many believe has lost its moral compass. ...what is most urgently needed first is a tangible, specific signal of a new approach which both draws on the best of American values, and communicates that fact around the world. READ THIS COMPELLING ARGUMENT.

John Sloboda's conclusion is particularly moving, serving as not only a call-to-action, but also a vision of beginning what could be new era of unity throughout the world:

...The US intervention in Iraq has been presented by George W Bush and his principal ally Tony Blair as about values: offering the Iraqi people, and the entire middle east, the opportunity to embrace the values that underpin democratic civilisations. Those values, for the vast majority of democratic countries, including Britain and all other members of the European Union, include a firm and absolute rejection of the death penalty. If America stands apart now, and allows Saddam to go to the gallows unchallenged, it sends a signal to the entire world that the US prefers to remain isolated from those who should be its closest allies and friends, and that the prevailing philosophy of its new "bipartisan" government is likely to continue as one of vengeance rather than justice and reconciliation.

If, however, America joins with its allies to petition for transmission of the sentence to one of life imprisonment, it would send the clearest possible signal to the world that a page in American history has been turned, and that an aberrant and damaging chapter may be drawing to a close." READ FULL TEXT of John Sloboda's essay.

In the words of wisdom left for us by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others."

Is George BUSH big enough and BOLD enough, to use his influence to take a decisive act of leadership on behalf of the welfare of others, tipping the scales of justice in a way that could lead to the improving peace on earth? 

I leave you HOPING in these final hours.

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

AMERICA VOTES: Ten Lessons About Military Intervention

This is perhaps America's most important election in my lifetime, not just for our country, but for others all over the world. We have a chance as a collective human force to use our VOICES and our VOTES to institute a change in direction and mindset that could benefit all those looking and longing for leadership from American citizens. You may not think your VOTE matters, but this time, it truly could be the VOTE that becomes part of a global tipping point.

The whole world is watching and waiting to see what decisions we will make. A respected colleague from London, John Sloboda, Executive Director, Oxford Research Group, wrote yesterday:

"The world looks on with baited breath as the people of the USA prepare to vote - a vote with very important ramifications for the entire world.  May you, and all who you care for, cast your votes wisely!"

John Sloboda also offered TEN lessons for us to consider as we cast our votes.

Ten things that the USA and its allies need to learn about military intervention
by John Sloboda, Executive Director, Oxford Research Group, London

Since 1999 the USA and its principal allies Britain and Israel have made military intervention the centrepiece their entire foreign policy. From Serbia/Kosovo, through Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and onwards to Iran and North Korea, the basic strategy has been the same: bomb from the air, destabilise or depose the existing regime, establish long-term on-the-ground military presence, take sides in internal ethnic or religious conflicts, prop up weak pro-American governments totally reliant on external aid and 'firepower' to extend their remit to the entire country, devote insufficient resources to meeting basic human needs of the people.

Far from achieving stability, these interventions have, to a greater or lesser extent, exacerbated local, regional, and global tensions, undermined effectiveness of the global governance system (UN and associated bodies); and increased the capacity and will of actors with no allegiance to any state to do harm around the world.

When the American people choose how to vote in three days time, their perceptions of the Iraq intervention, and Republican and Democrat attitudes to that intervention, will be key in determining their decision. Yet, for all that, it is not clear that even the most progressive political voices (such as that of Chicago Democratic Senator, Barak Obama) have a clear vision that extends beyond 'how to get out of the current mess with least further loss of life' .

What is desperately needed, in Washington, London, and Jerusalem, is a true 'road map'. This would be a set of clear benchmarks and principles for effective foreign policy.

Such benchmarks are already implicit in the enormous amount of critical reflection that is taking place, in diplomatic, civil service, military, academic, and NGO circles. Yet rarely do these issues get clear articulation in the media, in the parliamentary and representative agenda, or from government spokespersons. The trauma of Iraq has paralysed the political classes, and popular debate has been hollowed out so that 'stay' or 'leave' are the only items on the menu.

