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Dear Elizabeth (2)

I read your proposals on immigration. They are balanced and filled with a sense of compassion. Thank you. The idea of creating an office for New Americans is a fine example of a future oriented imagination that seeks to inspire. Let that be the hallmark of your campaign. Thank you again.

The task now is to sell the proposals. I mean sell them to those who do not yet grasp the value of immigrants. I mean sell the proposals to Trump’s supporters.

I do not think that Trump’s ‘base’ should be conceded. Far from it. It should be actively courted because they are Americans left behind. They are Americans who, having been ignored by previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican, fell prey to the manipulations of the current president who, based on his actions, i.e. tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, seeks not to empower them. That task of empowerment will fall to someone who, like you, has a strong record of working to uplift our citizenry.

The ‘base’ was once sadly referred to by Hillary Clinton as comprised of ‘deplorables,’ a mistake that contributed to her losing her bid to be president. I have no doubt that, had a writer of yours inserted that word in the text of a speech, you would have immediately deemed it inappropriate and not vocalized it.

The advantage of courting Trump’s base is that, in doing so, you would be actively engaged in the quest of attempting to unite the nation. Trump has shown no inclination to do so. He could but he doesn’t seem to grasp the essence of the concept. Part of the reason is that he is not an integrated man. He is intelligent and competitive, hard driving too, but his efforts appear guided by the desire to boost an ego thirsty for attention.

You, on the other hand, convey a sense of being a mature and well grounded person, someone not bedeviled by Trump’s affliction. Because of it, you can aspire to unite the nation. Which means reaching out to Trump’s ‘base’.

I do not think that the ‘base’ really sees the building of a wall on our southern border as a real solution to their problems.

The ‘base’ needs to gradually be guided to understand that their real freedom lies not in barring immigrants (though setting immigration limits is essential) but that it will come from their personal development; their real freedom will come from their efforts to nurture their productive capacities so they can feel they’re on a path to integrating with the rest of the nation and the world at large. Previous administration, both Democratic and Republican failed to assist them. Your administration will not make that mistake. You will engage the ‘base” and challenge them to be their best, offering the necessary means for them to realize their potential.

Men and women who are actively attempting to exercise their potential are not likely to fall prey to the fallacy of racism or white supremacy.

Reaching out to Trump’s ‘base’ with the firm promise of generous assistance for their personal and economic development stands the chance to not only engage them, but to signal to the rest of the nation that you are in the office of president to be an agent of change for the nation as a whole, and that you carry in you the spirit and creativity of a statesman like Franklin D Roosevelt.

Maybe there is a place for an office for Americans left behind by Globalization (as a counterpart to the office for New Americans) and for it to be the fountain of the effort to bring them on board.

There is a dynamic view of human beings that should be at the bottom of your programs and creative solutions. We human beings are always in transition. We are always desirous of improving ourselves. Sometimes we give up but the longings are always there. All of us, without exception, are eager to be better than we have been and, at bottom, want others to recognize us.

Essential to who we are is the need to connect to our fellow human beings, no matter what their color or origin. Racist beliefs are held by those who have temporarily given up on that fundamental quest.

Essential to who we are is the yearning to be validated by our brothers and sisters for there is nothing more satisfying.

Elizabeth, life has assigned you a gigantic task. But in its infinite wisdom, life has also chosen someone who is tremendously capable. So fear not that you lack the imagination, the daring and the compassion for the job. It’s all in you.

I see it. Others do too.

Best

Oscar Valdes

Oscarvaldes.net

Author of Brother Donald:Letters.

On Iran. A Little Thought, Anyone?

When Trump decided to pull out of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran his objective was to boost his macho image on the world stage. The agreement, flawed as it was, had kept us in diplomacy. Trump’s choice to break away from the pact shut us out of it. I suppose he’s keeping some people happy with his decision but our nation as a whole is the loser.

It is so easy to lose perspective on the subject. Sure, Iran is funding Hamas and Hezbollah and is a foe to allies in the region, but are any of those allies not dictatorial, except for Israel? No. Realpolitik? Okay, but not to boost the flawed ego of a failing president.

It is so convenient to forget how we’ve treated Iran. In 1953 we joined with Britain to overthrow a regime that wanted to nationalize their oil production. We felt we had the right to bully another nation into submission.

We installed the Shah which was no great gift to anyone other than he was willing to do our bidding. Finally, the Iranians had had enough and revolted. But soon after we were backing Iraq’s Saddam Hussein in a long bloody war against Iran that cost hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides. No qualms of conscience. The war was far away from our soil.

As things went, it would not be long before Saddam turned against us, and so back in we went with guns blazing to attempt to mold another regime to our liking. Never mind the lack of evidence for Weapons of Mass Destruction.

After all that blood and treasure spent, can we say we have liberated Iraq? No. They will be very happy to see us leave and one day soon we will have to. Our legacy? Iraq has grown more sympathetic to Iran.

