Chapter 9: This Is Not a Test

Agh! It just keeps going! When I picked up this book and looked at it's massive 571 page width(more for the paperback version, I hear), I really worried. I should have started reading this book earlier, though, because it really is good. This chapter and the last have really opened my eyes to the direction the world is going, and has actually helped me to understand a lot of what Molly has been teaching this semester. What was the point of this class? The point of this class was to help us grasp the concept that the world is changing, and changing FAST. It's all funny and haha now that we had no clue what SecondLife was, but what is going to happen when that "Really?!" moment hits us when we're managers of a company? How do we justify allowing ourselves to get left behind in the world when we're responsible for a little more than just ourselves?

Friedman notes 5 "action areas" that he says America needs to embrace to avoid falling behind. These action areas will help us embrace the "compassionate flatism" that will allow us to survive in the flat world. The first area , Leadership, was a very good read. It suggested that we need someone, anyone, in a powerful enough position (GOVERNMENT, MAYBE) to help the country see the flat world. I completely agree, because before I read this book, I was one of the ignorant. Yea, I knew that it was happening, I use Google, I use the Internet. But what I didn't know was that I was taking all of it for granted, and not seeing what these technologies were really doing behind my back. Unfortunately, all of America cannot buy and read this book (although they should). And the people that have read it, believe it, and are passionate enough to speak out for change, while noble, will not be heard. It will be like trying to move a fat, old, lazy dog, unless you have the right incentive, all the pushing and calling in the world won't move it. We need that bone, that incentive, a president like JFK, that will get us off our lazy asses and get us into gear. A change this big is going to need to start with our government. Let's just pray that the right people get elected.

The second and third areas are muscle building and cushioning, respectively. Muscle building does not mean that we have to go work out. It means that we need to increase our country's muscle by increasing our strengths--our skills and ourr knowledge. Cushioning is keeping a small distance from the coldness of a frictionless, flat world through programs such as wage insurance. Friedman calls for programs like this to be implemented to help the many people who will be displaced by the new flat world.

The fourth area, social activism, is basically a call for companies and consumers to support good corporate behavior. It gives examples of large companies that have used thier power as customers to force the members of thier supply chains to make socially responsible decisions. Wow, more companies should do that... And finally, the fifth area, parenting, I've pretty much already talked about in previous posts. Do your kids right. Teach them well, and don't be overprotective. Discipline them. Make them learn. Do your part as a parent and make sure that they will have the skill set to make it in the flat world. Even if that means you can't always be the "nice parent." It all starts with the parents. I didn't go to the best high school. But I still made it to where I am today, and it's because of my parents. They pushed me from a young age to read and instilled in me a love of learning. That and my mom puts subliminal thoughts in my head, I swear...

Mom: "You'll probably end up getting your master's, I can see that happening."
Me (in middle school): "Ha! No way, four years of college and I'm done. Why would I stay any longer?"

Crap. I hate it when she's right.