Greetings and good afternoon from the foothills of the Appalachian’s, where light snow means the color, not the depth.
As 2022 comes to a close, I remain the youthful, optimistic idealist, especially when I focus on the future. I shall always be grateful for the friendships I have found, the
mentors I have met, especially people of all ages from too many cultures and countries to count, that have shown me their view of the world. Thus, I conclude
when people from other cultures and countries look at the same thing we look at, they see different things, they see different pasts, presents and futures. This I have
come to call, ‘strategic insight’, which candidly has served me well.
It is through this insight that I see the opportunities that will and have begun to make themselves visible. Opportunities that may last for six to eighteen months, in
many places. The challenge for the United States, its partners in progress, and allies in advancement is because of the current success, we may miss the ability
to leverage the opportunities as they materialize.
Putin is failing but will continue to fight because he cannot and will not stop. Meanwhile, halfway around the world from Moscow, Xi is at risk not from an
external threat, but from his greatest fear-the Chinese people, who may no longer be afraid of him or the other ‘boys in Beijing.’
Time will tell.
To paraphrase Richard Bach: “if one argues for one’s own limitations, one often succeeds.”
Now is the time to tackle the incurable diseases, to protect the environment from the bottom up, to halt hate, which is being leveraged by malign actors seeking to
divide nations from within, because they are not strong enough to impose their will
from the outside.
In the past, if an enemy, an adversary, a malign actor leafletted one of our military bases or government institutions, every member of the workforce, civilian or military,
would be put on notice and be asked to join the effort to identify and mitigate the threat. Yet today, because the leaflets are made of electrons, not molecules, we
find ourselves tied in knots, not able to engage in a moment’s notice, and not mindful of contemporized history. If the war in the Pacific turned on the Battle of
Midway, which was six months after Pearl Harbor, we have yet to recognize that because of technology, the internet, information, and artificial intelligence, six
months in 1942 is now merely six minutes in 2022.
Now is the time, we can and must come together, to become communities once again, recognizing and respecting our neighbors, even if we don’t agree on
everything or anything.
Now is the time.
If we seize the moment, together, we can accomplish anything. Please feel free to pass this content along to your colleagues, friends, and/or
family. I also encourage you to send me your content suggestions as well. In the meantime, I hope the new the year finds you, your family, and friends with all
the health and happiness you desire.
Stay safe and healthy.
See You Next Year.
