I remember, though vaguely. My childhood imagination conjured a friend – although now I can’t recall our conversations. And later I imagined myself winning – I could envision a trophy presentation. But, lacking the athletic skill to really win, my victories were mostly in my mind.

It is beyond me to know the evolving canvas of a young mind and as we get older, imagination seems to evaporate into reality. Reality can be harsh. As we take on burdens imagination recedes—protective impulses surge. And the surge in today’s politics is a flood tide—right and left.

I don’t have to imagine the addictive nature of applause in politics, I have been around it. It seizes, holds on and for many becomes an addiction. Election offers up a job, attention, a pension and to my knowledge there is no Elections Anonymous. There is defeat. Not often enough. And that is where voters’ imagination fails.

We are now implored to re-imagine—to go beyond the ordinary. Even to reach for the extraordinary. Historians will tell the next generation how we responded.

So let me slip in a salute—yes a salute to America where once again we enabled the extraordinary.

My tenure in Washington brought me either in direct or indirect relationship with satellites, the rockets that launched them and the dreamers who took the risks. Yet, I was told over and over that only the government could accomplish such a gargantuan task—the plea, don’t open space corridors to private sector competition, double down on the government’s space program.

Let me recall a stunning event on May 30, 2020 that was largely overshadowed by other news. This headline from CNBC was indicative:

SpaceX launches two NASA astronauts to space for the first time in historic US mission

A handful of people imagined they too could launch astronauts into space. They did it, kudos to Elon Musk, the first to succeed.

It has long been said, “if we can land on the moon we can (fill in the blank).” The reality is we can, but only if the imagination corridors widen and the status quo is upended.

We are in the imagination moment, or at least the re-imagination one. As Covid-19 has interrupted ordinary, we are implored to be extraordinary. And we are taking a hard look at race relations—police in particular. We need to add education to that agenda and make sure students can supplement their learning from home.

The crises of 2020 will push some beyond the defensive stance that is holding us in check. New leaders will emerge and just like the leadership icons of the past they will not be perfect. The search for perfection by the imperfect is both laudable and laughable. We should keep in mind the proverbial alignment or misalignment between glass houses, stones and throwers.

But I also hope that we, those who enjoy the right to vote, will widen our imagination corridor. Allow room for the newcomer; don’t let incumbents and their embedded interests translate their needs into ours.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

Cathartic, maybe. Hopefully! Sad and memorable, for sure.

The death of George Floyd was a dramatic reminder of the poisons of prejudice behind the shield of authority. His death became a bridge to immediacy. Protests formed quickly; some were explosive. And, as protests are magnetic they attracted the politics of anger, even hate. Just because a protest is positive does not mean that everything that is said and done under its banner is.

Nelson Mandela’s words come to my mind. “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

But explosive events make demands, so let me reflect.

The circumstances of George Floyd’s death proved that body camera use should be mandated. Failure by a police officer to deploy under clearly spelled out rules should result in dismissal. Reforms in policing will and should take place—the mandatory use of body cameras must be one of them. 

Character, it is said, is proven when no one is looking.  Unfortunately there are some who wear the badge without character. I believe the number is few but we have thousands of laws to protect us from the few. We must all be equal under the law, no exceptions.

The reality of large gaps in economic equality has also been a protest theme. This is more difficult; I even hesitate to write about it, but here goes.

Theoretically capital and customers are neutral—color makes no difference. Capital availability pivots on either the reality or perception of profitability, not skin color. And customers look to quality of product or service and satisfaction of experience.

While a large measure of capital neutrality is undoubtedly true, access to capital is a different story. If Wall Street and its many local and regional versions want to help, they will work much harder on access.

America is the world’s best host and protector of innovation. An inventive idea shaped into a profitable product or service and paired with stock markets provides a path to converting entrepreneurship into riches. At the same time, the economics of innovation need to reflect a broader understanding of risk.

Understandingly, the earliest capital and employees are immensely rewarded because they took big risks. Starting up a successful company is not easy. But, as any entrepreneur will admit, a successful launch does not erase risk. I believe the sharing of the success bonus should reflect the breadth of the risk labor shoulders. We live in a disruptive era; job risk is endemic in the for-profit sector.

But for long-term success, as a society we need to go upstream to education. While few would argue that there is at least a relationship between education and success, many would correctly note unevenness in access to an educational experience that can make a difference.

I also believe extracurricular education is important. Sure the basics must be learned but as well, the soul needs to be stirred—motivation is essential.

While completion of college degree work can be overstated, statistics show that a degree adds significantly to lifetime income. Yet, often access to higher education gets lost in debates over the fairness of the admission process.