Here are 10 propositions which could be animating a real debate about long-term security for us all:

1. Regime change is most successfully achieved from within, and non-violently (cf Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Russia, Argentina)

2 The most important threats to human security (such as climate change, pandemic disease, global inequalities in wealth distribution) cannot be eliminated by military action. Indeed, militarization is in itself one of the greatest threats (3,000 innocents were killed in 9-11, upwards of 100,000 have been killed as result of our military response to 9-11). Terrorism is not, despite the constant insistence on this by western leaders, the 'greatest threat'.

3. 'We don..t talk to terrorists, or those who sponsor terrorism' is a self-defeating posture. In the end you always have to talk. Starting and continuing with it will always produce better results than breaking off.

4. Successful interventions must be legitimate in the eyes of the people in the place of intervention. Otherwise they will be resisted as occupation. Only the UN Security Council can currently deliver the necessary legitimacy.

5. Successful interventions have properly designed and resourced post-conflict reconstruction plans, accepted as legitimate and workable by all parties. This means nurturing and prioritising the expertise of those who possess deep long-term understanding of the region, and its political and cultural complexities.

6. It matters who intervenes. Intervening forces who have ethnic, religious and cultural affinities with the indigenous population will have the greatest chance of acceptance by the population.

7. It matters how the intervention is done. A force whose primary aim is protection of, and respect towards, local civilians, will be more successful that one that shoots first and asks questions later. The 'I am a warrior' creed of the US soldier is not fit for current purpose.

8. Combatting terrorists and insurgents requires completely different strategies, tactics to the conduct of traditional 'army versus army' battlefield wars. This requires root and branch transformation in the way military forces are chosen, trained, and integrated with non-military actors.

9. The views of informed electorates cannot be ignored without lasting damage to the democratic fabric. Western governments must find better ways of taking account of informed public opinion, which has tended to be marginalised and discredited by those in power.

10. Persisting with mistaken policies never works. It is always better to admit you were wrong, apologise, and reverse the unworkable policy. Governments must urgently find ways of moving beyond 'fear of loss of face'. History shows that leaders who admit their mistakes often increase their stature and effectiveness.

Maybe these 10 principles are not all correct. Maybe there are others equally important which are not on the list. The point is that the national and international debate needs to move to this level rapidly, to escape the paralysis of blame and counter-blame that has all but shut down serious debate about the role and meaning of the military forces of democratic and stable nations in the 21st Century. End.

There are hopeful indications that American citizens, in record numbers, recognize this election is far more than party politics and fringe issues that we are being bombarded with from every direction. This election is about THINKING, QUESTIONING and taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY at this time in history to contribute to a more generous, peaceful, respectiful world. It begins with getting informed and stepping up. Your name is being called ... do you hear it?

This year, I was taken by Franklin Delano Roosevelt's inaugural address in 1932 that I came across. He spoke to our neighbors around the world. It made me realize just how far off track we've become as a nation and how much we need a new vision:

"In the field of world policy, I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor---the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others."

How different the debate nationally and internationally would be if we started from such a visionary premise. This week, our friends across the world are counting on our VOICE and VOTE.

Cast your votes wisely!

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center

RELATED PODCAST:
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY: It's Role in Creating a Better World
Berrett-Koehler Authors' Dialogue
Listen and view NOW

IRAQ: Beyond 100 the numbers toll; why no QUESTIONS?

RELATED PODCAST:

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY:
It's Role in Creating a Better World
Nine Berrett-Koehler Authors invite your to think, question and explore ideas with them on how we can all get involved in shifting the course we are presently on. Meet bestselling author, John Perkins (Confessions of an Economic Hit Man) and eight other distinguished authors. Free. No registration required. LEARN MORE AND LISTEN IN

WHAT WOULD WE DO...
I've wondered what the media would do when we reached 100 US military lives lost this month. This morning, I see the banner declaring the shameful headline that US troop death toll in Iraq for October hits 100. Is it this kind of milestone that will wake us all up????? Interestingly, it is amazing that unless it's an even-numbered milestone, we hardly hear reports on lives lost ---- except in ones and twos here and there-----and this only happens if there is room after reports on Congressman child molesters and Madonna's attempt to do something nice for disadvantaged child.

