Simple Devotions and Gifts

Simple Gifts

Tony E Dillon-Hansen
July 2013

Question posed to me at recent meeting of church deacons to examine where one finds “God” in our lives. My response is simple and perhaps a shared response via music. In my time, I have studied music theory and composition at university. I have written music and performed music. I enjoy great many different styles of music as a listener of the various tunes belting from both recorded and, especially, live performances.

Aside from a meal, can you think of anything that will bring disparate and politically divided people to common areas or common venues?  One could argue that sports business brings in a ton of money for athletes and the marketers trying to sell the game far beyond an average (or staring artist) can manage. Yet, sports-minded people invigorate prejudices and egos of home teams and favorite players. Yes, many of these have or made their talents be worthy of grandeur; they are still inciting a sense of competition among the population.

I cannot discount the interest in having good competition among people nor that of sports in general (I partake in many amateur sports competitions). Yet, athletes, and the money surrounding some sports, can cause a rise above simple team love into forceful persuasion of beliefs.  Many referees can attest to this.  Even with music, a good performer will find followers and people willing to pay good money to watch a performance.  Some will debate the talent of a particular performer or writer, but when crowds come to see this performer(s), ticket holders (whether paid or free) come with a common interest to hear what that performer can deliver.

American football Super Bowl can be an exhilarating event if you are one of the athletes or if your team is one that is playing. Even among team fans, there could be argued that there is a sense of comradeship that is revealed that is above petty politics or some other gross discrimination for at least the length of the game.

With music, many people of different stripes share an interest in a style of music and a performer. With exception of musicians that have gone “openly” political, audiences go to watch a performance of some piece that became their soul, their song, their passion or their release. A musician brings people together, not just because they enjoy a melody but because the song became a part of them.

Interestingly, sports teams replay Queen’s “We Are the Champions” because we, as fans, want to hear and to ultimately see that music revealed in our teams. Note, however, that Queen gave the fan a verse to sing about love of team. Trumpets and drums are used to summon a call to arms. Even, political campaigns play songs with themes of better times because the orator, especially of lower skill, wants you to have the feeling that what he or she is saying is going to make you feel “better”.  These happen because music invokes common passions and inspires.

Music can bring people of divergent opinions of all sorts together in a venue without a need to be competing with each other.  There might be the occasional impromptu fashion debates or etiquette quarrels. When people come to watch a musician, there is an interest in what that musician delivers to our hearts through performance of the pieces. That is because in that moment of music enjoyment, the competition of the world is quieted for a moment.

We may lead "lives of quiet desperation", but music allows us to live in a moment fully when we find that one song, that one melody, or that one harmony that fills our hearts with all that we were missing. Yet, unlike Thoreau, we do not need to let the music go to the grave with us nor do we need to lose the uncanny companionship that we gain from mutual music interests.

Just as diverse as opinions about politics can be, so also can our passions about music be. Yet, no one would draw a gun over how someone tickles the piano or beats a drum. Even traffic can have a sense of beautiful orchestration when we allow ourselves to be with the world and our senses. Electronic themes over riffs (acoustic or electronic) can be an escape for anyone willing to hear what is being played. What we can learn from music is more than notes on a page, melodies, rhythms, or tempos, but we can even learn how we as humans have mutual interests in different ways from different paths.

There are aspects in our lives that showcase competition among human beings along with community like sports. There are also forms in our lives that show us how things are connected to each other with or without competition. Music is one of those forms, especially considering some of the best music in the world often combines a theme (point) and counterpoint in artful detail. An argument without punches. The confluence of theme, counter patterns, randomness and competition can be found in music, and the good writer leaves some of the work for listener to interpret how that applies to you.

Good artists let you do some of the interpreting, to make the song yours, and thus, the theme can resonate with people of different social or political backgrounds. In this world of polarized communities, is it not nice to see a conductor on the podium who can show how all of this can work together with a whisk of the baton or how a soloist can move an entire crowd to tears with slow ballad? Certain politicians would do well to realize how trivial differences are. 

The world is connected, and music can showcase that connection. Maybe, that is a simple gift, and perhaps, that is an example of how one might find God, which we can always cherish.