There are initiatives in the United States that The Economist magazine notes are achieving significant results, yet remain under the radar. It cites the ASAP program which is a part of the City University of New York (CUNY), a similar program in Ohio and a program called One Million Degrees in Chicago. 

While each program in what some call the “completion movement” is somewhat different, the programs recognize that “no single element boosts their chances of finishing university as much as the whole cocktail.” The cocktail includes academics, regular counseling, financial help, data tracking that detects pupils in difficult situations and more. These programs achieve dramatic growth in earning a college degree among Black and Hispanic students. 

One final thought. America has been an incubator for extraordinary individual wealth. Those whose capital and access to opportunity have produced unparalleled riches are well positioned to both lead and allocate significant amounts of their capital to narrow the gap of economic inequality.

American governments, all in, are spending much more than taxes are generating and those who support programs that are currently funded will block a serious reprioritization of spending. But what Americans do better than almost anybody in the world is go well beyond government expenditures. 

The gatekeepers of capital and philanthropic outreach should combine to put muscle behind a new agenda to help even out equal access to opportunity.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

 

Covid-19 is destructive and instructive. Each day we read about the destructive; give me a minute to deal with the instructive.

Covid-19 escaped, created a pandemic, began to destroy jobs, moved on to bankruptcies and most revealingly shone a harsh spotlight on public affairs.

Regardless of political affiliation, I suspect that even the most credulous voter is not happy. And, while there are many public employees who should be thanked, there are many elected officials who should be retired.

The dominant theme of the public response has been: Save Lives. Yet, preparedness has often been at cross-purposes. What should we expect from the central government? State governments? The private sector? Regardless of warnings from well-credentialed persons and institutions, America was not prepared.

So, the collective we, governments, have been scrambling for the last three months while society has largely shut down. The destruction of lives, jobs and businesses has been dramatic.

We have all learned words and phrases that were largely outside our vocabularies before the pandemic. I still have trouble saying epidemiologist. But the one word I welcome is efficacy. Public health policy turns on science and efficacy defines the goals, analyses and tests.

I suspect if I had an engineering degree, or for that matter any degree in the sciences, the word efficacy would be a frequently used word. I have a law degree and was instructed in finding truth through advocacy and judicial processes. Evidence is crucial, but clever advocacy can prevail.

The post-pandemic world needs to be reorganized around “efficacy.” Clever argumentation will not disappear, but must be met by a strong countervailing force. The constant question should be: What will work and at what cost? We need a Center for Efficacy in Public Policy.

Our debt load demands that priorities for spending will have to be more carefully measured regardless of the loose talk by those who use the public treasury as another political tool. Is efficacy in spending even imaginable?

Now I am not naïve; bringing a greater emphasis on science in political science will not be easily done. Nor will rigorous assessments resolve many of the issues that divide us. Yet, while beyond the scope of this column, there are a number of issues that can and should submit to more rigorous and objective analysis by a respected bi-partisan center on efficacy—public health policy would be a good place to start.

And while many Universities have public policy programs today’s universities often fall victim to decided ideological predispositions. Harvard’s Kennedy School for example aims high. This is its mission: “to improve public policy and leadership so people can live in safer, freer, more just, and more prosperous societies.” Its delivery is compromised.

And that brings me around to more local thoughts.

Annapolis is 30 miles from Washington. It is the seat of a state government that sweeps in a large percentage of the people who work in Washington.

Underpinning our Constitution are The Federalist Papers penned by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. Today public voices rarely talk about the 85 papers, but talk about the importance of State’s role in government—federalism.

Fast forwarding in warp speed to today, States and their Governors have been given a too rare spotlight as they have led the forward shaping of policies responding to Covid-19. This dispersal of power has wrong-footed political reporters and pundits who largely focus on Washington. While the supposed center of power has received a disproportionate amount of attention, the more astute journalists have turned to Governors.

As New York’s approach has been measured against Florida and Georgia against California another focus has been efficacy. Again the virus is the handmaiden. Policies and vaccines and therapeutics are measured against results. When life and death is on the line, opinions are like clouds on a breezy day.

So how does Annapolis fit into this context? Annapolis—its leaders—could see its potential to be the Silicon Valley of public performance just as San Jose, California is an epicenter of digital breakthroughs.

Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and the Last Man, a 1992 book on political evolution, theorized that the success of “liberal democracy and free market capitalism” signaled “the end of humanity’s sociocultural evolution”. Many seek to rebut his theory citing the apparent success of China and its authoritarian approach to both politics and markets—autocracy versus democracy.

