Category: history

friendship, history, movie, politics

John Adams

Christa Avampato

I don’t have HBO and missed out on the showing of John Adams. I read parts of the book by David McCullough when I was in business school. I took a class, on the Lawn, about Thomas Jefferson. Being a great Jefferson friend, then adversary, then friend again, John Adams had to be included. 


The HBO film and book bring to light the frightening prospect that Americans faced upon declaring their independence. We take this for granted today — of course we are free and independent. The film drives home a visual image of the frightening times that led up to, through, and after the Revolution. They took a “leap in the dark” as Adams said to Jefferson. You get a feeling for the contentious, volatile, and passionate personalities. And it’s a good education in politics and negotiation. 

Ben Franklin had two quotes in the second part that effected me so much that I paused the DVD to write them down: “Politics is the art of the possible” and “Diplomacy is seduction in another guise. One improves with practice.” I think about these two quotes in light of our recent elections. How President Obama focused on the possible – how he ignited people’s sense of hope with that idea – and how elegantly and patiently he played out his hand. He was the unlikeliest of candidates, by his own admission. There must have been times that he was uncertain, even scared or nervous. I imagine there must have been times when he would step back, breathe, and take another step forward. I am envy this kind of patience, and I am working on it as an area of development.

In John Adams, we see that Adams had no patience. H wanted to act swiftly and without hesitation. And he nearly missed the very allies he was looking for, even though they were standing right in front of him – the gentlemen from Virginia: Washington and Jefferson, one who would lead the battle by sword and the other by his pen. They also had this reverence for patience and humility. They had the same goals as Adams – an independent republic and governance by the people; they just went about achieving them in different ways.

The movie also makes it clear that each player has his part and I was left wondering if we’d have this nation today at all if any of those personalities had not been present. It made me re-consider the frustrations I have sometimes felt on group projects and it gave me greater perspective and appreciation for people I have sometimes terms “difficult”. Maybe we all need a John Adams in our lives to help us to value and take decisive actions when the opportunities arise. And maybe we also need a Franklin, Washington, and Jefferson to teach us the value of diplomacy in getting what we want and to help us believe in the art of the possible. Most of all the film makes the case for a group of close advisers, no matter what path we take in life.       
books, government, history, Obama, politics

A time for geniuses

Christa Avampato

Traditionally, grade A educations have been more prevalent in elite, affluent circles. But the tide may be turning on that trend – Obama could do for high-quality education what Target did for design. He could make it desired by, and possible for, all.


This past week I had lunch one day with a group of people I don’t know well. We were discussing the election and one of my lunch companions said, “Who would ever want to be President at a time like this?” This morning, I was watching Meet the Press. Doris Kearns Goodwin, Presidential historian and author of Team of Rivals, quoted Abigail Adams when asked about how Obama will govern with all of the problems he is facing. “These are times that a genius wants to live.” If only I had access to that quote during my lunch. 

And the same could be said of anyone who runs any kind of team, any kind of company. The challenge, the fun is rolling up our sleeves when things are messy and in disarray and setting them straight again. It’s in the churn that we find our new direction. Abigail Adams was right — this is a time that a genius wants to live. And I would add, it is also a time when a genius wants to lead. Thank goodness we had the sense and foresight to elect one.      

anthropology, creativity, experience, history, innovation, language, New York, society, technology, trend

Words on the street

Christa Avampato

I am fascinated by language. My dad spoke six of them. While I didn’t inherit his ability to learn language, as is evidenced by my sad attempts at French, I did inherit a love of hearing different languages and dialects. I particularly enjoy studying how a language truly shapes a culture and national behavior patterns. And the dynamism of language allows it to reflect societal trends.

It’s no wonder that my recent discovery of Urban Dictionary, http://www.urbandictionary.com/ , brought a smile to my face. The more tech-saavy readers of this blog will think that I just now have emerged from the dark ages. I fear that this is proof that my long, slow slide from hip, urban chick to crusty old broad may have finally begun. Nevertheless, I think this may also be a new find for some of you, or a refresher of knowledge gained long ago, so it is worthwhile to post the link.

Those out of the know may be asking, “So what is this urban dictionary all about?” It is a slang dictionary that is based on user-generated definitions. Literally, it is helping to define this quickly evolving world around us. And then there is a feature that allows the community members to vote on the definitions added. For example, “wOOt” is top of mind on Urban Dictionary today. It means “an expression of joy”. 3106 people give this definition a thumbs up. 565 shot it down.

The other cool feature that I love is that community members are recording the history of these words. From many definitions, we can learn where words come from, their original use, and how they’ve been adapted to become more main stream. So not only is this a dictionary, it is an anthropological history book. I’m so excited about this, it’s hard for me to sit still!

“WOOt” was recently voted word of the year for 2007 by the dictionary gurus at Merriam-Webster. Facebook was the runner up. In years past words like “google” and “blog” have received the top word honor – not a bad track record as these words are now commonplace in daily conversations. Is “wOOt” destined for this type of fame and recognition? Unclear. But it’s found its place in the American lexicon and I’m all for anything, or any word for that matter, that spreads joy.