Chris and I are spending the week at a non-partisan conference where players from diverse industries explore ideas & trends they find most relevant to the world today. As we can steal time to do so, we’ll send out field dispatches with our notable observations from the event.
First, a little about the company here. It’s a medley of politicians, financiers, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, activists, scientists, religious leaders, actors, media personalities, and educators – of all generations. Some of those here are household names; all are engaged in endeavors that impact society in some noteworthy shape or form. It’s both a fascinating and intimidating crew to mix with.
Chris and I are here to get first-hand visibility into the issues these decision-makers are focused on, as well as to engage their attention on our mission. Can they introduce new perspective or support that will help us better serve our readers?
This morning we attended panel discussions on politics, energy supply, investing, the economy, and social media. Here are our takeaways so far.
Adam’s Observations
- Congress is NOT ignorant of the frustrations and concerns important to the CM.com community. However, they have no collective vision or momentum on how to resolve them.
- Several current and former US Congress members were among those discussing the current condition of the American Dream. All note that the country is increasingly concerned future generations will have a lower standard of living than today’s (economically, socially, and culturally). I was surprised at the extent to which they “got” the angst of the masses, even demonstrating a self-awareness that the average American (e.g., the middle class) suspects its business and political leaders of acting in interests different from their own. But this welcome insight produces no results. Zero-sum-game-obsessed partisanship (very present even in this “friendly & neutral” venue) is paralyzing any collective action – no huge news there – but there appears to be no willingness or mechanism within government to seriously discuss sacrifice. Even while as individuals they agree that we have large and complicated problems to deal with due to our past excesses, there are no visible indications that our politicians are engaged in even the preliminary work of sizing up the scope and nature of these problems. One gets the sense the two parties are still arguing over who gets to drive well after the car has veered off the road and is in mid-air plummet.
by mobius