The strange country

Published 05-28-2009 in The California Aggie

America is a strange nation. She is a country that produces the very best and the very worst, whether in political, economic or cultural aspects. Everything and anything happens in America.

Take its politics. America’s politics are bitterly partisan, often divided around staunch, sometimes less-clear, battle lines. Republicans and Democrats represent the dual extremes of two highly polar positions, but swing moderates, special interests groups and think tanks also influence. Thus the process to win votes are frequently organized and mechanized.

Here, everyone argues about equal pay to minority representation to marriage rights to corporate reform to entitlement crises to environmental preservation. The debate is so intense and noisy that at times, America seems incapable of governing or achieving anything at all.

Yet the very fact that we hear so much about the nation’s ills and maladies and doom illustrates the very strength of its democratic vibrancy. There is a desire to constantly change, renew and elevate the nation to something grander. People vote according to their perspectives and context. Hence here dissent is the best form of acceptance.

Then there are America’s laws. The Constitution, with amendments such as gun-bearing rights and the secret deliberative process of the Supreme Court, can often appear antiquated. Yet its very antiquity testifies to its endurance to its very best ideals. Individuals yield to no authority or power, but subscribe to a clear if abstract ideal of justice and independence of thought.

Corruption and authoritarianism are endemic in many nations around the world, for instance, and America is no exception. Yet here none stands above the rule of law and communal moral certitude. Eliott Spitzer and John Edwards, two former successful national politicians, floundered their careers for personal indiscretions. Bernie Madoff is facing trials while Michael Vick was just released. The system allows for self-correction, regeneration and reversals.

And this is a nation of endless products and boundless consumption, products churned constantly one after another. Brands and retailers such as Staples, Quiznos, Target, Microsoft and Ford proliferate. Companies design and cater products for every subcategory, ethnicity, preference: financial and asset management needs, insurance needs, technological efficiency needs, lifestyle home interior needs, business leverage needs. The list is so diverse and plenty that one can feel lost in a world of profuse materialism.

Yet America also delivers the very best, cutting-edge leadership. Apple has conceived some of the finest consumer electronic advancements ever known, its revolutionary designs and powerful functionalities of iPhones, iPods and iMacs spawning imitators everywhere. Barring their questionable bets in risky securities, the investment banks also apply some of the most outstanding theoretical, modern approaches to facilitating business and creating conducive operating environments.

Living in America is at once seeing the world in all its forms and quirks. One tastes Korean BBQs, experience the Irish Catholicism, indulge in French wine, retaliate against Mexican jalapenos, enjoy Cirque du Soleil and watch taiko. Cultures and cuisines come in various forms. The celebrations are diverse as they are astounding.

But the diversity also sometimes creates problems. In studies on race, though narrowing, examination scores still show marked differences. Stereotypes permeate. Urban slums are the consequence of income disparity and class groupings. A class of the very rich versus the stagnant middle class craters from the unequal distribution and remuneration of equity. The juxtaposed show the very best and very worst.

America is a restless soul tempered by a resilient dedication. She exhibits very divergent behaviors and attitudes, demonstrating exceptionalism while desiring a national collectivity. The battle for the heart of America is often fierce, cunning, voracious and incomprehensible. And this weird character is what gives America her defining, unique identity.

ZACH HAN thanks all the diverse people who traversed into his life from zklhan@ucdavis.edu!

The relevant education

Published 05-21-2009 in The California Aggie

There is an increasing clamor for the bureaucratization of college education. For many, globalization reemphasizes the demand for technical expertise. To thrive in the current economic mode is to attain the very specific skill sets employers require — to the extent that “a humanities education,” as the New York Times reports, “may become “a great luxury that many cannot afford.”” The oft-cited resolution is simply to shift the focus of college education to align with global economic patterns.

This approach ignores the fundamental premise of a college education.

Education is the empowerment of minds allied to active emotional maturation. At its essence, learning isn’t merely about the absorption of information. Instead, it is acquiring the ability to understand complexity, to map the details and networks in the grand scheme of order, and articulate the resulting conclusions with flourish. It helps one think and reason through ambiguity.