It is not difficult to see how a more thoughtful policy from the start could have delivered very different results and the Middle East would likely be a different story today. Where were the thinkers then? Where are they now?

Make America Great Again? Really. I see no trace of greatness in our record with Iran or Iraq.

But let us not lose hope.

The other day I saw that some people had come up with a line of clothing that said ‘Make America Think Again’. It might be the start of something.

Dear Elizabeth

The fight is heating up. As you go through it you will be tested again and again, and again and again you will overcome. It’s in you. And you will be the next president of our nation.

You are being entrusted not only with restoring sanity to our affairs foreign and national, but with the grander task, long overdue, of lifting American women to positions of leadership.

The nation will be richer, when we let women in as full partners, for she has been neglected and undervalued throughout the course of our history.

We have paid dearly for such sad neglect. Had there been the balance that women bring to policy making and executive decisions, there may not have been the debacle of Vietnam, the bloody mistake of Iraq. Had there been the balance that women bring to policy making and executive decisions, there may not have been the institutionalized racism that plagues us, or the economic inequality that haunts us.

We often hear the question, is America ready for a woman president? It has always been ready. What has blocked women’s ascent is masculine insecurity, the obsession that men have with domination, the obsession with control over others to be able to feel at peace with ourselves.

But the peace earned in such way is transitory. Personal peace that lasts comes from a sense that everyone has value, and from the knowledge that at any given time in a person’s development, each human being is endeavoring to express such value, thus the importance of education and of social supports, to facilitate such expression.

Elizabeth,

The field is crowded, but already we can see the differences. The lack of focus. The vain quest for attention.

Meanwhile, do stay centered. You have a clear advantage over everybody in the field. I see it. Others see it.

As to the debates with Mr Trump you will have nothing to fear. He does not have the depth that you do (he could reach for it but he chooses not to). He knows that, which is why he will do all he can to degrade the nature of an exchange with you for that is his only course. Let him do the jokes. Let him have the laughs. We have seen plenty of those under his tenure while the nation backslides.

What the county wants to see is the leader in you. But rest easy. In contrast to our president, you do not have to reach for it or invent it. You do not have to make it up. It is in you. It is you.

You do not have to have all the answers. Some of your approaches may not be accurate. But if you have the courage to listen to contrary views and weigh them, you will chart balanced courses of action. Your choices may have to change, for circumstances will shift, but if your rationale has been sound, the chances of success will be good.

Till next time.

Oscar valdes oscarvaldes.net

Iran and the Shooting Down of a US Drone

Escalation, yes. A country with its back against the wall from the US imposed sanctions, could do a lot worse than shooting down a drone whose position in flight may or may not have been in Iranian airspace. And Trump could easily have retaliated with a strike against their military installations but did not.

Surely the hawks in his inner circle, Pompeo and Bolton, would very much have liked that choice. But the president, looking ahead to his political survival, made the decision that best suited his agenda: winning his reelection.

Trump weighed the pros and cons. An attack on Iranian installations, even if no lives were lost, an unlikely event, would have led to another Iranian response, and a chain reaction easily set in motion.

Does Trump want a protracted war on his hands as he tries to rally support for his reelection?

No.

Additionally, on June 18-19 when the G-20 meeting takes place in Osaka, Japan, all eyes will be on Trump and Xi Jinping regarding a possible resolution to the ongoing trade war between the two countries.

A war in the background likely weakens Trump’s position, so he chose to be sensible and hold his hand.

Apparently cyber attacks were ordered and further economic sanctions imposed as a result of the drone attack, but no lives will be lost.

Iran has been funding terrorist actions in the region and that has been going on for years. Empowering the people who are targeted by those actions will be the best way to counter them.

And so, too, inside Iran itself, for eventually it will be up to Iranians to confront their leaders and demand a regime change.

Current events show us that this is possible and likely more fundamental in its effects than the intervention of a foreign power in a nation’s affairs.

Today, in Turkey, the city of Istanbul got a new mayor who is a member of the opposition to Erdogan’s ruling party and was bitterly resisted by him. It is a great moment for Turkish democracy.

Last weekend, the people of Hong Kong came out in great numbers to oppose a rule that would have allowed the extradition of a resident of the city to the mainland. The rule was clearly a move to undermine Hong Kong’s democratic institutions. And the people responded with an enormous display of courage. What an inspiration for the rest of China and for the world.

The Strait of Hormuz. The Bombed Tankers and the World’s Supreme Power Broker.

Now and then power politics needs a crisis. It helps the ‘leaders’ better play to their respective constituencies. And so the tankers that cross the Strait of Hormuz, with the price of oil low and the pressure on Iran high, offer a wonderful opportunity. So why not rattle the world’s nerves and remind them of all their distinguished heads of state do for them?

On June 13^th two tankers were bombed, and we were shown videos of people in a boat, likely Iranian, casually taking down limpet mines (so we are told) from the side of a tanker, and then leisurely sailing off. Were the mines the culprits? Japanese sources, who own one of the ships, say their vessel was hit from the air.

