|
SUSAN DOLLAR
President
Recently I had the honor of hearing Susan Rice, the former diplomat, policy advisor, and public official. She served as the director of the United States Domestic Policy Council from 2021-2023 and as the 27th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2009-2013. She was also the U.S. national security advisor under President Obama from 2013 to 2017.
I am out of original thoughts so I am going to share some of the key points that Ambassador Rice relayed to her audience that are fitting words for us all.
Rice began her talk with the premise that power concedes nothing without demand. If we are ever to gain control, we must fight the autocracy and demand a return to the rule of law in a constitutional democracy. Three things that keep her up at night are: 1) the erosion of our democracy, which is a deliberate, by design, plan to take us back to the 50s; 2) we are facing our own long-term superpower suicide by losing our standing in the world; and 3) AI is dangerous and we must pay attention to what it is doing and ensure that humans stay in control of it.
The degradation of our rights is a consequence of their plan. We are losing the right to control our own bodies, losing the right to marry whom we choose, losing our right to vote in free and fair elections - the list goes on. All of these things are an effort to concentrate the wealth and power of this country in the hands of the few.
The only thing that can get in their way is PEOPLE...VOTERS. If any one of us is stripped of our rights, then all of us are at risk. So what needs to happen? We must push back. We must create a big tent for all who believe in democracy - join together and spotlight the corruption, the deprivation of services, the treatment of immigrants (with a reminder that all of us are immigrants - and that's what truly made this country great).
In additon to a big tent, we must treat people humanely, recognizing that we are all human beings that deserve respect and a safe, secure future. None of us are safe if all of us are not safe.
And although we are all weary and have been fighting these battles for years, we must remember what Martin Luther King said: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
In her closing remarks, Rice said "guess what? We just have to do it all again. Eat your Wheaties. Put on your running shoes. Fight this most righteous battle. Find your energy and committment to preserve hope for a better future."
Rice went on to say that those of us who grew up in or remember the 60s and 70s are seasoned veterans and by joining with young people, we can ensure change. As a kudos to Coach Pop and the San Antonio Spurs, Rice reminded us about Pop's mantra for his team: Pound the rock.
| 
