The Donkey, The Elephant and the Stan McChrystal school of responsibility

It's obvious that American political life needs a renewed culture of responsibility. The President has his 'matrix' and too many Republicans remain unwilling to speak up for the ethos of reason.

This speaks to something deeper. American politicians need to remember a long forgotten truth - responsibility and effective service are mutually dependent. American politicians need an example.

Stan McChrystal offers one.

Don't get me wrong, I know that McChrystal resigned amidst scandal. Ultimately however, that's the key point - McChrystal's imperfect life story speaks to the merits of responsibility. He proves the truth that so many reject - the truth that a life of honor need not be defined by a moment of disrepute. That redemption isn't just possible, but empowering.

McChrystal's life proves that taking political responsibility (whether via a resignation, or unqualified apology, or changing approach etc.) makes virtuous sense. As I see it, McChrystal's example offers three particular lessons.

1) The responsibility of accepting failure fosters 'institutional learning' - Absent a perceivable culture of responsibility, of 'institutional learning', leaders cannot inspire/expect high standards of initiative, conduct and commitment from their staff. This is critically important for an institution/company/political party/government's long term effectiveness. As McChrystal notes in regards to US Special Forces, accepting (rather than hiding from) failure enabled the stellar capabilities that define that military branch today. The lesson is clear - without a perceivable willingness to engage in serious introspection, trust hemorrhages from government.

2) Responsibility connects government to society - With public regard for government at an all time low, the need for a better union between politicians and society is great. The dichotomy is clear. While many Americans believe that their employment performance is inextricably tied to future advancement/employment opportunities, the political class is seen to play by a different set of rules. Or no rules at all (voting in ways that simply facilitate future careers on K Street). By taking responsibility as McChrystal did when he resigned, politicians would be seen as serious, accountable, respectable and redeemable (Mark Sanford won election to Congress because he was seen to have accepted and apologized for his indiscretions. At least in part, Weiner failed because he was seen as having attempted to evade his indiscretions).

3) Responsibility makes patriotic-political sense - In the face of his controversy, McChrystal resigned without qualification. In his words - as commander, “you’re responsible for everything bad that happens and everything good, and I accept that.'' In the end, McChrystal implicitly recognized that the 'service' is more important than 'the servant'. By putting the ideal before himself, McChrystal overcame his scandal. In its dissipating wake, he's cultivated a highly respected place in American society. But he's done more than that, he's also given strength to the notion of responsible public service.

American politicians could learn much from his example.

Shutdown, ObamaCare and what it all means

Interviewed by AJ Delgado (video below), I offer my thoughts on the shutdown, ObamaCare and the broader ideological disagreements sustaining the discord.

The Skills Race: 5 problems with America's education system

The chart says it all. When it comes to literacy and numeracy, Americans are far from exceptional.

The OECD’s report into adult skills is a much needed wake-up call. In our age; the age of the globalized economy, a cavalier attitude to education won’t cut it any longer. Here are five specific inadequacies that we need to address.

1) Educational Management

Ultimately, education is about fostering intellectually curious citizens. ‘Fostered curiosity’ is critically important. After all, mandatory schooling ends at age 18. When we graduate from High School, it’s up to us to decide whether we pursue greater knowledge or skills. However, unless our preceding educational background is positive – unless we see value in knowing more, our interest in learning will atrophy. This is a basic fact of pivotal importance; as the OECD report notes, facilitating lifelong learning is paramount. Yet, instead of embracing the facts, schools across America are hampered by an excessive bureaucracy that punishes learning. Take the SAT. With its multiple-choice fetishism and its defining influence in college admissions, the SAT is both intellectually retrograde and omnipotent in its shaping impact. In forcing teachers to ‘teach the test’ rather than spark knowledge, the SAT teaches students to regard their education in a perniciously one dimensional manner. In doing so, it fails to encourage exceptional students and it fails to support struggling students. It defers developmental curiosity to college. In the end, the costs are clear. Those students who don’t go to college? They’re left behind. Those who do go to college? They have to learn how to learn.

In America today, true learning is a privilege for the few rather than a right for all. We need an education system that enshrines testing in creative thought as well as retention of facts.

2) Educational Culture

As in South Korea and Japan, we must come to realize that the responsibility for an education does not end at the school gate. That in fact, parents have a central role in helping their children learn. Our national ‘blame the teacher’ syndrome is an indictment on our burgeoning spoon fed society – expectation without endeavor. From both the left and the right, we need to empower parents with the tools to know if they’re children are being well served. The George W Bush Center's Global Report Card is a good example of one such tool. At the same time, while our teachers deserve respect, teachers unions deserve scrutiny. Children are the future of American, they’re not political pawns.

Let’s be clear, until we get real about our educational culture, we’ll be unable to win the skilled, well-paying jobs of the future.