America needs an efficacy-based voice that both help it improve governance and democracy’s global story. Where better than Annapolis to locate such an initiative. And I would add, who better to lead a new force than Governor Larry Hogan who will soon begin the lame duck stage of his two terms.

Governor Hogan has been the Chair of the National Governors Association and his leadership enjoys bi-partisan respect. Plus his leadership, during this moment when the importance of State governments has rarely been higher, makes him a natural. National prominence is difficult to earn and quick to fade. If the Governor asked for my advice, I would suggest he use his national network to create an efficacy in government organization. An organization that, using the tools of the technology intensive intelligence age, can help voters and leaders alike discern the best practices of governance.

Ideology, partisanship, and polarization surge and retreat throughout history. But if “the end of history” is to be seriously considered, efficacy must be an important criterion. Efficacy should be understood as the true progressive political approach. Annapolis with its many assets could become a vital center in that cause.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

Tears, yes tears, circa 1972. Don McLean was singing his singular contribution, American Pie in London. His performance was recorded by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Many will quickly recall the oft repeated refrain, “The day the music died.” McLean was lamenting the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, a brilliant early rock and roll star. His was a poetic lament backed by a haunting melody. His heart sang for nine minutes—astounding.

Did the music die? Of course not. But Buddy Holly’s potential contributions did, as did Ritchie Valens and others who shared the small plane with him.

While death is final, most young artists today struggle with staying alive financially. The calls and emails land with a thud—Cancelled! How long, they wonder, will their life blood be stanched?

I have enjoyed being a part of the Easton jazz scene. In the jazz world, Easton is known as Jazz on the Chesapeake. And Easton is known across the music world for its eclectic offerings. Chesapeake Music, for example, presents jazz and chamber music and the Avalon spans emerging artists to retrospectives—my wife and I enjoyed Don McLean there years ago.

None of us have a silver bullet—the Lone Ranger too has died. And it is hard to predict when confirmed replaces cancelled, but I hope artists and presenters alike will come up with a transitional arrangement. Social distancing, for the predictable future, will require more modest budgets and fees. Modifications are better than cancelations.

For now about all we can do is tune in to the virtual offerings and support the organizations that will reopen Easton’s music scene. While I have enjoyed Monty Alexander and Dominick Farinacci in their virtual personas, I look forward to being in the audience when they return.

In the meantime, feel Don McLean’s lament here.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

“Heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man’s habitation….”
John Smith, 1608

Impressions, dreams – they are the forces of imagination and ultimately ambition. John Smith, an early leader in the European discovery of the Chesapeake Bay, had his impressions, which ultimately shaped European ambitions.

The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) four centuries later has its dreams and has translated them into a two word ambition called Delmarva Oasis. It is looking back 400 years and then using history and technology as it offers us a vision.

Rob Etgen, the President of ESLC, and I recently shared thoughts about the Bay and its watershed in a wide-ranging conversation. Here are my impressions.

The descriptive, oasis, is an interesting word. It is often associated with a desert landscape – it is the fertile relief. In a sense, the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries surround fertility – the Delmarva Peninsula. The Bay’s oasis started out as woodlands and then farms and fishing villages and inevitably was discovered by business. Natural beauty and diversity were magnets for capital.

Capital investment doesn’t prefer boundaries; it searches out demand and supplies it. Small-scale farming yielded to commodity crop supply, and tourist demand to a full array of transportation and service industry companies. Cumulatively these forces depleted nature’s gift; economists call this the tragedy of the commons.  The tragedy: the totality of individual actions according to their own self-interest behave contrary to the common good of all users. No statistic underscores this dynamic more than a 90% decline in the number of oystermen from the historical high.

History tells us what our watershed used to be and reality tells us what it is. The overriding question today is up to our imagination – do we envision a different future and if so, what?

ESLC is helping us define the future; it is going beyond criticisms of the present. It is providing a hopeful narrative – an organizing principle.

ESLC is not without preferences. It wants to preserve buildings that both have character and were important building blocks in our history. In Easton it bought and saved a handsome old laundry; it is now a conservation center. Its centrality offers a crucial 21st Century building block. It is a center of environmental activity. Environmental organizations are just across the hall from one another and the common areas invite community and collaboration. 

All of us dream – few plans follow and even fewer plans become operational without partnerships. A 21st Century oasis around which the waters of the Bay and its tributaries circumnavigate will require collaboration.

I enjoyed being an early part of what became ShoreRivers and I know the good work they are doing. We are blessed with strong environmental leadership and ESLC’s goals for our watershed envision a coalition of interests. Each will remain distinct, but by contributing to the 21st Century restatement – Delmarva Oasis – the overall fertility of our precious piece of land will be enhanced.