Meta-data and Privacy

Meta-data and Privacy

Tony E Dillon-Hansen

June 2013

Meta-data is data that describes data without supposedly knowing the content of the data (describing the objects without actually telling you what the object is). Information technology has been using meta-data for years to determine things such things like buying habits, various user systems, location of the user and more without even asking your name. The question today becomes how good are the inferences based upon that information and should the government be in the business of scanning this. Then, we find that the government has been taking it upon themselves to review similar type of data about phone calls, emails, and other contact mechanisms. Further, they have been using a secret court to gain justification and authorization for the wiretapping where only the judge can challenge government suspicions.

A majority of people polled do not feel threatened by the NSA surveillance program because apparently this data “about data” is supposedly without content. Also, people want to be safe from the growing terrorist threats. Perhaps, people feel safer because they can stock up on AR-15s and ammunition while Congress is willing to send young soldiers to die in some foreign land in the “cause of freedom.” Yet, we want government to stay out of our lives and out of our bedrooms, but we are willing to give a blank license for them to collect and to survey data about us without feeling spooked.

Let me give you an example of what is conceivable. A spouse learns that the other spouse has been spending time with a couple individuals in quiet conversation. This spouse also learns the times and places of a couple encounters and discussions upon learning this information, the spouse may naturally approach the questionable nature of the actions with a sense of betrayal, distrust, anger or fear. Then, this spouse decides to confront the other person with an idea that the apparent shenanigans need to stop. At the revelation, the other spouse is horrified by an unexpected confrontation and subsequently reveals that the encounters of question were to prepare a surprise vacation for the couple as a gift to the offended spouse.

Now, one can question or judge whether the one spouse was correct for planning a surprise vacation or if the one spouse is correct in questioning or concluding those plans. The point here is that this mistake may be resolved between the couple as how to communicate between each other and the levels of trust between them. Yet, the government, via the NSA and law enforcement, is cataloging data about the “circumstances” of discussions and encounters without supposedly listening to the actual conversation. The government is, by definition, not trusting when it is looking.

The question then becomes whether the government will realize when they have made errors of judgment and how will they correct them. For instance, if a U.S. citizen gets accused of terrorism or plotting for a mass attack by talking to friends in South Korea where the citizen was only planning to meet with longtime associates for collaboration on research and education. (South Korea is almost North Korea right?) Of course, under current enemy combatant statutes, you, as the U.S. Citizen, may find yourself exceptionally interested in the prison conditions at Guantanamo Bay.

We know that some government officials may decide to continue prosecutions regardless of facts, and McCarthy's Red Scare can tell you exactly how that has been done in the past and how wrongly that can be pursued.

People are too eager to trade freedom and liberty away, and thus, they ignore an individual responsibility of having freedom is to also ensure that freedom endures despite external or internal attacks. We must ensure that freedom is respected or we may find ourselves at the end of a baton or rifle for some comedic remark. Expect no good will from unwarranted seizures as they will find something to use. As well, a good agent of the government may not want to waste the taxpayer money on a misguided lead, and we have seen where those people may be out to prove something that does not exist to save face or some other false based story. They, the trusted government, may even find a way to use a portion of code to justify smearing a group of people.

Even more, people around the world look to the United States as an example of liberty and individual rights. When the U.S. government starts secretly investigating the press, spying on citizens, or killing suspects without trial, we, by example, provide legitimacy and authorization for dictators in other countries to continue “crackdowns” on their people. This cannot be the continued legacy of the United States, that to teach the world's tyrants on how to ignore individual rights.

Privacy is a critical part of our freedoms and has been defended at length before and by the U.S. courts. Privacy is part of the Bill of Rights. To suddenly excuse an administration of circumventing privacy rules for some apparent security reason is to be subject to unwarranted search and seizures (even an unlawful intrusion) by the government at any time and for any reason. Whether you “trust” the administration (whether Bush, Obama, or even consider if Romney was elected), what happens when an administration attempts to find and then begins to jail opposing viewpoints using these same methods? Will we know the difference from actual terrorism versus strong political conversation based upon what the government is telling us? Who guards the guards?

