Carpe Diem
By Christopher A. Etienne
Christopher A. Etienne
The global world is progressively different now. For our science, technology, and research have led to powerful breakthroughs that allow people from around the global world to be more interconnected. We have global cities in a globalized world. As a result, a foreign policy that is focused on the rule of force, instead of building alliances and partnerships on the foundation of the rule of law, is a farce policy. Because history records that in an interconnected global world, we rise or fall together.
The spirit of service and sacrifice is important to a country's growth and development. To be clear. "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich," U.S. President John F. Kennedy said in 1961. And yet again, as to the conclusions the reader may reach, I leave that to their own judgement.
In the classical language of Cicero, Roman orator, declaring, "Freedom suppressed and again regained bites with keener fangs than freedom never endangered. Let us, then, embrace this policy, which appeals to every heart and is the strongest support not only of security but also of influence and power – namely to banish fear and [cultivate empathy]. And thus we shall most easily secure success both in private and in public life. Furthermore, those who wish to be feared must inevitably be afraid of whom they intimidate." Paramount as the statement is, it is proved true by the classical books he wrote.
The citizens in the rural, urban, and suburban parts of America need leaders with a moral compass, profiles in courage, intelligent conscience, and who are not afraid to put their reputation on the line to fundamentally oppose the cynic, critic, and capitulator consensus that declares the solution to a growing economy means privileging the economic concerns of the wealthy over the commonwealth. Indeed, there is a distinct difference between the professional politician and the public servant. For the sake of brevity. The professional politician is worried about losing an election, but the public servant is worried about those rural, urban, and suburban constituents who might be losing their jobs, homes, life savings, working harder for less, and others of this kind. The guidance is clear. We need to recapture what President Kennedy called in 1960, "Our intellectual and moral strength." How true that is.
The Rev. Dr. Martin L. King Jr. courageously delivered an admirable clear and condensed account of a genuine leader in 1967 to the American Psychological Association (APA) members at the 75th Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. Dr. King argued, "Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher of consensus, but a molder of consensus. On some positions cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?!' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But conscience must ask the question, 'Is it right?!' And there comes a time when one must take a stand that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular. But one must take it because it is right." To be clear. It is right to fight for foreign policy. It is right to fight for domestic policy. It is right to fight for public policy.
The global world has witnessed current events in America with dismay and distrust. No one can deny the widespread apathy involved in assuring to all of our citizens their full rights as Americans. America, we are better than what is being presented. We have more empathy than this. Indeed, integrity is more important than reputation. Reputation is a chasing of the wind. As a result, I remain anchored in the spiritual words of Psalm 100, which declares, “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
The late U.S. Senator Paul Simon of Illinois argued in 1987, "You and I are on this planet but a short time. Let us [pluck the day] and opportunity to build a better tomorrow so that generations to come will look back on us and say, 'These were people of uncommon compassion and vision and courage'" The innate ability to pluck the day. Indeed, we cannot fight a 21st century battle with a 20th-century mentality. We must lead the global world by first-class intellect and first-class temperament.
Now let there be no doubt. I believe then, and believe now in democracy and am encouraged by the words of the late Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, 1950 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, arguing, "We have set out on a great experiment – the greatest, I believe, in the history of human society – an experiment to demonstrate that peoples of all races, colors, creeds and culture can live and work and play together and be welded into a firm unity by the sheer force of a great and compelling ideal – the democratic way of life." The moment has not passed. The moment is here.
Christopher A. Etienne Biographical Sketch
Christopher A. Etienne’s public service ethos is inspired and instructed by his parents and heritage in New Orleans, LA. His upbringing, formal education, and professional experiences provided him with a worldview that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they’re given an equal and equitable opportunity. Previously, he served as a Legislative Aide to U.S. Representative Cedric L. Richmond and U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, both of Louisiana, and U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes of Connecticut. He earned his master's degree in political science from Howard University in Washington, D.C. and earned his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), two prestigious historically Black universities (HBCUs). For his leadership in public service, he was named a Fellow of the Institute of Politics at Loyola University New Orleans (IOP) and named to the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute (NORLI).