To celebrate turning 70, I swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco. Splashing one and half miles through icy water gave me time to reflect on six similarities between my trek, life in general, and US politics.
Life can be a challenge. It's vital to set ambitious personal goals. After graduating from Stanford, I undertook vocational challenges, first learning how to program computers and then how to manage technical projects.
Americans feel uncertain about the future because the United States lacks a clearly stated challenge that we all have a part in. Seventy years ago, our goal was to win World War II. Fifty years ago, President Kennedy challenged America to win the space race with Russia. In each case, we understood both what the challenge was and the fact that every citizen had a role to play.
Thirty years ago, President Reagan inspired Americans with his homily, "it's morning in America," but didn't issue a challenge. Instead, Reagan weakened and divided us with three destructive beliefs: the US is "exceptional" and that's our God-given status; the "free" market should determine what is best for America -- "government is the problem;" and, giving preference to the rich and powerful would benefit all citizens -- "a rising tide lifts all boats."
Ten years ago, after 9/11, President Bush didn't challenge Americans to participate in his "war" on terror. Instead we were advised to "go shopping."
You have to prepare. In early January, I decided to challenge Alcatraz and, over the next three months, I logged more than one hundred miles swimming laps in preparation.
In Outliers Malcolm Gladwell postulates, "The key to success in any field is... a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours." That correlates with my experience learning to write computer software and manage technology. It takes hard work, over an extended period of time, to accomplish an important life objective.
Americans aren't afraid of hard work, but they haven't been given a significant challenge for fifty years. In his State of the Union address President Obama recognized this, saying "This is our generation's Sputnik moment" and calling for new innovation, such as clean energy technology. Obama was right, but Americans didn't take it on as a collective challenge.
At some point, you have to jump into the water. After the boat carried me out to Alcatraz, I had to leap into the freezing (52 degrees) Bay.
Sooner or later adults have to leave home, get a job, and take on other life challenges. It was a big jump to get my first job as a computer scientist and, years later, an even bigger jump to leave my comfortable IBM management position and become an executive at a tiny startup, Cisco Systems.
Now Americans have to leap into the water. Unfortunately we've been enervated by the Reagan/Bush conservative ideology. Our initiative has been sapped by the vapid conservative assurance that we don't need to change or make sacrifices; we're special just the way we are; God loves us even though we're indolent.
It helps to know which way the tide is running. The organizer of my Alcatraz swim studied the San Francisco Bay tides and knew we should arrive off the island by 8:30AM to take advantage of an outbound current.
In the world of Information Technology, success stems from reading the shifting technical tides. When I joined IBM, the computer world was organized around the mainframe. I left to go to Cisco because I believed the paradigm had shifted and information would be distributed around the Internet.
World tides have shifted. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, twenty years ago, it was no longer necessary for America to spend billions on defense and security but we kept doing it. Most advanced nations have shifted away from coal and oil but we use them for 63 percent of our energy. It's not only that the US is frozen in inaction but that we're actually swimming against the tide.
In the final analysis, it's a team effort. As I slogged through the chilly Bay water, I was accompanied by other swimmers and a small flotilla of boats and kayaks. As an individual I have responded to challenges, but I've always had a strong support team.
The wrongheaded Reagan/Bush conservative ideology has lulled Americans into complacency with the promise of "nanny capitalism," the notion that the market will take care of us, as long as we get out of the way. In the process, it's driven us apart; caused us to forget that democracy requires a team effort.
It's never too late to rise to a challenge. At age 70 I completed the swim from Alcatraz.
It's certainly not too late for the United States to rise to its challenge. Together Americans can do remarkable things; we can shake off our torpor and build a new future. After all, once you jump in and start swimming, the water's not as cold as it seems.
There is on hidden flaw in your argument and that is that while I concur with what you say about the need to take initiative, to plan and to work hard, in certain respects our entire system has broken down form when you were building your own personal fortune.
Instead the way things work now is that gains that accrue from worker intitative and hard work do not stay with those who did the work, but instead pass through to the rich people on top. If you career trajectory had started ten years ago instead of nearly fifity you would not be likely to become a wealthy man ever. Since the election of Reagan the assets of the already wealthy have increased by a factor of 4 times, while for the other 98% of Americans the increase in prosperity averages merely 1%.
There are at least three negative consequences of this concentration of wealth at the top:
1. The middle class lacks the pourchasing power it once had eliminating the main economic driver of our economy.
2. There no longer is an incentive for people to innovate and take chances since the little guy gets stuck with the risk and the loss if it fails but the rich take all the rewards. 3. Democracy based governments derrive their power from an affluent and secure middle class. Whenever wealth gets concentrated in the hands of the wealthy few the result is always tyrrany.
Those of us that took the leap of faith in ourselves in early Silicon Valley know the bite of icy water well. I took off for Silicon Valley from Texas in 1979 with about $100 in cash and a credit card with a $300 limit and self taught skill at assembly language. I landed at Cromemco, do you remember it? It went out of business as did Dictaphone, Symantec, Visicorp, and Nestar that followed. Then wound up designing networks at Apple until retiring in 1990 at 39. The water was deep, black and icy many times.
But this current time and these current political circumstances in which the very existence of the America that allowed me to even attempt a life like I’ve led is at risk, seems the most challenging time of all. I can make my own destiny, but it’s never been clearer that it will be limited by choices made by the leadership of the nation. The door may not have closed yet, but is closing on the prospects for Silicon Valley’s in our future. I find this a great sadness and incentive.
My writing has been devoted to providing the analysis necessary to counter CATO and Heritage deceptions since 2006. The swim is longer and the waters are colder than ever, but make this swim we must.
From over here in 'old Europe' it appears that the waters Americans must jump into are full of very powerful sharks who do not want them to succeed. Sharks that want all the food for themselves. How to defeat those sharks seems to be a very important task there. No one seems to be willing to put a stop to the over reach of those greedy sharks. It seems that there are so many sharks and that they have so completely taken over your country that it might take an upheaval of some sort to bring change and clean out the waters.
Your thoughts?
Don't trust anyone under the age of sixty.
In politics the KISS Keep It Simple Stupid is key. Every 15 sec. radio ad of every independent write-in candidate should state only the essential fact
"I'm (so-in-so,) the write-in candidate for (so in so's) seat in the House. Vote for me. (Spell your name.) I'm independent. NOT THEM . . and I approve this message.
You will get elected.
The PBS network was created with taxpayer dollars, the individual stations funded with viewer support. The 535 write-in candidates can hold a press conference at the door of the local PBS station, declare their candidacy, and present their request to deliver three hour long speeches an what they plan to accomplish as our representatives, for example, eliminating F be eye name checking and mass telephone tapping.
Climb aboard the unknown poet's write-in campaign rickshaw!