INFORMATION IS NOT KNOWLEDGE

An enigma of our modern world has never been more evident than over the past several months.  The more advanced our culture becomes, the less we seem to know.  The more tools we have to solve problems, the more unsolvable the problems appear to be.  Perhaps an answer to this paradox lies in the immortal words of Frank Zappa: “Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom.”

This is the information age and we are drowning in it.  Before my next plane flight I will first check ticket prices from multiple sources within minutes. I will then be issued my ticket electronically, choose my own seat and be able to check on any delays, with a few key strokes. Once on the plane, I can use the internet from my seat and make calls on my cellular phone to any corner of the globe.

We track climbers as they ascend Mt. Everest and a woman rowing across the ocean.  Trucking companies know the exact location of each of their rigs, 24/7.  The minute a freedom fighter is killed in Syria, it is recorded on You Tube.  We can detect a small earthquake anywhere on earth and the explosion of a star a quintillion miles away.  But for several weeks and counting, we have no idea where or why a massive commercial airliner with its passengers and crew disappeared into a modern day  twilight zone.

What does this incident tell us about our use of information to solve problems?  Certainly, in hindsight, there was enough information available to locate this aircraft had a knowledgeable plan or technology been put in place. Either the problem was never imagined or the solution thought to be too expensive. (Does anyone think this scenario could happen to Air Force One?) In either case we have limited our ability to solve a problem by not properly using the information available to us.

There are other recent examples.  The roll out of HealthCare.gov was a disaster. This was not because of limited information, but because unknowledgeable actors who thought in terms of social concerns and not technology, were placed in charge.  Sort of the opposite of the team that came together to perfect the atomic bomb. 

Global warming events are another example.  The information supporting these phenomena has been available for many years and have translated into pockets of unassailable knowledge by the world’s leading scientists.  This knowledge explains the problem and proposes solutions.  Unfortunately many individuals and even global leaders have twisted or simply ignored the science for their own purposes.  If enough sources are willing to take this risk, the information becomes useless.

Sometimes there are tradeoffs between obtaining information to gain limited knowledge on the one hand and human rights, most notably privacy, on the other.  The more cameras that are installed, listening devices utilized and mail read, by well meaning investigators, the more crime that can be prevented.  But how much is too much and what is the cost to democratic principles?  Should the information be used, simply because it is available?

On a larger transcendental scale, one would think that the more information that is synthesized into knowledge about our shared evolutionary past and most recently, the disclosures on the beginning of the universe, the closer we would become as a world community in respecting each other.  Of course the opposite is the case.  Tribalism, kinship culture and fundamental religious beliefs rule the day, not the common cause for humanity.

Part of the problem may be that the information age is so new.  We like to have fun with it by getting immediate answers to all our questions, like a 24/7 Jeopardy game.  We do not like our old traditions and beliefs to be challenged.  We see the new information revolution as a means to instant gratification, not a path toward change or growth.

I believe that in the decades to come, the information age will give way to the knowledge age.  This will be a time when the view that more information is better will be replaced by the urge to sift through the existing data to find value.  The fun and games of social media will become passé.  The need to know everything about each other will be replaced by the desire to know more about ourselves, how things work, where we fit into the world and how we can improve it.  This will be a major step forward in our history.  Information will be crafted into knowledge on a global scale.

When this happens, commercial aircraft will not disappear without answers, the government will learn how to implement large computer projects and scientific evidence will be accepted and acted upon.  But this will be the least of it. As humankind begins to understand who we are, where we came from and where we are going, hostilities will diminish.  Perhaps this will be the beginning of the next major transition: from knowledge to wisdom.

 

         

SECOND POT OF COFFEE THOUGHTS

·       If all of us began the day reading and reflecting on the daily comics, the world would be a better place.

·       President Obama would have been well served by reading Dilbert before giving the green light to HealthCare.gov in October. He would have learned that when pointy haired bosses in suits are permitted to get in the way of geeky engineers in crooked ties, nothing good can happen.

·       If Vladimir Putin read Zits, Mutts and Baby Blues each morning he would conclude that Americans are a lot like Russians.

·       New Jersey Governor Chris Christie must be thrilled that the Ukraine and Crimea have replaced Hoboken and Fort Lee in the daily news cycle.

