Two Countries

 

Trump is a secessionist from the top. As my colleague Ron Brownstein often observes, Trump regards himself as a wartime president of Red America against Blue America. That’s how he can describe riot and disorder as happening in “Biden’s America,” even when it happens under his presidency. In his mind, the majority of the country is already “Biden’s America,” even before Biden enters office—and the remainder of it will continue to be “Trump’s America,” even should Trump leave office.

Since we are two countries, we can have two sets of laws and rules: one for friends, another for enemies. That’s why so many prominent Trump supporters can look at the shooting in Kenosha and perceive the gunman, who went to a city where he did not live with an AR-15-style rifle in hand, as acting in self-defense. The gunman had legitimate rights that must be respected. The dead men did not, and neither did all the many victims this year of police shootings. If those victims had criminal records, then they were criminals—unlike, say, Michael Flynn, who remains a rights-bearing American despite his criminal record. Two countries, two classes of citizen, two systems of law.

That was the message Trump so masterfully communicated with his abuse of the White House Thursday night—advertised by huge digital screens that blared his campaign logo, self-applauded by the big fireworks show that Trump-branded the Washington Monument. And that’s the question on the ballot this November, too: Is the law a set of obligations and rights binding for all, or a tool of power for the benefit of some?

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

DAVID FRUM is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy (2020). In 2001 and 2002, he was a speechwriter for President George W. Bush.

What's Going On

 

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CORONAVIRUS

Infections rise to more than 1,000 on University of Alabama campus

The University of Alabama outbreak represents one of the largest coronavirus clusters reported at any academic institution since the start of the new school year.

By Derek Hawkins in the WaPost

General Fred

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I have always considered myself a "generalist" and a conceptual thinker (I do not desire to do the math, but I do want if possible to conceptually understand the big picture and the implications of the math) as I am a curious dabbler in a variety of fields with no credentialed expertise though mainly in American history and literature and I am the lifelong undergraduate. It is good that finally someone recognizes the value of the generalist. I am a believer totally in expertise and specialization, yet my heart is with the generalist. At the very least, generalists are the best conversationalists. This is the book that I have waiting for all my life. I contain multitudes.

Think for Yourself

 

Harvard lecturer: ‘No specific skill will get you ahead in the future’—but this ‘way of thinking’ will

Published Mon, Jun 15 202011:53 AM EDTUpdated Mon, Jun 15 202010:56 PM EDT

Vikram Mansharamani, Contributor@MANSHARAMANI

(Photo: Getty Images | d3sign)

Many of us have been told that deep expertise will lead to enhanced credibility, rapid job advancement, and escalating incomes. The alternative of being broad-minded is usually dismissed as dabbling without really adding value.

But the future may be very different: Breadth of perspective and the ability to connect the proverbial dots (the domain of generalists) is likely to be as important as depth of expertise and the ability to generate dots (the domain of specialists).

The rapid advancement of technology, combined with increased uncertainty, is making the most important career logic of the past counterproductive going forward. The world, to put it bluntly, has changed, but our philosophy around skills development has not.

Today’s dynamic complexity demands an ability to thrive in ambiguous and poorly defined situations, a context that generates anxiety for most, because it has always felt safer to generalize.

Just think about some of the buzzwords that characterized the business advice over the past 40 to 50 years: Core competence, unique skills, deep expertise. For as far back as many of us can remember, the key to success was developing a specialization that allowed us to climb the professional ladder. 

It wasn’t enough to be a doctor, one had to specialize further, perhaps in cardiology. But then it wasn’t enough to be a cardiologist, one had to specialize further, perhaps as a cardiac surgeon. And it wasn’t just medicine, it was in almost all professions.

The message was clear: Focus on developing an expertise and you’ll rise through the ranks and earn more money. The approach worked. Many of today’s leaders ascended by specializing.

The future belongs to generalists

But as the typical mutual fund disclaimer so famously states, past performance is no guarantee of future results. It’s time to rethink our love affair with depth. The pendulum between depth and breadth has swung too far in favor of depth.

There’s an oft-quoted saying that “to a man with a hammer, everything looks like nails.” But what if that man had a hammer, a screwdriver, and a wrench? Might he or she look to see if the flat top had a narrow slit, suggesting the use of a screwdriver? Or perhaps consider the shape of the flat top. Circle? Hexagon? Could a wrench be a more effective tool?  And finally, the mere addition of these tools can encourage a better understanding of a problem. 

This is not to suggest that deep expertise is useless. Au contraire. Carrying a hammer is not a problem. It’s just that our world is changing so rapidly that those with more tools in their possession will better navigate the uncertainty. To make it in today’s world, it’s important to be agile and flexible.

What it means to be a generalist

How does one do this?  To begin, it’s important to zoom out and pay more attention to the context in which you’re making decisions.

