Letter to Friends & Family #93: Is American Exceptionalism Dead; part-2

Notes from the underbelly: “Freedom was a word that everyone mentioned but none of us knew.”

--Colum McCann; Let the Great World Spin; page-131 (2009).

In the autumn of 1976, after a challenging four years of high school (that has rewarded me many times over), my dad and I packed up the car and headed down to Lexington, Virginia.  In picking my college, I had focussed on my sense of honor and gentlemanliness.  Washington and Lee was considered, at least north of the Mason-Dixon Line, to be the southern gentlemen’s school.  Finally, I had found my element.

Well, not really.  Aside from the fact that I was too self-involved to be a gentleman and still way too lax for honor, I had a steep learning curve – this one of character – ahead of me.  W.&.L. did restore my sense of honor, though my near-expulsion finally bred it into me as could nothing else. My peers seated on the Honor Council treated me with mercy rather than justice in allowing me to finish.

As if inward challenges were not enough, I had to navigate my way through my own hypocrisy and that of others.  The code of the southern gentleman is awfully high, far beyond the sense of honor of the average person (e.g., me). That is, since these southern boys often could not match that standard, they chose to flout it, often nastily.

Like me, many of those classmates learned the value of their values by flouting those standards of courtesy and conduct granted them at the outset.  Yet, those few southerners – and some yankees, too – who met this impossibly high standard in college were the best peer group I have ever known anywhere.  Like Vice President Calhoun’s march of progress, these gentlemen – more like the ‘natural aristoi’ of Jefferson – marched the rest of us along by their example.

The reason for this diversion is to discuss the darker side of the challenge to American exceptionalism discussed in these essays.  The previous essay looked at the symptoms – the historical indicators – of the end of the American Century.  This essay briefly touches on some inward symptoms of the cancer inside the American being.  Mine is an idiosyncratic view drawn from my particular experience and evident bias. Obviously, it is open to the three-Rs: rebuttal, resistance and rejection.

Like those few gentleman I came across in college or prep-school – literally, five or less – I remember well those public servants over the past decade who have met President Kennedy’s challenge for public service.  They are among the best men and women I know; they are all too few, like any natural élite.  To those in the military or molded by military service, I salute them. Those in the diplomatic corps do great things, superb things for our country.

While there are more such people than when I was young – because many grew into their personal honor over time and through challenges imposed by dilemmas – they are still in the minority. Of the lower ranking officers in the field and the non-coms, I have little to say.  Unless a soldier does something really dishonest or malevolent – and some certainly do – I presume him to be honorable because I have seen their humanity first-hand. 

As I stated to a U.N. official in Iraq years ago, who stated that he could not join a foot patrol because he was a ‘humanitarian official', “You know what? Ninety-eight percent of the humanitarians in this country wear that that uniform…” while pointing to a nearby lieutenant. Theirs was, and is, a telling example of American exceptionalism, not because they had the guns but because they had the caharacter.

Indeed, 98% of the humanitarians I came across wore the uniform of the U.S. Army, the Bundeswehr or the British and Australian Armies. The response of that ‘humanitarian’ official? In a sotto voce, he stated rather guiltily in French something to the effect, 'Je suis désolé mais je dois garder les apparences, bien qu'elles ne soient pas la réalité.'  At least, he was honest in saying he had appearances to keep.

Many civilian officials as well as overstayed and overstuffed staff officers, however, arrogated themselves to some exulted level that furthered their careers. Ambition blights the character of the mediocre, leading to abuses along the chain of command, civilian and military.  With each of my four tours, the overall quality of personnel seemed to decline.  Of course, there were enough exceptions to this mediocrity to make the work wothwhile. We soon networked together to keep our spirits high enough to finish the tour intact, if not unscathed. 

The examples are many, too many for the scope of this brief essay. The following sample of the things I saw were neither unique to my experience nor were exceptions to the norm:

1. blatant theft of intellectual property and plagiarism by U.S. foreign service officers ranging from copying verbatim the content of web-sites and the translation of the intelligence of an allied non-English speaking Army to pass along as one’s own intelligence work;
2. little to no monitoring and evaluation by over-worked officers in the Embassy, leading to routine falsification of reports in addition to fraud, waste and abuse;
3. foreign service officers dispatching translators or other subordinates to follow and monitor the activities of rivals to undermine them;
4. military officials routinely classifying information by no means confidential but embarrassing by casually conflating careers with the larger national security (that such classification is truly intended to protect);
5. civilian ‘experts’ billing the U.S. government for twelve-to-sixteen hours per day for twelve-to-sixteen hours per week of actual work, on a good week;
6. subject matter experts – so deemed – who defied sensible guidelines and specific instructions of the sovereign governments to experiment with techniques untested and often beyond their fields of knowledge; as well as,
7. Defense Department civilian and military planners charting out the course of Iraq without ever speaking with host-country nationals seriously and hardly ever leaving the base…ever.

In essence, ‘we’ (i.e., those of us serving in these war zones, mostly for the money) had disappointed our presidents and those compatriots paying our salaries through their taxes.  If the nation can not manage to summon up enough intellectually honest and financially prudent civilians and staff officers to support those younger brothers and sisters in uniform, one must wonder if ‘whole-of-government’ interventionism is an option for American exceptionalism or an excuse for a procurement boom.

Serving my country – and some of the things I did do, both small and notable – has had a supreme, if too long deferred, value in my life.  Despite my personal struggles in Iraq and Afghanistan, I really believe my country sincerely sought to do the ‘next right thing’ for those beleaguered peoples; President Bush will always be a personal hero to me.  This world is better for America being in it; America is likely better for President Bush having led it; and, America may be ever so slightly better for me being here.

Nevertheless, if the country regards its youngest warriors as the Sunday morning clean-up crews minding the detritus left behind by policy failures and poor decisions of civilian or staff military leadership; if most of the civilians who serve in these war-time capacities are mediocre or worse; if adventurism is pursued for the bottom-line of defense contractors and USAID implementing partners, the mission is already lost and it is time to re-group and re-think and not groupthink. 

Letter-92 to friends and family: Is American Exceptionalism Dead?

UPDATE: APRIL 2nd, 2017: Honor Restored
Three cheers for General Keith Alexander. While I remain sympathetic to Mr Snowden, I have been living with a cognitive dissonance for several years. General Alexander, then head of the N.S.A., apparently overstated or outright misrepresented the eventually elucidated facts about the Prism and other programs on which Mr Snowden rightfully blew the whistle.

Additionally, Glenn Greenwald documented assertions that General Alexander was a 'cowboy' who wanted to scoop up everybody's data everyday. While Mr Greenwald's arguments were persuasive, the persona and personal demeanor of General Alexander did not square with the all the nasty things being written about him.

In this testimony, General Alexander clears away that cognitive dissonance. He is an honorable man who probably over-reached in his effort to prevent terror attacks and who definitely fudged the truth at times in an effort to protect the program and his subordinates. Yet, he was humble enough to transcend his institutional hard-wiring to team-up with the head of the A.C.L.U., Geoffrey Stone, so they together could optimize liberty and security (i.e., the meta-data - akin to water meter readings - and the privacy).

The capacity to change and to stretch one's worldview at an advanced age and in a position of power is rare indeed. The good General always reminded me of my uncle and one of the relatives mightily influential for me, Thomas P. Gordon, and now I know why. Uncle Tucker and this General are each gentlemen blessed with the intelligence of a Renaissance Man; the honor of the natural aristocrat of President Jefferson; and, the affable humility of a President Ford. These things integrate into the very best of what this country can produce.