When such intrusion is allowed to continue unchallenged, the whole of liberty in society is rendered a myth. The future and the foundation of this republic is at question.

Pride of the Bullied

Pride of the Bullied

Tony E Dillon-Hansen

If you have not been bullied, you will never truly know what the bottom of a foot looks like. If you have not been bullied, you will never know what it feels to be completely alone in agony and torment. If you have not been bullied consider yourself lucky to not have the learning opportunities that those of us who have been bullied. If you have not been bullied, consider yourself lucky to not need the armor to protect against what life will throw. If you have been bullied, consider how far you have traveled under so much duress and how much you have moved above the ugly of life. Consider that you survived and learned from those experiences.

We are the non-athletic, spectacle-faced, different-looking, 4-eyes, retarded, non-cliched, non-Christian, not-rich, fat, geeky, fag and queer. We, the bullied, were The Scarlet Letter every day at recess, in the locker room, on the way home, and even at home in many cases. There would be no reason given. Even more ironic, when we could excel, we were still being ridiculed and persecuted. We wanted to just be. Yet, our achievements and dreams were fodder for the taunts just the same.

More than anything, we challenge the teachings of Jesus to love our enemies or to turn the other cheek one more time. We know in our hearts that we would like to at least have done to them what they have done to us. We may find ourselves shaking fists at God for the apparent disparity of experiences. Further, the people that were supposed to be there for us were no-where to console or to support. They offered to us jerky idioms about sticks and stones, but we know, for certain, that words can cut painfully deep. We have been forced to sit on the sidelines of what it feels like to be a person because of irrational hatred.

Those bullies grow up and are surprised at how we feel about them. Unfortunately, they may go on bullying people as well as their own children while we find more ways to build more courage to work another day without much fanfare. We may applaud for the underdogs, comeback kids and may even consider that we finally escaped if we are able to leave the torment of schoolyards, churches, or even our families.

When you grow older, you find there are different sorts of bullies in the world. They call you names behind their hypocritical religious views. They taunt you for living outside their 1950s TV sitcom of normal. They defile your picture, your ideas, and very being. They beat you into submission and force you to fall in line. We cannot be frightened of Hell when Earth has been the definition of horror.

These bullies, they will never know what sensations will overcome you when people rip your child away because of some test of religion or supposed lifestyle. They will not know the betrayal felt when family members are willing to hurt your spouse and kids because they are not what they envisioned. They will never know the defeat you have when you are kicked out of the house for simply being who you are. They will not know the awful torment of knowing that your family will be the focus of the many attacks from around the community because your family does not conform.

Fortunately for us, we, the bullied, have learned to not live in the pretense of the past or stale sitcoms. We realize there is such a thing as real respect and real compassion. Some of us, instead, become empowered by bitterness; some by pride of finally feeling untouchable by the bullies. We can question why we could not enjoy days without harassment, torment or physical torture. We do not want to watch sinister fingers scheme to hurt us again.

Still, bitterness is an attachment that should be released otherwise it may evolve into more senseless hatred and violence. Maybe, this is why many want to drown out those memories and experiences through alcohol and drugs to escape that haunting history. Yet, we “made it” this far.

We have outlasted the taunts and teasing. We learn to laugh at the ridiculousness of those taunts. We learned the price of intolerance and the grace of loving fully. We found refuge in places that they cannot touch like music, writing, religion, sports and even our own families.

That is why we like personalities that push beyond those taunts and hateful remarks. This is why people seek refuge in religion because that realm is supposed to be exempt from perpetual torture on Earth. Yet, there are those that want to turn that idea into an exclusive arena that is more indicative of the gladiator trials we faced at recess instead of the place of solace mentioned in the scriptures.

The bullied are not alone and will see better days. We, the bullied, have learned and will continue to learn. We, the bullied, will march with other souls because we, too, have a place and we, too, are part of loving families. We, the bullied, will show how compassion works because we know what real compassion is rather than simply looks like. We will build better families despite the ridicule. We will embody that which Jesus taught because we have already suffered Hell. Maybe, the bullies will never learn, and maybe, they will always find reasons to scorn people. We, the bullied, will come to the aid of our brothers and sisters like soldiers because like soldiers, they should never be forgotten. We will be shining examples of good people, even if the bullies are blind to the facts. We, the bullied, have pride because we are better than bullies. 