·       There should be a rule on the cable news channels that before one talking head can criticize another, something positive must be said about the opponent.

·       Now that a Field and Stream store is coming to Washington, outdoor enthusiasts will be able to buy guns and fishing tackle from an even wider assortment of vendors.  For the rest of us, is one book store and a small movie theater to show films like Philomena asking for too much?

·       A trip to South Florida, where poor immigrants and first generation workers make up a large percentage of the population, gives one a unique prospective on our country’s social issues.  These workers are employed in the hotels and restaurants, keep all the tropical plants and grass under control and pick the fruit and vegetables.  For them, a living wage, health care and immigration reform are all life changing events.

·       Now that the winter storms all have names and the polar vortex has invaded the north our weather is much more exciting to those who wake up to boring 80 degree weather in Miami and Naples.

·       Sometimes I wish that the comic strips Bizarro and The Argyle Sweater had an answer key at the bottom of the page.

WORKPLACE DIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON COUNTY

When I bring up employment diversity in Washington County I get blank stares from even my liberal friends.  Those who are willing to discuss the issue often accuse me of running out of problems that need attention and of inventing a new one.  I think they are wrong.  Workforce diversity is a social issue that Washington County has yet to acknowledge or address.  The time to do so is now.

Anyone who claims that Washington County should leave well enough alone when it comes to diversity is really saying we are a rural, white, monoculture community and not likely to change.  While we are certainly not Allegheny County, Washington is evolving in its demographic makeup every day.  The last census found 15% of our more urban neighbor to the north to be African American or Hispanic.  The same census found a 5% total for Washington County.  No one believes our Hispanic population has remained the same since the last census.  It should be obvious to all that we continue to evolve economically and culturally as a direct result of the gas industry and other factors.

But workforce diversity does not simply mean acknowledging an increase in minority citizens.  It involves much more: encouraging prospective minority employees, particularly in the sectors that service the community, to work and live in Washington County. It focuses on physicians, teachers, policemen, court staff, attorneys, social workers, county workers and many others.  It involves recruiting, training and retaining a diverse workforce because it is the right thing to do in our multicultural society.

It is important to point out that developing an environment for diversity has nothing to do with affirmative action or discrimination. Rather, it is recognition that people who look different and have different professional and personal experiences, values and priorities can bring valuable skills and perspectives to the employment table.  It is a recognition in my profession, for example, that by recruiting black attorneys to practice in Washington County, not only is the African American community better served but so is the broader community, the Courts and the Bar Association.

A commitment to diversity must start at the top.   Diversity training and programs should be initiated by the Commissioners, other municipal leaders, school officials, the Washington County Court System, the County Bar Association, Rotary and Chamber of Commerce.  Once a culture of diversity is established, qualified candidates in all fields will get the message, that Washington County values diversity.  These prospective employees will discover what we already know, our community is an ideal place to work and raise a family.  We will all benefit as a result.

JERSEY POLITICS

Leave it to my home state to create a political scandal more entertaining than the Good Wife. Being born and bred in New Jersey I did not think anything could surprise me about politics in the Garden State.  My Great Uncle was a State Senator in Jersey City in the 1930s.  A time of backrooms full of cigar smoke, when money was passed under the table to form political alliances.  I inherited his “Tycoon” pocket watch.  If only watches could talk.

  The Chris Christie debacle does surprise me.  Governor Christie grew up in the rough and tumble world made famous by Boardwalk Empire and the Sopranos. Not as mobbed up as in the past but still tough as nails.  Opponents do not end up in dumpsters anymore, but those on the short end of the ballot box have all the political gravy taken away from them.  Former allies become enemies quicker than in the Roman Forum.  Christie not only knows the rules of New Jersey politics, he has used them to his advantage better than anyone else in recent memory.

The baffling thing about the Christie crisis, where his staff intentionally caused traffic havoc on the George Washington Bridge for four days, is that the pay back was focused on voters and not politicians. Christie is too politically astute to sanction such an action on the front end of a presidential run. This was a bad idea from his subordinates, made worse in the execution.  His Port Authority appointee and high school chum, who took the fifth rather than answer questions, has always been a rouge political operative. His top aide, who was fired by the Governor, has the look of a follower who got caught up in a ridiculous scheme.

