after_alex

The recent ad against the Tennessee Democratic candidate Harold Ford paints him as a tax-raising, gun-stealing, womanizing demon. At least in Tennessee he turns out that way.

Ad run by the Republican National Committee

But watching the ad from spectacle-driven and sunny California, this guy almost looks like your Californian hero. For some reason, if you ran this ad in California, people would just love it. It’s just great humor. Says to me: “Hell, not only do we take money from the porn industry, but we take gifts in kind as well!” Awesome. I would totally vote Harold Ford if he was in California (based on the characterization he gets in the ad). Shit, I didn’t even know he was black! If he is, that’s more reason to vote for the guy. You go, playa.

But….according to some in the South, where politics and racism are explosive topics when mixed…the ad is “filled with innuendos” and “plays to people’s fears” of inter-racial relationships, lax sexual mores, and government interference into personal life. I can’t claim that I understand it. The closest I’ve ever lived in the South was when I was in Washington, DC. [and one can hardly claim that was "the South."] But damn, good thing I don’t live in there. Harold Ford. Dude, you should come over to a place where people will welcome your (mis)-characterized politics, and where your career can thrive on connections to the ‘film industry.’ Get the hell out of the South, and come to where you belong…San Fernando Valley.

I just finished editing a 25-page paper by my old mentor in Afghanistan. It took me about 2.5 hours to drudge through the thing, and as I pulled myself through it I almost got flashbacks of my time in Afghanistan. All those nights editing and reviewing his documents. And that was the best part.

These days I’ve been complaining about life and how it’s gotten so dull, and I’ve started leaning toward finding the next thing….on this list of next things to do was “Afghanistan” again, but in a different context – as a real staff member of the team I was on before. My thoughts of those days started to get real “green” as I pondered my current life more and more. But….reading this last paper by old mentor – which is really a 25-page rant on the current situation in Afghanistan – just brought back dust to my nostrils real quick. Actually it took a a few pages or so…to bring back the smell of burning trash and the sight of “never-in-my-life” bathrooms, but yes, the Afghan grass in my mind took on the dusty brown of real life pretty quickly.

Things in Afghanistan aren’t so good these days. It’s not just the increased violence, but it’s also the political fatigue. Fatigue is I guess what you would call it, as Americans further question foreign policy and those in Afghan government further question real change. “Cut-and-run” is the last thing on everyone’s mind, but yet somehow it seems like a closer doom than before.

Anyway, what does it mean for me? Yes, the grass in Palo Alto really is green again. (Not literally, although it soon will be….when the rain comes). THe air is clear and fresh, and everyday food tastes healthy and flavorful. Ah, only if I could shock myself into “it could be worse” therapy everyday to help me realize once again that Life is Beautiful.

I never expected or asked to be a Sales Guy, but at times in my life I’ve found myself forced into social situations where images and appearance take precendence over substance, understanding, and intelligence. Today was one of those days where I just wished I had those Sales skills. According to my boss, my interactions with the VP of a partner these days has not been game enough. I haven’t stood my ground, I haven’t played the banter, and I haven’t proved myself to be the best face that our partnership can show to the real world.

Earlier in my life, such encounters and evaulations of my “performance” in these interactions would be an outright cause for protest. But as I grow older in life, I’m realizing that putting on “the face” can be such a powerful method of persuasion….and a method of gaining trust. Sociologists would say that playing games in the ‘institution’ naturally leads some weak-minded people to a process of socialization, whereby they forget who they are, what their original values were, and their core personality. I used to have problems with wearing black socks and red neckties. But eventually I paid the price for non-conformity. Example: in grade school once (actually it was twice), I got a whole month after-school detention for having hair that was cut too short. I blamed it on my brother, who messed up cutting my hair both times…but the real reason for my punishment – and the lesson for me here – was that I didn’t show the “face” that the school wanted as a leader. You see, at that time, I was the Student Council President. And…even though I had short hair and all sorts of dress code “violations” before I became President…it was example that mattered. And my punishment was demonstration to the school body: “Even leaders must toe the line…or be punished”…

Ever since then, I enjoyed working the back office, interacting in situations where substantive thought leadership and personality skills mattered more than image. But in the end, giving people the image they want is important, that is…if you want to play the game you’ll have to conspire in the social circles that implicitly comply with tacit “rules.” My hope…is that I’ll have enough time in my day to revert back to my normal self and not lose the kernel of a genuine Alex. But then even kernel’s can change. Ever seen a popcorn kernel pop?

What do you get when you put together Silicon Valley and non-profit nerds? Hi-tech humanitarian work!

I got the chance to go to Humaninet’s Silicon Valley SimDay a couple weeks ago, and looking back at it…it was probably one of the major rumblings of hi-tech humanitarianism in Silicon Valley. I attended this event as a researcher with SAP investigating software for humanitarian aid organizations. Quite interesting stuff really, but on this particular SimDay I also wore my hat as a volunteer for Project Vietnam. Seth Mazow (from Interplast), who wrote about the event didn’t entirely register my SAP-affiliation but hey, I put one out there for Project Vietnam.

Gone are the days when you needed a garage to be an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. Now you just need a parking lot! Put together Open Source nerds and humanitarian workers…and they’ll feel right at home in the Darfur dust, New Orleans mud…or parking lot asphalt…next door to Google in Mountain View. (me – 2nd on the right)

Silicon Valley’s got some great things going for it, being the cradle of hi-tech industry as well as many international NGOs. Check out the postings on Green Wifi, Tech Reach International, Humaninet, and other organizations doing great things with technology for humanitarian aid.