In this respect, a diverse college education expands, not narrows, intellectual horizons. Utilized beneficially, individuals grow. Through an exposure not to a specific technical vocation, one gains the essential analytical skills and appreciative fervor for the canon of established knowledge — from Nietzsche’s existential nihilism to Chaos theory to Modigliani-Miller’s powerful model of financial leverage. This diversity provides a perspective of independence.

One prevalent problem with this goal, including at UC Davis, is the tendency for students to skip the personal inquiry step for top grades. At college, one’s understanding is evaluated through the assignment of grades. Grades illustrate one’s ability to thrive in challenging subject materials while balancing the demands of professional growth, healthy emotional lives, personal relationships and continuous leadership opportunities. They indicate one’s ability to multitask under intense time pressure.

But too often students cram at the expense of focused and dedicated learning. Cramming is short-term, instant memorization frequently consequent of poor time management. At times, in the busy, distractive pacing of today’s society, cramming is unavoidable as it is necessary. But the potential for abuse is high, and frequenting this behavior as a general form of study misses the endeavor that goes into actual learning. This prevents active intellectual curiosity.

In this context, one’s focus is on the solutions, not the thought-process. This is a problem that must be resolved.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the second premise of a diverse college education is to help one integrate into institutionalized communal structures. As the New York Times columnist David Brooks describes the situation, “we are not defined by what we ask of life. We are defined by what life asks of us.” Precisely because society is organized around certain requisite norms and commonly agreed behavioral principles, one’s comprehension and practice of certain attitudes are essential. To succeed in society, one must acclimatize to the preset rules and precepts. Certain patterns of actions must be adhered to.

In this sense, college, by its very function of instruction, is responsible to provide a platform for the cultivation of mannerisms, etiquette, ethics and grace. Through a setting for character growth, one develops the ability to emote, to project passion and to express convictions. These skills are what define connections. A diverse education helps one train these soft skills.

A diverse college education, rather than specific technical development, helps one attain the height of human consciousness while adapting to the needs of society. It is to make or bring meaning to what can seem meaningless. The diversity promotes creativity, a willingness to look beyond the obvious, harnesses the power of imagination. In the end, thus, the clamor to design education to train specific technical skills comes at the great expense of many essential life skills.

ZACH HAN thinks college is the best experience to happen… agree at zklhan@ucdavis.edu

The Edwards predicament

Published 05-14-2009 in The California Aggie

Even in political asylum John Edwards cannot stop stealing the limelight. Earlier last week a federal investigation was launched against him for the potential abuse of public funds during his presidential election. His wife Elizabeth is currently promoting her book “Resilience” about the personal travails she undergone while her husband committed infidelity. For the man who seems almost politically irrelevant, the image of the smiling politician seems pretty alive in public consciousness.

But perhaps the most surprising reaction to his infidelity is their very ferocity.

John Edwards always framed his life story as a battle against difficult circumstances and debilitating adversity. Son of a mill worker, he rose to prominence as a leading senator and vice-presidential candidate. As a lawyer, he describes his goals as a crusade for the poor workers against large, exploitative corporations. For many, he appeared a model of strength, directed in resolve against the many injustices life offers. His success was an inspiring American Dream tale come true — many could have subconsciously wanted his ascension as President to make it complete.

But like all stories of overindulgence in the height of successes, he eventually dismissed his very values and succumbed to temptation.

The public office contains a special aura because its inhabitants are a reflection of the constitutional character of our values. For those seeking to assume leadership here, there is an established moral conduct and construct of behavior and engagement that must be fulfilled. The standards are exacting and rigorous.

The demands of the public office can seem exorbitant at times. Yet these demands are necessary as they can be overwhelming. The public office is an incubator of public trust. As much as officials are merely individuals prone to errors, they are volunteers of tremendous responsibility. Placed in their trust are enormous public resources, the authority for power and the privilege of public resource — they yield the power to affect billions of lives.

And while individuals and society has many imperfections, the community expects their leaders to exhibit sound judgment and stable ethical purpose. This includes the ability to resist temptation, be filial, maintain faith in God, organize family values, connect with the community and pay attention to the greater good. Thus they are there to only serve the people, independent from personal interests.

