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July 8, 2005
London and the Triumph of the Human Spirit
It has taken me 24 hours to organize my thoughts in the wake of the dastardly bombings on Thursday morning in London. There was too much emotion welling up inside, from horrible memories of 9/11 to pure anger at the cowardice of the perpetrators, to write in an objective manner.
London's Mayor Ken Livingstone captured the essence of the challenge to humankind in his statement issued in the wake of the tragedy. He said, "It is just an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder and we know what the objective is. They seek to divide Londoners. They seek to turn Londoners against each other...the city of London is the greatest in the world because everybody lives side by side in harmony. Londoners will not be divided by this cowardly attack. They will stand together in solidarity..."
This noble statement is exactly what is required at the present time. The genius of the best performing economies, cities and companies is the ability to harness the intellects of the best and the brightest, without regard for their country of origin or religion or lifestyle. These outstanding people prefer to live in places where they can, in Mayor Livingtone's words again, "they are able to be themselves...to fulfill their dreams and achieve their potential..to live the life they choose."
I am also interested in several aspects of the media coverage of the unfolding events.
The best pictures of the horror in the subway came from cell phones, often posted to flickr.com. The BBC immediately put up a web site that allowed contributions from eyewitnesses, often without an interview format. The traditional media now understands the power of "citizen journalists" and actively provides forums for their views, images and videos.
Second, the need to have an established protocol for mobilization of authority figures in advance of a crisis was never more evident. Many of the leaders of top cities were en route home from Singapore in the wake of the 2012 Olympics host city announcement, therefore unavailable for cameras. As a result, in New York, Governor George Pataki and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly were on the air in the early morning to announce increased security measures until Mayor Mike Bloomberg arrived later in the day. I found the classic photo opportunity shot of Prime Minister Blair speaking in front of his peers from the G-8 countries strangely ineffective. Television does not have the patience of the still photo.
Third, the ability of a leader to capture the spirit of a country was never more evident than in Prime Minister Blair's remarks throughout the day. His steely determination and commitment to the British way of life gave great confidence to viewers. It was smart for him to come back to 10 Downing Street for a second chance at the media after his first remarks from Gleneagles, Scotland where he was reacting shortly after learning of the tragedy.
Fourth, there seemed to be a paucity of experts available to the mainstream media for the instant analysis on yesterday's events. For example, BBC had former MP Tony Benn on air, calling for an immediate Middle East peace conference in the wake of the bombings, a rather curious non-sequitur. There were also several no-name security experts offering theories on better ways to protect subways and ports. This is likely a result of mid-summer vacations but there must be better sources from universities or government.
A final note - I believe the greatest act of defiance in the wake of this latest terrorist outrage is to go on with our lives in a normal way. We cannot allow this to change our free society. I had drinks last night with a senior business executive of Arab descent from the Middle East in New York City. He told me that he had received several dirty looks from passersby in the street throughout the day. That is disappointing and not in keeping with our values of tolerance and freedom.
Posted by Edelman at July 8, 2005 8:45 AM
Comments
Couldn't agree more, Richard...great thoughts/words!
Posted by: Martin Pearce at July 8, 2005 1:35 PM
Martin,
How nice to hear from you. What are you doing now? Where are you living?
Richard
Posted by: Richard Edelman at July 13, 2005 11:54 AM
Richard, I would like to say your insight is really shrewd. Yeah, the best way to challenge terrorism is to minimize the damage of terrorists' activities through leading a normal life and attaining mental peace. Again, we see the great need to establish a crisis-response system, which is largely neglected by the authority in my country.
Posted by: Rebecca at July 19, 2005 2:17 AM
Rebecca,
Thanks for writing. The London event definitely shows need for crisis planning for all companies The Brits are a very determined people and will not cringe in the face of such acts!
Richard
Posted by: Richard Edelman at July 20, 2005 11:44 AM
Richard,
Thanks for mailing to me. It really goes beyond my expectation that you will write to me for I just happen to log in to your blog. Yeah, I do believe that Britains can survive the crisis, and the blasts can only make them more determined, more steady, and more united.
By the way, i am just a student in China it is unbelievable that an CEO will write back to an ordinary student. So i really feel honored May God bless you and the British people Best wishes,
Yours,
Bo Liu
Posted by: Rebecca at July 20, 2005 12:02 PM