American officials were quick to talk about how there would be hell to pay, and troops have been mobilized, with Trump saying he didn’t want war but, well, the US can only take so much.

Iran is denying any involvement. The European Union has warned to go slow, ‘don’t forget the rush to war with Iraq in 2003 and the price paid’.

Meanwhile, ‘exhaustive’ investigations continue with the promise to get to the bottom of it.

Lots of news coverage and people running around. As if we didn’t have better things to do. Like feeding the hungry of the world, educating them, inspiring them to better themselves, so they can learn to think and not let others deceive them.

But power is too seductive to pause for such paltry considerations.

The next day, June 14^th, Rouhani, Iran’s president, met with Putin and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Both dictators vowed to continue their support of Iran and the 2015 nuclear deal that the US has pulled out from and to stand by Iran in the tanker dispute.

But who started it?

Iran could well have said, ‘We’re suffering with the American sanctions and the oil prices being low. Let’s get a band of men to hit the tankers, oil prices will go up, then we go to Putin and ask for his help. He saved Assad in Syria from extinction and surely the great man will do us a good turn, too.’

Netanyahu, in Israel, who’s also good friends with Putin (he plays both cards) and in need of help too, could well have said, ‘I need to get reelected in September and Trump is on my side, so why not get some folks to go in and plant some explosives, then blame it on Iran. A lot of threats will get made and surely my numbers will go up. We know Iran is not crazy, not yet anyway, so they won’t escalate.’

Then there’s Trump who, in need of boosting his own numbers, and given that he has accomplished little during his term and is under the constant threat of impeachment and, on top of that, has a phalanx of democratic contenders uniformly decrying his performance, could well have said, ‘why not go along with Netanyahu and bang the war drums? Brinkmanship. Talk tough, push people to the edge, then let up for a while and crank it up again. Why, the press loves my tweets. Anyway, the Iranians wouldn’t dare start a fight with me, unless they want to commit suicide and I don’t think they do, which gives me the advantage.’

And he sits back and reflects. ‘Ah, the perks of power. To be able to manipulate public opinion. All the resources at my disposal… the CIA, the military, Fox News… how can I lose?’

Just days before, Trump had announced, braggingly, that he did not mind getting dirt on his American political opponents from another nation. Having got flak for it, he quickly reversed himself saying he would let the FBI know instead but, would you believe him?

Upon learning of Trump’s statements, I could see Putin smiling and thinking to himself, ‘Ah, I knew he would give me the green light to help in the next elections, not that I needed his approval.’

And so, Donald Trump, the 45^th American president, will go down in history as the one who, by his actions and inactions, elevated Russia’s dictator to the position of World Power Broker.

In the face of overwhelming evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 elections, Trump could not bring himself to be honest with all Americans and say to us, ‘There was interference and given my slim margin of victory (he lost the popular vote), it is quite possible that Russia’s actions got me the presidency. But now I am in and I vow to be president to all Americans and defend our interests’. But he could not do it. Sadly, it is not in the man.

Iran’s Rouhani and Khamenei, knowing this, and aware of the dire consequences of an escalation of the tanker incident, would have had planned, all along, to turn to Putin for help, knowing that the world’s greatest power broker would be ready to do his best.

Let us listen in on the possible conversation between Trump and Putin.

Sitting in the Oval Office, feeling pretty smug and relaxed, the 45^th president is suddenly interrupted by a staffer. ‘Mr President!’ the person exclaims anxiously as he steps in.

‘Yes?’

‘Mr Putin is on the line, should I transfer the call?’

‘Sure,’ says Trump.

The staffer exits and a moment later the phone rings on Trump’s desk.

He picks up.

‘Donald!,’ says Putin.

‘Vladi!’ replies Trump.

‘How’s your golf game?’

‘Better by the day,’ replies the 45th president.

‘Good to hear that. Listen, Iran is worried that you’re serious about war.’

‘Well… I am and I’m not… it all depends on the evidence… then there’s the polls… my base…’

‘Of course,’ says Putin. ‘But here’s my point… you don’t have to worry about getting reelected.’

‘I don’t?’

‘Of course not.’

‘How come?’

‘I have dirt on the democratic candidates. Real dirt. You’d be surprised.’

‘On whom?’

‘The leading ones… so don’t worry… I’ve got you covered. All you have to do is keep the contest close… and you’ll get in.’

Our president mulls this over.

‘Warren too?’

‘Of course.’

‘I think she’s going to get the democratic nomination,’ says Trump.

‘She’s looking good. Donald, you don’t record your calls, do you?’ asks Putin.

‘I don’t record anything. Learned from Nixon. Do you?’

‘Never,’ replies Putin.

Trump is relieved.

‘About the tankers,’ resumes Putin, ‘why not ease up on the war talk, just a little, and I’ll tell the Iranians to back off… what do you think?’

‘I don’t want any more ships being hit,’ says Trump.

