The Foreign Service Journal, May 2003

games and do my best to win, I wasn’t looking forward to clashing with Barney Brinton. Principle and Practice The time between rounds is avail- able for secret “diplomacy” among the players, to negotiate agreements with one another: an entente cordiale here, a mutual non-aggression pact there. All the competitors make secret alliances to coordinate their moves and strengthen their positions, hoping to outwit and outmaneuver the others and eliminate them one by one. Of course, in order to end up as the one and only winner, eventually they have to turn against their erstwhile allies. This is the concept of the game. Simple but diabolically clever. And not very nice. OK, so I’m Germany. According to history, I will not win. I figure my best chance is to make an alliance with a neighboring power at the outset. Something to relieve my forces from defending along at least one border — the eastern border. Then I’ll be free to invade in another direction; south toward the Mediterranean, maybe surprising other players who are not taking my armies and fleets seriously enough. A long shot, perhaps, but worth a try. I figure I need a pact with Russia. Russia! Russia and Germany! What a concept! Anticipate Hitler by a generation and maybe gain an advantage. My personal approach is going to be simple and direct — and naive. I will negotiate secret deals just like everyone else, but I’ll keep my word. That’s the bottom line for me, my core value. I’ll ask the person with whom I negotiate to make the same solemn promise, putting our personal rela- tionship on the line, making the stakes bigger than just the game. The way I see it, both in life and in games, I think character counts. There has to be some congruence between the person in real life and the person playing the game, whatever the rules. If a player breaks a promise, he may obtain a short-term advantage, but word will get around that he isn’t to be trusted and his longer-term chances of winning may diminish. I personally favor situations and solu- tions that reward good behavior and punish bad. If you give your word you should live up to it, even in a game designed to reward deception and guile. And that’s what I told my kids. I would play hard and try every which way to win, but I’d try to be true to my own high personal standards that go beyond the game itself. It may be that I’m tying my hands and compromis- ing my chances of winning. But I hope our commitment to personal integrity and straight dealing will enable us to pursue a winning strategy though we also have to be lucky enough that some of the others give us an opening on the game board. Our first task is to exercise diplo- macy with Hastings Hunter, the Brit playing as Russia. I liked Hasty and his freewheeling entrepreneurial style. Unlike the other players, he came from the world of business where you’re always proposing and making deals, and I guessed that he was also more accustomed than us “guvvies” to making them come out win-win. Hasty was good at his work. Initially, we — my kids and I — caught a lucky break. Hasty approached me and proposed that we make a pact as Russia and Germany, to become jointly a juggernaut of the east. I embraced the idea eagerly. I told him he could count on me to carry out my commitment and that I counted on him to do the same. If either of us wanted to abrogate the pact we would inform the other before taking adverse action. I even explained that I was working in tan- dem with my kids and that I was hop- ing to show them how people behave honorably even when they play a 56 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 0 3 You Thought We Didn’t Exist ... ButWe Do!! No one does what we do quite the way we do it Mother/Daughter Owned & Operated Pied-A-Terre Properties, LTD Exclusive Interim Rentals Month to Month COMMENTS FROM OUR SATISFIED FOREIGN SERVICE CUSTOMERS: “Pied-A-Terre offers distinguished residences for the discriminating professional. I wholeheartedly recommend their services.” • Aaron Hellman “Pied-A-Terre staff were very attentive to any requests, and always responded right away to our needs.” • William Davidson “In an emergency situation, Pied-A-Terre provided a centrally located and comfortable apartment on very short notice — and welcomed our dog and cat. We're extremely grateful.” • Michael & Sheila Austrian “My friends all envied me and thought I had a great find — and so do I! When I come back for TDY training, I hope you’ll take me again!” • Constance Jones Phone (202) 338-3190 Fax (202) 332-1406 E-mail: dctemprent@aol.com