Let the Controversy Begin

Greetings LinkedIn World. Below is the first in a series of articles that I have planned to address topics of workplace or societal interests. I plan to post both scholarly and argumentative articles, i.e., articles specifically designed to push the envelope on current events to generate discussion. The below article is one such as I touch on three current hot topics. Seek a safe space if necessary. Let the controversy begin.?

Leadership and Inconvenient Truths?

Leadership has never been universally defined yet most know it when encountered. The two most popular songs this week, “Let’s Go Brandon”, speak to this awareness of leadership effectiveness both directly and viscerally. ?

The “Let’s Go Brandon” songs seemingly herald the awareness of a growing number of people that we currently are leaderless in an era of growing dangers. I use the plural, dangers, intentionally as we face growing authoritarianism within the USA; the balkanization of the USA; economic chaos given most everything is made in China coupled with the economic policies of the current administration; threats of war from China and Iran; and the seemingly intentional disregard for our borders as we are inundated with unvetted, sick, criminal, and likely terrorist individuals. Chaos and turbulence abound as one era ends and the new era begins.?

The above issues are existential yet we are focused on topics such as Green Energy, CRT, and LGBT*/transgenderism. These issues, in their current form, pose inconvenient truths that many ignore and/or manipulate for personal gain. Consider:?

1.?????Green Energy, currently limited to solar and wind, is potentially more destructive to the environment than fossil fuels, e.g., the solar panels require massive amounts of fossil fuel energy to manufacture and will be hazardous waste as they reach the end of their life cycle. Millions of acres of solar panels will require landfills to house the discards in the near term. What are the implications downstream? Nuclear Fusion, once stabilized, may be best. And then of course, the issue of climate change/global warming/Al Gore and Greta’s Fixation must be addressed. How real is this threat? If Al Gore had been right, we’d all be gone already. And AOC, my favorite congress person, has indicated we have less than 12 years to get this done. Do not be fooled – Green Energy as currently envisioned is not viable, feasible or doable at scale. The latter should be your forewarning…at scale means at the level required to sustain the status quo population’s lifestyle. Leaders should have the courage to state this even as we migrate to new forms of energy. The pending climate summit should be interesting if viewed through a lens of realpolitik versus fantasy. ?

2.?????CRT, Critical Race Theory, like the history it is intended to replace, is also myopic. If one really wants to understand history then consider that most every group of people has been slavers and enslaved, often concurrently. As awful as the Atlantic slave trade was it pales in comparison to the on-going, 1400-hundred-year Muslim slave trade that still exploits black Africans and that at one time enslaved well over a million Europeans. Black Africans, Europeans, and Muslims each had/have a role, i.e., responsibility, for African slavery. Let’s tell the entire history, e.g., that between the two slave routes arguably 40 Million or more black Africans died or were displaced at the hands of other black Africans, Muslims, and Europeans; that the Atlantic slave trade was predominantly focused on slavery for work whereas the Muslim slave trade was heavily weighted to black African females for use as concubines; and that the races above were guilty of being owners of black African slaves. Let’s also address the on-going slavery within Africa that is not publicized by the media given concerns over Islamophobia. And as importantly, let’s figure out how to move beyond history to a more positive future within these United States. Difficult but doable.?

3.?????The LGBT*/transgender population and ideology have grown beyond requiring tolerance. Total acceptance is the new norm. From a leadership perspective people should be free to identify however they wish and be treated with dignity and respect but that does not mean that people with other perspectives must be totally accepting by compromising their beliefs. One sees the conflict within this topic as many in the LGB part of the group have splintered off and formed a new LGB Alliance due to the radical transgender approach – many of the Ls are taken aback at the shaming that occurs as they opt to not engage with the Ts, or worse, are remorseful that they gave in to the shaming even though they dislike relationships that include male appendages. If I recall basic math correctly one usually reduces fractions to the lowest common denominator. If this principle is applied then T+L=heterosexual relations. Seems to be a lot of manipulation underway by the Ts. At some point the larger society must stand up to this bullying and aggression by the Ts.?

The concept of Inconvenient Truths is actually very powerful even if very controversial. This article could be extremely long if everything was included, e.g., the Supply Chain fiasco underway. Fortunately, the LinkedIn medium is not designed for such. Future articles will be 1-2 pages for brevity. ?

The author is a VA-certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business owner who works under the auspices of Eagle3 Business Services. He holds a Dr. of Strategic Leadership from Regent University, a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, and a Master of Public Administration from the former Georgia College. He is a certified Theory of Constraints Jonah and a Lean Green Belt. He is also certified as a Hammer & Company Process Master, a MBTI Practitioner, and was a Gallup Strengths Performance Coach for four years. Dale spent years in Conflict Management as a certified mediator, arbitration advocate, facilitator, and as a practitioner of negotiation. He holds an Executive Conflict Management certificate from Notre Dame. The author is adept at blending leadership, people, and process into a holistic approach to amplify organizational effectiveness. Dale may be contacted via [email protected].

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