A Look at Europe

I follow with interest the events in Europe – a fascinating experiment in integration and collaboration started after WWII.  After centuries of wars and enmity, Europeans started their journey toward economic, social, and political unity. 

It all started in 1958 by six founding nations: Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Netherlands, with the Treaty of Rome.

A Quick Overview

The economic integration was the first step.  It brought development and a better standard of living to member countries.  In the spirit of solidarity, economic assistance from Brussels permitted poorer members the needed resources to upgrade their infrastructure. 

Cooperation has improved the collective living conditions.  Other countries have joined in since 1958 … United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Malta, Cyprus, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, and Hungary.

There are now 28 member countries.  Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Macedonia are in different stages in their application to join.  Turkey has also requested membership. 

Economic cooperation has morphed into a quasi-political union.  Each country is still sovereign in its foreign and defense policies.  Since 1998, eighteen countries have adopted the euro as their currency scheme, while ten others have decided to keep their national currency in place, most notably the United Kingdom. 

The Maastricht Treaty recognizes European citizenship, permitting citizens to move freely and work within the EU.

A layer of supranational bureaucracy has emerged.  The EU capital is in Brussels.  The following institutions are now in place: the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the Court of Justice of European Union, the European Central Bank, the Court of Auditors, and the European Parliament.  The citizens of the member countries elect Members of Parliament (MP).   Consensus rules most, if not all, the decisions made by the governing bodies. 

Twenty-four different languages are spoken.  The population of the EU is 503 million.  In terms of GDP, at  $ 18.1 trillion, it ranks number 1 in the world.

The Treaty of Schengen permits the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital.  Not all members have ratified the free movement of goods and people, notably the United Kingdom.

Key Challenges

Unifying such a diversified group of nations brings with it many issues.  Some easily resolved, others defy resolution.  Many benefits have accumulated over the years.  Principally, Europe has been at peace for 70 years!  But many complications have accumulated.  The following, incomplete, list is an example:

·   The extra layer of bureaucracy is slowly eroding national sovereignty and slowed down important decision-making.

·      Differing national priorities prevent a unified   defense, economic, and foreign affairs construct. 

·      

     Uneven economic development has created differing levels of standard of living.  

·      

  Perceived discrimination by Northern members toward Southern and Eastern members continues.

·  Twenty-four official languages complicate the publication and dissemination of important laws and regulations.

·        National suspicions have resurfaced during the economic crisis of the past 7 years. 

·        Brussels seems to be overwhelming the member states with finite regulations.

·        National pride and culture continue to dominate decision-making.

     Laws and labor practices have yet to be fully harmonized.

·   Differing taxation schemes impede the free movement of capital across national borders.

What Next?

The EU, in my opinion, will continue to evolve, but I do not see it emerging as a full-blown federation like the USA.  It might resemble a confederation like Canada with autonomy to the member states in several areas. 

The current government organization makes decision-making ponderous and slow.  In a world of constant change, response to change will need a more accelerated and streamlined process.  Reform will be needed, sooner rather than later.

Social change must address the perception that there are “first bananas,” “second,” and “third bananas” among the ethnic groups. 

Economic development will be needed to lift the poorer members to a somewhat higher but not necessarily same level.

The EU will need to have a more unified defense and foreign policy.  At present, duplication and overlap amongst members squander limited resources and influence.

Eventually one of the 24 languages must emerge as the in-common EU language.  I believe that English will be that language, although the French will resist that. 

The Euro might disappear as the second currency behind the dollar to be replaced by the Chinese Yuan.

Closing

I am a dual passport holder (USA and Europe) and, as result, I am free to work (not that I want to anymore) and live in 29 different countries.  What a great privilege!  I feel honored.  The EU has a lot it can learn from the USA when it comes to organization, decision-making style, and renewal.  The USA has a lot to learn from the EU about solidarity. 

Your thoughts?

The Movie Selma

I am not much of a moviegoer, but on occasion I will make the effort to see a film.  This Saturday I had the opportunity to see the movie Selma at a local theatre.   I found the film moving and well done.  The music finale was unbelievably beautiful too.

The movie chronicles the civil rights struggle of the 1960’s, specifically the right to vote.  Although, Black Americans already had the right to vote, many southern states and local agencies employed a variety of subterfuges to prevent Blacks from voting. 

The late Dr. Martin Luther King led the march to Selma to show the nation the urgent need for the federal government to step in and pass the Voting Rights Act.  It was difficult to watch the physical and mental violence unleashed on the predominant Black demonstrators: intimidation, humiliation, beatings, and even killings by racist white southerners.  It was comforting to see that many white Americans from the North joined the struggle and supported the movement to their own peril. 

So the thought came to my mind.  Where was I during that time?  What were my thoughts about the struggle? Why didn’t I join the march? 

