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False Dichotomy: We Are the Third Way

By Chris Cote

When I was in college, the president of the university was gracious enough to meet with me in his office. There was an agenda, but when we finished with that he asked me to stick around and talk.  How was I doing?  What was going on in my life?  He was and is an extremely busy man, but was genuinely interested in my life (and I was no special case, he showed this compassion for each student he came across).  I wasn’t expecting this and I seized up, just for a second. I was nervous to come up with something interesting (he’s very nice, but I’m sure he didn’t want to hear about the final exams my head was buried in).

The day before, I had watched two university faculty members debate whether an undergraduate’s time should be spent engrossed in theory or filled with activism and service.  This was a conversation I had heard many times before, but had not come to any firm conclusion. Neither did the professors.  I took the opportunity and presented my dilemma to the president.  He just smiled.

“Chris, there’s no need to choose between the two.  You’ve created a false dichotomy. A student’s time need not be spent solely in the library or just organizing rallies or doing service abroad.”  The point was to balance the two, and by presenting the question as a debate, it allowed students to find the missing middle—that theory and action go hand in hand, a key focus of the university, especially its international relations program.… Continue reading

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A Dearth of Vision: The Need for a New American Road

By Akio Matsumura

America’s leadership—in Washington and in each state—is gridlocked.  And instead of politicians and economists coming to the rescue, they are the ones causing the traffic jam.  Myopic leadership coupled with recycled policies are clogging the road forward.  Governor Jerry Brown’s victory in California encouraged me greatly.  His bold ideas will help California to close its yawning fiscal and social gaps, but we need individual leadership and creative vision across the board.  Some years ago I missed an opportunity to bring together some of the country’s most visionary minds to discuss our common future. Such a meeting, if held now, would help to energize America enormously.

A Timeless Visionary
In 1984, I went to Los Angeles to meet with former Governor Jerry Brown, who had just finished his two-term governorship of California.  Governor Brown came to my hotel and we sat in the lobby to discuss and share our perspectives for the world for the coming century.  Because I worked at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), I shared my concern for the increasing imbalance between the growing population—then projected to hit 7 billion by the year 2000 and 10 billion later in the century—and the availability and distribution of natural resources.  How would we deal with food, water, and natural resource shortages?  Governor Brown suggested we might send people to the Moon and avoid all of these problems.  Clearly we were discussing big ideas. We went on and on for hours.

Suddenly, Governor Brown stopped and asked, “Akio, what time is it?” … Continue reading

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The Death and Rebirth of U.S. Ground Forces

Dear friends:
I have been so fortunate to have the advice, opinions and wisdom of extraordinary men available to me throughout my life.  The three with whom I sought counsel the most were former US Ambassador to the UN, Reverend Dr. Glenn Olds; Ambassador Angier Biddle Duke (D); and Mr. Bradford Morse, former administrator of the UNDP and US Congressman (R). Ambassador Olds served as the White House international adviser for four U.S. presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr.

Fifteen years ago, Ambassador Olds introduced me to Dr. Scott Jones and advised me that Dr. Jones would be able to provide me with top-notch analysis of U.S. policy.  As sadly all three of my initial mentors have gone to another spiritual world, I am lucky to have Dr. Jones’s advice and fair, non-partisan insight on U.S. policy.

In a thirty-year career in the U.S. Navy, Scott Jones was a carrier jet fighter pilot in the Korean War, and later served in Naval Intelligence in South Asia, Europe, and Washington, D.C    For six-years he was special assistant to my dear friend Senator Claiborne Pell.
It is my great pleasure to introduce his article.
Yours truly,

Akio

 

 

The Death and Rebirth of U.S. Ground Forces

A burden too heavy has been placed on the shoulders of U.S. ground forces in the nation’s longest wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  No level of respect and verbal support for the young men and women in service of their country can mitigate the mental and physical consequences of repeated combat tours. … Continue reading

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A Most Optimistic Man: Challenging Complacency

By Akio Matsumura


The United States and Japan are both plagued by suicide.  Many people are taking their own lives out of a sense of isolation and loneliness.  Although the circumstances for the two cases are distinct, the challenge to both countries–overcoming complacency–is the same.

