The Trouble with America Is...

The trouble with America is... Don't you just hate it when a sentence or conversation begins like that? I tend to hear it a lot as I spend a good deal of time in a foreign country, namely Canada. I also spent some time in France this summer and I heard it there too. With American financial problems being seen as the origins of the world's economic problems, it is understandable why people are upset and feel the need to share.

People have said to me that the trouble with America is that we allowed our financial system to get really messed up. They've said that America runs too high a budget deficit and expects the world's savers to just keep on funding it. Americans drive cars that use too much gasoline. Americans don't recycle as they should. Americans, as rich as they are, don't give enough to the world's poor. Americans think they are the center of the Universe. The list is long indeed.

I hate those words even more when the word "you" is there in the place of the word America. The trouble with you is... The words that follow generally represent some "truth" that the messenger is being cosmically forced to deliver. Or maybe it just feels that way. So, with that in mind, what is the trouble with America that is causing me, an otherwise happy and optimistic person, to continually wake up at 4 am?

In truth, there is so much trouble in America that the trouble with me is that I cannot sleep, am fired up, and feel called to action. I am having a marginally negative impact, or so I am told, on my husband, my kids, and perhaps my friends too. They seem to want the old Jacki back, the one that does not spend so much time on a soapbox. But should they?

The last time I remember feeling this fired up was many years ago while working in the executive office at Goldman Sachs, reporting to the two co-presidents and then-CEO Hank Paulson. My role was to "help manage the careers of the firm's managing directors" and specifically the women. One such woman, a managing director who felt her 15+ year career was over, was being pushed around from one job to another. In performance reviews, the higher ups made it seem that everything was OK and yet they slowly stripped away her responsibilities, taking away her confidence, ultimately, too. At the point I got involved, she was walking the halls of Goldman exposed. When I read the story in this Sunday's New York Times, "When Citi Lost Sallie," about Sallie Krawcheck's departure from Citigroup, it sounded like a somewhat similar situation.

How damaged and defeated they allowed the MD at Goldman to become enraged my sense of justice. I will never, ever forget the answer I got from a very senior person at the firm who had the power to do something. "Jacki, he said, the trouble with you is that you care too much." If you are a leader, a manager of your organization and you want to completely demoralize a passionate person who works for you, tell them those four little words. "You care too much."

Isn't the problem at the heart of the trouble with America is that we, as Americans, do not care enough? Back in those days at Goldman I cared so much that at the point when I did not think other people cared enough about what I cared about I had to leave. For me the issue was creating a powerful culture and for Sallie, it seems, it was serving her wealth management clients well. Over and over again these past few months, I have asked myself what headline in the newspaper, what announcement on CNN, what article in what magazine, will it take to get every person in this great country of ours to really start caring?

To be sure, we are, by many accounts, a generous country. Private philanthropy here is among the highest in the world and people give generously of their time in countless ways. We are a country that believes in change, as we have just proved. Some people, many people, out of love, compassion, fear and/or worry are putting themselves out there in ways big and small. To them I say thank you, congratulations, and keep going!

I am inspired by the activism I witness all around me. Last week my son had community service day at school. Instead of having regular classes all the kids in his grade cleaned desks, planted bulbs, and put down mulch. A week ago a friend with an incredible background in investment banking told me she wrote a letter on what she would do to solve some of the big financial problems and sent the letter to a governor she knew, using all the connections she could find to try to get that letter read. Two days ago while attending a conference at Morgan Stanley, I met a woman who lived in Washington who just showed up at Obama's campaign headquarters and said put me to work. There are many who feel similarly called to duty.

But sadly, for every person who is doing something, there are a whole lot of people that are not doing much. Yesterday I called up a friend, one of the smartest people I know in the mortgage market who, for more than a decade, managed the securitization desk of a large investment bank. I called him because I had just heard Larry Fink, the President of Blackrock, tell a group of 300 plus business woman at a conference his idea for solving the problems in the mortgage market. Fink's answer did not make sense to me, and he is actually one of the guys that the government calls upon for advice. My friend agreed that Fink's solution was not realistic and went on to explain very thoughtfully what he would do. His solution made sense so I suggested, well insisted, he put it forth in a public way. He is.

