JACK BERNARD'S TRAVELS

Millions of people around the world remember this date 40 years ago. Do you? It was the day those millions were changed forever and a day that signified a momentous sea change in American history. Today, April 30, 2015 is the 40th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon.

The war that ended then is known as the American War in Vietnam. It ended a string of American  military victories and was the first in a series of subsequent miscalculations and military adventures that were unwinable – Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq – not for lack of effort but because the playing field of war was changed in Vietnam. The official holiday in-coiuntry celebrates the Communist victory, but for those of us who love the South and admire its people it signifies their loss of heritage and homeland.

I’m not an apologist for America’s involvement in the American War, but as someone who has lived there I am deeply touched by the plight of the South Vietnamese who were victimized and persecuted following the fall of Saigon. April 30, 1975 signaled the commencement of what has become known as the Vietnamese Diaspora, the exodus of South Vietnamese people who supported the US government when the North Vietnamese overran their half of the divided country. Rory Kennedy’s documentary, Last Days In Vietnam, shows the chaos, desperation, and danger of those final days.

There are now more than 3 million “overseas Vietnamese,” 1.8 million of them in the US. Last night I watched the Kennedy film on PBS. It was the third time I’ve seen it and it never fails to move me. What moves me is not America’s loss, it’s the South Vietnamese people’s loss, the people who worked for and relied on the US, if not to win the war at least to protect them in the final days.

There are heroes and goats in the story. The US Ambassador, Graham Martin, an old fashioned cold warrior steadfastly refused to consider an exit plan even as the North Vietnamese raced south and encircled Saigon. Many US operatives ignored Martin’s order and began planning for a black ops exit but it was too late.

My friend, John Riordan, who was vice-president of Citibank in Saigon is one of the heroes. Against company and government orders he put himself in danger and saved the lives of 106 Vietnamese Citibank employees and family members by arranging a harrowing escape to the airport and passage to Guam on US government aircraft. There are now more than 250 of John’s “family” and they meet periodically to celebrate their good fortune. He was featured on CBS’s 60 Minutes last year and has recently written a book about how he pulled it off.

If you’re a morning newshound, John is going to tell his story on CBS This Morning with Charlie Rose and Nora O’Donnell today (the 30^th). Like so many stories from “the last days” it is a story of courage, honor, and selflessness. That is what this anniversary means to me. It’s not about the war or the mistakes that were made or the tragic deaths of 58,000 Americans, 2 million civilians (on both sides), 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers, and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers.

This date is a memorial to the dead on both sides, but after 40 years it also reminds us that though war is indeed hell those that survive can heal and prosper. I have never met such an energetic, determined, hard working population as the Vietnamese of the diaspora, people who left with nothing and have succeeded against unimaginable odds

But the wounds of the American War are deep and enduring. There is a new book by Viet Thanh Nguyen, a writer born in Vietnam but raised in America. The Sympathizer’s narrator is a soldier whose story of duplicity, conflicted feelings, and the exhaustion of war mirror the feelings of many first and second generation Vietnamese. Mr. Nguyen’s Op-Ed in the Sunday Review of last week’s New York Times is a harsh indictment of those who think the war ended on April 30, 1975. It’s well worth reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/opinion/sunday/our-vietnam-war-never-ended.html?_r=0

As someone of the Vietnam War generation I have seen the country from the beginning of the American War to the current growing prosperity. I was a co-pilot on Pan Am’s first flight into Saigon after the Tet Offensive in 1968, and watched as South Vietnamese pilots flying AD Skyraiders bombed and strafed a Viet Cong enclave just north of the runway. From 2009 -2013 I went back as manager of the Saigon office of a large US humanitarian organization called East Meets West Foundation. It was an honor to be there doing good works instead of waging war.

I hope this short piece helps remind us all that we can do better when we energize and appeal to our better selves.

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The great Danish writer, Isak Dinesen, is frequently cited for saying, “Coffee, according to the women of Denmark, is to the body what the Word of the Lord is to the soul.” I can’t speak directly to what the women of Denmark want or need, but coffee is certainly a key element for me in Surviving Seattle.

