APRIL 2024 MAGAZINE

The first rule of successful negotiating is to do so from a position of strength. If you are not in that position, still declare that you are. If you are negotiating in the public arena, the general audience will not really know which side is stronger, if both are claiming to be such.  This is the framework within which President Donald Trump and the Congressional Democratic leaders Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer find themselves in.

From the last presidential campaign, three slogans come to mind that embody the Trumpian call to fearmongering, isolationism and reductionism: “Make America Great Again” and “Lock Her Up” and “Build the Wall.”  While the latter two slogans are action-oriented, “Make America Great Again” is packed with cringe-worthy beliefs that encompass notions of free-loaders (both countries and persons of color), of resentment (of political correctness, multiculturalism, elites, government itself, globalism), and of rightness(finally, someone who will say out loud what I’ve believed all these years and act on it).

One area of our lives that takes away our control is the internet and social media. Many of us are tethered to our phones and devices. And in some ways, they are more than critical tools of communication, but have become appendages of our own identity. For those of us who must promote ourselves, or our businesses, we are reliant on the internet and social media. We have yet to acknowledge that very few of us have the expertise or the money to navigate the Dark Web.