A few weeks ago someone called my cell phone and started speaking to me in Japanese. I answered in Japanese but knew it was foreigner’s voice.  The person on the other end said he had studied Japanese for five years at a high school in Australia.  We continued talking, mixing Japanese and English, and laughed. This short conversation let me forget a moment that I was talking to a person with no arms or legs. It was Mr. Nick Vujicic. On the phone, we planned to meet at his friend’s apartment in Central Park West.  He arrived, rolled his wheelchair into the lobby, and we chose a quiet, private place to chat. His staff lifted him out of the wheel chair and into a chair at the table. They placed his iPhone before him and left, leaving us alone to meet.  I wondered how Nick would let his staff know when our meeting ended.

After we spoke for an hour and a half, he slid his nose across the screen of the iPhone to unlock it.  He called his staff and asked them to bring a camera so that we could take a photograph together. I told Nick I was amazed to see him handle the phone so fluidly.… Continue reading

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Rock Paper Scissors: The Deadly Vocabulary of Fighting

Read in Japanese (日本語 )

By Akio Matsumura

In childhood we played the game Rock-Paper-Scissors.  Rock wins over Scissors, Paper wins over Rock, and Scissors wins over Paper. There is no single absolute power among three partners. The outcome always depends on the opponent’s tactic.

This game also plays out in democratic governance. Government executives have power over their people because they execute the law.  The legislative body has the power over the government executives because they produce the law and appropriate the budget.  And people have power over the legislature because they elect them.

Now let’s put it an individual perspective, specifically my personal case.

One disadvantage I have is that I speak poor English, and zero Spanish, French, (or  Chinese or Hindi, whose speakers total 37 percent of the world’s population). I do have the advantage, however, of meeting so many eminent people in the hundred countries I have visited.  Not speaking all of these languages has come in handy: I have a keen eye for understanding intentions and unspoken expressions.   It has helped me grasp the total picture rather than become weighed down on an analytical level.  I read a situation as if it were poetry, not prose.  However, when I debate the difficult issues with my country men in Japanese, each word, each paragraph and the precise meaning of expressions interrupt me from understanding the true intention of my opponents.  I find myself missing the total picture of our debate.  We must have both perspectives to balance our overall viewpoint; for without the trees, we wouldn’t have the woods! … Continue reading

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New Strategies in US Foreign Policy: Building Perception instead of Animosity

by Akio Matsumura

We are out of money.  The 2008 world economic crisis and economic recession have forced many governments to cut back in spending. The media reports daily on which programs will be kept or cut, and lobbyists are working hard to make sure their piece of the pie is not tossed out. In Europe, Greece’s austerity measures—while staving off disaster—have caused riots. In many countries, national security budgets, despite ballooning to epic portions, will be the last to go, though surprisingly, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates last week announced that the Pentagon will slash spending in the years ahead.

The defense budget will remain high because of a national paranoia (perhaps rightly) of foreign attack, influential business interests, and the all-important fact that the US is still fighting two wars.  And their position on both fronts looks increasingly untenable:  the effects of the “surge” in Iraq–General Petraeus’ miracle work–is now reportedly dissolving; Western efforts in Afghanistan are producing fewer results than hoped for.  Just this week the New York Times published an editorial, “The State of the War in Afghanistan.” Their survey is disheartening:

But, like many Americans, we are increasingly confused and anxious about the strategy in Afghanistan and wonder whether, at this late date, there is a chance of even minimal success.  

Military efforts are continually stifled or delayed.  What is the Commander in Chief’s next step?  Approval is waning (although a majority of Americans still support the war).  Military operations–even if professed to diminish in the coming years–will continue on at least for the greater part of the decade. … Continue reading

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Response from Gary Levinson, violinist and concertmaster for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Last week I was invited to Dallas by one of the most visionary businessmen I have met, Mr. Luke Stewart, President of Energy Parametrics & Communications.  He arranged a surprise dinner reception in my honor, presenting my concept and my 38 years of work. They arranged special music performance by Mr. Gary Levinson, violinist, concertmaster for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and his wife, Baya Kakouberi, pianist, who performed a wonderful music for the dinner reception.

Mr. Levinson was born at Leningrad (St. Petersburg) and his wife was born in Georgia, therefore they were very much moved by watching a short video of the Moscow Conference. He was also moved to respond to Princess Elizabeth’s article because it connected with his roots.  On her mother’s side, Her Highness descends from Empress Catherine the Great of Russia.

I am very happy to introduce his response to her article.

