Globe trotting multiple Pulitzer Prize winning author Thomas Friedman reflected in a recent New York Times column on the disparities he saw traveling from Hong Kong to New York City. Basically, America's infrastructure has fallen to pieces. We've invested in the wrong things.
"...we’ve fallen into a trend of diverting and rewarding the best of our collective I.Q. to people doing financial engineering rather than real engineering. These rocket scientists and engineers were designing complex financial instruments to make money out of money — rather than designing cars, phones, computers, teaching tools, Internet programs and medical equipment that could improve the lives and productivity of millions.
For all these reasons, our present crisis is not just a financial meltdown crying out for a cash injection. We are in much deeper trouble. In fact, we as a country have become General Motors — as a result of our national drift. Look in the mirror: G.M. is us.
That’s why we don’t just need a bailout. We need a reboot. We need a build out. We need a buildup. We need a national makeover. That is why the next few months are among the most important in U.S. history. Because of the financial crisis, Barack Obama has the bipartisan support to spend $1 trillion in stimulus. But we must make certain that every bailout dollar, which we’re borrowing from our kids’ future, is spent wisely.
It has to go into training teachers, educating scientists and engineers, paying for research and building the most productivity-enhancing infrastructure — without building white elephants. Generally, I’d like to see fewer government dollars shoveled out and more creative tax incentives to stimulate the private sector to catalyze new industries and new markets. If we allow this money to be spent on pork, it will be the end of us.
America still has the right stuff to thrive. We still have the most creative, diverse, innovative culture and open society — in a world where the ability to imagine and generate new ideas with speed and to implement them through global collaboration is the most important competitive advantage. China may have great airports, but last week it went back to censoring The New York Times and other Western news sites. Censorship restricts your people’s imaginations. That’s really, really dumb. And that’s why for all our missteps, the 21st century is still up for grabs.
John Kennedy led us on a journey to discover the moon. Obama needs to lead us on a journey to rediscover, rebuild and reinvent our own backyard."
Street Artist Arrested 13 Times Creates Obama Iconic Graphics
Why would Barack Obama invite a graffiti artist with a long rap sheet to launch a guerrilla marketing campaign on his behalf? Modern Painters magazine visited Shepard Fairey, who created the Democratic nominee's iconic "Hope" and "Progress" posters, in his Los Angeles studio to find out. Read the story.
Shepard Fairy created the Andre the Giant sticker and "Obey" street art projects. His new muse in Barack Obama. But Fairey is protesting Obama's choice of Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the Inauguration invocation. His statement: "Tomorrow my illustration for Time Magazine’s “Person of The Year” hits the newsstands. While I’m very honored to be validated by a periodical that is nothing short of an American institution, the moment is bittersweet because I’m very disappointed by Obama’s appointment of Rick Warren to deliver his invocation during Obama’s inaugural address. Rick Warren is against gay marriage and reproductive rights, and he does not believe in evolution (maybe he offers himself as proof of lack of evolution). I understand that Obama is trying to appeal to conservatives and evangelicals, but this move is symbolically a slap in the face to many people. Warren is not a uniter, but a divider… he is intolerant in many of his views. I still think Obama is the best choice for president, but I can’t condone Warren’s involvement in Obama’s inauguration, no matter how insignificant it is. While I’m on the subject of gay marriage, I will be donating a chunk of the proceeds from an inauguration poster of Obama I was asked to create to the movement to overturn Prop 8. At first I was considering pulling my inauguration poster, but I think re-directing funds from it to put into a cause I care about is actually more constructive. Plus, I wouldn’t want withdrawing the image to come across as a blanket boycott of Obama. I’m sure I will ultimately disagree with Obama about many things, but I think I will agree with him on more. I think it is important to speak one’s mind, but also to not let the narcissism of petty differences sabotage our unity and progress."
So, if you're a nonprofit advocate and you find yourself begging to a funder and trying to justify why your organization should get a thousand dollars to continue providing for the common good, you can now take some comfort in this new reality. We are all nonprofits now.
Nonprofits that provide educational, health-related, social service, policy and cultural type services typically define themselves as being owned by no body - they act on behalf of the community and no one owns stock and so there are no "profits" from income in excess of expenses. These organizations exist to meet a need unmet by government or business. Nonprofits provide services to people who NEVER pay the full cost of receiving those services. By definition. Some nonprofits do better than others in charging fees, generating revenue from good and services other than what is provided directly to their customers, and getting sponsorships. Bottom line - there is always a gap between the total amount of what is called "earned" income and what it costs to run the organization. Contributions and grants make up the difference. For most nonprofit organizations that provide the type of services I'm thinking about contributions from individuals can be deducted from their income tax obligations - hence the term "tax-deductible contribution."
