Summer 2010 Update

The last entry for this blog was in October, 2009. You may be wondering what has happened to me and to my association of Advocates of Enlightened Capitalism since then. Something did indeed happen that has taken my focus away from this exciting project. In late December of 2009 my wife, Julia, was in a terrible car accident. She was on her way to work with a co-worker when that person, who was driving the vehicle, suffered a fatal attack of some kind. The car was traveling north on I75 toward Dayton, OH just north of West Chester. My wife realized there was a problem and valiantly tried to help the gentleman and gain control of the car that was going in excess of 60 mph, but it was too late. The car ran off the highway at a rest area and slammed into two parked tractor-trailers. It went airborne, spun around and landed upside down in the ramp to the rest area.
Julia suffered a total of eleven fractures in the accident. She spent two days in the ICU and two weeks total in the hospital. Now, six months after the accident, she is still recovering. She was very fortunate to not have suffered any paralysis, internal injuries or brain damage. The last six months have been difficult for both of us. My focus during this time has been almost entirely on two things - helping my wife recover from the accident and establish a somewhat normal routine, and keeping up with my professional obligations as an assistant professor of business administration at Wilmington College - Cincinnati Branch.
This update to my blog signals my return to Advoencap and the development of my ideas on the many ways we might work on improving American society. During my unexpected and unintended hiatus from this project a lot of things have been happening in the U.S. I am thinking about things from a political standpoint. Most notable to me is the tension (the continuation of it, really) and divide between the liberal and conservative elements of society. President Obama has faced enormous challenges since his election. Despite the passing of the historic health care legislation, there has been little discussion of what this will mean to the country. That is because of all of the other crises that we are having to deal with.
On the other side, the conservative elements are exploring every possible avenue for bringing about a marked shift in the mid-term elections in the House, and in other key political races as well, and turning the agenda back to something more favorable to them. The Tea Party movement is an example of this shift. What concerns me, and is something that will influence my project to spread the word about Enlightened Capitalism, is the polarization, or partisanship, that is greater than any time I can recall.
I would have to recognize that my vision of an American society that embraces the tenets of Enlightened Capitalism would be more aligned with a political system that is, well, more enlightened in nature. By this I mean that ways must be found to have more cooperation between the private sector, and especially Corporate America, and our federal government. This is not likely to resonate with those who believe that enormous changes are needed in this country that will be based on a significant reduction in the influence of the federal government. Regardless of the political and ideological shifts that may be forthcoming, I will continue on this project and seek consensus with others on the ways we can make our society better through the vehicle of Enlightened Capitalism.