Flashback

I arrived in Augusta, Georgia in May 1957 after completing basic training in Fort Dix, New Jersey.  I had enrolled in the U.S. Army Reserves in 1956, and I was serving my six months of active duty.  I was 19 years old, in the country slightly over a year, with poor language skills, but gung-ho about serving my adopted land. 

I arrived at the bus depot from Raleigh, South Carolina.  I inquired about the next bus to Fort Gordon, where I was deployed for specialized training.  I was told that the next bus would come an hour later.  I was very tired.  The trip from New London, Connecticut to Raleigh by train was an adventure.  I believe that I changed trains several times in order to get to Raleigh some 26 hours later.  

I entered the coffee shop at the depot and ordered a sandwich at the counter.  On my way out I saw two water fountains.  One was labeled “White” and the other “Colored”.  I had not seen colored water before so I approached naively the colored faucet and opened it.  The water that came out was not colored, as I expected, but colorless. Suddenly, the coffee shop manager started to yell at me: “What in hell are you doing?  That faucet is for color people." I apologized and started to walk out. I then noticed that Blacks were being served meals through a side window.   They obviously were not allowed to come in and eat inside.  I found the situation uncomfortable and embarrassing. 

The bus finally came.  I entered with my heavy duffel bag in tow and proceeded to the back of the bus where I thought I could be more comfortable and possibly catch a few winks.  No sooner I sat down the bus driver came over screaming. “Why are you sitting there, soldier?” I answered so that I could sleep a bit.  “Don’t you know that the back of the bus is for coloreds?  Move forward, soldier!”  Reluctantly I obeyed his command and moved forward.  The bus was empty.  I was the only passenger on board. 

These images remain indelibly sculpted in my memory banks.  Suddenly I realized that I was in the Deep South, the segregated south about which I had heard so little back home in New England, but as an abstract concept, I admit now. 

On one of the weekend passes, during my assignment to Fort Gordon, a couple fellow soldiers and I decided to go to Savannah, Georgia for an overnight stay.  We had heard that it was a nice beach town.  We got there by bus from Augusta.  After a quick lunch at a fast food joint we decided to go to a nearby bar for a beer.  Once inside, we sat at a table and waited for the bartender to come take our order.  When he asked me what I wanted, I told him that I wanted a bottle of dark beer.  He noticed immediately my accent and he asked me if I was a “Spic.”  I answered politely: “No sir, I am Italian.”  To which he said: “Then you are a Spic!”  “No, sir, I am Italian!”  “Do you know who is a spic?”  “No, sir, I do not.”  He then explained that Spic is an acronym for “Spanish, Porto Rican, Italian, and Colored.”  To which, I said:  “I guess I am a spic after all.” “Come with me, soldier!”  I reluctantly followed him to the front door.  He then asked me if I had read the sign on the door when I entered.  I had not.  “What does it say, soldier?” I read the sign out loud: No Spics or Dogs Allowed. 

My fellow soldiers did not passively stand by, they wanted to do mayhem.  I asked them to leave quietly with me and find a friendlier place.  Reluctantly they followed my advice.  We did not look for another bar, disconsolate we returned to base.   I found the experience humiliating and profoundly troubling.  Southerners did not just dislike Blacks; they apparently also disliked Latinos and Southern Europeans. 

Back to the Present

I was living in sunny California during the civil right march, busy raising a family, and anxious to get my budding career off the ground.  I would watch the nightly news with Walter Cronkite and see the disturbing scenes.  They were abstract and distant.  

I wondered out loud why such hate and violence, but I rationalized that there was little or nothing I could do about it.  The only tool at my disposal was my vote as a newly minted U.S. citizen, and I vowed to use it to support more enlightened politicians.   After the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, I chose not to vote in silent protest for over two decades. 

To this day, I regret that I did not have the means or the opportunity to march in support of the civil rights movement.  Many folks, Black and White, suffered, persevered, and a few died so that Spics like me would also be able to eat at any establishment, be treated with respect, benefit from equal employment opportunities, and be permitted to live our lives happily and safely.  

I owe much to Dr. King and the many who followed his campaign for equality and social justice.  Their sacrifice was not in vain.  They made it possible for all of us, regardless of race, national origin, gender, age or handicap to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Where were you during the 1960’s?  What are your thoughts about the civil right movement?  How might we advance equality under law and social justice?

The Limits of Freedom of Speech

We celebrate freedom of speech as one of our cherished rights.  But is this freedom without any limits?  Should we be permitted to offend another person’s family, religion, physical traits, and country?  I do not think so.

Events unfolding in front of our eyes in France, Belgium, and Denmark highlight the need for circumspection about the right of free speech.  It is not limitless.  Like all rights we enjoy there are boundaries.  Those boundaries are violated whenever others find our speech offensive, in my view.  Flaunting freedom of speech obscures the  limits set by good manners and in some cases by laws.

Pope Francis reminds us that insulting one’s mother could be met with a slap in the face or worse. So when does speech by one person become an insult to others?  Are free to insult others willy-nilly?  I do not think so.  Should our speech provoke and be offensive to others?  I do not think so. 