Somehow, we've not yet hit or heard a number that has given the average American citizen a real jolt. I am assuming this is by design. Most of us don't even realize that 100 isn't anything, when you look further at the IRAQ US military casualties in the last 10 months, finding it is 633 military lives lost. Most notable, 671 is the total lives lost in last 10 months for "BUSH's coalition" --- NOTE: Lives lost in all other countries in BUSH's coalition, including the UK hit 38 lives lost vs. the US 633 men and women dad in the same period. Either they have different jobs, better armor or there aren't many there, yes? It appear the idea of "coalition" has also been broadly defined and sold to us too. Meanwhile, our American military is put in harms way at the whim of a bunch of politicians, who are fully committed to their rhetorical war --- with none of their sons and daughters among the dead.

My guess is that most Americans are too busy with their lives to even notice the Iraq death toll numbers, if my own friends are an example. After all, unless the life lost hurts you or your day-to-day life, it is easy for us to turn our heads.

Another, example is when the study of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimated that that over 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since BUSH's coalition arrived in March 2003. This number is 20 times the number BUSH was willing to admit last December last year.

DID THIS NUMBER OF DEATHS OR ITS REALITIES EVEN PHASE THE AMERICAN PUBLIC?
No. Not by any visible means. When BUSH and RUMSFELD, already proven to be less than trustworthy and notably disinterested in civilian casualties by their own admission, went to the podium and summarily dismissed the study with just a shrug of their shoulders and a few negatively toned words, the story was never talked again.

Did the average American citizen know or care that the study questioned by BUSH was done by some of the most admired and trusted researchers? Did they even read what was surveyed and discovered? I've not yet found a person that heard more than the message that the study was questioned. That's one for the White House!

WHAT THE STUDY SAID AND WHO CONDUCTED IT:
The surveyors said they found a steady increase in mortality since the invasion, with a steeper rise in the last year that appears to reflect a worsening of violence as reported by the U.S. military, the news media and civilian groups. In the year ending in June, the team calculated Iraq's mortality rate to be roughly four times what it was the year before the war.

Of the total 655,000 estimated "excess deaths," 601,000 resulted from violence and the rest from disease and other causes, according to the study. This is about 500 unexpected violent deaths per day throughout the country.

The survey was done by Iraqi physicians and overseen by epidemiologists at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. The findings are being published online today by the British medical journal the Lancet. Washington Post

THE FUTURE RESTS IN OUR HANDS
I heard a chilling account of the far-reaching implications of this ongoing IRAQ WAR and the failed policies of the BUSH Administration on C-SPAN with Scott Ritter, former UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq in 1991 - 1998. He talked about how this failed policy is now leading us to escalate to IRAN as you may have seen as the "trial balloons" have been sent up regularly in recent months through speeches and talking points. Ritter even suggested that it could be part of an "October Surprise" should things get bad enough on the election front. The possibilities of its implications on the US and the whole world will certainly wake the AMERICAN public up, if he is right, but perhaps not before it is too late.

It is time for a change. I'm not a political person, but I am a humanitarian and lover of the best in people and care deeply about sustainability of our planet and all its inhabitants. Also, I suppose I've lived long enough and worked long enough to recognize that when you have a long pattern of poor performance you need to make a course correction. In my leadership training at IBM, we were told there were three times when it was critical to TAKE ACTION and PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for poor performance:

1. When poor performance is impacting others.

2. When poor performance is impacting the organization.

3. When poor performance is impacting the bottomline.

I would say the poor performance of the BUSH ADMINISTRATION and our whole broken government system needs a course correction ---- an overhaul based on this criteria and by any standards. As citizens, we must get involved and take back our country not just in words, but through our involvement. All of us have spans of influence, so get out there and wake up your friends! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE your conscience! Your well-being may depend on it! We need everyone involved, alert and engaged to shift this dangerous, out of control trip we find ourselves on at this time in history.

The related podcast at the top, might be helpful in inspiring you. If you have great ideas to share, I welcome hearing them!

Debbe Kennedy
Founder of the Global Dialogue Center

Come visit us ... www.globaldialoguecenter.com

YOU and the Undeclared WAR

MINI-PODCAST "BOOK REVIEW" BELOW
It seems most of us are filled and overwhelmed with negative news about what is happening here in the US and around the world. A good many of us, I would guess, have put the shades down, blocking the news out. Because afterall, "what can we do?" What I've found particularly demoralizing goes way beyond any party affiliation. It has come down to logic and the battle between right and wrong; truth and integrity and the ongoing world of spin and lies.