This week, at the Starbucks annual shareholders meeting, CEO Howard Schultz shared some brain-cramping bits of information. After announcing that there would be a 2 for 1 stock split based on the company’s record earnings, he dropped some remarkable statistics about the company’s performance. Did you know, for instance, that Starbucks baristas prepare an astounding 7,000 handcrafted beverages every minute of every day or that the worldwide company plans to open a new store every six hours in 2015? I find it almost impossible to wrap my head around these numbers even though I live in the eye of the international coffee storm.

In spite of the company’s remarkable performance and the fact that it’s a hometown company I don’t feel a lot of affection for the brand or Mr. Schultz. The coffee tastes bitter (Charbucks?) to me, the pastries are small, overpriced and sugary, and until recently Mr. Schultz has been arrogant and uninvolved as a corporate leader in Seattle’s civic affairs. In 1991 he fought with and sued his residential neighbors and then in 2006, after owning the NBA Seattle Sonics for five short years, he sold them down the river to a bunch of oil-rich Oklahomans who spirited the team away to Oak City. Some people here will never forgive him no matter how much money he spreads around or how many jobs he creates

On the plus side, he‘s done some good things for and with his company. Under pressure from outside critics he began promoting and implementing Fair Trade practices in the coffee industry and working to improve environmental and working conditions for plantation workers. At the same time, he bucked Wall Street by providing above minimum wage compensation and giving even part-time workers healthcare and 401k benefits.  Recently he accommodated workers by designing a scheduling algorhithm that gave them more predictability in organizing their work lives. In the last three years he’s also been outspoken in the national debates over government gridlock and gun rights. Not all bad to be sure.

One of the new and innovative things Mr. Schultz and Starbucks have done locally is to open a 15,000 square foot roaster and café in downtown Seattle. M and I dropped by last week. It’s hard not to be impressed.

This place is part shiny industrial chic and part Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory. Earlier remarks notwithstanding, the food and beverage offerings here are first class. I tasted two drip coffees – Pantheon and Amazonas Pure – that were flavorful and smooth while eating a “Loaded Baked Potato” scone with soft butter that I would happily repeat every morning for the rest of my life. The Roastery is a showplace but more than that it speaks to the company’s commitment to quality. The everyday offerings in neighborhood stores may leave something wanting but this large scale experiment, contrary to the direction of other national chains, is toward quality not away from it.

There is something both inspiring and distasteful about successful people sharing their opinions on subjects not in their wheelhouse. I don’t know if it’s hubris that makes them believe their opinions matter to others or whether it’s a sincere desire to be a positive force for good? Maybe it’s both. In spite of the good news Mr. Schultz delivered to shareholders, the biggest headline from the shareholders meeting had to do with a new company effort called Race Together, a much-criticized attempt to provoke conversation about race relations. The “Race Together” caption, written on Starbucks take-out cups, revealed itself to be a bumbling, clumsy way to open a dialogue on race. I, personally, don’t want to engage with my barista on the race issue, and Gwen Ifill of the PBS Newshour tweeted, “Honest to God, if you start to engage me in a race conversation before I’ve had my morning coffee it’s not going to end well.” The Starbucks strategy is not clear or well thought out but as clumsy as it is I think it’s courageous. With all that has occurred across the country in the last year, I applaud Mr. Schultz for attempting to bring the issue forward. Maybe we latte-swilling white folks need to stop pretending it’s someone else’s problem.

I sincerely hope that events of the recent past will result in positive changes across the country. There’s enough race-baiting and name calling to go around these days. We don’t need more. What we need are people, especially business and civic leaders, with the courage to address the subject, participate in the debate, and work on solutions.

Thanks, Howard. Now, how about getting us back our NBA franchise? Winning the NBA title is like developing a strong brand and successful business. It takes time. In 2000 you turned the CEO duties at Starbucks over to others but in 2008 you took over again in the face of a company downturn. Now you’re on top again. Maybe you could redeem yourself with basketball fans by supporting the effort to bring a team back to Seattle. What do you think?

