2011: The Power of an Idea Whose Time Has Come

The Sidi Bouzid square where Tarek
Bouazizi self-immolated

Never underestimate the power of an idea whose time has come.  Fifty three weeks ago, Tarek Bouazizi, a fruit vendor in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia lit himself afire in protest and started an international conflagration that has not stopped. Regimes ended, dictators fell, and millions worldwide demanded change for the better.  Not too long ago, such an act of defiance would have gone largely unnoticed, happening as it did in an unknown hard-scrabble little town in north Africa.  But, when combined with the incredible reach of today's communications technology and the nearly ubiquitous Internet, even small acts and ideas have unimagined power.  So much so that TIME's Person of the Year for 2011 is The Protester. The protester became the spark that lit decades of  built-up fuel in the form of repressed anger by powerless people, fanned by the instantaneous ability to convey the actual images directly to a world-wide audience.  The world has truly changed as a result.  Frankly, I was convinced that TIME's POY would be Steve Jobs, whose passing at the age of 56 symbolized another kind of protester, whose ideas have changed the world.  Jobs spent an all-too-short life putting that incredible connective power into the palms of each of our hands; his demands for technological excellence and innovation are just as responsible for the change sweeping the world as the acts of Tarek Bouazizi, Tahrir Square citizens, Occupy Wall Street, Libyan rebels, and angry Muscovites.  What binds Bouazizi and Jobs in the same thought?  It is the power of an idea whose time has come.  Whether that idea is freedom from government repression or freedom of internet expression, there are powerful, beautiful ideas which (seemingly suddenly and without notice) have blossomed before our eyes in 2011.  Ideas whose time have come have created a very different world than the one we welcomed 365 days ago. 

This is our 100th blog this year.  365 days ago, Shelly and I lived in Albuquerque, NM, perfectly content with our lives, our family, and our future. We both had excellent jobs, great friends, wonderful close-by family members, and no need to change anything.  Retirement was in sight. Today, we live next to the Indian Ocean in an island republic, where I fight Somali pirates from a comfortable seat in the Embassy, and on the weekends we swim, snorkel, and scuba dive.  How did that happen???  Seems there were a couple small ideas left from decades back; I dreamed of being a diplomat . . . speak languages, work on international projects, and represent my country.  For Shelly, it was the idea that her retirement would be an active one of travel, curiosity, and life-long learning.  Both ideas were powerful, and both seemed to ignite at the same time . . . and combined with the State Department's offer of a post and the 21st century's new communications technology linking us with family and friends, these suddenly became ideas whose times had come.   So what is your idea---don't underestimate its power!   Have a happy 2012, and one filled with powerful ideas!!