Dragons in America- Does House of the Dragon Reflect Our Country's Present and Future?

It's little surprise that HBO's House of the Dragon (HOTD) has become a mega hit globally and here in the U.S., which for the last five years been immersed within its own Dance of Dragons. For all intents and purposes, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Capitol, in particular, as home of our Congress and Senate, has felt more like Westeros than a democratic mecca of the free world. In this still relatively new century, our national seat of power has been defined and weakened by unchecked acrimony, intrigue, and machinations over policy and core democratic freedoms.

HOTD's resonance makes sense in this troubled moment that is a source of concern in the private and public sectors. The show serves as a visceral metaphor for our country's prolonged season of power struggles and class disparities that are cutting to the very bone of our republic and its stability. Fiery, scorched earth debates over reproductive rights, political self-determination, immigration, and racial equity have heightened the corrosive political and economic gamesmanship being played out in policymaking at the state and federal level. Dragons and their seed abound. Everywhere.

On this Indigenous People's Day, it bears noting, however, that for those familiar with Native American mythology and that of indigenous people in North, South, and Central America, this is hardly a new revelation. Long before dragons became a global pop culture phenomenon, myths of their power and ability to create chaos prevailed among indigenous tribes in those regions which now comprise the Americas.

One of the great blind spots of the dragon lore highlighted in film, television, and fantasy literature has been its focus on European mythology, but in fact, Native American tribes and indigenous tribes in Central and South America also recognized dragons within the oral and artistic canon of their tribal mythology. Whether as deities or spirits, dragons, like the Seneca tribe's Gaasyendietha, a fire breathing creature that could fly and swim, or the Aztec nation's Quetzlcoatal,?were agents of division and danger.

This is certainly the case in the internecine battle between the families of Westeros supporting the "Greens" and those supporting the "Blacks" in House of the Dragon. Dragons and the threat they pose reinforce the power of ruling houses, claims to power, and geopolitical strength. The conflict between the "Blacks" and the "Greens" is a multi-generational one that represents a deliciously symbiotic analogy to the U.S.' own enduring civil war.

America's Great Civil War has been characterized rather simplistically as an essential moral battle about democratic principles and human rights. In reality, it was an incredibly complex one guided by high- stakes economic, political, and moral considerations between regions, families, and people interminably bound by common history, blood, and names. The Emancipation Proclamation, for instance was more of a political Hail Mary to shift the trajectory of the war, than a universal determination of freedom. Initially, the proclamation's dictates didn't even apply to border states like Maryland and Delaware. (Border states were states which permitted slavery, but opted to stay with the Union.)

In addition, DNA studies have indicated that at least 80% of Blacks from the American South have White lineage and therefore, shared ancestry with White families from the region. With the legacy of racial "passing", miscegenation's imprint nationally and within silos of exclusive power, may, in fact, be far wider than we have ever acknowledged publicly. In other words, some of America's racial conflicts that took place in the past and our present are taking place among White and Black family members.

There is the additional layer of complexity around the Civil War that stemmed not only from longstanding personal relationships, but co-dependent business relationships as well. There were factions of Union support within Confederate states. There were factions of Confederate support within Union states. U.S President Ulysses S. Grant, a staunch opponent of slavery and the military leader credited with saving the Union, hailed from Ohio but married into the slave-holding Dent family from Missouri. President Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, hailed from a prominent slave-holding family in Kentucky. Like shifting pieces on a chess board, the competing interests connected to money, power, and regional dominance which fractured our country have never been fully resolved.

And like the Targaryens, Hightowers, Velaryons, Lannisters and other Westeros families of note- who you are by blood and birthright continues to matters. Unless you cross the mythical narrow sea, where only money matters. In today's geography, that narrow sea could just as well be the Hudson River or the Thames River, both of which border the financial districts of New York and London. But getting to the money still requires pedigree, prestige, and people with connections.

The references to economic disruption in House of the Dragon are more oblique, but no less undeniable and applicable to our current times. In the last small council meeting, Queen Alicent notes that the prospect of war and the support needed for strongholds within the kingdom will require more frugality in the "Crown's" spending. The cost of conflict and dependence imposed by other nation or here at home by states in crisis require crucial fiscal and policy considerations that can affect our economic prospects.

For instance, the war in Ukraine has certainly impacted the economic landscape here in the U.S. The burgeoning immigration crisis is impacting the fiscal strength of major cities like New York City. And while this past month has been marked by encouraging national job growth, tides of economic uncertainty continue due to concerns about inflation, high interest rates, international supply chain issues, workforce attrition, climate events in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, and diminished public confidence in sustainability investments. The long-term consequences for our country's future has triggered deep concern among governments and policymakers about America's future

In its recent August issue, The Atlantic magazine published an article titled What America's Great Unwinding Would Mean for the World. The opening paragraph grimly opines "[E]verywhere you turn, there is a sense that the U.S. is in some form of terminal decline; too divided, incoherent, violent, and dysfunctional to sustain its?Pax Americana. Moscow and Beijing seem to think that the great American unwinding has already begun, while in Europe, officials worry about a sudden American collapse." Like Westeros, the threat of complete implosion seems to hang over our heads like a dangling Damocles sword.

How do we begin to steer away from such a troubling prospect? If the House of the Dragon is the crystal ball through which we can see our future, are there elements of hope that promise a less dire outcome than all-out war or implosion?

The short answer is "Yes." There are inspirational moments worth noting. Ruling houses of businesses and major institutions in our higher education and philanthropic sectors can do the following:

1) Seek leaders who understand that the future of today's institutions rise and fall based on an uncompromising commitment to valuing people, organizational integrity, and transparency. One of the most powerful scenes of the most recent episode (Episode 8) of House of the Dragon occurred when King Viserys revealed his whole physically decaying self to his family in a moment of transcendent honesty and humility. It's a gripping lesson in authenticity. A leader is ultimately a servant to a greater cause who understands the value of leading from a place of humanity, authenticity, and moral grounding.

2) Understand that compromise is preferable to a scorched earth approach towards resolving conflict and differences. Game of Thrones, the chapter of history that takes places 175 years after the House of Dragons is a cautionary tale on how problematic a scorched-earth approach is to gaining power and sustaining a stable organization or republic. It does not work.

3) Develop teams and people with diverse skill sets and perspectives who can help make the best decisions for long-term resilience. The small council advising King Viserys in the House of the Dragon reflects an ideal model for an an unofficial group of advisors, a corporate board, or executive council. There are generational differences, gender differences, ethnic differences, regional differences, but the insights offered are all valued by King Viserys and later, Queen Alicent, as part of their decision-making. Members of the small council are strong-minded and given license to respectfully express their opinions , as long as they are not treasonous of course, without reprimand or restriction. That's important.

4) Confront and slay the dragons of conflict and chaos within your organizations- toxic workplace practices, status quo bias, managers and senior leaders with unchecked patterns of implicit bias and explicit bias, problematic fiscal accounting practices or reporting, shifting definitions of merit, entrenched entitlement, limiting beliefs, under-resourced opportunities for career development and learning, a pervasive unwillingness to listen to new ideas. These are the "dragons" that can upend progress, morale and commitment to an organization.

The need to divest a legacy anchored in conflict, gamesmanship and division isn't unique to any one institution, organization, or country, but when the looking glass of that legacy is starting straight at you, it should not be ignored. Dragons as a metaphor for human conflict and unchecked chaos will always remain a part of our cultural mythology. But that past does not have to define our future. The dawn of brighter days lies in the destiny we choose.