Well, with the hundreds of billions of dollars the U.S. government has doled out to the financial services sector and now the auto industry, I think we have just obliterated the distinctions between "for profit" and "not for profit" operations in America. Unfortunately, the tax payers are not going to be able to deduct their "contributions" to the corporate sector.
President-Elect Obama has talked about a massive stimulus package to re-build America and put people to work. What role could artists play in this new program. Author, educator and cultural activist Arlene Goldbard says, plenty.
"Artists dedicated to public service can
teach
co-create plays and murals with people young and old
run community darkrooms and workshops
beautify the built environment
carve out space for people to dream, invent and communicate about things that matter to themselves and their communities
assist communities in creating archives of digital stories
create public art that commemorates generative moments in the history of a community
devise choral works and pageants, installations and exhibitions, dances and poetry journals that express and embody community identity and aspiration
create workplace programs that engage workers in participatory management
facilitate processes that help people dream their way into new approaches to community and economic development…."
National leaders in politics, business, research and education, including Princeton University President Shirley M. Tilghman, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, met on campus today and called for renewing America's commitment to science and technology. Such an effort, they said, may be the best long-term cure for the nation's ailing economy. Read the full story at Princeton's web site.
Take your blood pressure medicine or sit down and breathe deeply before you watch this segment from the December 14 edition of "60 Minutes." This is 12 minutes of education on how real estate speculators, banks, finance companies and the U.S. government all collided in a perfect storm of greed, stupidity and breach of the public trust. It should be played at every community meeting, political gathering, and for every class in political science, finance, law and public policy.
Highly recommended -- The new movie, "Milk," starring Sean Penn as San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to major office in the United States. If you want to see a true story of a VERY different sort of political leader, then you must catch "Milk." The movie traces the political trajectory of one person who confronts bigotry, builds community, inspires others to lead and creates real change on the ground.
Sam Ewen, CEO of Interference, a New York-based marketing firm, points how Obama's grassrots use of technology and his joyous spirit of inclusion propelled him to the presidency.
"The best guerrilla marketing campaign of '08 wasn't waged to launch a new cell phone or hype an animated feature film that entertains the kids yet speaks to adults. It was conducted on behalf of the old editor of the Harvard Review. Exciting huh? You betcha!
The Barack Obama presidential campaign was one of the most impressive spectacles of media and grassroots activation in modern times. The effort will be the model in which future political campaigns are measured. And you can learn from it even if you are marketing more prosaic items like cell phones and kids' movies. Though the concept of a politician as a brand is nothing new, Obama's team took the concept to new marketing and brand building levels." Read the article at Brandweek.com.
Our governor was arrested at his home yesterday morning on corruption charges (I live in Chicago). The federal prosecutor accused the governor of embarking on a "political crime spree." This is a new low, even for Illinois. Do we need further proof that it's time to cultivate and harvest a new crop of leaders with new values who come from another place in our civic landscape?
If you're reading this - I'm talking to you. Please consider seeking leadership opportunities in your community and region. Please consider getting involved in local politics - helping candidates who share your values run and win - then stay involved to keep them honest. There's so much we can do to change the political scene from the bottom up.
Marc Shaiman, the openly gay Tony Award winning composer of the Broadway musical "Hairspray" wrote a mini-musical in one day to protest the results of Proposition 8. "Prop 8 - the Musical" has been viewed over 1.9 million times since it was posted to funnyordie.com on December 3.
Oklahoma, Where Creativity is as High as an Elephant's Eye...
The Oklahoma Creativity Project aims to make the Sooner State "a world-renowned center of creativity and innovation in commerce, culture and education." The program is a partnership between a number of institutions, including the State of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the DaVinci Institute. The chairman of the board is V. Burns Harris, the President of Oklahoma State University and former Vice-Chairman of the Bank of Oklahoma. Pretty ambitious goal, wouldn't you say? is your city or state as ambitious?
There are 38 million people working in creative industries in
America. Creativity is one the key characteristics of the American
spirit, economy and promise.
Read more...
Read the book - "America Needs You!
Why You Should Become
a Creativity Champion"
Read the book "America Needs You!
Why You Should Become
a Creativity Champion"
America needs her artists, cultural workers and creative professionals
to lead in the public sector! This book makes the case for creativity as a national value and the basis for a winning politics and explains
why creative professionals have what it takes to lead and run
for local public office. You're already a leader! Believe it.