A day does not pass that we are not subjected to gruesome pictures of murders of all kinds … drive-bys, mass executions, bombings, ethnic and religious strife, and so on.  There is no end in sight, it seems.  The reporting often seems to distort the causes, the impact, and the suffering.  There appears to be emphasis in reporting who commits these crimes, and not that these crimes are all irreprehensible.

Perhaps one of the most troubling aspects for me is the hypocrisy of society at large.  We are taught to be civil, politically correct, least we offend others who are different in skin color, religious persuasion, gender, age, handicap, and heritage.  We even have laws that prohibit racial, gender, or ethnic slurs, for example, contributing to a hostile workplace. 

Although I am against killing of any kind, the fervor about freedom of speech in Europe leaves me cold.  Some of the cartoons deriding Prophet Muhammad appear to be provocations and incendiary.  Insulting someone else’s religious beliefs, in my view, goes beyond the boundaries of good taste and the political correctness that we proudly promote. 

I am not an apologist for the actions of those who in the name of God commit murders. I am just a by-stander fed up with the carnage I see every night or read about every day.  I say stop insulting other people’s beliefs … have more respect for our differences. 

Freedom of speech does not include diarrhea of the mouth.  I do not see the point of ridiculing someone else beliefs in the name of freedom of speech.  I do not approve of provoking others to commit assaults of any kind.  Do you? 

  

Publishing My First Book

    For years colleagues and friends have suggested that I write a book about my experience as an international consultant, executive, and organization development specialist.  I have demurred for lack of a burning desire to do so, and by the thought that I might not have much to add to what has already been said more eloquently by others.  

     Since my retirement I publish two different blogs.  In one I share my thoughts, insights, and observations with colleagues and ex-coworkers collected over many years of working, managing, and consulting.  In the other I share general observations about world events, politics, and social issues. Of the one-hundred plus postings, about 20% have generated interest and commentary.  Although my sample is relatively small, it seems that, on occasion, I do push some buttons.   There is no hidden, running theme among these postings or any particular message behind them.  Some are humorous; others possibly intriguing; and a few perhaps painful caricatures of life.   

     I have been complimented by friends and colleagues on my story telling ability.  Perhaps, there is a little Fellini in my approach.  Federico Fellini, the well-known and award-winning Italian movie director and screenwriter, captured our imagination with his neo-realist films.  In his films, he combined fantasy and baroque images to illustrate the day-to-day life of common people.  He was a master of irony, combining often comedic with tragic events to take the edge off painful life situations and challenges.  I am not in the same class as this great artist, just a humble imitator.  

     

     Another person that has impacted my style is the well known Nobel Prize winner for literature and fellow Sicilian Luigi Pirandello.  His famous play Six Characters in Search of an Author has been a cherished pair of lenses that has helped me peek inside contemporary organizations.   Pirandello’s play describes the relationship between authors, their characters, and theater practitioners.  The play showcases the unexpected arrival of six strangers.  It turns out that they were unfinished characters in search of an author to finish their story.  During my working life, I have seen different people assume different roles inside an organizational story … leaders, individual contributors, managers, wives and husbands, and owners … sometimes hiding their real self and not ready to play out their part.  I am not in Pirandello’s class, by any means either, just a humble admirer.

   A third person captured my imagination as a student of organizations. His name is Jerry B. Harvey, Professor Emeritus of Management at the George Washington University.  He is the author of more than 50 articles and two books:  The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management, and How Come Every Time I Get Stabbed in the Back, My Fingerprints Are on the Knife?  He is also featured in three classic teaching videos focusing on organization behavior:  The Asoh Defense, The Gunsmoke Phenomenon, and The Abilene Paradox.  Harvey is a master storyteller.  He interjects humor with an aw-shucks style to bring across complex organizational principles and insights.  I credit his work as a big help in my practice as an organization consultant.  When possible, I try to imitate his approach, surely not with his level of effectiveness.

     It has been said that we spend, as adults, most of our time, awake, inside organizations, first as employees and later, if we are at the right place at the right time, as managers or consultants.   To my knowledge, there is no course in high school or college that prepares us for working and living inside such a complex system.  We are usually taught abstract concepts and theories intended primarily for managers, consultants or aspirants.  I do not feel qualified to write this course. 

     Instead I have chosen writing a novel, my first one.  It is a fictional story about a young man who grows up in a sea of contradictions, but lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time.  He goes about living a successful academic and professional life, but he never manages to resolve significant incongruities.  The title of the novel appropriately is Giacomo’s Luck Runs Out.  It will be published in April and it will be available on Amazon in paperback or in Kindle versions.  I have chosen the pen name of Antonio G. Sacchetta.  I hope you will read it and send me your comments. 

     I have already started my research for my second novel.  I have discovered that writing is addictive and that it is an easy way to discover your own unresolved issues and dilemmas.  I encourage you to write, even if it is for just yourself.