‘Of course. I don’t know why they didn’t come to me first,’ says Putin.

‘I know I’m squeezing them but I have an election to win… and then there’s Netanyahu to think about. Iran needs to get over it. Say, did you hear that the Israelis are naming a section on the border with Syria, “Trump Heights?”’

‘I did. Congratulations. Very nice.’

‘Thanks. We’re tight, Bibi and me.”

‘I’m envious,’ says Putin.

‘We’re good too, Vladi, you know that.’

‘Thanks. But listen… it occurred to me, why don’t you let the Iranians sell some of their oil to Kim Jong Un, he’s hurting badly. I’m sure Xi will pick up the tab.’

‘That’s a thought.’

‘For a while at least… and that would give both Iran and Kim a breather.’

‘Hmm.”

‘Think of it this way… we’re all trying to stay in power.”

Trump laughs.

Putin laughs too. ‘We should all get together more often. Xi too. Need to bond.’

‘Say, what did Xi tell you when you last saw him?’ asks Trump.

‘He knows he has to play ball with the tariffs but doesn’t want to be humiliated. He’s got to save face. And now there’s the protests in Hong Kong to worry about.”

‘I understand. I’ll think of something.’

‘Believe me, he’ll appreciate it.’

‘Sure he will.’

‘You know, Americans are lucky to have you, Donald… they just don’t know it yet.’

‘That’s what I say.’

‘Which is why I’m glad to help. Give them some time. Americans have always done the right thing. Well… I know you’re busy, so I’ll let you go. My best to Melania, Ivanka and Jared.’

‘Thanks.’

They hang up.

In his office in the Kremlin, Putin picks up another phone and says, ‘Did you get all of it?’

‘Yes,’ replies the voice at the other end.

Putin sits back and smiles, ‘He’s no longer the apprentice. Once he gets reelected, he’ll be on his way. But really, who would’ve thought of it… America, the great democracy… on its way to becoming America, the great monarchy.’

Putin laughs loudly.

Oscar valdes. Oscarvaldes.net Author of ‘Helsinki,’ a play on the fallout after Trump and Putin’s meeting in the Finnish capital.

Don’t Humiliate China

China does not yet have the economic power that America has. And it is likely that if the trade war escalates, China will, indeed, be hurt by it, more so than we will. Of course, so will the world economy.

I doubt that China will back off if Trump follows through with his threat of imposing more tariffs, even though it appears that they are dependent on American technology companies as suppliers of component parts.

But why abuse our position of strength?

Why try to bring China to its knees?

I think it is a mistake.

There are, presently, in China, sectors that are deeply wedded to the notion of a more democratic society. They battle daily the state’s oppressive surveillance system and still they are growing.

It will take more time for these resistance sectors to eventually make their presence felt in the existing power structure, but one day they will. Any effort on our part to “beat” China economically, is likely to increase political repression and weaken their struggle.

Pushing China around economically will not last long, anyway. Eventually they will find their stride for they are resilient and strong. And when they do, then what?

Jack Ma, the head of Alibaba – the gigantic online commerce platform – is a communist party member. A multibillionaire enlisted by the Communist Party. Does that not tell us something about what is going on in China? Is that not the height of contradictions? Is that not a glaring example of a country in transition?

Mr Ma represents the Chinese state’s reliance on men and women who’ve been able to channel their creative energies and generate all manner of opportunities for the rest of the nation.

The Chinese model has transformed a nearly feudal society into a world powerhouse. But lagging well behind is the push for human rights. As dissenters have said, they not only want rice, they want rights too. And their drive will continue to grow.

Just this weekend a large mass of protesters in Hong Kong showed their opposition to a law to extradite residents to the mainland.

Mr Trump needs to look at his choices with a sense of history.

An escalation of tariffs may win him some points in the short term and satisfy some of his supporters, but in the end will amount to little more than a pyrrhic victory. So we may win the battle today but not the war tomorrow.

Oscar Valdes oscarvaldes.net

Trump, Tariffs and the Reelection Bid.

Battle for the Nation (3)

There is no question that the tariffs Trump is imposing on China and the threat to impose them on Mexico are a burden to the American taxpayer. Both sides are hurt by them but Trump is betting that they will hurt the other side more than us. Tariffs have not yet derailed our economic expansion but they may well do so.

Are there problems with our trade with China? Of course. Do they need addressing? No doubt. But what happened to gradualism? Wouldn’t that approach give our industries and every other nation’s enough time to make the necessary adjustments?

Yes, it would.

The reason Trump is rushing headlong with tariffs is clear. He is convinced that they are his ticket to reelection. He appears to think that pushing tariffs will project him as the great American gladiator, the sublime avenger of all injuries inflicted upon us.

But we will not beat China on tariffs. They will fight back and even endure much pain rather than bow to Trump’s demands. In the 80s we could impose tariffs on Japan and stem their rise because we had defeated them in WWII. We did not defeat China. She was not even a nation.

