The tragic comedy in “buying Greenland” from Denmark
by Wim Laven
751 words
President Donald Trump’s recent proposition to buy Greenland generated curious headlines and reactions around the world. Many have focused their attention on the comical reaction to his offer: not for sale, absurd. Trump’s disregard for Greenland’s self-governing-autonomy and his unsophisticated approach to negotiation and problem-solving are on full display.
The public, as Trump’s employer, should be truly alarmed by this behavior. It is not just his typical failed international relations approach, but it is bumbling predatory cruelty that alienates the vast majority of the world.
The facts are clear: Trump wanted to buy something that was not for sale, he wanted to buy it from someone in no position to sell it, and he was disappointed and angry about being declined. It was as absurd as your friend being upset that you will not sell your neighbor’s car to him. Trump clearly has missed the part where Greenland could join the U.S. if they wanted to.
Trump presents two temperaments for managing conflict, neither of which obtains in successful statecraft. He either competes with ham-handed ruthlessness, or gaslights and avoids. His calculations reflect his own interests, either he is willing to fight for something he wants or he gives up in a hissy fit. It is a strategy that may work well in some business transactions, like buying and selling when there is little or no expected future business relationship. The substantive component—the buy—can be served through hard negotiation and success is reflected in the price paid for a quality product. Anger and disappointment over a price, however, are unlikely to sweeten a deal, while they may sour one.
What Trump consistently misses are temperaments that recognize someone else’s interests. Compromise is strategy where you sacrifice some of what you want in order to get some of what you want; most grade-school-aged-kids have learned this lesson. The next level is learning how to identify what you don’t value so highly and what the other might value quite highly. Giving that to another makes them a winner and you can more easily ask for that which they may not value as much but which you hold in high regard.
Accommodation does not exist in Trump’s menu of options. We accommodate when we do for others and expect nothing in return. It is a friendly behavior, something which frequently has considerable rewards. It helps relationships grow, in everyday relationships or diplomatically, like in relationships between the U.S. and Denmark.
Trump’s view of Greenland’s potential 50 billion barrels of oil, and other untapped resources completely misses the worth and value of relationships. The hyper-focus on substantive considerations of material value completely ignores other details like emotional satisfaction; the Danish are happier and score higher in quality of life than Americans. Again, I think most adolescents learn: it is not what you say but how you say it.
Experts in peace studies and conflict resolution have found considerable evidence relating to best practices and predictions for problem-solving and negotiation. The most durable outcomes are achieved through collaborative processes. They are noted for being both more time and resource intensive, and also for being the only means for true win-win outcomes. Competitive, zero-sum, and coercive strategies can potentially deliver short term results, as can avoidance, but they miss important satisfactions. You want your opponent to think at the end of the day, “I came out better than if we never negotiated and I am open to good faith negotiations with this other in the future.”
Under such critical evaluation it is painfully clear that Trump’s efforts go beyond failure and into the realm of hurting U.S. interests. His predictably poor strategy delivered an expected outcome. He has done damage to a history of trust; he truly does not understand that trust and truth matter, and has further degraded American credibility.
Scholarly research shows collaborative solutions are the only real option for addressing complex human and humanitarian struggles we are now facing. Electing leaders bent on nationalistic, profiteering selfish interests will continue to produce problems. Win-win outcomes will be the only hope for the future. Sadly, the costs of delays in quality leadership are devastating. Species are going extinct while inept leaders push dishonest agendas and acres are burning while corruption protects profits. Machiavelli may have even revisited his declaration that it is better to be feared than loved if you can’t be both, if he was exposed to our planet currently charting a course to annihilation; adaptation and evolution are marks of true leadership.
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Wim Laven, Ph.D., syndicated by PeaceVoice, teaches courses in political science and conflict resolution.
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SeeYouSpaceCowboy
Premieres New Single
"Put On A Show, Don't Let Them See You Fall"
Streaming Now on Metal Injection
The Correlation Between Entrance And Exit Wounds
Out September 27th via Pure Noise Records
Pre-Orders Available Here
"A viscerally piercing, confrontational expression of unfettered
queer rage and bombast...a welcome aural assault for
any fan of dissonant, challenging music." - Revolver
Los Angeles, CA - August 27, 2019 - Self-proclaimed "sasscore" band SeeYouSpaceCowboy have unleashed a vicious new single, "Put On A Show, Don't Let Them See You Fall," streaming now on Metal Injection. The song comes from the band's recently announced record, The Correlation Between Entrance And Exit Wounds, which is set to be released on September 27th via Pure Noise Records. Pre-orders are available now at http://smarturl.it/sysc
On the new single, the band shares: "This song is about mental illness and how people will view someone as fundamentally broken or useless if they struggle with it. The lyrics act as a rallying call to not view yourself as such and keep pressing forward through adversity."