Truthfully, in retrospect, I over-reacted toward General Alexander. I still credit Edward Snowden for being a contemporary hero. After seeing the cruel and unusual punishment toward Bradley / Chelsea Manning (i.e., months in solitary confinement with the intent of the problem 'going' away), Mr Snowden did what he had to do to blow the whistle. On the other hand, General Alexander had a fearsome responsibility of heading mass murder off at the pass. Did he over-reach? Yes, he did. Would I have in his position? Yes, I likely would have. In the end, however, decency prevailed.
ORIGINAL LETTER
As I have served the country overseas for much of the past decade, far from heroically, I have had the unanticipated privilege of hearing views about the U.S., her policy and her power from those on the outside, looking in.  Over time, I have come to acquire a more remote perspective, not only of U.S. policies and actions, but also of the right-sized place of America in the world. 
Current policies look different from out-there than they do from in-here.  The ‘American exceptionalism’, though fiercely debated at home, does not seem so evident in México – even less so in Arabia or Afghanistan. Recent developments have shaken my complaisant faith in the basic decency of America; a decency of purpose never inherent to, but persistently chosen by, us.

As long as the end of history appeared to be assured with overwhelming military power and commercial might, expressed primarily in finance, such exceptionalism seemed evident.  Polite might made right.  History has this irksome habit of not ending; of passing by the powers of the day.  Inside me, as an outsider now moderately alienated from that complaisance, uneasiness not only grows but feels painfully appropriate.

That is to say: the American Century -- a period of American disruption and exceptionalism in the affairs of the world -- appears to be coming to an end after about one hundred twenty-five years.  That ending, if true, has a large impact on the idea of American exceptionalism; if we can’t bend others to our will, how then are we exceptional? 
In my ruminating over these thoughts, my sense of this exceptionalism, in its pristine state, is one not projected by commercial interests nor protected by power.  Were both the case, one could argue that such exceptionalism was just another ‘new and improved’ version the brutal ethics of might makes right.

The symptoms or precursors of the end of the American Century abound and yet no one resists the behavioral fall-out of policy; few people seem willing to push back on morally questionable policies aside from Manning, Assange and Snowden, perhaps because the courage of those three is politically and publicly pilloried away as the deviance of faggots, rapists and traitors. 
Before issuing into these precursors, let us remember that the American Century, as we see it overtly manifesting today, started around 1950, halfway into the global preeminence of American power and prosperity. These precursors include, as examples of a wider set:

1. fiscal bankruptcy evidenced by military spending out of proportion to the base of wealth to support it and national debt levels that will dry up the capital markets eventually;
2. fiscal decline with the quantitative easing program drowning both the monetary system and the capital markets, creating asset bubbles and wrecking savings, at least in the short-term;
3. unsustainable policies with, for example, universal health care laws exerting high expenses and higher uncertainty;
4. gradual displacement over time of the dollar by the renminbi and the euro, which will divert these excess dollars created out of thin air by the Federal Reserve into a backwash-turned-tsunami onto the U.S. economy to provoke high, perhaps runaway, inflation rates in the longer-term;
5. the ‘F*ck the E.U.’ comment on the Ukraine by a senior-ranking U.S. diplomat, pointing toward an unsurprising U.S. uneasiness with the emergence of the European Union, perhaps the greatest guarantor of peace in our time, as an emerging rival to U.S. geopolitical influence;
6. arbitrary use of technology in service of expanding domestic police, commercial and domestic surveillance powers (e.g., incidental law enforcement information gathered by drones presaged by George Orwell's 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451) to infringe upon the private dignity people’s inner lives;
7. arbitrary use of weaponized drones by civilians beyond any accountability (most notably, the Uniform Code of Military Justice) away from the battle field to assassinate enemies, even U.S. citizens (albeit not pleasant ones), secretively and outside of the rule of law;
8. an apparent tendency of thought-leaders hiding behind ideologies and simplistic world-views (e.g., creationism) that fly in the face of scientific evidence or time-tested practices or civil axioms;
9. a general coarsening of the culture where there is more publicity for Kim Kardassian’s weight problem than the Ukraine or even the Olympics (not bread and circuses but all butt, no Caucasus); as well as,
10. a sense of popular exhaustion now with apprehension of what may come.

While I am a Republican, this essay is meant to look at the current snap-shot of my country from an outside, albeit conservative and admittedly cantankerous, perspective.  Consequently, as an aside, I have taken off the table those hot-button topics more likely to de-rail intellectual debate than create the climate for it. 
There are brave Democrats (Senators Udall and Wyden) and Republicans (Senator Paul and Representative Sensenbrenner) pushing back on the erosion of our cherished republican principles in the face of over-classification, excess coercion and over-incarceration.  All of these distressing trends are enabled by a climate of fear and greed preying on that fear.

The American pie is no longer big enough or expanding quickly enough, if at all. No longer can the economic engine permit a growing middle class, indulge costly industrial age military structures and subsidize a predilection toward imperialism, if not overt colonialism.  The evidence for this unwelcome change is persuasive, at least to me.  Many of my countrymen now see America's best days as behind her; I disagree. 
In actuality, ruminating over a return to some contrived 'golden age' is corrosive to the national spirit for three reasons.

• It implies permanent decline, which will be a self-fulfilling prophecy if we refuse to adapt to the realities of things beyond our control that defy the linear beauty of engineering; an inhospitable age as fluid with opportunity as fraught with peril.
• The things we cherish but often take for granted – liberty, freedom of thought as well the desire to improve our lives and those of our loved ones – seem less and less attainable; thus people struggle to keep what they have at the expense of welcoming the future and helping others along.
• If some golden era has indeed passed, and America finds herself truly trapped in irrevocable decline, people are going to want to know why it has passed and who is responsible for that loss; concomitant with the blame-game, will be the continued politicization of everything, ranging from what we believe to how we should act on, and manifest, those beliefs.

While I am my characteristic snaggle-puss self, the next letter (perhaps few) will lay out an alternate way of looking at our situation to prescribe, in foreign policy, what Dr Lincoln Bloomfield forty years ago fittingly called the humane use of power.

In Mexico, I re-read Dr Bloomfield’s book, In Search of American Foreign Policy: the Humane Use of Power, one of the two poli-sci books that captured my interest in college.  (The other treasured tome was Free Government in the Making: Readings in American Political Thought by Alpheus T. Mason; published fifty years ago).

Dr Bloomfield wrote in a simpler time politically and, perhaps, geopolitically, during the fall of Viêt Nam and the Watergate crisis. Nevertheless, those days had their perils and anxieties, too, as many of us can recall.  Heroically, as an ‘establishment thinker’, the hawkish M.I.T. Cold War policy wonk pushed himself – and his readers – to think hard about America’s place in a changing world.

Dr Bloomfield laid out his thoughts on renovating mainstream thinking to keep the American exceptionalism going forward, by preserving the best of the evolving political theory documented by Dr Mason. America could make this change, Dr Bloomfield seemed to argue, not through the excess use of power but through the judicious application of those republican ideals that had made the United States exceptional in the first place. 
But where to start?  For me, it would be in the area of foreign and military policies since so much of national thinking and resources are bound up in these arenas of thought; since people want these resources directed to domestic growth; and, well, since I find that topic to be more interesting.

Letter-91: Marketing doth make cowards of us all...

This essay discusses an interesting interview by Thomas Ricks, in Foreign Policy magazine (http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/02/12/kilcullen_speaks_on_coin_going_out_of_style_his_recent_book_syria_and_more), with David Kilcullen, the not-quite-through guru of counter-insurgency (COIN).  Please pardon my sarcasm.  While this practitioner’s answers, my friends, seem to be “blowin’ WITH the wind”, permit me to make some observations. 