China has become a formidable opponent. Their brand of state sponsored development, their drive and ambition, has challenged our position in the world.

Their commitment to technological superiority, their advances in 5G and artificial intelligence, all make it evident that their push for world dominance is here to stay.

Should we be frightened? It depends on how capable we perceive ourselves to be.

China’s rise and defiance should be seen as a warning that we have to reorganize our economy and the way we connect to ourselves and to the world.

To do that we need to think clearly as to what our priorities are.

Take immigration: immigrants have contributed enormously to who we are now and what we have. A Russian immigrant is Google’s cofounder. Apple’s Steven Jobs’ father came from Syria. Intel’s Andy Grove, a leading figure in the company’s growth, came from Hungary.

Present day Silicon Valley is filled with first or second generation Indian entrepreneurs.

I live in California. There are several buildings going up near where I live. The major component to the labor force pushing up those structures are Latinos.

When I go for medical care the likelihood is high that the nurse or doctor assisting me will be a first or second generation immigrant. And so too when I go to the pharmacy to pick up my meds.

Same at the bank or when I go for coffee or to get something to eat.

We are immigrants. That’s who we are. We have needed the numbers and immigrants have provided them.

China’s story is different. They have the numbers. But they started to thrive quickly only when they opened to the world. It was that influx of ideas and technologies that, coupled with their drive and ingenuity, lifted them to their present status.

Again, openness.

In China’s case, however, selective openness. They have not been willing to import democratic ideals and so their population remains severely bereft of individual liberties.

The West bet that trade with China would inevitably stir a strong desire from within to transform their communist ideology. It hasn’t happened but it does not mean that it will not.

We got wrong the time table for political change but the central concept remains. Sooner or later China will open up politically.

Trump’s intemperate push for tariffs betrays a sense of panic.

China announces their desire for being the worldwide leader in technology and Trump frets that we will be at their mercy.

He bangs his tariff drum – the louder the better – thinking that it will deter China.

It will not.

The Chinese must love that our president is showing so little confidence in all the pain and effort that it has taken to build America. But Trump has little sense of history.

Our concept of liberty is the distillation of hundreds of years of thought and discussion, struggles and wars.

China has not done that work. They went from a near feudal economy to world prominence in a very short time. Much like South Korea did, except that we could exert political influence there because we fought for their freedom.

Why then are we panicking with China’s rise?

There is no need to do so. In fact, it is counterproductive.

To panic is to doubt that our model of governance is effective.

It is effective not only because of our economic and military strength but because it keeps attracting millions of people from all over the world. And yet, it needs to be fairer.

As we embrace greater fairness we will help release the fullness of our citizens’ productive capacities.

Rather than panic with China’s rise, we should welcome it, for it challenges us to remake our society.

Let us not forget that our society is not in its final form. Far from it. It is designed to be in a continuous state of flux because the complexity of life demands it.

China’s spectacular growth has contributed to the rise of nationalism both here and abroad. But reacting in such way is going in the wrong direction. We must not lose faith in man’s thirst for freedom and how it unleashes their creative forces.

China lags way behind the West in allowing the fundamental freedom that man has long aspired to. In time, and with visionary leadership, they will come around.

Immigration needs reform in that the nation must have control of its borders. Let’s tackle that. Let’s discuss it. Let’s do a referendum on the issue.

But let us not allow a leader without a sense of history, to throw us into a state of panic that leads us to question the fundamental values that we have struggled so hard to maintain.

Oscar Valdes oscarvaldes.net

Two American Businessmen in China. Circa 1995.

You wonder if there was a time, many years ago, when American businesses first began to access the Chinese market, when they might have said, “Hmm, the Chinese are wanting something in return for granting us access to their markets. They’re offering the cheap labor (plus land and low taxes) but they want more. They probably want to copy our products, then mass produce them themselves, and eventually replace us.”

Bob, who was CEO of a company making widgets in the north of China did, indeed, have such thought. One day he picked up the phone and called Tom, who was CEO of a company making plickets in the South of China.

Tom listened to his friend Bob’s concern and then said, “You’re right. We’re getting pressure from the communist party telling us that we need to transfer the technology to them. Never mind the patents.”

Bob thought about it for a moment, then asked, “What’re you guys going to do about it?”

“Look,” said Tom, “We’re already invested and we’re making good money. We figure that nothing lasts forever, so we give in a little, make as much money as we can while the going is good and then leave.”

“How long do you think that will take?” asked Bob.

“I don’t know. But it could go on for a long time, couldn’t it? The market is huge. And my retirement package is getting fatter and fatter so I’m not complaining.”