If you are angry and worried about the problems this country is facing, think about what you can do to help and do it. Just do it. Go pick up garbage in your town. Give excess "stuff" you have in your home away to those who may need it. Buy food and take it to the food bank. Lead the effort to get children in your neighborhood to do more community service. Invite someone who just lost their job over for a meal. Cancel your Christmas vacation and instead give that money away. Call your local non-profit and say put me to work. Write a thoughtful op-ed on your area of expertise and get it out there. Post a comment on something you read because it has moved you. Fight for someone that is getting mistreated in your workplace, particularly if that person is from an underrepresented group. Write a letter to your congressperson. Hold gatherings in your home to talk about financial preparedness. Submit your name for one of the thousands of jobs available in Washington. Do something and then keep doing something. Small acts matter. Big acts matter. It all matters.

Here's what may happen if we fail to act: As a country we are already walking around somewhat exposed. We have trillions of dollars of government, agency, municipal, asset-backed, and corporate debt out there that we are relying on the world to continue to finance. If the world does not believe we care enough to do the right things to ensure that debt will get paid back, and not with a massively deflated currency, then we will be in even deeper trouble than we are in now.

So may these troubling headlines, any troubling headline, be your call to action. May the dire circumstances, if not your own but others, serve as a wake-up call to those of us who are simply not doing enough and are capable of doing more. Aren't almost all of us capable of doing more? With the hope of change in the air and the promise of a new administration in Washington, let us, too, on a local level, be the change we wish to see. Look for a problem in the world that you can grab hold of and that drives people to say the trouble with you is. May the trouble with you be, and the problem with American be, we care too much.

*This piece was in part inspired by Rob Bell and his video RICH.

Comments

[andreammb]

yes, agreed. inspiring and so timely! there seems to be a groundswell of sorts around the theme of being proactive as evidenced by Obama's campaign and his constant insistence that he wants people involved - very encouraging. truth is: not every one is going to be involved w/ govt so Jacki's call to action to get involved in all of these various ways is a smart, actionable means of responding to the Obama message. it's really all about community, ie about improving the innumerable aspects of the communities and the people and plants and animals that inhabit them.

JZ: you should consider starting a blog or website on this very thing to help reinforce action and positive change. people could go in and post the small and large things that they're doing then others could give them virtual high 5s and praise, which could very well reinforce the original behavior and stimulate new activity. people could also ban together to make their small or medium activities into larger impact ones.

what i love about Jacki's message is that it's positive and puts responsibility back onto people's shoulders - even more important given our ecomomic malaise. someone wrote a book back in the 90s about the US as a Nation of VIctims. By being the change we want to see, we have the power to transcend this status and usher in a new era of hope, action and positivity. having just posted this comment, i feel better already :)

[Cogitoe]

Brava !!!

We are in the midst of the rapid evaporation of trillions of dollars of value. How can one not care deeply. That represents real pain on a broad and global basis. Much political punditry seems to be focused on how to reallocate what value remains. That may very well be a legitimate and necessaary endeavor, but the primary focus should clearly be on how to recreate sustainable value for everyone. To do that we must first learn to care more as Ms. Zehner pleads. Caring leads to a decision to take personal responsibility and that leads to increased effort. Effort is work and the only way to create real value is to work harder and longer and smarter. Some of that work should be volunteer work. We must replace with our own hands and minds what previously we expected our tax dollars to do for us. It doesn't look good out there. The need is growing and may soon be unimaginable. So, where do we find the time to care? Here's one idea.

According to Nielsen, the average U.S. consumer continues to increase the amount of time watching TV, averaging more than 127 hours each month as of May.

Think what value we can build in our communities, our country and our world with 127 hours each month or even half that amount. Let's "Turn it off, tune in, rise up."

[staceyann]

Jacki, wow, this piece is so inspiring. The RICH video brought me to tears. Thank you for your passion.

[Jacki Zehner - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks for all the great comments! Someone emailed me this great quote in response to Post. I thought I would share.

it is not the easy or convenient life for which I search-
but rather-
life lived to the edge of all my possibility.

[nancydiane]

Here here! Remember after 9/11 how New Yorkers came out in droves to give blood? Why must it take tragedy to bring out the best in the human spirit? Ms. Zehner is so right - let's care too much! Let's live the virtues of humility, gratitude and giving, not because we're brought to our knees, but because that's our calling as human beings!