          There is no question that if Governor Christie has understated his involvement in the decision to cause the massive traffic jam, he is toast on the national stage.  Even If he is able to maneuver out of this mess and resume his quest for the Republican nomination for President, the issue of his vendetta style of politics will continue to haunt him.

 Iowa conservatives will find it difficult to relate to a New Jersey Politician who governs through power calculations and not ideology. After all, most of their forefathers from the Corn Belt supported prohibition and did not try to turn it to a political advantage.  They would not have lasted a week in Jersey City in the 1930s.  Nor will they approve of New Jersey politics as it exists today.

FAITH IN GOVERNMENT

For those of us who view life with a broad brush, what would constitute a good year in 2014?  An accelerated economic recovery?  Progress in the Mid East and a lowering of tensions in the Far East?  Immigration and tax reform?  My vote, by a mile, would be a restoration of the people’s dwindling faith in the political institutions which form the basis of our constitutional republic.

          Many events in 2014 are either pre ordained or beyond our control. The churn of the economic cycle will guarantee that our economy makes progress in 2014, no matter what political party is in power.  On the other hand, international events, despite America’s diplomacy, are largely loose cannons and not subject to influence.  Immigration and tax reform are but pawns on the partisan political battlefield.  And therein lies the problem.

          Those matters over which our political institutions do have control are not being addressed.  The national debt, saving Social Security and Medicare, growing inequality, serious jobs programs, education reform, physical and mental health programs, gun violence, replacement of an aging infrastructure and the above mentioned immigration and tax reform issues are permitted to stand unattended and get worse, year after year, decade after decade.

           The last 5 years have been singularly abysmal in addressing these problems.  The transformative election of President Obama has become a lightning rod sending the minions of ideologs of all stripes to the barricades.  Congressional and presidential approval ratings are rightly at all time lows. The middle class with its common sense and balance on most issues is by some accounts restless and discontent.  By other accounts the middle class is disappearing.  By all accounts it has lost faith in the ability of its political institutions to make rational decisions for the good of the country.

          Liberal progressives on one end of the stage and conservative populists on the other will rarely be happy with how government works. For both extremes ideology trumps incremental change and compromise.  There is nothing wrong with this as long as those on the left and right are seeking to move the middle by a degree or two and the middle controls the agenda.   I myself am a progressive and believe my voice is needed to balance the other end of the political spectrum.  What is new and troubling is that the majority of patrons in the audience, the middle class, believe they are not being well served.  In fact they are often shut out of the national political process, a dire development for our republic.

The middle class are correct in concluding that small groups of the ideologically motivated are directing the play.  Moderates see their elected representatives buying into these small ideological groups by courting the large pools of campaign financing and politically active supporters available at the fringes.  When being elected becomes the goal rather than governing, it is impossible for the majority of Americans to benefit.  For example it has become increasingly unlikely for a moderate republican or democrat to win a federal election because the fringes control the primaries.  The result is do nothing political institutions, with brief periods of crisis management and brinksmanship.

What is to be done?  Middle class voters should remember that faith in political institutions without action is dead.  Don’t wait for that hated political pollster on the telephone with his loaded questions.  Go out and make some noise.  Moderate voters must help moderate candidates take back the primaries.  Working on a campaign must receive the same priority as the Cub Scouts or PTA.  Independents must join a political party and vote in the primaries.  The middle class must shout down the noise coming from fringe cable and radio programs. It should insist that their political actors represent their broader interests and not waste the people’s time presenting angry soliloquies designed to encourage a tiny base and to inflame the opposition’s tiny base.

A word about state and local political institutions. For the most part, both are healthy and thriving.  State governments must deal with balanced budgets and are much closer to the social problems that require attention.  Local government must deal with fixing the roads and removing the snow and garbage.  Politicos find it difficult to draw battle lines around such tasks.  Moreover, the closer voters are to their political institutions, the easier to elect officials with shared practical goals.