Bob’s own bonuses where getting bigger too, and he wondered whether they could get even bigger. At the same time, he thought that America (while pursuing its self interest) was helping China build itself up and that the Chinese would be grateful. Additionally, over time, the example of American entrepreneurship would inspire the Chinese to develop a strong middle and business class that could undermine the communist party and China would become more like the United States. Bob was bullish on China and saw the possibilities for joint enterprises expanding. In fact, looking ahead and seeking to put his children in an advantageous position, he had already persuaded them to start learning Chinese. He had got them private tutors. His oldest daughter had a Chinese boyfriend also, so she was making the most progress. Still, now and then, it occurred to Bob that back home, on US soil, many Americans were losing their jobs and that the government was not doing enough to train those folks for other employment. It was his social conscience nagging him, but he reasoned that he could do only so much. Bob figured that the widgets his company made, being cheaper than those made back in the US, would be his contribution to the growth of the American nation. That would be it. Not the taxes that his company paid, because it paid zero taxes, the result of hiring an excellent team of accountants, mostly former IRS auditors, who switched sides so they could fatten their own retirement packages.

“Look,” continued Tom, “The Chinese know what it’s like to be ruled by Western nations and Japan. They know what they have to do.”

“What’s that?”

“Strive for self reliance.”

“But do you think that, eventually, they’ll challenge us?”

“Hard to say, isn’t it? It’s easy to see that they’re smart people. Ambitious, too.”

“True,” said Bob.

“Of course, there’s always the chance that, if we neglect our own, one day they’ll leap ahead and we’ll all be speaking Chinese,” said Tom.

Bob chuckled. Still he worried. Shouldn’t American businesses be raising the issue of patent infringement more vigorously? He hadn’t talked to Tom in a while but he had always enjoyed his candor.

“We’re neglecting them now, aren’t we?” said Bob.

“You’re talking about the loss of American jobs from our companies leaving in search of cheap labor?”

“Yes.”

“Bob, good buddy, please don’t lose sleep over that. Economic competition has always been ruthless. That’s the name of the game. If it were you or I in a factory town in the Midwest and the main employer gave notice that they’d be pulling out, neither you nor I would stay put, would we?”

“You’re right,” replied Bob, feeling a bit relieved.

“We would right away get to thinking of where we would have to move next to make a living. That is, unless you came up with a business idea of your own to make it worthwhile staying behind.”
“Pretty much,” said Bob.

“It’s the American spirit, my friend. Innovation. Change. Now, I grant, I’m all for giving a helping hand to those who’re temporarily rattled and confused. But that’s up to government which is way we pay our taxes. I have my hands full otherwise.”

“Did you guys pay any taxes this last year?”

“Actually, we didn’t. Not this year, but we have in the past. Did you?”

“Not this year,” said Bob.

“Which is why we pay lobbyists in D.C. Everybody does it. Why not us?”

“Right.”

“There is a common good, of course, and Americans should help other Americans. I’m all for that too. But you have to show some initiative. That’s how I see it.”

Bob reflected on that for a moment. He had a cousin who had got depressed when she lost her job with a firm in Seattle that sent their jobs to China, and he knew that she had been an ambitious person. “Tom, sometimes people get depressed. Maybe that’s what happened to a lot of Americans when the companies they’d worked for many years pulled up and left.”

“Depression or no depression, you got to get over it.”

“It may not be that easy. People have kids, parents…”

“No check coming in, you got to go. But does American business think of the common good?”

“Do we?”

Tom hesitated for a moment. “We do,” said he now with wavering conviction. He, himself, had some distant relatives who had lived in a former steel town in Pennsylvania but he had lost touch. They were hard working, too, as he recalled. Maybe they were still there. Stuck.

“If, all of a sudden – continued Tom – the big money was in Africa, we’d go to Africa, wouldn’t we, Bob?”

“Yes.”

“We bombed the heck out of Vietnam but I guarantee you that one day we’ll be doing business.

And we will because capitalism is not racist. Incidentally, I once heard Noam Chomsky tell me that, personally. I went to a talk he gave and afterwards had a chance to get close to the man. I asked him something about capitalism and he told me that. ‘Capitalism is not racist.’ So there you are, we capitalists go where the money is. That’s it.”

“I’m sure that wasn’t an endorsement of capitalism but I like the thought,” said Bob.

“But I do think about the common good,” returned Tom, “the idea of nationhood, and what we could do to make the US a better place to live.”

“Sure, I do, too.”

“There has to be a good leader, though, someone who reminds us of the need to share, to help our fellow Americans become stronger.”

“I think a woman president would be a good choice,” said Bob, who had three daughters.
“Eventually, sure. Hadn’t thought of that. I don’t know why, since they’re over half our population. Maybe in the next century. But businesspeople wouldn’t make good leaders, I know that.”

“Why?”

“Our concerns are too narrow, and leading a nation needs something else. That much I know.”

Bob wanted to get back to his worry about the pressure the Chinese were putting on American businesses to share protected information.

“Regarding technology transfers…”

“Forced technology transfers,” said Tom.

“Right, shouldn’t we be raising the issue? If we did we might get collective action to stop it. I mean, we could negotiate something, rather than just give it away. I don’t like that. We’ve worked hard for our patents…”

“I doubt it.”

