World affairs in st. Petersburg

The Florida variety

We are speaking at a World Affairs Council meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida, tomorrow. It is a huge event with more than four hundred people signed up. I have always believed in world affairs councils as they being the folks hungering for international discussions together with experts who have been in the field or studied topics for ages. It is so stimulating.

The current conference panel is three foreign journalists discussing how the United States is currently seen abroad.

More interesting in some ways was the discussion with our Uber driver as we rode from the Tampa Airport. For all the discussion inside the Beltway about how horrible China is, our driver wanted to make sure we knew he is invested in Chinese stocks ‘for the long term’. He wants to see the particular electric car industry stock return to the $50 a share level from a while back rather than current share levels of $5.42. That is his focus on China rather than seeing it so many others do within the national security community.

When asked if he was worried about China, he said nope. He sees it as a vehicle for personal advancement. Yes, he acknowledged that there were some possible differences between us and them but he thinks that he can increase his own finances long term through China producing cars it sells not only at home but also I. Europe. He is hoping—and expecting—Chinese EV sales here.

It was almost a complete disconnect from conversations inside the Beltway. How can that be? He sees Washington as irrelevant, in fact. Some of you may agree with that but others may find that startling.

I also want note that one of the loyal readers of ACC pushed back last night on our recent exchanges on the southern border. She believes the panic is manufactured nonsense from the Republican media. She cites a number of credible sources saying the border is not in crisis except on Fox and similar conservative media sources.

I see the need for conversations to continue. I also see that our divisions are so deep across the entire country on so many topics are even deeper than they seem in distant Annapolis.

Thank you for reading this column today. I welcome any and all thoughts.

Be well and be safe. FIN