The Foreign Service Journal, October 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2016 9 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Pollution and Politics BY SHAWN DORMAN T Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal. air, we dare to take a look at the U.S. presidential election. The FSJ has a tradition in presidential election years of turning the lens on ourselves, asking foreign journalists to share views of the contest from their home countries. We have so far managed to do that within the confines of our role as the flagship publication of the American Foreign Service Association, which is committed to remaining nonpartisan. Members of the Foreign Service swear an oath to defend the Consti- tution. They take pride in faithfully serving the national interest, regardless of which party wins the White House. And they take the Hatch Act seriously, as well. This election has tested AFSA’s resolve to remain above politics and raised questions about where the lines are and should be. Our discussion starts with the Speaking Out, “Safeguarding a Nonpartisan Foreign Service” by FSO Matthew Tompkins, who argues for a baseline standard of political discretion and suggests a conversation on how much, if any, political participation is appropriate for the professional Foreign Service. Then we offer views on the U.S. election from three journalists and one retired FSO writing from the perspec- his month’s cover story looks at air pollution as a fact of life for members of the Foreign Service. Southeast Asian “haze” (aka smoke from land-clearing peat fires in Indonesia); vehicle and industrial emissions choking cities across India and China; smoke from wood- and coal-burning from Sarajevo to Gaborone—all contribute to a global problem experienced locally. Worldwide availablity doesn’t make exceptions, at least not yet, based on air quality. In “The Air We Breathe: Liv- ing with Air Pollution,” environmental psychologist and urban health expert Nicole Schaefer-McDaniel, also an FS family member, gives a lesson on what we need to know—from the risks involved and where to look for informa- tion to suggestions for coping. If you’ve been in the Foreign Service for more than one assignment, chances are you have an air pollution story. I found Deborah Lynn’s “Breathless in Jakarta—A Cautionary Tale” particula rly compelling, as I’d had my own bout with air pollution challenges while serv- ing there in the late 1990s (whooping cough, smoky flights). In her story, Lynn describes her painful journey through Jakarta pollu- tion to pneumonia to the difficult decision to curtail from a great assignment. Moving on from air pollution to hot tives of four countries: Brazil, Austria, India and Mexico. In another turn of the lens on our- selves, this month’s Local Lens comes from Des Moines, Iowa. In Features, Ambassador (ret.) Lan- non Walker shares the story of his diplo- matic travels around Africa in 1980 with Muhammad Ali, heavyweight champion and diplomat extraordinaire. And FSO and AFSA dissent winner Amelia Shaw is back with a story about the problem of undocumented American children in Mexico, “An Invisible Tide: Undocu- mented U.S. Kids in Mexico.” In closing, I’d like to share very good news from the Journal . We are about to become the proud stewards of a complete digital archive of The Foreign Service Journal . For at least a decade, FSJ staff and the Editorial Board have advocated for a fully accessible online archive of the entire library of 90-plus years of the Journal . Hurray to the current Govern- ing Board for giving the green light to go ahead. Keep an eye out for news on the completion of the project and the shar- ing of access to this amazing cache of primary-source material on U.S. diplo- macy. n Worldwide availablity doesn’t make exceptions, at least not yet, based on air quality.