The Foreign Service Journal, October 2011

14 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 1 hurry, we wonder. What has led up to this point and what comes next? The beginnings are clear. You made a bargain. You held up your end. But it’s been tough. Now it’s time for some- thing new. If this were a thriller, upon your return to the U.S. you would be ap- proached by a stranger with a proposi- tion. You would begin an epic battle. We’d be on your side. Somewhere in the novelization of your life, there would be a dramatic flashback to the deal you made, the doubts you had, the sacrifices you en- dured to have your graduate studies subsidized. It would tell us much about your character — how you think about things, where you come from, what your big dreams are and your big fears, although we get a good sense of you just from the letter. But this is not a thriller. This is your life. All you want is a job outside the government. We were hoping for a knife fight in an alley with the trusted official with whom you had worked closely for years, whom you always sus- pected of double-dealing. We were hoping for coded messages and clan- destine liaisons; we want torrid affairs and high-tech gizmos. Well, OK. I’m just saying, it’s an in- teresting letter. If you don’t want to write the thriller, let’s at least help you get a job outside the government, a de- cent boyfriend and a flat in the Bay area or New York. No problem. What skills does a diplomat have? Well, for starters, you’re very diplomatic. Seriously. Not every- body can think quickly and act with grace under pressure. Foreign companies that operate in the U.S. and deal closely with the U.S. government need people with experi- ence like yours. So do U.S. companies that do a lot of business overseas. If you want to stay in the U.S. and just travel on occasion, your knowledge might be essential in the realm of pub- lic relations and public policy. There is a whole world of think-tanks, policy ad- vocates, lobbying, public relations, jour- nalism and all that, out there. You write clearly and concisely. That’s invaluable. You probably also know languages. As far as straight-ahead business op- portunities: well, for starters, the Mexi- can company Grupo Bimbo is now the biggest baker in the U.S. And any com- pany that names itself Bimbo could use some diplomatic skills, ya think? There are a whole lot of Mexican companies thriving in the U.S. They might be a good place to start. We can expect that as the U.S. gov- ernment cuts consular services, private companies will fill the gap. Depending on how entrepreneurial you are by na- ture, youmight consider starting a com- pany that does just that. For the sake of the novel that is in our heads, we’re really hoping that someone will emerge from the cur- tains in your hotel room with a packet of information giving you your next assignment, a very important task that must be performed by you alone, in secret, to save the Western world. Come to think of it, maybe it does not have to be just fiction. I mean, we all need some greater purpose to moti- vate us. You know things other people don’t know. You could help people. Your skills are more valuable than you real- ize. Even if you just want a quiet, safe and interesting life in the U.S., I think it’s possible. Readers will think so, too. This edition of Cybernotes was com- piled by FSJ Editor Steven Alan Hon- ley. C Y B E R N O T E S 50 Years Ago... I f we really care about our “image” before the world, the best way to improve that image is not to blame all our troubles on [the U.S. Information Agency] but to give USIA better material with which to work. We simply will not persuade humanity that we believe deeply in equality against the backdrop of Montgomery and Birmingham, New Orleans and Little Rock, any more than we could persuade humanity that we believed deeply in freedom in the high noon of Senator McCarthy. … Sometimes the actualities in our own land are worse than our representation of them. In this case, since ours is an open society, all our “propaganda” does is to lose us credibility. Sometimes the actualities are better than our representa- tion of them. In this case we do ourselves and our prospects unnecessary injus- tice. … In a world of change, our foreign policy will be effective only as it expresses an America which shows it understands the imperatives of change. And this suggests again that foreign policy has meaning only as an extension, a projec- tion, of what we are at home. — Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., “Foreign Policy and National Morality,” adapted from his remarks at an AFSA luncheon; FSJ , October 1961.