No H8!

Spring Forward

Spring Forward

Tony E Dillon-Hansen

Spring is great time to do some house cleaning and yard work. Spring is the essence of renewal, growth; and a time of beginnings in a season that is defined by constant changes in weather patterns. Along with physical clutter, this is a time of opportunities to throw out bad habits and grudges. This idea kept coming to mind when I heard Rev. Miller-Coleman remark in sermon at Plymouth UCC in Des Moines that “We have so much treasure laid up in the coin of the old order and we live in a place where that old order appears to prevail.”  These words in her sermon resonate throughout our lives about how we should embrace change in our lives. 

Turning around and opening our eyes to the good possibilities of life is repentance; we can unchain the shackles of the “old order” whatever that may be in our lives. The rejection of those shackles (or repentance) is simply the beginning, and each new day is a reassertion of that positive repentance and change. With the season of spring, we have metaphors about what this theme means for removing clutter.

We also know that a moment of clarity (or the proverbial “ah-ha” moment) is something that addicts refer as a point where there is a realization to change destructive habits (both action and thought). The first rays of warm spring can feel like a moment of realization and blessed event. In these moments, there is a point when someone realizes the path taken needs to change. In those moments, the clarity can also be a realization that what one was thinking is not true. This can be a painful and frightful experience that overwhelms people.

Change may seem to be daunting, dangerous and frightening like springtime storms, but change is necessary no less. The time and energy we spend fearing and avoiding change could be used more positively in embracing what is inevitable and adapting to the change in our most opportune ways.

In hindsight then, change will be less fierce and less destructive to us because experience is a teacher to even the foolish. History is familiar and useful aid for the current as well as the future. Yet, if you are only focused upon the successes and failures of the past, there is little chance to understand and to improve upon what is happening now.

Like cats, we can shed our coats, but we can shed more than coats. We can examine our lives by vetting our thoughts and actions today with respect to positive change. In this time of year, we can become a “new” person by turning away from poor habits, addictions or bad attitudes and angers. We remove those bonds in order to transform our lives.

Remove the resistance to change that stems from holding onto the old order “treasure” regardless of having any sort of value. Hoarding angers, bitterness or hatreds do not get you closer to happiness nor does that help you become a better you. We can let go of this clutter in our lives, and open our minds along with our actions so that we can enjoy more of the beauty in the world that unfolds before us.

Whether we have been hurt, discriminated, or wronged, the duty then does not fall upon us to conduct more ugly behavior upon others or even ourselves. Proper amends should not include more poor, unhealthy, or ugly decisions.

Further, we should be less concerned about judging others, should not turn to exclusion via individually or creating exclusive clubs  (especially in the LGBT community whether marked by treasure or egos). Practicing exclusivity within an already discriminated community is like driving on the wrong way of a highway. It is inconsiderate and reckless. Chances are that people are going to be hurt. In reality, exclusivity is part of the “old order” which never had real value.

We can consider spring as a reminder that the path is not always the way we envision. Nature does not obey what we think or want.  We know this, especially in spring, because a day may look inviting and graceful when a powerful destructive storm arrives without notice. To envision a changed and more positive person within us, we must be able to weather those storms in our lives. Here, the difficult, along with the grace, are to be experienced one day at a time. This is because the journey and the quest are more important than the actual findings. As well, the opportunity to clean house or to adjust to a new environment is available to us always.  That is because our key is always within our reach, and that opportunity never closes. The longer we wait to use that, however, the longer we hold onto the shackles and the “coin of the old order.”

In spring, we can celebrate life renewed. We can take each new day as an expression of the possibilities that are waiting. We can find those parts of our lives that have real value (both to ourselves and to those around us.) Spring reminds us that the path is not always sunshine with the constant threat of storms. Yet, we do not need to run our lives in fear of storms.  They, too, offer an opportunity for positive change.

May you enjoy your spring and may the storms along your journey be light. Most of all may your spring cleaning help you renew exciting parts of life and discover those elements that have true wealth and value. Let us not cower behind fictitious visions of what we want or think things should be. Instead, let us embrace what change and opportunities are waiting.  With a clear mind, we do not have to carry heavy clutter forward.  With a clear mind and shackles removed, we can finally spring forward. 