“…That way the Chinese would feel we’re a more integral part of their growth, and we would be teaching them something about fair play.”

“Bob… I don’t think we would be able to get our people to agree, let alone the communist party. We’re all making money here. What do you want to do, piss off the Chinese and go back to Wisconsin?”

“Tom, they need us and we need them.”

“Sure, but if it’s not us then it would be the Europeans, the Russians, anyone with ideas.”

“I think we should take a stand, for our own good,” pressed Bob, “Better now than later.”

“It’ll take care of itself… down the line. Don’t worry so much.”

“I’d feel better if we were doing more for the people who’ve lost their jobs back home and standing up for patent protection would be a step in that direction.”

“Bob… I think you have too much money that you’re worrying about other people. I don’t.”

But Bob did worry. “If we pass the buck now, then later on it will be worse. We’ll end up electing a president who will want to start a trade war.”

“Bob… relax. You’re thinking too much. We don’t do trade wars, we compete and beat everybody at the game. We’ve never been afraid of competition. As far as China is concerned, they will rise because they must… and as they do they’ll change, and we’ll marry them and they’ll marry us, and we’ll live happily ever after. Did I tell you I divorced Joan and married Biyu?”

“No, I didn’t know. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. She’s from Chongqing, beautiful city. Met her there on a business trip. She’s a translator. Went to school in Texas. Has a little drawl too.”

Bob laughed.

“That’s how we transform, my friend, the capitalist way, we coalesce.”

But Bob still worried, worried that doing nothing was passing the buck and that years later it would be worse.

Battle for the Nation (2)

Dear Male Democratic Candidates for President:

To the pulse of Mr Trump’s mantra, Make America Great Again, our internal divisions continue to deepen and by now it is evident that the president has no desire – or capacity – to mend our rifts.

Mr Trump’s behavior toward women and his inability to apologize means that a deep wound has been inflicted on the American woman’s psyche. That the electorate overlooked such behavior and still voted for him reflects a profound disregard for women’s contributions to the nation.

But women are responding. They have become more and more vocal and are running for office in greater numbers than ever before.

Since inception women have fought to have parity with men. They have had to fight hard for their right to get an education, the right to vote, to have an abortion, the right to equal pay. The struggle goes on. And yet there remain many women today who, having internalized the contempt in which some men have held them over the years, continue to undervalue themselves.

The vote that some women gave to Mr Trump in 2016 epitomizes the denial of such contempt.

How else could these women make light of this man’s open mistreatment of their sisters, mothers and daughters?

Without a doubt, and in response to wave after wave of feminist movements, men have made strides to counter their propensity to see women as sexual objects. Today such attitude still persists, but as we interact and discover that they are human beings in the female condition – to borrow Simone de Beauvoir’s phrase – we discover that we are them and they are us.

Even as our capacity to identify with the plight of our sisters, mothers and daughters continues to grow, the fact is that no one can speak for them as well as they themselves.

The wounding of the American woman’s psyche has had such enormous repercussions that I hold that the divisions that now beset the nation exist, in large part, because we have not allowed women all the freedoms they are entitled to as fellow human beings.

Had the nation long ago heeded their voices, had the nation allowed them to be present at the table in full body and mind, our country’s decisions, in matters at home and abroad, would most certainly have been wiser.

As I write, a predominantly white and male cabinet is backing the Trump administration’s increasingly war like stance against Iran. A predominantly white and male cabinet stands passively while the president rattles the financial markets with ill conceived tariffs that threaten the health of the world’s economy.

The lack of women’s full participation in the affairs of the nation represents the most significant block in the effort to fully integrate America and release the powers that lie within.

There are no signs today of any national healing underway. Instead, instances of our mistreating ourselves remain part of the daily news. Again and again, the headlines are filled with yet another episode of cruelty, of Americans killing Americans, of Americans hating Americans. These acts are overwhelmingly committed by men, toxic men, poorly integrated men who are symptoms of the power imbalance in our midst.

With our collective despair growing I ask, where is the leader that can halt this mindless tearing apart of our spirit? I ask, where is the leader that can take command and speak to us as a nation and say ‘Stop! Please! Let us find a way to be kinder to each other, for there has to be such a way and I assure you that it is within us to find it.”

Alas, in this hour of protracted national grief, when the need is great, we cannot look to the White House for guidance because the House is empty. Oh, yes, there is someone living there, eating there, tweeting there. But there is no one there to which the collective nation can turn and ask, “Where have we gone wrong?” and expect an answer. There is no one there who can hear us. There is no one there with the emotional capacity to grasp the depth of the deepening national anguish.

America needs now such a person. Someone who can bring us together, someone who can remind us that our powers lie in our connecting to each other and to ourselves, not in pulling away. There is no task as important.

I contend that, at this critical juncture, a qualified woman candidate would have the political and spiritual reach to bring forth the parts of America that have not felt included and thus profoundly enrich the national debate.

And so I propose, that to make that more likely, all male democratic candidates bow out of the race.