3) Costs v Outcomes

America spends a great deal on education. Yet, as the OECD study and countless others prove, skill based outcomes do not correlate with our investments. One major problem is the scarcity of merit based reward systems. When the best teachers have two choices – to either to take employment at private schools which offer the best income, or serve in poorer school districts that cannot afford to reward their talents, the consequence is a growing equality-opportunity gap. Equally crucial, we must break education funding away from hypothecated county taxes – educational opportunity must not be shaped by the wealth of one’s locality. We also need to empower Principals with far greater control over their budgets - both in terms of hiring/firing and setting individual compensation levels. Indeed, in appointing principals, we should look beyond the education sector for leaders in business and other public policy areas.

Of course, even as we address middle-high school education, we must also face up to the reality that American colleges are simply too expensive for too many who leave school to continue their studies. A skills based future demands more than chucking Federal grants and hoping for the best. We need to pressure higher education facilities to bring down their price tags.

4) Discipline

Speak to a teacher and they’ll likely tell you that they spend nearly as much time dealing with disruptive students as they do teaching. That has to change. Linking with parental responsibility, we should consider extending truancy fine into the classroom. Sustained poor behavior = parents get an invoice. It’s true, many will howl at the very notion of such a proposal. Regardless, we can no longer allow a few individuals to damage the futures of their peers. That approach is morally unjust and in societal terms, it’s also profoundly idiotic.

5) Sport

America is obsessed with high school sports. In one sense this is good – our celebration of shared athletic excellence is an intrinsic part of our American community spirit. Still, though sporting success may help students gain admission into college, few such students will become professional athletes. In this vein, academics must come first. We have to ensure that students possess the basic skills that they’ll need to succeed outside the major leagues. Additionally, we need to do more to recognize those students who excel in fields beyond sports. Whether art, math, debating or football, individual excellence should be judged on merits rather than form. As George Gershwin, Mark Twain and Steve Jobs attest, individual excellence isn't predicated in the movement of a ball.

             

               In the end, we must take heed of the modern age. As a people, our relentless ‘can do’ attitude has always been our greatest ally. It’s what the world most respects in us. Yet divorced from skill, hard work alone is no longer enough. Ultimately, America’s limitless potential has always taken root in our binding of social aspiration to individual ability.

Until we right our education system to that proven course, America’s better future will meet an unyielding wall.

Also, please check out my piece on 3 lessons American public schools can learn from British private schools.

Photo: University of Detroit Mercy

Massacre at the Navy Yard - 5 Thoughts

I have a few thoughts on yesterday's incident at the Washington Navy Yard.

1) Investigation

The first investigative priority for the FBI/partners is to ascertain why and how this attack occurred. Did Aaron Alexis act alone? What were his motivations? What degree of premeditation was involved? Why did Alexis travel from Texas to DC? Specifically, why did he attack the Navy Yard? How was Alexis able to do this and this and nevertheless also attain a security clearance? On this last point, precluding some special skill that necessitated his hiring, this warrant of trust was (even without hindsight) obviously undeserved.

2) 'Control' Arguments

In the context of today's release of Grand Theft Auto 5 and Alexis's apparent interest in violent video games, some commentators will probably call for tougher controls on video games (as I've argued before, this censorship argument is both constitutionally and logically absurd). 

However, regarding the Navy Yard, the gun control argument deserves a deeper rebuttal. 

Anti-gun activists like to claim that firearms should be left to trained officials - police officers etc. But if they're truly honest in that opinion, why won't they allow military personnel to be armed on facility? 

Unfortunately, we're always going to have murderers like Alexis and morons like the firecracker thrower. This sad reality is not unique to America; evil bears no attention to borders. Yet, by explicitly ignoring the fact that highly restrictive gun laws in DC/the Navy Yard did nothing to prevent this attack, gun control activists are implicitly ignoring reality. Those of us who support the 2nd Amendment have logical, deeply felt reasons for doing so. We deserve more than the scornful disdain of casual authoritarians.

3) Motivations for Evil

This was a terrible tragedy. Yet, we have to be honest... it was also limited. Thanks to the skill of DC first responders, a relatively small number of people were killed. 

Still, the public reaction to this outrage has been huge. We've seen an outpouring of grief across America; reflecting this truth, all the major news networks have relocated their senior anchors to the scene of the attack. They know Americans want answers.

This unified national sympathy represents the best of America - our concern for the innocent stranger. But it also hints at something else - an explanation as to why individuals like Alexis and terrorists like the Woolwich killers, or ISIS, do what they do. In short, because they realize that one atrocity can create waves of mass attention, evil individuals are emboldened to malevolent actions. 

In turn, this is why our anguish must always be matched by abiding resolve. We must not buckle in face of terror.

4) Partisanship v Leadership

The President should be ashamed of himself. Yesterday was not time for partisanship. After their Syria debacle, you'd think that the White House communications team would proceed with caution.

5) Global Honor

Finally, just as we rightly pay homage to the men and women who wear America's uniform (and to the emergency services who risk their lives to save others), we must also remember that the cause of honor is a global one.

My other relevant writings can be found under the 'Other' heading of this link.