Moving Forward

Moving Forward

Tony E Dillon-Hansen

17 Feb 2013

Diane Ravitch said about education reform that “The greatest obstacle to those who hope to reform… is complacency.” While she may have been speaking about education, her comment reflects upon any noble crusade for reform.

Listening to the news recently, one would think that we have achieved great milestones with respect to equality as pertaining to the LGBT community. While we may have finally crossed some dimensions of the struggle, there are still many throughout the United States that do not enjoy any semblance of equality whom those in specific states or cities enjoy (notwithstanding the federal DOMA restrictions). We may have had our moments including when a President (whether premeditated by political campaigning or not) recognized the civil rights strife in the current era as inclusive of the LGBT community. We, however, cannot rest on our laurels thinking the war is won. We cannot become complacent.

The work of many years and the milestones that we have achieved, thus far, can easily be vaporized if we do nothing to keep the pace moving forward. The Promised Land cannot be thought of as here and now, but instead, that moment will only be when equality is achieved for all of our brothers and sisters.

For all of the advances that we have gained, there are those that are actively working to stem or to reverse the tide because they have now had to endure major setbacks. We do not have to think too far back to remember how that feels on our side. In 2010 (just couple years ago), judges were voted out of office because of narrow-minded bigotry while more states voted to exclude marriage from loving couples. In Iowa, we are but a couple votes away from having a constitutional amendment proposal in Iowa to exclude marriage. To think we have somehow escaped the gravity of bigotry and right-wing mantras in American politics is erroneous and dangerous to the cause of continued freedom.

Further, complacency sanctions people to be lulled into inactivity and even arrogance. Even great athletes lose important matches and games if they think they have finally achieved the winning point without actually finishing the win. The time to rest is not now. The time now is to keep the presence in the face of, as well as to keep the pressure upon, lawmakers to help equality to remain alive. The time now is to help friends and family to remember what equality and freedom mean at the ballot box. For those that have yet to enjoy equality, we must help to further their cause because we are reminded of how breathtakingly close we are.

We know the people of the far-right are planning the next move, and again, they will be well-funded. They are digging through numbers and stories to find material that they can use to destroy equality. They are planning on less active voting in the next elections. They will use fear; they will use so-called traditions; and they will use fabrications and distortions of truth to further their agendas. They will paint pictures of burning Rome, will recall angry prophecies of the Bible and will ridicule ideas that promote diversity. They will cast terrorism and diversity as mutual enemies of the state. We know this because we have seen this. They are still using these tactics and we can expect them to continue this pathology of destructive lies, especially if they think we are complacent with our recent victories.

Conservative Barry Goldwater said, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice…moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Complacency cannot be our resolve, but instead we should be even more vigilant. No society can base its traditions upon lies and deceit unless they are all liars and deceivers. No society can continue to be great when the whole of its members are disallowed to expand in culture, knowledge and skills. As Martin Luther King Jr said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We must further the cause of equality without prejudice, respect of diversity, respect for all families, and adherence to the truth. We must do this not just in our community and state, but we must also help our LGBT friends and family elsewhere.

We should be extreme with defending our rights because they are granted to us by a higher power. Equal justice and love for neighbor is essential to what Jesus taught. No one should be allowed to distort that, and no one should place liberty (or equal justice) in the wavering hands of whatever the current tyrannical majority believes. Nor should we allow hateful lies to stand uncontested.

Freedom, justice and equality may be birthrights, but we know that some would ensure that we do not get to enjoy these God-given benefits. They purpose their negative lives so that we do not get our share of the pie. They may do this because of some false notion of a superiority complex or they may simply not want to share the fruits of society with all. If they will not allow us to celebrate and to enjoy our birthrights, we must be ready and willing to fight.

A Flat World 3.0?

