USA, 250. 250 years of US Independence. From Great Britain. Adoption of the Declaration of Independence, authored by Thomas Jefferson and signed by fifty six founding fathers – all men are created equal; with rights of Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness. The Constitution came into effect in 1788. George Washington got elected as the first President of the USA. Now, Donald Trump is the 47th President.
The story starts much earlier. 575+ federally recognized tribes – Indigenous societies – inhabited this land for thousands of years, maybe 10,000-30,000 years. European colonization largely decimated Indigenous societies through genocides, wars, and epidemics. First permanent European (Spanish) settlement – St Augustine (Florida) in 1565. English settlers came in 1607 to Jamestown, Virginia. By the 1760s, the Thirteen British Colonies were established. Over half of all European immigrants to Colonial America arrived as labour, to become small land owners in 5-7 years. African slaves started coming in from 1619, as indentured servants who could buy freedom. Slowly they became lifelong slaves. Children of slave women were born slaves. By the 1770s, African Americans constituted 20% of the American population.
Following the election of Abraham Lincoln as 16th President, and his assassination subsequently, slavery was abolished in 1865. By 1900, the U.S. had the strongest economy in the world. Most tribes, Indians, lost their land claims. 30,000+ people lost their lives in the Indian Wars. Women got voting rights in 1920. Indigenous people got the right to citizenship in 1924. The Great Depression 1929-39 and the New Deal 1933-36 set new liberalism in the US. Following the end of World War II, the Cold War commenced with the US and Soviet as superpower rivals. The civil rights movement of the 1960s brought in enforcement of African American constitutional rights of voting, and freedom of movement. 1991 saw the US emerging as the world’s sole superpower with the dissolution of the Soviet. The first black president of the US (Barack Obama) came in 2008.
Currently, the US is 50 states with 350 million people, 910 million hectares area. Third largest in area. World’s largest economy, with 33 trillion USD GDP, growing at ~2%. Life expectancy, 79 years. Poverty persists at 11%, with high income inequalities. Unequal access, quality of education and healthcare persists. Does America enter inertia mode? Can it compete with rising China, India, as we move on?
Can we declare our planet, our earth as an inclusive democratic confederation, where all its living human beings vote, move freely, pursue happiness? A globally governed planet with local governments. Is the US a good enough pilot to be taken to a global level? Now, soon.
Are we clear what we are aiming to reach by 2047? And are we getting there?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has made his debut for India at the age of 15 years, 99 days – making him the youngest debutant in Indian senior cricket – men’s or women’s. Shefali is the next, among women, at 15 years 239 days; Sachin, among men, at 16 years 205 days. Are we seeing the emergence of the Vaibhav era?
El Nino is moving. Somewhere beneath the Pacific Ocean, a vast pulse of warm water is on the move. It began near Indonesia and has been sliding east along the equator for months, a slow, invisible surge of heat stretching close to 14,500 km across the tropical Pacific. A Nasa satellite orbiting 1,300 kilometres overhead could notice it. The ocean surface quietly rose by about 15 centimetres.
On second thoughts. We may go for two flagship programmes, 1-year and 2-year NFFS Future Leaders Programs. 1-year, 80+ credit FLP could be tight, intensive, as executive FLP for the more experienced. 2-year/21-month, 100 Credit FLP could be for the less experienced young future leaders.
1 Induction, Field immersion 6w 6C
2 Management and Leadership Basics, NFFS Fundamentals, FNH, LEAPs, Value-chains, subsectors 11w 12C
3 Field Practice 8w 9C
4 Deep tech, AI, Information, Knowledge; Science, Research, Learning; Sustainability; Risks, Crises
Seeding, Deepening, Scaling – Extension, Inclusion, Participation, Communitization, Agency, Gender 11w 12C
5 Organizations, Collectives, Enterprises, Support Organizations, Non-profits, Projects, Programmes, Missions, Portfolios, Collaboration, Partnerships, Diversity, Networking; Teams 11w 12C
6a. Field Project; 6b. Leadership Practice (Team) 6+6w 12C
7 Teams of Teams, Teams of Partners, Changing teams, accountability; Resources – people, partners, funds; costs, economics and budgets; Systems change; Policy; Curriculums; Linkages; Empathy, generosity, kindness, vulnerability; Trust, change, authentic, responsible; mentoring, coaching, leading the leaders; visioning-strategy; leadership education; 7L – life, living, livelihoods, linking, leading, learning, love; culture, hygiene, governance; 11w 12C
8 Leadership Practice 12w 12C
9 Apprenticeship, with a leader; 9a Leadership landscapes, arenas; leaders on scale; Preparing for Future Leadership landscapes and arenas 6+2w 9C
There could be shorter term leadership development programs, maybe for 120-180 days. Also, uniquely designed immersion programs, induction programs, orientation programs; across the year master classes, may be 500 sessions, embedded assignments, tasks, home works on field; FL mentoring program; FL fellowships, lasting 1-3 years, for nurturing FLs; Organizational FL cohorts; Program to nurture specialists/super specialists in NFFS domain.
FLs may, in due course, emerge as high-end evangelists, CXOs, program/mission leads, entrepreneurs, start-up co-founders, research and learning facilitators/practitioner-academics, digital-AI curators, policy advocates, strategists, integrators, resource providers, consultants et al.
Surprising data: Uneducated men are 3 times more likely to engage in smoking and drinking as compared to their highly educated counterparts, and have 3 times higher death rate in middle age. Does education make a difference?
The Dalai Lama articulates: We are all the same as human beings. We are born the same way, we die the same way, and we all want to lead happy lives. All happiness comes from a sense of kindness and warm-heartedness towards others. Peace of mind is the key to happiness. Inner peace has to be cultivated. Because the purpose of life is to be happy. The ultimate source of happiness is a mental feeling of joy. Mental joy sustains itself. Our basic human nature is compassionate and warm-hearted because that is the way our lives begin. Without our mother’s love and affection, we would not have survived. Once we meet our basic needs of existence/survival, to be happy, it is our minds we must transform. Compassion develops our self-confidence, inner strength, happiness. Our happiness makes our families happy; our neighbourhoods, our nations. By transforming ourselves, we can change our human way of life.
Can we appreciate, internalize and practice kindness, gratitude, and compassion?
Can we be happy? Can we make others, the universe, and nature happy? Joyous.
Yes, we can. If we coexist, flowing. Pursuing possibilities, bliss. In N saakshaatkarayoga for 7L.