Read the whole paper, not just the section about your industry. Is your primary focus oil and gas? Study the dynamics affecting the retail sector. Are you a finance professional? Why not read a book on marketing? Think bigger and wider than you’ve traditionally done.

Another strategy is to think about how seemingly unrelated developments may impact each other, something that systems thinkers do naturally. Study the interconnections across industries and imagine how changes in one domain can disrupt operations in another one.

Because generalists have a set of tools to draw from, they are able to dynamically adjust their course of action as a situation evolves. Just think of how rapidly the world changed with the development of the Internet and wireless data technologies. Jeff Bezos was not a retail specialist who took on his competitors and won. He was a relative newcomer to retail but was able to adapt rapidly to seize a gigantic opportunity. 

Career success for generalists

Many forward-looking companies look for multi-functional experience when hiring. This is essential for large organizations like Google, for example, where employees jump from team to team and from role to role.

In fact, Lisa Stern Hayes, one of Google’s top recruiters, said in a podcast that the company values problem-solvers who have a “general cognitive ability” over role-related knowledge.

“Think about how quickly Google evolves,” she said. “If you just hire someone to do one specific job, but then our company needs change, we need to be rest assured that the person is going to find something else to do at Google. That comes back to hiring smart generalists.”

If you’re relatively new to the workforce, my advice is to manage your career around obtaining a diversity of geographic and functional experiences. The analytical capabilities you develop (e.g. basic statistical skills and critical reasoning) in the process will fare well when competing against those who are more focused on domain-specific skill.

The one certainty about the future is that it will be uncertain. The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and technological innovation have commoditized information. The skill of generating dots is losing value. The key skill of the future is, well, not quite a skill; it’s an approach, a philosophy, and way of thinking — and it’s critical you adopt it as soon as you’re able.

Vikram Mansharamani, PhD, is a Lecturer at Harvard University and author of the new book “THINK FOR YOURSELF: Restoring Common Sense in an Age of Experts and Artificial Intelligence”(HBR Press, 2020). Follow him on twitter @mansharamani.

Today

 

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Not only is there is no there there, there is no here here. On this darkling plain on Dover Beach someone has put up a Holiday Inn Express and a Burger King. There's political talk down the beach a ways, and all I can hear are muffled cries of approval and defiance. The ignorant armies clash by night, but I am a day person. Fight, fight, the dying of the light.

Sometimes you have to be around a taciturn person to finally realize they are taciturn because they have nothing of interest to say.

I am always open-minded, open to new facts and evidence to confirm my preexisting opinions. It's how I roll.

I can always be extemporaneous as long as I have my notes in front of me. Fair enough?

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Read books. Travel. Talk to people from different places. Talk to people of different cultures, different faiths, different perspectives. There's always still time to grow and to learn new things. At the same time, there's still time to learn and to grow right where you are. I don't have all of the answers. I don't even know all of the questions. But I do know the value of family, friends, and relationships. And I do know the value of focus and I know that it is much more blessed and rewarding to give than to receive. Strength to be the person you need to be comes both both internals and externals. It does take a village.

End of morning devotional.

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Fred is back from Texas after playing Pawpaw with his new grandson. Now he knows how special grandchildren are. Now he knows the meaning of "let me tell you about my grandkids." I am now a much wiser man. I've got a lot to learn about being a grandfather no doubt, but I am on my way to learning. By the way, have I told you yet that Alistair Keye Hudson is absolutely the most perfect child on the planet?

Getting Ready

 

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Had my Pre-Texas COVID test today as a precaution. Results on Friday. My hippy dippy MASH doc was okay. I decided to hold the wisecracks. No need to push my luck.

Crashings

 

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Just heard a crash in my garage. Some books came tumbling down off their perch trying to get my attention. They succeeded. There hasn't been a crash like this since the walls of Jericho came tumbling down.

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As an indigenous white progressive Boomer Southerner raised on Big Jim Folsom, sorghum syrup, and Hank Williams, I'll take my stand. Is there anything else you need to know?

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It’s a good thing that I don’t have to make a living shooting pool or laying a trout line. Unlike Bocephus this country boy would never survive.

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I try hard to keep my misanthropic tendencies from interfering with my empathic concern for other people. To that end I avoid bus terminals, farmers markets, and hunchbacks. (Put that beaker down, Igor; you're making me nervous). I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours. I'll even challenge you to a game of Chinese Checkers if I can have the blue marbles.

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I'd like to listen in as Biden interviews his short list. Wouldn't that be fascinating??? I wish I knew more about the Michigan governor. The more I think about Susan Rice the better I like her even though she has never run for office. Senator Harris is solid. The Congresswoman from Florida seems okay. The choices are sterling. You can't say that Mr. Biden doesn't have good possibilities even though he'll make some group mad no matter what his decision is.

I think I liked myself better when I was young, naive, and silly. I was never cut out to be a mensch anyway.