A Flat World

9 January 2013

Tony E Dillon-Hansen

There are many people who like to describe the world as “flat”, notably New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman. This is supposed to describe globalization as a measure of the growing competitiveness and interdependence between cultures and countries of the world that has been a feature of modern society. This supposedly indicates that cultures are working together more relegating national borders to mere dots on a map. In contrast, others suggest that these claims are quite exaggerated compared to actual data.  Their assertion is that there are relatively small interactions between cultures and countries.  This presents an interesting discussion about the nature of globalization and cultural interactions both globally and locally because we do not have to look far to see that true global interaction is far from realized. 

The points made by Mr. Friedman’s allies have been readily absorbed by many in academics, economics and politicians. With some empirical observation and interviews with a few entrepreneurs, we can see the world through the eyes of those who work on a global level. Through these, we see how some markets have changed from local to supra-national markets that span OECD countries as well as some non-OECD countries.  We can see vast supply chains that stretch across the globe whereas the previous generation tended to keep those supply chains within domestic borders. 

These long supply chains require a consideration of foreign disruptions, competitions, and government policies that differ from local markets.  American companies (doing business overseas) along with government had to change how they managed competition and economics due to the rapid expanse of foreign companies and governments. We should find this to be curious when capital markets have spread the chain (or web) across unfriendly and competitive regions of the globe when the ultimate sale is local. The supply chain may be spread across the globe, however, the places people go to buy the finished product is local, and conversations we have are with our selected communities.

Friedman, using his showcase stories, argues that the current globalization trend is driven by individuals creating and collaborating primarily using a “common” flat technology platform spanning vast networks.  With the explosion of social media, interactivity and connections span multiple continents between billions of people that previously were unable to connect. There is reason to believe that people are much more connected globally as well as locally. This is a bit of overstatement and generalization based upon perceptions.

The exaggerated perception shows in how Americans perceive larger budget portions dedicated to foreign aid versus actual figures or even in comparison to domestic aid and spending. We can see the changes in news reporting over the years that contain dwindling amounts of international news (unless you listen to NPR). 

As well, we can consider the quick action of making a connection via social media versus actually having a conversation with someone from across the ocean. Is that connection just based upon a profitable network opportunity or are we truly seeking to learns different ideas? We may be crossing the globalization threshold espoused by Mr. Friedman’s allies if we are willing to learn from others especially regardless if we agree or comprehend the premise of their ideas. Yet, the West is more likely to visit and to discuss news from the West, as opposed to say Central Africa, based upon distorted notions of technical and philosophical growth. This limits our own ingenuity, resourcefulness and expansion to ideas of supposedly superior cultural growth and assumptions. 

We can see the result of this in the rejection of the West by Arabic countries. There are divergent opinions and priorities between people in different parts of the country, the state, and even between churches that claim the same denomination within a few blocks of each other. The LGBT community cannot understand why some do not see the connection of marriage as love between people rather than an exclusive tradition. People who have never understood the feeling of being considered second-class do not understand the pride of wanting to be part of the promised-land that is equality. We may live in a world that enjoys accessibility to ideas, but we are comforted when contained within our own familiar realm of thinking, sometimes deliberately.  Whether it is called the “big sort” or “wisdom of the flock”, people tend to get their desired information and opinions from the selected sources and people.

Technology can help to overcome supposed localizations and physical limitations that people have built over time (e.g. nation-state, religion, high schools, neighborhoods, political parties). Yet, to claim that people are using technology to actively reach across various barriers is muted if less than 10% do the stretching. One only has to look at your own social media to see with whom you interact, the events and the places you go. Even more, consider how many conversations with people outside of your community (whether LGBT, local city, school or family) that you have participated. We self-select, intentionally or not, what places we go and with whom we interact. 

We have to question Mr. Friedman’s ideas because the idea of a flat world cannot be realized when most people do not go beyond their realms, regardless of a global web or the few entrepreneurs. There are issues with global impacts like climate change, oil supply, and expansion of technology. Still, we prefer to hear solutions from people like us.  Those global problems require global cooperation and discussions rather than simply giving orders and expecting everyone to fall in-line. Those issues require more drastic actions than a button click.

Globalization can teach us much about ourselves and our expectations, but how do we go beyond our own perceptions?  The technology and capacity is ready if we are willing to expand. Of this I agree with Mr. Friedman, we should do what we think is possible, however improbable, because someone somewhere will do it.