Combining the MySpace-era grind sound they loved as teenagers with more modern takes on the heavy music genre, the California-based SeeYouSpaceCowboy formed in October 2016 as a self-described "indulgence project" - but have since risen to become one of the most exciting bands in the underground scene's new wave.
They've done so not only through a devastatingly heavy and dextrous hardcore sound, but also razor-sharp lyricism at the hands of frontwoman Connie Sgarbossa. The satirical, tongue-in-cheek and highly political writing of the band's early material earned them the genre tag sasscore, but Sgarbossa bares her soul more explicitly than ever on SeeYouSpaceCowboy's new album, The Correlation Between Entrance And Exit Wounds.
From its first notes, The Correlation Between Entrance And Exit Wounds is an album that thrives on conflict. It's there in the music itself: the one- and two-minute bursts of blistering hardcore like "Prolonging The Inevitable Forever" and first single "Armed With Their Teeth," which are expertly butted up against cinematic, instrumental pieces to create a truly captivating musical push and pull. These more measured moments not only provide listeners a well-earned respite from the album's punishing pace, but they showcase the mindset of a band unafraid to take left turns in their music.
Dissent permeates every word of Sgarbossa's lyrics. While her work in the past tended to focus more externally - channeling white-hot rage into middle-fingered political salvos - the darkness coloring Sgarbossa's life around the making of the album, including suicide, mental illness, and addiction, helped her refocus her voice and begin looking more inward for inspiration.
The Correlation Between Entrance And Exit Wounds is ultimately the most honest, introspective SeeYouSpaceCowboy music yet: a heartbreaking look at coping with tragedy, as well as the resolve and strength needed to push past sorrow. It gives SeeYouSpaceCowboy an added layer of humanity in an otherwise outwardly hostile genre and marks immense leaps in both musical and personal growth.
SeeYouSpaceCowboy is Jesse Price (guitar),Connie Sgarbossa (vocals), Ethan Sgarbossa (drums), Bryan Prosser (guitar), and Cameron Phipps (bass).
Follow SeeYouSpaceCowboy:
Website: www.seeyouspacecowboyca.bandcamp.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/seeyouspacecowboyca
Twitter: www.twitter.com/syscband
Instagram: www.instagram.com/seeyouspacecowboyca
For hi-res press photo, please click here
For hi-res album artwork, please click here
The Correlation Between Entrance And Exit Wounds Tracklisting:
1. Armed With Their Teeth
2. With High Hopes and Clipped Wings
3. Disdain Coupled With A Wide Smile
4. A Space Marked "Escape"
5. Prolonging The Inevitable Forever
6. Late December
7. Have You Lost The Plot?
8. Put On A Show, Don't Let Them See You Fall
9. No Words, No Compensating Lies
10. Dissertation Of An Idle Voice
11. The Phoenix Must Reset
Upcoming Tour Dates w/Knocked Loose:
10/1 - Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
10/2 - Minneapolis, MN @ Skywaye Theatre
10/3 - Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
10/4 - Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
10/5 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
10/7 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
10/8 - Vancouver, BC @ The Rickshaw Theatre
10/9 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
10/12 - Las Vegas, NV @ Fremont Country Club
10/13 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
10/15 - Mesa, AZ @ The Nile Theatre
10/17 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
10/18 - Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill
10/19 - Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
10/20 - Jefferson, LA @ Southport
10/22 - Jacksonville, FL @ 1904 Music Hall
10/23 - Lake Park, FL @ The Kelsey Theater
10/24 - Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
10/25 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
10/26 - Carrboro, NC @ Cats Cradle
10/27 - Richmond, VA @ Canal Club
10/29 - Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
10/30 - Millvale, PA @ Mr Smalls Theatre
10/31 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance Theater
11/1 - Philadelphia, PA @ TLA
11/2 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
11/3 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall
11/6 - Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix Concert Theatre
11/7 - Syracuse, NY @ Westcott Theater
11/8 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
11/9 - Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrews Hall
11/10 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
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