The Foreign Service Journal, December 2020

36 DECEMBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL concerned colleagues and embassy leadership to discuss the matter. He also raised the issue with AFSA and through other department channels. Mr. Smith worked with colleagues to submit a dissent cable raising the concerns to State Department leadership. State leadership then used his constructive dissent, policy input and alternatives to engage embassy leadership in finding alterna- tive language for use in public documents that addressed some of Mr. Smith’s concerns while upholding strategic Ameri- can policy decisions included in the U.S. Vision for Peace. “Words are important, especially for us,” Mr. Smith tells the FSJ . “As diplomats representing the United States and Ameri- can values, our choice of words—whether they are inclusive or exclusive, and how they can be interpreted by the people in the countries where we work—can have an immense impact, for both good and ill, on our work to advance U.S. interests.” Mr. Smith took away two important lessons from the experience. “First, dissent can and should be empowering, and good leadership—and trust in that leadership—is critical to achieve that. Good leaders will take the time to listen to different perspectives, even if they don’t agree with them, and they will support those individuals in doing so,” he tells the Journal , adding that he personally felt empow- ered by leaders who took the time to listen and consider his concerns. “Second, dissent does not need to be a solo journey,” he says. “I was privileged to be able to work with a number of exceptional colleagues who shared my concerns and joined with me in raising them, not only at post but in Wash- ington. I am honored by being selected for this award, but must recognize and express my deep appreciation for those others who also raise their voices when needed, and for those who listen.” Jason Smith has served as a political officer in the Palestin- ian Affairs Unit of U.S. Embassy Jerusalem since 2019. Prior to that, he served for a year in the political section of U.S. Consul- ate General Jerusalem. With the State Department since 2008, he has also served as the human rights and labor officer in Tegucigalpa; in the Office of the Coordinator for Cuban Affairs in Washington, D.C., during the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba; and in Islam- abad and Damascus. Prior to working for State, Mr. Smith worked in Sri Lanka responding to the 2004 tsunami, at a nongovernmental orga- nization in Washington managing a USAID Cuba program and as a missionary in Paraguay, where he learned Spanish (mixed with Guarani). He speaks Spanish, and some Arabic and Urdu. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and a mas- ter’s degree in international development. The son of Foreign Service officers, Jason has lived in the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Latin America, but currently calls Maryland home. Jason Smith, at right, leads then USAID Administrator Mark Green and his delegation on a walk through Jerusalem’s Old City in 2019. Dissent does not need to be a solo journey. I was privileged to be able to work with a number of exceptional colleagues who shared my concerns and joined with me in raising them, not only at post but in Washington. —Jason Smith