A Flat World (for AccessLine Iowa)

A Flat World (for AccessLine Iowa)

17 January 2013

Tony E Dillon-Hansen

There are many people who like to describe the world as “flat”, notably New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman. This is supposed to describe globalization as a measure of the growing competitiveness and interdependence between cultures and countries of the world that has been a feature of modern society. This supposedly indicates that cultures are working together more while relegating national borders to mere dots on a map. In contrast, others suggest that these claims are quite exaggerated compared to actual data.  Their assertion is that there are relatively small interactions between cultures and countries.  We can see examples of this in our own community where we do not have to look far to see that true global interaction is far from realized due to the divided nature our society is embroiled. 

With some empirical observation, we can see how some markets and communities have changed from local to global in scope as espoused by Friedman’s allies.  Some aspects of capital markets may be spread across the globe, however, the places people go to buy the finished product is local. As well, the interactions that we have are with our selected communities.

Friedman further argues that the current globalization trend is primarily driven by individuals creating and collaborating through a common flat technology platform across the vast networks.  With social media that allows interactivity and connections to span multiple continents between billions of people that were previously unable to connect, there is reason to believe that people are much more connected as a global community through a simple button-click. While some networks, like Facebook, have expanded to over 500 million across several continents and supply chains have allowed for global connections, there is a bit of generalization based upon hopeful perceptions.

The overstatement is evident in how people interact within and outside of their respective communities. There may be a common technology (e.g. social media, currency, telecommunications and others), but people are self-selecting their conversations they wish to participate.  This inhibits the true realization of globalization.

As I have argued before, we can consider the quick action of making a connection via social media versus the action of having a conversation with someone from across the ocean and learning the culture. We know that people, in the same room, can have totally different conversations in complete opposition to each other without ever saying a word to each other. We can cross the globalization threshold only if we are willing to learn from others regardless whether we agree with the different ideas. 

We are more likely to agree, participate and rally around points that favor our own perceived interests based upon notions of philosophical openness and growth. Yes, we should affirm truths, and we should not be afraid to call out erroneous ideas. Listening only to what we want to hear and yelling above the opposition, however, limits our own ingenuity, resourcefulness and expansion.

We may live in a world that enjoys accessibility to ideas, but we find ourselves contained within our own realm of thinking, sometimes deliberately.  Whether called the “big sort” or “wisdom of the flock”, people tend to get their desired information and opinions from the people around them. We can see this in how people organize throughout different parts of the country, the state, and within cities. Even religious organizations that claim the same denomination, within a few blocks of each other, do not want to understand the other religious opinions and priorities (e.g. marriage or other traditions). 

People want to believe they have the correct ideas (regardless of logic) and will reject anything that conflicts with that.  When leaders promote conflicting ideas, they get rejected as not leading (e.g. Obama) because they do not align with those paradigms. Those who never found themselves considered lower class do not want to understand the pride of those wanting to be included in the Promised Land of equality and fairness, even when pride is all you have. Being beholden to biases and traditions can destroy the fortunes of merit. 

Technology can help to overcome supposed localizations, physical limitations, as well as outdated ideas that people have built over time. Yet, to claim that people are actively reaching across various barriers is muted if only 10% do the stretching when using the technology. Whether with the LGBT community, local city, school or family, one only has to look at your own connections to see with whom you and your friends interact and the events you participate. We self-select, intentionally or not, to be parts of those communities. 

Now, capable leaders may be able to transcend barriers.  Effective leaders not only transcend deterrents, but they are the workers that get people to think in terms of a community of action and cooperation. Moreover, they help to focus minds and discussions. They simply do.

There are more issues that have global impacts like equal rights, climate change, oil supply, and expansion of technology. Still, we cannot insist to hear solutions only from people like us. Any issue that impacts more than one community requires cooperation. Those issues require more drastic actions than a button click, and leaders to do the work.

Globalization can teach us much about ourselves and our expectations, but we have to go beyond our own perceptions. The technology and capacity is ready if we are willing to expand. Of this I agree with Mr. Friedman, we should do what we think is possible, however improbable, because someone somewhere will do it, and they will be the leaders.