1. The recent Kilcullen tome, Out of the Mountains (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/non_fictionreviews/10548968/Books.html), is brilliantly timed to make a market in the shape of COIN to come against the likely NATO garrison of 10,000 troops in 2015.  That is, the police and army training crew left behind will cluster in the cities (i.e., Kabul, Mazar i Sharif and Kandahar) plus Bagram. Such placement will draw the Taliban and other anti-occidental (if not accidental) guerillas out of hiding in the hills and into the cities.  And, pray tell, just who will be the guy who thought of this seismic shift of guerrilla tactics? You guessed it: David Kilcullen, brandishing his new 300+ page marketing brochure in one hand and his ABA cash-transfer routing information in the other, followed closely behind by over-educated war-wonks falling all over themselves to proclaim his palatably profitable genius.

2. Of course, the Sons of Iraq – the Sunnis in Anbar and Ninewa provinces that rose up against Al Qaeda-Iraq in 2007 – were “huge” in the success of the U.S. troop surge of 2008. But they were not fortuitous.  COIN depends upon, as David Kilcullen correctly implies in the interview, the legitimacy of the host government.  Well, shucks, it is not that simple. In the case of Iraq, neither the governing Constitution, with its seeds of an eventual ethnic civil war unintentionally sewn into its fabric by AMB Bremer, nor the government were ever legitimate in our traditional sense of that word.  Yet al Qaeda-Iraq, under the blood-drunk leadership of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, managed to make itself even less legitimate than the government in the eyes of the rightly frightened Sunni minority.  General Petraeus was smart in understanding that nuanced shift of relative legitimacy. Although we paid a cpnsiderable price in younger Americans lost, General Petraeus leveraged a 30,000 troop surge commissioned bravely and morally by President Bush with 100,000 Sons of Iraq to carry the day in Iraq. 

(As a quick aside, the current violence engulfing Iraq is NOT the loss of the peace by America, much as I would enjoy scape-goating the current U.S. leadership. People ultimately are responsible for their own fates.  I remain convinced that, notwithstanding the flawed Constitution and the ever more flawed straw-dictator, Iraq's moderate Muslims now understand democracy and its limitations as well as appreciate their God-endowed liberty sufficiently not to forfeit the liberation granted to a beleaguered people by the U.S.-led coalition. Obviously, only time will tell.)

3. No one whom I know argues for street fighting in Syria as Mr Kilcullen ‘wisely’ advises against our so doing.  Such advice to an audience versed in the subject under discussion seems as vacuous as recommending that people not drink sulfuric acid.  In this case, Mr Kilcullen plays the same trick as does President Obama with respect to Syria by collapsing the menu of options into a binary choice: nothing versus everything, with the latter being bloody house-to-house fighting in Damascus and Aleppo (David Kilcullen) or another invasion in the Middle East (President Obama).  It is important to note that Mr Kilcullen states as near-fact what many of us have sadly supposed all along: that many, probably most, of the humanitarian supplies are not getting through to the intended beneficiaries.  My suspicion is that those missing necessities are being purloined and re-sold at inflated process.  Many are likely finding their way to fighters on both sides.

(In another aside, the 'nothing-doings' can no longer fall back on the humanitarian assistance as a relatively just response to an absolutely appalling slaughterhouse. Going-forward, all interested parties should reasonably understand that, with or without a care-package, inaction will necessarily lead to increasingly dire conditions for millions of innocents, as that policy already has.  That is to say: to do nothing knowing evil will continue unabated undercuts the just intentions inherent in sending the aid.  The civilized world is on the hook, now -- like or not, we are already involved.)

4. The fighters we support in Syria do not wage a counter-insurgency but, as many in the ‘Small Wars’ community rightfully argue, a proxy war between Al Qaeda and Saudi Arabia arrayed against Iran and Shi’ite death squads shipped in from Iraq.  Christian, Druze, Kurd and other minorities are caught in the cross-fire together with the great majority of moderate Muslims.  Unfortunately, given the lethality and ubiquity of modern weaponry, the West can not simply wash its hands clean on the rationale, “We had these sectarian growing pains, let them have theirs…” These simmering superstitions currently boiling over pit one side having loads of chemical weapons in Syria (violent Shi'ites) and the other (i.e., radical Sunnis) with 150+ nuclear weapons in Pakistan.  Needless to say, with the Taliban wreaking havoc in Pakistan and Al Qaeda usurping leadership of the opposition in Syria – yes, even nastiness abhors a vacuum – we live in the most dangerous time in my own lifetime.

(As yet another aside, I wish people would contain the bellicose rhetoric against Iran about a hypothetical and approaching nuclear weapons capacity as well as the irredentist vituperation of Israel.  Unfortunately, with the exception of a Jordan increasingly under stress, these two societies may well be the two most advanced in the region.  Neither is likely to use a presumed or imminent capability.  Israel, if anything, can be the example of what civilized countries can do through that worst of all types of government -- save all others -- democracy.  That will require honouring the right of return and a one-state solution, both topics of which are comfortably beyond the scope of this essay.)

5. Mr Kilcullen’s critical re-examination of COIN, in this interview with Mr Ricks, and the current applicability of his 'new' thinking smacks of opportunism.  Admittedly, I have not read the new book; truth is, I got through only a half of The Accidental Guerrilla before I sobered up, tuckered out, and realized I was reading a 400 page résumé. In The Accidental Guerrilla, Mr Kilcullen made a  facile stutter-step from the traditional guerrilla strategy (of winning the country-side to choke the cities) to saying counter-insurgencies need to woo the population over to the embattled régime (i.e., win back the hearts-and-minds).  How do we do that? By making the government legitimate.  That is to say: win the counter-insurgency by removing its animating cause. 

6. At least Mr Kilcullen has the transparency to mention his private start-up in the interview. His re-think, however, is not a new-and-improved COIN doctrine but a brilliant political reversal FOR fortune.  His consulting group, Caerus, is evidently named for the god-let of youthful opportunity in Greek mythology (http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Kairos.html). Thus everything falls into place.  Marketing doth make cowards of us all.  Far from a change of heart in Mr Kilcullen, we are seeing a marketer’s change in response to a new market climate defined by the current Administration and a war-weary electorate.  Mr Kilcullen’s rhetorical legerdemain almost echo the binary, and bogus, choice presented by President Obama.  Both solution-sets sound intelligent, except that innocents die by the thousands while millions more are displaced in a country that has had closer historical ties with the U.S. than most people realize (see AMB Michael Oren’s most readable book, Power, Faith and Fantasy; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/non_fictionreviews/10548968/Books.html).

7. There is one point that Mr Kilcullen makes with which I agree: the need seriously to debate Syria in the public discourse.  Mr Kilcullen is a good man – of that, I have little doubt. Nevertheless, the existence of a consulting firm for so delicate a question as Syria shows why the debate over contingency operations (i.e. civilian-military or CivMil operations) – especially in their discussion and planning stage – may not be well-served by the private sector. 

(As a final aside, perhaps much of the implementation of that planning will end up being out-sourced. A permanent COIN force would make overwhelming the temptation to use counter-insurgency field-hands to bail out bungled civilian leadership. Additionally such an elite force, all dressed up with nothing to do most of the time, could, over a generation or two, degenerate into a praetorian guard smashing any threat calling out a naked emperor.)

8. H.R.-2606, The Stabilization and Reconstruction Integration Act of 2013 (http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/whole-of-government-support-for-irregular-warfare-how-a-new-law-will-make-a-map-hit-the-roa), which fixes the CivMil responsibility clearly in the U.S. government, ought to be expedited into law so that the government, acting on behalf of its citizenry, can start to debate what to do, if anything, about situations like those unfolding in Syria, Mexico and elsewhere.  We, the people, deserve to have the full story, detailed with possible consequences of each option, presented intelligibly to us and debated in a public forum.  At least, then, we can take ownership of the position pursued by the U.S. government.  This CivMil capability could be amplified by an active commitment to that segment of special operations that permits the existence of U.S. military observers on call with the United Nations. Such a deployment of observers makes sense since many situations – including, as many seem to think, Syria and Mexico – lie outside of national security interests and do not embody existential threats.