It hasn't built my confidence, and I'm assuming yours either, to regularly see features on CNN, for example, which spell out the White House's "next two week agenda" with one goal in mind --- to change how you and I view the administration's agenda. It is so blantantly expressed as a PR campaign --- no mention of wanting to inform us, update us, seek our help, inspire us with the TRUTH and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. ...and when the PR campaigns actually unfold, it is even more insulting than you expected ----- as if somehow they think we all so stupid we can't see through the same ol' bunch of meaningless words we have already rejected the first and second time. No coming clean, no responsibility taken, no new facts, no specific actions. Just light weight empty words designed to convince us and perpetuate the shameful mess we have found ourselves in with a system badly broken and leaders unwilling to lead with conviction for truth and integrity.

WHAT's THE TRUTH; WHAT CAN YOU DO?
I've always seen myself as a positive visionary --- kind of pioneering spirit, but I have admit that we've been hoodwinked, folks! We've been deceived. We've been dupped and the only way out is for each of us to GET INFORMED and GET INVOLVED in order to stop the undeclared war on the American people and our increasingly less than positive influence on the peoples of the world, our environment and our planet.

AS A FIRST STEP: Read this BOOK
Let me explain why you don't want to miss this book...

CLICK HERE - mini-podcast with my personal recommendation

SCREWD: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class
by Thom Hartmann
bestselling author and Air America Radio Host
Berrett-Koehler Publishers - BK Currents
ISBN: 1-57675-414-6

WHAT CONTRIBUTION WILL YOU MAKE?

Debbe Kennedy
Founder of the Global Dialogue Center

Come visit us ... www.globaldialoguecenter.com

IRAQ: HOW MUCH ANGUISH ARE YOU WILLING TO SUPPORT?

I write as a compassionate human. War is not something I believe in. Based on the knowledge of the ages, there is no evidence that WAR in itself was a way to peace. Perhaps in some cases submission to a country bigger than you at a great cost.

What concerns me more is our conscience as a human family. HOW MUCH WAR AND AT WHAT HUMAN COST ARE WE WILLING TO SUPPORT? I listen to the top leaders as they claim boldly that we must stay to "finish the job." This is easy to say when they are safe in their castles with their children out of harm's way, but how careless they are with the lives of others, especially when it all comes down to greed for power and resources that we really want, yes? We want "freedom" to ring our way, without regard or respect for our brothers and sisters well-being.

Since when is it a good strategy to keep trying win, when the premise was built on mistruths and mistakes? In business, a leader with the pattern of mishaps, missteps and mistakes would own up to the poor judgment, cut your losses and get out. What we continue to see with the BUSH administration is this relentless broadcast PR campaign to convince us to align ourselves with a pigheaded foreign policy ---- to put our trust in WHAT? ...A regime that has lied, over stepped its power beyond the laws we have and who believes anyone not aligning is somehow sinister. When I hear the old rhetoric being thrown out once again, I keep thinking of familiar quote. "You can only see what is in your own heart." Or, "When you point the finger, there are three pointing back at you." It seems more often than not the blaming words describe what we are watching and witnessing at the hands of our own deeds.

Even on 9/11, as difficult as it is to remember the tragic day, I found it hard watching and reliving the pain of that day not to feel a since of human shame for the death, destruction, maiming we have caused that has far exceeded 9/11 by scores of people.

HOW MUCH ANGUISH ARE YOU WILLING TO SUPPORT?

This morning I was overwhelmed at the sight of an Associated Press photo of a young boy in anguish I can't even begin to take in. His face clearly tells us what this ill-conceived war has brought on one human tragedy at a time. When you look into this little boy's face that lost his mother, ask yourself ...

HOW MUCH ANGUISH ARE YOU WILLING TO SUPPORT?

I am not willing to support more! HOW ABOUT YOU?

Debbe Kennedy
Founder of the Global Dialogue Center

Come visit us ... www.globaldialoguecenter.com