The Majority of Americans, who want to see progress on important national issues in 2014 need to stop becoming irrelevant and to take action.  Circulate a petition at the book club, quilting circle or grange meeting.  Tell your elected representatives what you expect them to accomplish in 2014.  There is little that can be done about the economy or the Mid East.  On important domestic issues progress can be made.  Moderate Americans can take the country back from the fringes and again control the national agenda.  What a hopeful wish for 2014.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE MAYOR

In my view, there has not been a great deal of press coverage concerning Washington Mayor, Brenda Davis during the past year.  This would, no doubt, be considered good news for the Mayor because the public is most interested in missteps and gaffes and not the day to day administration of city government.  On the other hand, Ms. Davis deserves hardy congratulations for her body of work and public encouragement for the difficult decisions yet to come during her tenure as Mayor.

          Recently I had the opportunity to attend a meeting with the Mayor, in my role as a representative for Wash Arts.  We were seeking help and advice as we worked to get back on our feet.  Mayor Davis struck me as living and breathing her position as Mayor.  She has grown from “a lady in the room” to a presence, sure of herself and her role in the community.  Her knowledge of municipal law and suggestions on how to improve the relationship between Wash Arts and the City were impressive.

          Of the four stages that a new public official must pass through: getting elected; learning the bureaucracy; performing her daily functions; and planning for the future, Mayor Davis has clearly accomplished the first three.  How she handles the fourth will determine whether she will be remembered as a good Mayor or a great one.

City-County cooperation on cost sharing (municipal services) and cost saving (procurement of supplies) must be pushed by the City.  Municipal contracts must be negotiated that are reasonable and respect the new realities of pensions and health insurance.  The unique features of the City of Washington in terms of location, history, and opportunity must be marketed.  Last of all Washington County is undergoing rapid and significant change.  The City must demand its fair share of the economic expansion and not be left behind.

All of us living in or near the City can help the Mayor achieve these goals.  We must understand the issues and offer our support. Mayor Davis is the right official for the job and will succeed if we have her back.

THE CHALLENGE OF INEQUALITY

 

The presenter at the Peters Town Hall Speaker Series, Ms. Zanny Minton Beddoes, gave an over the moon talk on Tuesday, December 3.  As an editor for the Economist, she took her audience around the world, in explaining the state and interconnectivity of the international economy.  Being British and working for a British publication, she could step back from the myopic view of the American press and place world economic events in context.  If a transcript of her talk is available I would urge anyone interested in world events to read it.

Ms. Minton Beddoes ended her lecture by explaining the social forces she believes will shape the future and gave us her acronym: “dead drunk under the influence”.  She uses this ominous phrase to help remember her four horseman of social change: debt, demographics, unemployment and inequality.

She believes that debt is not an immediate problem for the large western nations, including the United States, but remains the scourge of Southern Europe.  On demographics and aging populations, she reminded the audience that more elderly Asians are in diapers than are infants.  On unemployment, she believes the number of young unemployed in Southern Europe and the Mid East could easily lead to political instability.

It was Ms. Minton Beddoes comments on inequality that most interested me.  She believes this may be the greatest problem facing our country.  She presented statistical evidence that the United States has regressed back to the gilded age of the robber barons when it comes to income inequality.  She is concerned that America’s urban areas will be divide between the “haves” in walled off splendor and the “have nots” with substandard housing, education and social programs.

Ironically, the day after the above lecture was given President Obama made inequality a major focal point for the remainder of his term in office.  He gave a speech, agreeing with Ms. Minton Beddoes, that the rapidly growing deficit of opportunity is a bigger threat than the fiscal deficit.  The President stated: “The basic bargain at the heart of our economy has frayed” and that Americans should be offended that a child born into poverty has such a hard time escaping it. 

Hopefully the Republican Party will not seize on this policy initiative to call the President a socialist (or worse). His words echo the recent views of Pope Francis and other world leaders and could form the basis for political resolve on both sides of the political aisle.  In this holiday season, how could anyone disagree that each child who goes to bed hungry or is denied a good education or the elderly homeless person who dies from exposure is a more important story than the stock market results?  But the daily news cycle shows the opposite to be the case. 

The President has placed inequality at the front of the news cycle.  Now is the time to press ahead and to propose positive policy initiatives.  People’s frustrations with the “do nothing Congress” could quickly be reversed by attacking head on the frustrations that many citizens encounter in not being able to make ends meet, no matter how hard they work.  He can begin by vetoing any reduction in food stamp allotment and working to replace reductions in important social programs cut by the automatic sequester last year.