Some voices calling for action have turned shrill these days with an increasing number of critics implying that President Obama is pusillanimous.  What to do in response to catastrophes that pose foreseeable long-term risks to U.S. security interests that simply are not yet existential threats to our country remains a mystery to me.  If anything rises to the level of cowardice, for me at least, it is not a perceived failure of President Obama to intervene militarily directly into Syria; indeed, such an action could be foolish. What is perplexing, again in my mind only, is the failure to discuss options on Syria honestly and openly.  Doing so would begin to voice the outrage of civilized peoples the world over toward the unapologetic savagery toward innocents displayed by both sides. If nothing else, jaw-boning would represent a start.

Letter #90: homenaje no solo para el presidente Mandela, sino los presidentes Lincoln y Juárez

---------- Mensaje reenviado ----------
De: EDWARD J. MCDONNELL 
Fecha: 6 de diciembre de 2013 10:42
Asunto: Nelson Mandela (1915-2013); un hombre para todos
Para: 
Cc: "nedmcd.peacecorps@gmail.com"

Estimadas damas y respetados caballeros,

Aquí se tiene el archivo adjunto los artículos semanales por una hora dolorosa.  Había algunos acontecimientos que incluyeron:

1. una súper-computadora para México;
2. progreso importante de las reformas energética y política;
3. el infarto del Sr. López de Obrador;
4. inversiones dirigiéndose para Nuevo León y EdoMéx.

Por lo demás, las noticias no fueron significativas con una grande excepción.  A continuación del resumen de noticias después de mi firma electrónica, se puede encontrar traducciones de extractos de dos discursos famosos entregados por Nelson Mandela en 1964 y en 1994.

Ayer se murió el Sr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (http://www.informador.com.mx/internacional/2013/501023/6/lideres-del-mundo-lamentan-muerte-de-nelson-mandela.htm).  Este ex presidente y el libertador de millones lideró SudÁfrica en virtud de su evangelio de paz, que había crecido por toda su vida, así como su práctica de tolerancia humilde en un momento crítico en la historia de su pueblo variamente blanco, negro o 'de color'.  Por consecuencia, la carta para esta semana se ha aplazado hasta la semana que viene.  Esa carta para cerrar mi servicio a ustedes será muy importante a causa de su reconciliación entre las tensiones opuestas entre la innovación (centrífuga) y la tecnología de información (centrípeta).  Esta perspectiva alternativa (frente a la mía que es parcial contra tecnología) se presentará a ustedes mediante las perspectivas inteligentes de dos amigos y compañeros profesionales.  ¡Qué suerte!

Introducción: el valor de una vida bien vivida

En nuestras vidas, muy pocos de hombres (o mujeres) han logrado los hitos para la democracia que se han realizada por el presidente Mandela.  Puedo pensar en dos: el presidente Juárez-García de México y el presidente Abraham Lincoln de los Estados Unidos.  Sin embargo, la vida del presidente Mandela tenía una relevancia universal y su historia personal va a parecer familiar a los mexicanos que aprecian sus propios antepasados. Ya que he mencionado algunos estadounidenses famosos, en particular, el presidente Lincoln, yo preferiría que ustedes recuerden a su mejor presidente – el padre verdadero de la democracia mexicana – el presidente Benito Juárez-García.

Esta carta va a reconocer tres grandes hombres con tres historias distintas que convergen en un nivel de principios:

• el presidente Benito Juárez-García de México (1806-1872; http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Juárez);
• el presidente Abraham Lincoln de los U.S.A. (1809-1855; http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln); y,
• el presidente Nelson Mandela de SudÁfrica (1918-2013; http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela).

Cada uno de estos hombres tenía mucha adversidad en su vida antes de obtener su alto estatus en los ojos del mundo.  Cada uno fue enajenado, en varios grados, de sus familiares durante sus años de formación. Cada uno necesitaba el apoyo de patrocinadores poderosos para avanzar sus carreras.

Los ricos son diferentes (gracias, F. Scott Fitzgerald), pero el gran son únicos

Aunque se habían enfrentado obstáculos delante de ellos y fueron opuestos al statu-quo de sus países, cada uno de estos convirtió en líderes, como un ejemplare del estado de derecho, en su conquista individual de políticas injustas. Cada uno sacrificó oportunidades para riqueza cuando recibió su epifanía para su lucha respectiva para la libertad. Cada uno de dichos presidentes tomó posiciones polémicas, aún peligrosas, para liberar a millones de sus compatriotas frente a una tiranía concurrente:

• Nelson Mandela versus políticas basado en racismo contra indígenas;
• Abraham Lincoln contra el esclavitud de los africanos;  y,
• Benito Juárez García frente a la dominación colonial europea.

Cada manera particular para plantear el principio del estado de derecho sigue siendo pertinente para nosotros ahora (incluso, en algunos respetos, para la transferencia de tecnología).

El Benemérito de la Américas

Benito Juárez-García fue un huérfano sin dinero ni, se pensaba, oportunidades por delante en su vida. Nacido en Oaxaca, la familia de Benito fue muy pobre, analfabeta e indígena. Entre las edades de seis y doce años, Benito trabajó como peón de campo. Cuando se empleaba por una familia rica, su ético de trabajo ganó la atención del dueño se la hacienda.  Más allá de estar dispuesto para trabajar mucho en tareas no siempre fáciles ni agradables, Benito se destacaba con su empleador mediante su inteligencia nativa y educación autodidacta.  Por lo tanto, este hacendista permitió a Benito a estudiar en el seminario y la universidad para volverse en un abogado. Él pagó los costos para Benito.

Este patrocinador fue muy generoso a Benito, no solo con la educación sino la carrera del abogado. Esta relación de buena voluntad se coronaba por el matrimonio de Benito con la hija adoptiva de este latifundista.  Con este apoyo, su inteligencia nativa impulsó la carrera política de Benito. Tuvo la oportunidad para volverse muy rico como un líder de la sociedad autoritaria, sin fundación legal, de México por los cuarenta años siguiente la Independencia. Sin embargo, abandonó esta evidente oportunidad inmediata en favor de luchar para la democracia para todos mexicanos. Su ejemplo modesto unió a la gente detrás de la rebelión contra el imperialismo francés, liderada en el campo por el general Mariano Escobedo, también comprometido con la democracia.

Honest Abe

Abraham Lincoln se nació en una familia sin mucho dinero en 1809.  Como el presidente Juárez-García, Abraham se educó  a sí mismo.  A la edad de treinta y tres años se casó con la Señorita Mary Todd de una familia más rica.  De hecho, Mary Todd fue deseable a muchos hombres, entre ellos un político ya famoso, el Sr. Stephen Douglas (un gran rival de Abraham más tarde).  A la edad de dieciocho años, Abraham había viajado con un amigo sobre toda la longitud del Río Mississippi hasta Nueva Orleans en Luísiana. Durante este viaje, Abraham llegó a odiar la esclavitud cada vez más.

Con el apoyo de sus suegros y de la grande mente de Mary, Abraham se convirtió en un abogado.  Opuesto a la guerra contra México (en 1845) a causa de su meta para abrir más territorios al esclavitud (que había sido contra las leyes de México desde 1811), Abraham prosperó en su carrera de abogado del ferrocarril.  Sus debates contra el Senador Douglas le catapultaron a la fama nacional.  Abraham lo usó su estatus para ganar la presidencia y, mediante una guerra civil, extender el estado de derecho hasta todos estadounidenses (al menos en teoría).