[YMK]

Jacki,
Loved the article~! Your passion and “that you care so much” truly comes right out!!!
Yes, it is upsetting and frusterating when people in power do not care enough or not willing to do something about it and take ACTION!!! I believe in pushing from both grass roots and the powers of being to make things happen. Hats off to you for moving forward with both.
Go, Jacki~….I now understand why you are not sleeping.
However, whenever I see you, you look marvelous and seem like you had your beauty sleep.

Having grown up in a country, Japan, where people are not usually BOLD and take action, it is just so refreshing to see someone like you move and shake things up. As they say, "with privilege comes responsibilty" and you are doing just that. I am learning by your example and will continue to make an impact in the small way that I can.

your friend & buddy

[ChicksandBalances]

Jacki...I always love to read your posts and thanks for calling others to action. I say do that what moves you and that you care passionately about. Just get out there and do it - claim your space!! Thanks for being the supporter of so many women I know.

[000Jade000]

Jacki,

In the end, you moved me to tears. Thank you.

We must all keep the sentiment of your post alive by reminding ourselves and others the imporance of taking action. I have already seen writings by people who are concerned because some of the activists they know are choosing to lay low now and wait for a Predient Obama to fix everything. (See this sermon, for example, which in a lot of ways mirrors your post: http://www.rochesterunitarian.org/2008-09/20080914.html [Not to worry, I'm not advertising religion; I am shopping around for a place of worship, though, and came across this recently.])

Keep caring "too much."

[Sundialsvc4]

A superlative, passionate post!

The bankers wring their hands and cry, "Oh, woe is me!" For this morning at long last they opened up their treasure-vaults and found them filled floor-to-ceiling with wretched, smelly straw.

The leprechaun was gone with the morning sun.

In my office I have a poster of a courageous, determined woman: Rosie the Riveter. "We Can Do It!" And the operative word here is ... "We."

Let America accept once again responsibility for her own self; her own national future. It is unpleasant to comprehend that so many civil officers of our government knowingly and willingly robbed us blind, and their "vaults full of straw" are a worthy restitution. They so-richly deserve it, but "we the people" do not.

Our nation is still quite rich. It closed its factories and abdicated those supply-lines to other countries, but not twenty years later those countries realize that they, too, have been swindled. They won't keep playing our distorted game. Nor should we.

There is no one, "the guv'mint" nor otherwise, who can "bail us out." Nothing that we can do strictly on the banker's-books. We have to look to Rosie now: we have to "Do It." We have to Produce again. For ourselves. NOT "the cheapest," but rather, "the best."

[anonimost]

well, being able to comment helps us vent, but that is a selfish act. we need to get out there and make an impact. hopefully obama will give us some ideas on how best to serve the process of reinvigorating usa other than buying a hybrid.

[matall]

The issue with America is not that we don't care, it is what we care about. We have become a nation who cares about what happens (somewhat) within our own borders but does not think about people outside of the country. This can be seen when kids in school are asked about which countries border the US or what the capital cities are in Europe, Africa, Asia, or South America. It is, in fact, embarrassing.

Since we created this financial problem, we should help find a solution. We have no other choice. If we are irresponsible with our budget, we deserve the consequences. The current consequences are bad enough - namely we are no longer in control of our own destiny. What I mean is that the destiny of the US is in the hands of China, Japan, and the Middle East - the only countries/regions with the capacity to fund us, and they might demand a lot. Who knows, in order to fund the US, China might demand that the US stop sending aid to Taiwan. What will that do for foreign policy?????

In short, individuals, companies, and the country need to spend less and borrow less. Sorry, there is no other way. Hoping we can spend our way out of this is inviting disaster. Namely, we either won't be able to fund ourselves or our foreign policy will crumble because the nations with the cash will demand an arm and a leg.

So,

[iambusto]

the biggest problem is we waste money in foreign aid. i am ok with giving aid to countries that might be of some importance to us....but on that list are some countries that are of no importance to us.
why waste millions of $$ on that.

[chapter2]

Jack--thanks, as always, for drawing attention to what matters and suggesting solutions. Think globally, act locally.

The WSJ reported today that 691,000 children in America went hungry last year. How can this be? Let us give to the upcoming Thanksgiving and Holiday Food Drives. A small act? Perhaps, but each great accomplishment begins with a first step.

Thank you for reminding us that we are each empowered to create change.