Having as we do, among the current candidates, highly qualified, battle tested women who have achieved their political stature on their own, let them vie for the nomination free of male interference. They do not need to be retested against male democratic rivals. They have had to do so, time and again, to reach and maintain their current positions.

This next election is unique. It offers the opportunity to bring to center stage the grave matter lying at the heart of our national divisions: the imbalance of power between men and women.

It would pit Mr Trump, the embodiment of male privilege, against a strong woman candidate who came into her powers on her own.

Withdrawing from the quest for the nomination for this one election, male democratic candidates would make it easier for the electorate at large to clearly see what these strong women candidates have to offer. It would spare much needed resources for the final battle.

It is a concession that you would be making but also a gift to the nation. A gift to your daughters, to your wives and to your mothers.

For this one election, and in the interest of the future unity and healing that it portends, I ask that you consider deferring your presidential ambitions and instead throwing your support behind the woman candidate of your choice.

I have no doubt that, in doing so, one of you would be chosen as vice presidential candidate, making good on that old saying, that behind every good woman stands a good man.

The nation is counting on you.

Oscar Valdes

Open Letter to Kim Jong Un

Dear Kim:

With your people facing greater scarcities at home and you not being able to provide, it follows that you are getting anxious again. Will North Koreans see you as a failure? Will the growing unease spark a revolt?

Knowing that the mounting distress could turn explosive, you have gone back to doing what you do best – making noises with your rockets.

It doesn’t help, of course, that you’ve painted yourself into a corner and antagonized the international community, although you’re still able to reach out to other iron fisted rulers (Putin and Xi Jinping) and beg for assistance.

But since the pattern keeps repeating itself, I think the US and the international community have to get more imaginative in addressing the problem.

The fundamentals are clear: you will not give up your nuclear weapons and you will not surrender your leadership. But it may be possible that, with a little effort, you might be willing to embrace the state capitalism that has worked so well to lift up China.

Here’s how I think the US and the international community could take a fresh approach. They could say to you, “Kim, let’s accept the facts, you are a nuclear power. Your cunning and persistence have outwitted every American administration and all the sanctions they have set up and you are now an undisputed nuclear power. We give you that. You are nuclear, baby. You did it.”

But that is not going to feed your people and you and I know North Koreans deserve a great deal more.

So here’s a deal for you. The US lifts all sanctions and we start doing business. How would that work?

In exchange for the lifting of the sanctions, you would grant American businesses the exclusive right to set up ventures in North Korea for a period of 10 years. This may include technology transfers with appropriate payment for patents. This will stir up the spirit of entrepreneurship in your people and be good for both countries and for the world.

Look, as a capitalist nation, we know how to make money, and we can help you learn how to do it, too.

Should this idea take hold, very soon North Koreans would be raising their standards of living, and if you keep a good system of surveillance in place – the technology is amazing – like the Chinese do, you will be able to stay comfortably in power.

Only 10 years, Kim. After that your land would be open for you to do business with whomever you would like.

During those 10 years we would invite you over to the White House and to Mar-a-Lago (while Trump is president) so you can get to meet all kinds of interesting men and women.

We’re all grownups here, so you should know that our intentions are clear. We, in America, would like for you to become more like us. And make money as you go. You don’t have to give up being communist, but you would be a money making, high living communist, like Vladimir and Xi (Trump could even get you started in the hotel business, building towers and the like. Imagine yourself building a ‘Kim Tower ‘ in Moscow?)

This idea may not be easy to sell but it’s worth a try. Trump may be initially resistant because he’s surrounded by some people who still believe that America can change another nation’s way of governing themselves. But those ideas are fast going out of fashion.

To make it easier for Trump to consider this lifting of all sanctions, you could tell him, “Look Donald, during those 10 years during which America would have exclusive rights to doing business with us, I promise that I will not sell my nuclear weapons to other nations. I won’t because there will be no need for it. My people will be properly clothed and fed, well educated and happy, and I will enjoy international recognition.”

Mind you, Trump may be reluctant to accept this promise – because you have made so many and broken them all – but the thought of lifting all sanctions is so radical that he just might go for it. Remember, he prides himself on being different.

One more thought. We know that you would like a unified Korea. I think that may be possible, down the line, and having a strong economy with a rising GDP will be a great incentive to persuade your brothers and sisters in South Korea. But for the foreseeable future, America should keep South Korea well armed with nuclear weapons, in keeping with the concept of MAD (mutually assured destruction).

How’s your golf game? We can help you with that too. We’ll be glad to send Tiger Woods over to teach you some moves. He’s the best.

Oh, before I forget, I think your sister should be given more authority. Equality for women is just good for business. We haven’t yet elected a woman president but it may happen soon.

Here’s my very best to the North Korean people.

Oscar Valdes

PS: I know that Trump has spoken in favor of tolerating torture but, for most Americans, that’s not a cool idea. So, please, don’t torture your enemies.