El ‘Madiba’ (feliz abuelito benévolo) de toda África

Nelson Mandela se nació en una familia real tribal en SudÁfrica en 1918. Sin embargo, él le dio la espalda a su crianza y posición social para dedicarse cada vez más en el perseguimiento de la igualdad para los africanos frente a una minoría de blancos privilegiados en virtud de un régimen de discriminación llamado ‘apartheid’. Eventualmente sus familiares comenzaron a apoyarle en la comunidad nativa de SudÁfrica.  Como Mohandas Gandhi (llamada el 'Mahatma', o el gran alma), Nelson era opuesto a la violencia contra blancas. Sin embargo, él apoyó atacas contra la  infraestructura del apartheid. 

Después de varias condenas anteriores, Nelson recibió una sentencia por vida en 1964 y fue encarcelado por los próximos veinte-ocho años durante los que estudió en la ley y creció, como habían los presidentes Juárez-García y Lincoln antes, hacia el estatus del estadista.  Renunció violencia y, sobre su salida de la cárcel en 1990, Nelson ayudó en la unificación de todos sudáfricanos hacia una democracia transcultural en 1994.  En ese momento, cuando muchos otros habrían sido amargos y listos para venganza, Nelson sanó las heridas abiertas de racismo mediante una “Comisión para la Verdad Histórica y la Reconciliación Popular”. 

Porqué estos tres son amigos, ahora y para siempre

¿Cuáles son los atributos comunes entre estos tres hombres en sus vidas? Hay muchas cualidades y circunstancias de vida compartidas entre los tres grandes presidentes:

1. inteligencia innata;
2. disponibilidad para trabajar mucho y aprender aún más;
3. alianzas claves a lo largo del camino;
4. una básica empatía (es decir, una capacidad para "caminar en los mocasines del otro") para renunciar cómodos estilos de vida en favor del bienestar de millones de sus compatriotas entre grupos mutuamente antagónicos;
5. una reverencia para el estado de derecho; así como,
6. el coraje requerido para soportar pérdidas, fracasos y dolor impuesto por la búsqueda de justicia igual en virtud de la ley.

Por encima de todo, cada hombre tenía la habilidad para crecer durante de su vida.  Una tal cualidad le hizo capaz de ver otras vistas suspender el egoísmo; y, más importante que todo, pensar en términos de grandes conceptos; es decir, para abrir su mente a su espíritu más alto para que pueda pensar en el nivel de la humanidad.  En momentos clave, pudieron recordar las palabras del presidente Juárez-García, “Los hombres no son nada, los principios lo son todo." 

Implicaciones no solo para México, sino para la Transferencia de Tecnología

En verdad, mis amigos mexicanos tienen mucha suerte en incluir tantas grandes personas históricas en su pasado, como  la Corregidora, Miguel Hidalgo, José María Morelos, Pancho Villa, Lázaro Cárdenas, y tal vez los presidentes Calderón y Peña-Nieto. Sin embargo, mi favorito es el niño indio que superó la pobreza, el racismo y una familia analfabeta, para volverse en el presidente y el campeón del estado de derecho en México.  Creo que la influencia  de este verdadero "Benemérito de las Américas" sobre el presidente Mandela era indirecta mediante su influencia sobre el presidente Lincoln u otros líderes, tal vez en el Reino Unido.

Finalmente, ¿qué será el legado de estos tres hombres sobre mi esfuerzo de democratizar los conceptos subyacentes de transferencia de tecnología e innovación dentro de su Centro? 

Hay algunas cualidades críticas, no solo para el éxito de los tres presidentes, sino el éxito de CIDESI como un Centro de innovación:

1. crecer constantemente por pensar en términos de grandes posibilidades, más allá de sus intereses personales;
2. tener el coraje para declarar su visión de un mejor mundo frente a la irrisión de otros quien prefieren el lujo de criticar para evitar la toma de riesgos;
3. aprender de cada error, sin miedo o avergüenza, hacia el fomento de la sabiduría;
4. mantener una mente abierta para conciliar vistas divergentes;
5. elegir sus batallas con cuidado; así como,
6. trabajar cada día, cada semana, cada mes, poco a poco -- y paso a paso -- hacia dicha visión.

Llevar Juárez, Lincoln y Mandela con nosotros a partir de ahora

En esta manera, se puede emular la vida del presidente Mandela para superar todas probabilidades del fracaso – y aprovecharse de muchas fallas – en obtener su propia visión que pueda ayudar a otros.  Se puede ver este fenómeno, aquí y ahora en CIDESI, con el esfuerzo para llevar los monitores remotos al mercado para mejorar la salud preventiva en el campo.  En ese momento, se puede decir, como su patriarca nacional lo había declarado, "Libre, y para mi sagrado, es el derecho de pensar... La educación es fundamental para la felicidad social; es el principio en el que descansan la libertad y el engrandecimiento de los pueblos."

Gracias y saludos,

Ned

Edward J. McDonnell  III, CFA

Peace Corps-México

USMX.:  860-690-1740

SKYPE: nedmcd3

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=156113523&trk=hb_tab_pro_top 

CONACYT, I.P.N. y CIENCIA

CONACYT et al.: ¿ecg wireless en COL?; PBL nanotec; Rosenkranz y Cinvestav no son muertos; súper-computo MX; UNAM  y nano-luz; ESP liderando investigación aviónica; bio-nano en EdoMéx

R & D + i: Argenano; nanosensor ESP para detectar E.coli; innovación en PGY; entrega exitosa en ISS; Congreso metrológico en octubre; acuerdo entre universidades CHH y COL; nueva plana frontera aviónica; nanotec y cerámicos ESP

AERONÁUTICA

Países Ibéricos: ampliación del sector privado aeronáutico ESP; nuevo escuela de aero-negocios ESP

Inteligencia Competitiva: lucha de la cuerda en AND; puestos subirán por el 5% por lo menos; aquí vienen / allí van, Space-X; TecBA-Madrid y la UE; gran éxito para Boeing con el jet ‘777’

Otras Noticias: nuevo director general del INTA; CHI-luna; problema legal para EADS; IRN en el espacio

ENERGÍA, AUTOMOTRIZ y TECN0VACIÓN AMERICANA

MÉXICO et al.: cumbre de innovación latina; CHI vs USA en tecnología; industrias avanzadas representan un 47% de negocios dentro de N.A; dos millones de contraseñas para las redes sociales se han robado; 14 retos para RRHH; la diplomacia del petróleo

Energía: CNTE con AMLO vs 100% privatización de PEMEX; victoria para BP; coches híbridos no populares en CHI todavía; Gracias al 'fracking', la arena es el nuevo oro

Automotriz: décimo aniversario de Toyota en B.C.; nuevo Mustang por Ford

Querétaro, Dirección General, etc.  (población estatal de dos millones)

Inteligencia competitiva: EADS enfocándose en POL y ESP; CHH en N.J.; nuevo líder ProMéxico para USA y CAN; FRA viene a MX; salta de morosidad de créditos MX; CyT en CdZ; JAP mirando a N.L.; futuro de AND; ¿acciones POL en EADS?; 10.000 nuevos empleos en EdoMéx

QUERÉTARO: UNAQ y Aviación Asteca; apoyo por Bancomext

Dirección General: economía MX crecería 3.2% (IMEF); líder israelí al Papa Francisco, “A su santidad el papa Francisco, gran custodio de nuestra común herencia.”;  corrupción en LatAm; USA frente a China sobre zona de aire; señales mezcladas económicas MX; USA reunión con COL; AMLO en hospital; manifestaciones violentes por policías ARG; reformas avanzándose MX; Moody's eleva su perspectiva de España a "estable"