Renewal stands beside preservation in ESLC’s vision – a renewal of nature as our ally. I am reminded of New York City’s much praised tap water. The City protected the springs, creeks and rivers that fill its reservoirs; it didn’t need to build and maintain the kind of treatment systems required when water sources are allowed to be polluted. And, make no mistake the quality of the water in our drainage basin is an essential asset – it is a crucial element in nature’s sustenance.

Let me end by turning back to farms and businesses. The Eastern Shore has been vastly changed since John Smith sailed up its coasts. Plans must comprehend the present. ESLC and its partners will need to build a true coalition and that is hard work and not everybody will sign on. Indeed, if everybody did, preservation and renewal  would be attenuated. But, thank goodness for ESLC, its dream and leadership gives us a better chance that our ancestors will say thank you.

John Smith was, in today’s terms, a globalist. Today, Covid 19, reminds us of place—where we live and the neighbors that fill our lives with choices and support. On this Earth Day we should re-dedicate ourselves to the only earth we can really influence—our own.

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In 1978 a group of investors I led bought a radio station in a small Rocky Mountain town, Breckenridge, Colorado. Breckenridge was and remains one of a handful of Western ski capitals.

This sounds like a grand beginning underwritten by Wall Street capitalists. It wasn’t. My investors were Midwestern friends and each invested about $10,000. The seller helped finance the sale as he accepted 29% down and financed the balance over five years.

Breckenridge’s economy was dependent on snow—the natural kind. In the second year of our ownership it didn’t snow until mid-February. Merchants who rented skis or sold ski apparel or food and drink didn’t buy advertising or, if they did, were unable to pay their bills. Yet each month to keep the station open we spent thousands of dollars we didn’t generate in revenue, while also paying down the debt we couldn’t afford. Fortunately I had a second business not dependent on snow and an operating loan.

If radio station KLGT had been my sole business, it would have gone under and my credit score would have been well south of the border.

Today millions of small business owners are in exactly that financial bind without a backup. I wish there was more I could do to help, aside from looking for every chance to buy local.

If possible, we should look for ways to avoid buying from Amazon or other online stores.

My wife and I have bought things from local stores whose owners have delivered the item to our car window. And my advice to Governor Hogan is to let all businesses open while encouraging both the businesses and their customers to practice social distancing and related hygiene. In the store and customer relationship loop, protection has become a valued part of the exchange. And, the small businesses are the lifeline for many workers who are on the front lines of both serving and protecting us.

Second, we should pay much more attention to what is happening in our hometown. Most reporters for network news and national newspapers live in New York City. Their circumstances are not ours. Plus, they are in the drama business; drama sells.

Since The Spy began keeping statistics for the Eastern Shore of Maryland in a five county area, there have been 80 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and three deaths. We are in the 29th day of this statistical profile. New cases have averaged 2.85 a day and deaths 0.107 per day. Many days go by with no additions. Persons who go out of their way to buy local, if they are careful, face an infinitesimal risk. We should not let the national narrative govern our lives.

The American Constitution recognizes the importance of States. America’s Governors should recognize the importance of Mayors. The Eastern Shore counties and towns bear no resemblance to Baltimore. Give the officials on the ground some leeway.

Finally and increasingly, the national story has devolved into a tribal contest. President Trump’s news conferences are part information and part theater. In the theatrical segment, he plays Sun God and the reporters act out a provocateur’s script as they read questions from their notes.

Let’s see, we are in the middle of a health and economic crisis and the latest news from those news conferences is almost a parody on the news. If the temperature of our political divisions could be scientifically measured, we would be in intensive care.

America should begin to reopen. Look for reopening plans, assess them and regardless of the political affiliation of their proponent, judge them. And if, as reopening is staged, you believe it is too aggressive for you then by all means stay at home. Reopening can be an individual decision, not just a government one. Regardless of what various governments say, when we start to act more freely, we will support the stores and employees that act protectively.

Sports Stadiums

An otherworldly crew flying over America today would be puzzled by the cavernous sports stadiums. I can hear the pilot asking, “Are these giant craters?” The navigator reply, “It isn’t like any crater I have seen, it has seats.”

Maybe those craters should be occupied by queues of people waiting to be tested; the various professional sports organizations could manage them. It would certainly be in their self-interest.

Each person who receives a clean bill of health would receive a “get out of jail” card on their smart phone which could be used at concerts, ballgames and the like. And the restaurants that choose to open could require such a certification for admission. It would also be possible to electronically cancel the certification if circumstances changed.

Is this fail safe, no. Nothing will be. But it would help mitigate the societal contagion, while letting people who chose to continue to self-isolate watch TV games that were not played years ago. Just a thought.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.