–Akio

Dear Akio,

I have to say that your email just made my day! What an extraordinary opportunity to electronically meet Her Highness, Princess Elizabeth; I was immediately transported to my birthplace, St. Petersburg, and the hours I would spend at the Winter Palace looking at the gilded carriages and the exquisite chef d’oeuvres of the czars. It is no accident that while recording the Beethoven Sonatas this last winter, I researched the reasons Beethoven dedicated the second and third sonata to Czar Nicholas.

I can’t tell you how much the Princess’ essay moved me. It reminds me that whatever gifts God endows us with, they are there to serve the society, which is the most important reason musicians play and composers write.… Continue reading

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The Desire to Improve Ourselves

Dear friends,

I am pleased to inform you that we received the article, “The Desire to Improve Ourselves,” from our old friend, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia. She greatly contributed to the Global Forum as an International Advisory Council member.  Her life has shared a path with the history of a nation—it has been extraordinary.  I have certainly benefited from her insights into European history, with which I was largely unfamiliar.

I might add that she was wife of the late Senator Manuel Ulloa of Peru, Co-Chairman of the Global Forum.

I hope you will enjoy reading it.

Yours truly,
Akio

The Desire to Improve Ourselves

Millions of dollars are spent on cancer research and cures have been found for many killer diseases but no one has yet figured out how to eradicate collective stupidity, arrogance, and pretentiousness. These are dangerous and contagious and have been infecting the brains of humans for centuries.

Man, because basically it is a man’s world, created God in his image, wrote holy books and decided he knew who God was and what God wanted. He imagined there would be a better world after death, a more beautiful place, fields full of languid virgins, harp music and enough room for each and every one to sit on the right side of the Almighty. The planet had obviously been given to Man and mankind to use and abuse and subjugate because man is superior to Nature. I do not believe that any human, not even the best of artists, can produce anything as beautiful as a flower, a sunset or a snowflake.… Continue reading

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36 Million Miles before 5,000 Feet

Read in Japanese.
By Akio Matsumura
Less than two weeks ago, on May 16, I wrote “Plunging a Hole into the Ship’s Bottom,” to share my despair for the environmental and economic disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.  Last month, scientists estimated that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was releasing 210,000 gallons of crude oil daily.  I predicted drastic, terrible outcomes for the area, and I was convinced I was not wrong.

Now I know I did not worry enough.  The Flow Rate Technical Group now estimates that the gusher — 5,000 feet (1,500 m) underwater — is flowing at 1,500,000 to 2,500,000 gallons of oil per day.  Every day we see heartbreaking images of birds, turtles, and 400 other species suffering amid the crude muck.  Every day we see that the delicate wetlands are perishing.  And hurricane season has not even arrived.

And every day we see the BP engineers continue to fail in their attempts to stop the flow.  Every day we notice that the US government has its hands tied even more.  This is the most watched news since the first man walked on the Moon in 1969.  I remember watching then with such excitement—the capacity of our technology was unlimited.  We all joined in watching America succeed at our common dream.

The challenges of space technology still continue to push society on, generation to generation.  Forget the internet—this is the Facebook generation.  We even plan to put a person on Mars within a decade. … Continue reading

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Plunging a Hole into the Ship’s Bottom

Read in Japanese.

by Akio Matsumura

The disaster from Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, is still vivid in our memory.

In the city of New Orleans, the storm surge caused more than 50 breaches in drainage canal levees and precipitated the worst engineering disaster in the history of the United States. 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded.

People around the world tuned in to see the wreckage and could not believe their eyes: dead bodies lying in city streets and floating in still-flooded sections. The advanced state of decomposition of many corpses, some of which were left in the water or sun for days before being collected, hindered the coroners’ efforts to identify many of the dead. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, looting, violence, and other criminal activities became serious problems.

During the next five years, people and communities in New Orleans and states along the Gulf coast have made extraordinary efforts to recover their lives and community. Tourists are returning, fishermen are enjoying profitable catches, the economy is recovering, and the Saints won the Super Bowl. New Orleans is back in business.

However, feelings of extreme fear and insecurity returned with the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010.

The oil spill, originating from a deepwater oil well 5,000 feet (1,500 m) below sea level is discharging an estimated 210,000 US gallons of crude oil daily. The spill is expected to eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as the worst US oil disaster in history.… Continue reading