An Ideal for which I am Prepared to Die			Una idea para que pueda morir
Supreme Court in Johannesburg, South Africa; Mandela, Nelson; el 20 de abril 1964 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/23/nelsonmandela
I am the first accused. At the outset, I want to say that the suggestion that the struggle in South Africa is under the influence of foreigners or communists is wholly incorrect. I have done whatever I did because of my experience in South Africa and my own proudly felt African background, and not because of what any outsider might have said. In my youth in the Transkei I listened to the elders of my tribe telling stories of the old days.  Some of the things so far told to the court are true and some are untrue. I do not, however, deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness, nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation, and oppression of my people by the whites.		Yo soy el primero acusado. En primer lugar, quiero decir que la idea de que la lucha en SudÁfrica se encuentra bajo la influencia de los extranjeros o comunistas es totalmente incorrecta. He hecho lo que he hecho a causa de mi experiencia en SudÁfrica y con orgullo de mi origen africano y no debido a cualquier extraño. En mi juventud en el Transkei escuchaba a los ancianos de mi tribu contando historias de los viejos tiempos. Algunas de las cosas que hasta el momento se le dijo a la corte son ciertas y otras son falsas. Sin embargo, yo no niego que planeé sabotajes. Yo no lo planeé con espíritu de temeridad, ni por amor a la violencia. Lo planeé como resultado de una evaluación calmada y sobria de la situación política que había surgido después de muchos años de la tiranía con la explotación y la opresión de mi pueblo por los blancos.
In 1960 the government held a referendum which led to the establishment of the republic. Africans, who constituted approximately 70% of the population, were not entitled to vote, and were not even consulted. I undertook  to be responsible for organising the national stay-at-home called to coincide with the declaration of the republic. As all strikes by Africans are illegal, the person organising such a strike must avoid arrest. I had to leave my home and family and my practice and go into hiding to avoid arrest. The stay-at-home was to be a peaceful demonstration. Careful instructions were given to avoid any recourse to violence.		En 1960, el gobierno celebró un referéndum que condujo a la creación de la república. Africanos, que representó un 70% de la población, no tenían derecho a votar ni se nos consultó. Me comprometí a ser responsable de la organización de la huelga nacional convocada para coincidir con la declaración de la república. Como todas las huelgas de los africanos son ilegales, la persona que organizar una huelga de este tipo debe evitar ser arrestado. Tuve que dejar mi hogar y familia y mi profesión para esconderme y evitar la detención. Esta desobediencia civil iba a ser una manifestación pacífica. Cuidadosas instrucciones fueron dadas a evitar la violencia.
The government's answer was to introduce new and harsher laws, to mobilise its armed forces, and to send Saracens, armed vehicles, and soldiers into the townships in a massive show of force designed to intimidate the people. The government had decided to rule by force alone, and this decision was a milestone on the road to Umkhonto. What were we, the leaders of our people, to do? We had no doubt that we had to continue the fight. Anything else would have been abject surrender. Our problem was not whether to fight, but was how to continue the fight.		La respuesta del gobierno fue siempre para introducir nuevas y más severas leyes, para enviar sus soldados a los municipios en una masiva demostración de fuerza destinada a intimidar a la gente. El gobierno había decidido a gobernar por la fuerza, y esta decisión fue un hito en el camino a la tiranía violenta. ¿Qué pudieramos nosotros, los dirigentes de nuestro pueblo, hacer? No teníamos ninguna duda de que habíamos que continuar la lucha. Cualquier otra cosa habría sido cobardía por rendición. Nuestro problema no es si se debe luchar, pero de qué manera.
We of the ANC had always stood for a non-racial democracy, and we shrank from any action which might drive the races further apart. But the hard facts were that 50 years of non-violence had brought the African people nothing but more and more repressive legislation, and fewer and fewer rights. By this time violence had, in fact, become a feature of the South African political scene.  I came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was inevitable, it would be unrealistic to continue preaching peace and non-violence. This conclusion was not easily arrived at. It was only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protest had been barred to us, that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle. I can only say that I felt morally obliged to do what I did.		Nosotros, del Congreso Nacional Africano (A.N.C.), habíamos siempre defendido una democracia no racial, y habíamos evitado acción alguna encaminada a dividir aún más las razas. Sin embargo, la realidad fue que 50 años de no violencia habían llevado al pueblo africano legislación más represiva y menos derechos. Por entonces la violencia había, de hecho, se convierten en una característica de la escena política sudafricana. Llegué a la conclusión de que la violencia en este país era inevitable si o no seguimos llamando a la paz y la no violencia. Esta conclusión no se llegaba fácilmente. Fue sólo cuando han fracasado todos los medios y todos los canales de protesta pacífica se les habían prohibido a nosotros, que hemos iniciado las formas violentas de lucha política. Sólo puedo decir que me sentí moralmente obligado a hacer lo que hice.
Four forms of violence were possible. Sabotage did not involve loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations. Bitterness would be kept to a minimum and, if the policy bore fruit, democratic government could become a reality. The initial plan was based on a careful analysis of the political and economic situation of our country. We believed that South Africa depended to a large extent on foreign capital. We felt that planned destruction of power plants, and interference with rail and telephone communications, would scare away capital from the country, thus compelling the voters of the country to reconsider their position.		Cuatro formas de violencia eran posibles. El sabotaje no implicaba la pérdida de la vida, pero ofreció la mejor esperanza para las futuras relaciones entre las razas. La amargura se reduce al mínimo y, si la política dio sus frutos, el gobierno democrático podría convertirse en una realidad. El plan inicial se basó en un análisis cuidadoso de la situación política y económica de nuestro país. Creíamos que SudÁfrica dependía en gran medida del capital extranjero. Nos pareció que la destrucción planificada de plantas de energía, y la interferencia con las comunicaciones ferroviarias y teléfono, disuadirían a capitales de entrar en el país, obligando así a los votantes del país a reconsiderar su posición.
We felt it our duty to make preparations to use force in order to defend ourselves against force. We decided, therefore to make provision for the possibility of guerrilla warfare. All whites undergo compulsory military training, but no such training was given to Africans. It was in our view essential to build up a nucleus of trained men who would be able to provide the leadership which would be required if guerrilla warfare started. Wherever I went I met sympathy for our cause and promises of help. All Africa was united against the stand of white South Africa, and even in London I was received with great sympathy by political leaders.		Creemos que nuestro deber era hacer los preparativos para usar la fuerza para defendernos contra la fuerza. Decidimos, por tanto, para prepararse para la posibilidad de la guerra de guerrillas. Todos blancos pasan por un entrenamiento militar obligatorio, pero no este tipo de formación se les dio a los africanos. Creíamos que era esencial para construir un núcleo de hombres entrenados para proporcionar el liderazgo se debe exigir la guerra de guerrillas. Dondequiera que fui me encontré con simpatía por nuestra causa y promesas de ayuda. Toda África se unió en contra de la postura de la SudÁfrica blanca, e incluso en Londres, me recibió con gran simpatía por los líderes políticos.
The African nationalism for which the ANC stands is the concept of freedom and fulfilment for the African people in their own land. The most important political document ever adopted by the ANC is the "freedom charter". It is by no means a blueprint for a socialist state. It calls for redistribution, but not nationalisation, of land; it provides for nationalisation of mines, banks, and monopoly industry, because big monopolies are owned by one race only, and without such nationalisation racial domination would be perpetuated despite the spread of political power. Under the freedom charter, nationalisation would take place in an economy based on private enterprise.		El nacionalismo africano del A.N.C. es el concepto de la libertad y el cumplimiento de los pueblos africanos en su propia tierra. El documento político más importante que se ha aprobado por la A.N.C. es la "Carta de la Libertad". Es de ninguna manera un plan para un estado socialista. Se pide la redistribución pero no la nacionalización de la tierra. Se pide la nacionalización de las minas, los bancos y la industria de monopolio, porque los grandes monopolios son propiedad de una única raza. Sin la nacionalización, la dominación racial se perpetuaría a pesar de la extensión del poder político. En virtud de la Carta de la Libertad, la nacionalización se llevará a cabo en una economía basada en la iniciativa privada.
