36 Years In The USA!

Thirty six years ago today - right about now - I touched down at JFK airport, a geeky, 20-year old South African fashion victim on a vacation.....that never ended. Every year on this day I pause to celebrate this milestone and express my gratitude to this remarkable country and its even more remarkable people - YOU - for allowing me the opportunity to become an American. And to give thanks to the city of New York that has been so good to me too.

While I could provide a long list of challenges we face as a society, country and city, I can easily produce a much, much longer list of the many attributes of this place I now truly consider to be 'home'. It's so much easier to be critical if that is what we chose to do. And it's rather awful too. Its equally delusional to pretend that everything is and was hunky-dory: we have many, major challenges (and always will have room for improvement) and burying our heads in the sand, focusing ONLY on all that is good, or pretending history to be otherwise, is simply foolish and counter-productive. Without taking - and acknowledging - accurate inventory....and doing something about it, there can be no improvement. Like a leaking roof, leaks don't go away on their own: they usually become far worse over time.

One great lesson I learned from growing up in South Africa - a country rife with mammoth challenges and a dark history, as well as a long list of spectacular attributes - was the great lesson of LEADERSHIP. One man....just one man.....re-set the tone and direction for a country that was all but doomed when I left on that fateful day in 1985. Nelson Mandela. After fighting apartheid from jail for 27 years, he emerged with a plan. In this plan was what became known as the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission", a commission that compelled all in the Apartheid era to come forward and confess their sins in the public square. It was riveting and brutal. But it was honest too. It was Biblically honest: almost every religion - and even those who are atheists abide by the concept of this Commandment: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. By revealing everyone's role - whether it was active, or simply being silent - there was hope of a better, more united future.

Often the greatest hope for a strong future are leaders who acknowledge current conditions - ALL the good and ALL the bad - and then drive the narrative and mechanisms towards truth, reconciliation, improvement and change based on facts and data. This is just one reason why I believe in COMPASS' future. Robert Reffkin is that kind of leader. No, he is not a Biblical character, but he exemplifies how one person with good intentions and a mission to improve things can alter the course of an industry or profession. What unites our profession - and country - is far greater than that which divides us. The majority of people are good, and well-intentioned. Bad influences, false information and divisive, self-serving leadership aim to divide for money or power. Unhealthy environments produce unhealthy behaviors.

I remember the USA of 1985 very well. Sometimes it takes a few decades to see real change, and to anyone who doesn't believe things change for the better, think again. I have witnessed SPECTACULAR improvements and changes and advancements in many areas. Also give it some time. Big changes don't always happen quickly. Get involved, participate in the process. Is your neighborhood dealing with litter? Get involved. Want to improve your schools? Get involved. Participate in the solutions. In my 36 years here I feel an enormous debt to this magnificent country: I also feel proud that I've been a participant - in a very small way - to help drive things forward, help others find their place in this world and improve this city, country and planet.