American Leadership

 

When one takes a look at the history of the international system one can readily observe patterns that strongly suggest a correlation / casual effect relationship between the rise and fall of system leaders and system stability / instability. Such a correlation between the relative power of a system leader and system stability in no insignificant part underwrites the geopolitical theory of Hegemonic stability theory. That said not all system leaders are qualitatively the same, subsequently the net sum value of different system leaders is not the same. Both the general principles that define hegemonic stability theory and the fact that not all system leaders and subsequent systemic leadership are the same provide a good general conceptual framework in which to view the idea of American exceptionalism. American exceptionalism is defined as the world view that holds there is a qualitative difference between the United States and other nations.

 

Indeed that there is something special, inherently good about the American system which was founded upon the ideals of liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, republicanism, populism and laissez-fair economics. Indeed some of the numerous examples that underwrites the qualitative nature that positively differentiates the United States from other system leaders is the fact that the United States consistently gives more (in absolute dollars) to foreign aid than any other nation in the world, that the Americana people in both absolute and relative dollars consistently give more to charity than any other society in the world. When one views American exceptionalism through the analytical framework that in comprised of both hegemonic stability theory and the fact that not all system leaders / systemic leadership is the same it becomes readily evident that United States primacy as well as effective global leadership is necessary for global stability and by definition good for the world. The United States must optimally pursue its national interests to maintain / expand its position of primacy and global leadership and subsequently be able to better provide the public good of system stability and security.

 

 

United States Competiveness

 

The necessity of United States primacy for global stability operates within an environment that is increasingly competitive. From a global perspective an increasingly competitive environment is in part underwritten by social economic technological trends whose existence translates into an expansion of general requirements to effectively operate within said world system as well a global diaspora whose population that is becoming more diverse and numerous. Moreover from a domestic / intra-state perspective there exist socio economic trends that translate into operational environment defined by increasing financial challenges. Against the backdrop of global and domestic trends there exists at a given point of time / technological developmental level a finite amount of resources that the United States can successfully leverage to meet both expanding global responsibilities as well as address increasingly significant domestic public policy challenges. Such realities translate into the requirement of United States public policy to place a high primacy on increasing United States competitiveness. Concurrent to realization of United States national interests in increasing resource competitive environment is the necessity of extremely capable public policy makers committed to the aggressive pursuit of United States national interests.

 

Informed / Educated Policy Makers

 

The operational environment within which public policy makers must operate is more and more postindustrial knowledge based as well as interdisciplinary in nature. Subsequently the development of extremely capable public policy makers who possess a broad range of skill sets requires a significant investment in higher education, particularly in disciplines that focus upon the substantive elements that define the increasingly interdisciplinary nature the United States postindustrial knowledge based socio economic system. Due to the educational requirements necessary for the development of extremely capable public policy makers conducive to the realization of United States national interests, formal education in United States universities is key.

 

United States Veterans Advocacy

 

Currently there exist deficiencies in social / institutional support for military personnel that are committed to the aggressive pursuit of United States national interests. Soldiers to Statesmen Foundation exist to, among other things; address the deficiencies in social / institutional support within United States universities for military personnel that are committed to the aggressive pursuit of United States national interests. Moreover Soldiers to Statesmen Foundation was designed to be facilitative to Veterans successfully obtaining public office. Finally at later developmental stages Soldiers to Statesmen Foundation was meant to take direct action in the form of research and development as well as offering direct services with the goal of resolving the health care concerns that specifically effect combat veterans.

 

Educational Reform

 

One of the primary requirements for free society that is both vibrant and competitive is intellectual freedom. Integral to the insurance of intellectual freedom is the existence of an education system dedicated to the principle of teaching people “how to think” not “what to think”. It is in support of the principle of teaching people “how to think” not “what to think” that underwrites Soldiers to Statesmen Foundation pursuit of educational reform. Specifically Soldiers to Statesmen Foundation seeks to positively affect the institutional bias within United Stats universities to one that is more equitable to United States military veterans. Moreover Soldiers to Statesmen Foundation was designed to reinstall within United States institutions of higher learning a commitment to the principle of academic / intellectual freedom.

 

 

Transparent Effective Governance

 

Transparency is defined as openly sharing the specifics surrounding rules, plans, processes and actions. (1) Moreover transparency ensures that public officials, civil servants, managers, board members and businessmen act visibly and understandably, and report on their activities. Indeed transparent / effective governance is crucial to ensuring that finite resources are optimally utilized as well as to act as a safeguard against corruption. That said in a world that is becoming increasing competitive and subsequently whose operational environment is in no insignificant part defined by competitive intelligence / competitive adaptation in some cases transparency has to be measured against operational security. It is the need to balance transparency and operational security that calls for effective governance populated by knowledgeable public officials that understand how to optimally navigate such challenges. That said public officials are not perfect or “all powerful” nor are they meant to be. In addition to knowledgeable public officials that understand how to optimally navigate the challenges between transparency and operational security is the need for an informed public knows where to go to find raw data on pertinent subjects as well as possesses a understanding how to objectively analyze said data. This then leads to the next founding principle informed civic participation.

 

Informed Civic Participation

 

To say that the United States public is seriously disgruntled about the demonstrably qualitative lack that tragically defines far too much of the performance of public officials would be an understatement. Moreover it would be a safe bet to state that the United States public disgruntled feeling is in no insignificant manner based on the frustration with the disorganized nature that defines the availability or more importantly the lack thereof surrounding primary information that pertains to issues of importance to them. In contradiction informed civic participation is defined as a populace who knows where to go to find primary information sources and raw data that directly pertain to the concerns they have, possession of an analytical framework that affords the ability to objectively and accurately analyze said data to draw their own conclusions and a venue that allows for the voicing of said conclusions as well as positively contribute to the national discourse.