For many decades communists were the only political group in South Africa prepared to treat Africans as human beings and their equals; who were prepared to eat with us; talk with us, live with us, and work with us.  I have always regarded myself, in the first place, as an African patriot. Today I am attracted by the idea of a classless society, an attraction which springs in part from Marxist reading and, in part, from my admiration of the structure of early African societies. The land belonged to the tribe. There were no rich or poor and there was no exploitation. We all accept the need for some form of socialism to enable our people to catch up with the advanced countries of this world and to overcome their legacy of extreme poverty. But this does not mean we are Marxists.		Durante varias décadas, los comunistas fueron el único grupo político en SudÁfrica preparado para tratar a los africanos como seres humanos y sus iguales, que estaba dispuesto a comer con nosotros, hablar con nosotros, vivir con nosotros, y trabajar con nosotros. Siempre he considerado a mí mismo, en primer lugar, como un patriota africano. Hoy me siento atraído por la idea de una sociedad sin clases, una atracción que surge, en parte, de la lectura marxista y, en parte, de mi admiración por la estructura de las sociedades africanas tempranas. La tierra pertenecía a la tribu. No hubo ricos o pobres y no había explotación. Todos aceptamos la necesidad de alguna forma de socialismo que permita a nuestra gente a ponerse al día con los países avanzados de este mundo y para superar su legado de pobreza extrema. Pero esto no quiere decir que somos marxistas.
I have gained the impression that communists regard the parliamentary system of the west as reactionary. But, on the contrary, I am an admirer. The Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, and the Bill of Rights are documents held in veneration by democrats throughout the world. I have great respect for British institutions, and for the country's system of justice. I regard the British parliament as the most democratic institution in the world, and the impartiality of its judiciary never fails to arouse my admiration. The American Congress, that country's separation of powers, as well as the independence of its judiciary, arouses in me similar sentiments.  I have been influenced in my thinking by both west and east. I should tie myself to no particular system of society other than of socialism. I must leave myself free to borrow the best from the west and from the east.		He tenido la impresión de que los comunistas consideran que el sistema parlamentario del oeste como reaccionaria. Pero, por el contrario, soy un admirador. La Carta Magna, la Petición de Derechos, y la Declaración de Derechos son venerados por los demócratas de todo el mundo. Tengo un gran respeto por las instituciones británicas, y para el sistema de justicia del país. Considero que el Parlamento británico es la institución más democrática del mundo, y la imparcialidad del poder judicial nunca deja de despertar mi admiración. El Congreso de Estados Unidos, la separación de poderes, así como la independencia del poder judicial, despiertan en mí sentimientos similares. Los pensamientos del oeste y del este me han influido. No existe un sistema particular de la sociedad, excepto el socialismo, que comanda mi lealtad. Tengo que conservar la libertad de integrar lo mejor del oeste y del este.
Our fight is against real, and not imaginary, hardships or, to use the language of the state prosecutor, "so-called hardships". Basically, we fight against two features which are the hallmarks of African life in South Africa and which are entrenched by legislation. These features are poverty and lack of human dignity. South Africa is a land of remarkable contrasts. The whites enjoy what may be the highest standard of living in the world, whilst Africans live in poverty and misery. Poverty goes hand in hand with malnutrition and disease.  There are two ways to break out of poverty. The first is by formal education, and the second is by the worker acquiring a greater skill at his work and thus higher wages. Africans who do obtain employment in the unskilled and semi-skilled occupations open to them are not allowed to form trade unions which have recognition. The lack of human dignity experienced by Africans is the direct result of the policy of white supremacy. White supremacy implies black inferiority.		Nuestra lucha es contra las dificultades reales, y no imaginarias, o, como dice el fiscal, "los llamados dificultades". Básicamente, luchamos contra dos características que son las manifestaciones de la vida africana en SudÁfrica y que están arraigados en la legislación. Estas características son la pobreza y la falta de dignidad humana. SudÁfrica es un país de contrastes notables. Los blancos disfrutan de lo que puede ser el más alto nivel de vida en el mundo, mientras que los africanos viven en la pobreza y la miseria. La pobreza va de la mano con la desnutrición y la enfermedad. Hay dos maneras de salir de la pobreza. La primera es mediante la educación formal, y la segunda es por adquirir mayores habilidades para ganar salarios más altos. Africanos que obtienen empleo en las ocupaciones no cualificadas y semi-cualificadas que se les ofrecen no pueden formar asociaciones sindicales reconocidas. La falta de dignidad humana soportada por los africanos es el resultado directo de la política de la supremacía blanca. La supremacía blanca exige inferioridad negro.
When anything has to be carried or cleaned the white man will look around for an African to do it for him, whether the African is employed by him or not. Because of this sort of attitude, whites tend to regard Africans as a separate breed. They do not look upon them as people with families of their own; they do not realise that they have emotions - that they fall in love like white people do; that they want to be with their wives and children like white people want to be with theirs; that they want to earn enough money to support their families properly, to feed and clothe them and send them to school. And what "house-boy" or "garden-boy" or labourer can ever hope to do this?		Cuando algo tiene que ser llevado o limpiado, el hombre blanco busca un africano que lo haga por él, si el africano es empleado por él o no. Debido de este tipo de actitud, los blancos tienden a considerar a los africanos como una raza aparte. Ellos no se les miran como personas con sus propias familias. No se dan cuenta que los africanos tienen emociones - que se enamoran como la gente blanca hacerlo; que los africanos quieren estar con sus esposas e hijos como los blancos quieren estar con los suyos; que los africanos quieren ganar dinero suficiente para mantener a sus familias adecuadamente, para alimentar y vestir a ellas y enviarles a la escuela. ¿Y qué "casa-boy" o "jardín-boy" o trabajador nunca puede aspirar a hacer esto?
African men want to have their wives and children to live with them where they work, and not be forced into an unnatural existence in men's hostels. African women want to be with their menfolk and not be left permanently widowed in the reserves. Africans want to be allowed out after 11 o'clock at night and not to be confined to their rooms like little children. Africans want to be allowed to travel in their own country and to seek work where they want to and not where the labour bureau tells them to. Africans want a just share in the whole of South Africa; they want security and a stake in society.		Hombres africanos quieren que sus esposas e hijos vivan con ellos donde trabajan, y no ser forzados a una existencia artificial dentro de los albergues para hombres. Las mujeres africanas quieren estar con sus hombres y no ser dejadas viudas de forma permanente en las reservas. Los africanos quieren que se les permita salir después de las once de la noche y no confinados en sus habitaciones, como los niños pequeños. Los africanos quieren que se les permita viajar en su propio país y buscar trabajo donde quieren más bien que asignados arbitrariamente por la oficina de trabajo. Los africanos quieren una justa distribución de SudÁfrica. Ellos quieren seguridad y una participación en la sociedad.
This then is what the ANC is fighting. Their struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and their own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live. During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.		Esta es, entonces, para lo que el A.N.C. está luchando. Su lucha es verdaderamente nacional. Es una lucha del pueblo africano, inspirado en su propio sufrimiento y de su propia experiencia. Es una lucha por el derecho a vivir. Durante toda mi vida me he dedicado a esta lucha del pueblo africano. He luchado contra la dominación blanca, y he resistido la dominación negro. He buscado el ideal de una sociedad democrática y libre en la que todas las personas vivan juntas en armonía y con igualdad de oportunidades. Es un ideal que espero vivir y lograr. Pero si es necesario, es un ideal por el cual estoy preparado para morir.
Inauguration Speech		Discurso inaugural
Union Buildings of Pretoria; Mandela, Nelson; presidente deSudÁfrica; el 11 de mayo 1994 http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Inaugural_Speech_17984.html
Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, Distinguished Guests, Comrades and Friends. Today, all of us do, by our presence here, and by our celebrations in other parts of our country and the world, confer glory and hope to newborn liberty. Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud. Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity's belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all.		Majestades, Altezas, Distinguidos invitados, compañeros y amigos. Hoy en día, todos nosotros hacemos, por nuestra presencia aquí, y por las celebraciones en otras partes de nuestro país y a través del mundo, conferir gloria y la esperanza hacia la libertad recién nacido. Fuera de la experiencia de un desastre humano extraordinario que duró demasiado tiempo, debe nacer una sociedad de la que toda la humanidad se sentirá orgullosa. Nuestras acciones diarias como sudafricanos deben producir una viva realidad de SudÁfrica que reforzará la creencia de la humanidad en la justicia, fortalecer su confianza en la nobleza del alma humana y sostener todas nuestras esperanzas para una vida gloriosa para todos.
All this we owe both to ourselves and to the peoples of the world who are so well represented here today. To my compatriots, I have no hesitation in saying that each one of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country. Each time one of us touches the soil of this land, we feel a sense of personal renewal. The national mood changes as the seasons change.		Todo esto, nos debemos a nosotros mismos, así como a  los pueblos del mundo que están tan bien representados aquí hoy. A mis compatriotas, no dudo en decir que cada uno de nosotros está íntimamente unido a la tierra de este hermoso país. Cada vez que uno de nosotros nos toca el suelo de esta tierra, sentimos una sensación de renovación personal. Como cambian las estaciones, también lo hace el estado de ánimo nacional.
We are moved by a sense of joy and exhilaration when the grass turns green and the flowers bloom. hat spiritual and physical oneness we all share with this common homeland explains the depth of the pain we all carried in our hearts as we saw our country tear itself apart in a terrible conflict, and as we saw it spurned, outlawed and isolated by the peoples of the world, precisely because it has become the universal base of the pernicious ideology and practice of racism and racial oppression.		Nos mueve un sentimiento de alegría y emoción cuando la hierba se vuelve verde y las flores se abren. Esa unidad espiritual y física que todos compartimos con esta patria común explica la profundidad del dolor que todos llevamos en nuestro corazón como vimos nuestro país desmoronarse debajo de un terrible conflicto, y como lo vimos despreciado, juzgado duramente y aislado por el los pueblos del mundo, precisamente porque se había convertido en la base universal de la perniciosa ideología y la práctica del racismo y la opresión racial.
We, the people of South Africa, feel fulfilled that humanity has taken us back into its bosom, that we, who were outlaws not so long ago, have today been given the rare privilege to be host to the nations of the world on our own soil. We thank all our distinguished international guests for having come to take possession with the people of our country of what is, after all, a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity.		Nosotros, el pueblo de SudÁfrica, sentimos que cumplió la humanidad nos ha llevado de nuevo a su confianza, para que nosotros, que estaban fuera de la ley no hace mucho tiempo, hoy tenemos el raro privilegio de acoger las naciones del mundo en nuestro propio suelo. Agradecemos a todos nuestros invitados internacionales distinguidos por haber venido a tomar posesión con la gente de nuestro país de lo que es, después de todo, una victoria común por la justicia, por la paz, la dignidad humana.
We trust that you will continue to stand by us as we tackle the challenges of building peace, prosperity, non-sexism, non-racialism and democracy. We deeply appreciate the role that the masses of our people and their political mass democratic, religious, women, youth, business, traditional and other leaders have played to bring about this conclusion. Not least among them is my Second Deputy President, the Honourable F.W. de Klerk. We would also like to pay tribute to our security forces, in all their ranks, for the distinguished role they have played in securing our first democratic elections and the transition to democracy, from blood-thirsty forces which still refuse to see the light.		Confiamos en que se sigan apoyándonos como hacemos frente a los desafíos de la construcción de una democracia pacífica y próspera, junta con la eliminación del sexismo y del racismo. Agradecemos profundamente el papel que las masas de nuestro pueblo y sus dirigentes, entre los políticos, clérigos religiosos, mujeres, jóvenes, empresarios, tradicionalistas han desempeñado para lograr esta conclusión. No menos importante entre ellos es mi Segundo Vicepresidente, el Honorable F.W. de Klerk. También queremos rendir tributo a nuestras fuerzas de seguridad, en todas sus filas, por el papel destacado que han desempeñado en la seguridad de nuestras primeras elecciones democráticas y la transición a la democracia, de las fuerzas asesinas que todavía se niegan a ver la luz de la justicia.
The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us. We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination. We succeeded to take our last steps to freedom in conditions of relative peace. We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete, just and lasting peace.		Ha llegado el tiempo para la curación de las heridas. Ha llegado el momento de salvar los abismos que nos han dividido. El tiempo para construir está sobre nosotros. Hemos, por fin, logró nuestra emancipación política. Nos comprometemos a liberar a nuestro pueblo de la servidumbre continua de la pobreza, la privación, sufrimiento, así como la discriminación por motivos de género y de otro tipo. Hemos logrado en llevar a nuestros últimos pasos hacia la libertad en condiciones de relativa paz. Nos comprometemos a la construcción de una paz que es completa, que es justa y que dura.
We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world. As a token of its commitment to the renewal of our country, the new Interim Government of National Unity will, as a matter of urgency, address the issue of amnesty for various categories of our people who are currently serving terms of imprisonment. We dedicate this day to all the heroes and heroines in this country and the rest of the world who sacrificed in many ways and surrendered their lives so that we could be free.		Hemos triunfado en el esfuerzo de implantar la esperanza en los pechos de los millones de nuestra gente. Entramos en un pacto que vamos a construir la sociedad en la que todos los sudafricanos, tanto blancos como negros, serán capaz de caminar erguido, sin ningún temor en sus corazones, seguro de su derecho inalienable a la dignidad humana - una nación diversa en paz con su mismo y con el mundo. Como muestra de su compromiso con la renovación de nuestro país, el nuevo Gobierno Provisional de Unidad Nacional, con carácter de urgencia, debe abordar la cuestión de la amnistía para las distintas categorías de nuestro pueblo, que actualmente están cumpliendo penas de prisión. Dedicamos este día a todos los héroes y heroínas de este país y del resto del mundo que se han sacrificado en muchas formas y se entregaron sus vidas para que pudiéramos ser libres.
Their dreams have become reality. Freedom is their reward. We are both humbled and elevated by the honour and privilege that you, the people of South Africa, have bestowed on us, as the first President of a united, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa, to lead our country out of the valley of darkness. We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom. We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success. We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world.		Sus sueños se han vuelto en realidad. La libertad es su recompensa. Estamos igualmente humildes y elevados por el honor y el privilegio de que el pueblo de SudÁfrica se ha derramado sobre mí, como el primer presidente de una SudÁfrica unida, democrática, no racista y no sexista SudÁfrica, para llevar a nuestro país fuera del valle de la sombra de muerte. Somos conscientes de que todavía no hay un camino fácil hacia la libertad. Sabemos muy bien que ninguno de nosotros por sí solo puede alcanzar el éxito. Por lo tanto, debemos actuar juntos como un pueblo unido, para la reconciliación nacional, para la construcción de nuestra nación, para el nacimiento de un nuevo mundo.
Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.  Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world. Let freedom reign. The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement!  God bless Africa! Thank you.		Que haya justicia para todos. Que haya paz para todos. Que haya trabajo, pan, agua y sal para todos. Que cada uno sepa que para cada cuerpo, la mente y el alma se ha sido liberadas para asumir su propio estatus en los ojos de Dios. Nunca, nunca y nunca más volverá a ser que esta hermosa tierra volverá a experimentar la opresión de una a otra o sufrir la indignidad de ser el paria del mundo. Que reine la libertad. ¡El sol nunca se pondrá en tan glorioso logro humano!  ¡Dios bendiga a África!  Gracias.