For that reason, the public official’s life is a public record. When one decides to run for public office, their lives are no longer theirs, but subject to the close examination of the public. To commit into public office is to abandon any opportunity at privacy.

For Edwards, his mistakes were twofold. The first mistake was to engage in a consensual illicit relationship with Rielle Hunter, a lady who also produced his campaign videos.

Perhaps more importantly, and what truly infuriates, is his compounding his error by continuing the affair. Despite, as Elizabeth testifies in “Resilience”, his admission that he committed personal foresight, even as she “cried and screamed,” he subsequently continued the relationship. And he did this all while continuing to contest the Democratic primary nomination, refusing to abandon his affair. Absent was any thought of public admission, apology and recrimination. Instead, Edwards quietly hid knowledge of the relationship from the public.

In this respect, Edwards was irresponsible as he was unqualified.

In many ways, John Edwards submitted in a moment of personal weakness. He lost control of his moral judgment despite his responsibilities as a public official. That doesn’t diminish his accomplishments as a crusader for justice or as an individual, loving family person. But the environment for public office just dictates that such a behavior and attitude isn’t tolerated.

As much as “Resilience” is the other side of the story, ZACH HAN still thinks its somewhat a last-attempt at publicity… concur at zklhan@ucdavis.edu

The individual war

Published 05-07-2009 in The California Aggie

A recent invention is threatening to become even more personal than Google. As The Independent reported, Wolfram Alpha promises access to a world designed uniquely to oneself: it “will understand questions and give specific, tailored answers in a way that the web has never managed before.” Alpha, in other words, delivers what humans always sought: immediate, accurate answers.

This era is an era of looping, endless mass production and mass consumption. Products proliferate and advertisements abound. For many, this can be jarring as it can be disorienting — too much is also too little. Which precisely is why the future is increasingly shaping to be a war to reclaim individual identity. The strides for individuality brims like never before.

Take workplace changes. For companies, formal titles and dressing often convey professionalism and unity of purpose. These promote a sense of togetherness and focus toward corporate objectives. It is collective and distinctive by its sameness.

Yet that culture is evolving. In industries reliant on creative impulses especially, adopted are more casual dress codes; some tech companies even allow employees to name their own titles. For one reason, hierarchies seemingly impose levels and corporatism; these fail to humanize. By forsaking these attitudes, subordination is displaced by independent and organic values. They glorify individualism.

Popular culture is also affected. Marketers are appealing to the desire for individualism by discarding utility for prestige and purpose. Rather than portraying products as attractive commodities, they advertise emergent external product experiences: the iconic Haagen Daaz ad of a lady sumptuously enjoying a slice, the Toyota ad illustrating a commitment to environment. Absent in these are any mentions of business transactions. Instead, present is impressions of pleasure.

Similarly, Internet 2.0 is not about the dissemination of information. Instead they strive to empower users. New business models such as FML, Twitter, Facebook and digg.com thrive exactly because users can control their direction. Users discuss their daily lives and others respond. They post and calibrate individual information, others observing and listening. It is all for the individual feeling

What are the consequences? Manifold.

The first noticeable change is the way of interaction. Efficiency is now king. In cable news and papers, presentations must be condensed into immediate, comprehensible fragments. Complex sentence infrastructures are curtailed. Speed of understanding trumps artistry. Everything must be fast. Individuals, not issues, take priority.

Pleasure has also become mechanized. Theme parks imitate real beaches and forests while gaming is becoming Wii-fied. Actual substantive experiences are transformed into replicated similar experiences. Technology mimics traditionalism, the surreal becomes the reality and the artificial becomes the authentic. Everything is geared towards individual pleasure.

At a time when prior institutions and ways of life are under assault, one sees what one had previously with a special clarity and realizes the expensive price of modernization. And it is steep: the loss of meaning creates disillusionment and existential crises at the endless, same products. But humanity is retaliating in attempt to regain individual freedom and identity, which is why Wolfram Alpha is probably going to be the next dominant thing.

ZACH HAN is excited about Wolfram Alpha, expecting to instantly find a delivered email at zklhan@ucdavis.edu when he submits a query. Prove him wrong!