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Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the day Sheriff Jim Clark and his posse beat MLK and 600 non-violent marchers mercilessly in Selma Alabama. Dr. King and his followers were attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge on their way to Montgomery to protest voting rights abuses. The carnage of that day was horrific, but yesterday’s celebration was both joyous and solemn – a reminder of how far we’ve come. MLK was absent but his powerful presence energized President Obama and 70,000 fellow Americans who marched across the bridge to honor his legacy.

Representative John Lewis, a veteran of the original march was quoted as saying, “If you had told me then that one day I would be back in Selma to introduce the first African-American President I would have said you were crazy.” But… he was back and he wasn’t crazy.

Yesterday was a benchmark occasion and though we have come a long way since Sheriff Clark refused to call ambulances and left wounded marchers lying in the street we still are struggling with racial issues that should be far behind us.

Racism is racism. We’ve made progress in voting rights and education but the racial divide continues in other areas. Recent instances of white police officers shooting black citizens, not just in Ferguson but in LA, Madison, Cleveland, and New York have highlighted the continuing divide. Why now? What’s going on? Why is this happening? What happened to the “community policing” strategies of the 1970’s and ‘80’s? Why are predominantly white officers patrolling predominantly black areas of these cities? For that matter, why are there still predominantly black areas in these cities? Why aren’t police departments teaching officers how to defuse these volatile situations instead of using lethal force to end them?

There are clearly two sides to these stories. I feel sympathy for the white officers caught in this nightmare as well as for the black victims? A St. Louis grand jury refused to bring charges against Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson. That in turn prompted a Department of Justice review and a similar conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to support an indictment of the officer. I don’t know all the facts, but I have seen the video of Mr. Brown robbing a convenience store and assaulting the owner shortly before his physical confrontation with Officer Wilson. No one deserves to die for stealing a package of cigarillos, but I have a real problem with the media and Mr. Brown’s thuggish behavior. The media referred to him only as “an unarmed teenager.” This characterization is provocative. What about Mr. Brown’s provocations? Why is the media willing to give all the benefit of the doubt to Brown and none to Officer Wilson? We need to choose our martyrs very carefully.

Last weekend another black teenager was shot and killed in Madison WI. Anthony Robinson’s death was reported in the same way – “unarmed black teenager” killed by white police officer.” Again, I don’t know all the facts but the 19 year-old victim was killed when police responded to a 911 call and a confrontation ensued that ended in the teen’s death. Reports indicate that Robinson, who was convicted of armed robbery in 2014, fought back when the officer confronted him and now, like Michael Brown, is being referred to in the press only as an “unarmed teenager.” What’s going on? Who’s doing what to whom? Are the police being provoked or are they just trigger happy? Why, in these non-lethal confrontations, do kids have to die? Aren’t there non-lethal means to subdue belligerents?

I’m not black but I think I understand the frustration, fear, and anxiety felt in communities of color when there is such an overwhelming disparity between the way these communities suffer the indignities of profiling and heavy handed enforcement at the hands of the police. I know we and they can all do better than we’re doing.

We have a black President who symbolizes the progress we have made in race relations. Whenever I have doubts about the progress America has made since the first Selma march I think of President Obama. He stands tall in my mind as an American hero. He stands with my heroes from an earlier time – Arthur Ashe and Jackie Robinson—as a model for how things can be and how we should treat each other. Ashe and Robinson died in their early 50’s of diseases that are treatable today. What would these two iconic African-American heroes think about what’s happening in America now? Both spoke eloquently about civil rights with their words and deeds when they were alive.

Arthur Ashe is still my favorite citizen-athlete. He reminds me that I can be better – that we can all be better. He also reminds me that life is fragile and not always fair. It wasn’t war or PTSD or racial violence that killed him; it was an AIDS infected blood transfusion. We have a solution to that problem now. I believe there are solutions available on the racial front too? I think Arthur would agree.

He gave us his road map; maybe we should just follow his instructions: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” It’s great advice and I believe Dr. King would agree.

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Can I write about aging and relevance without sounding defensive? Maybe not, but I want to give it a try because I think we older Americans are stereotyped, marginalized, neutered, and disenfranchised by the media simply because of our age. It’s a kind of profiling and I bristle when I’m lumped together with a group that has lost its connection to mainstream America. It pisses me off and it should piss you off too.

Except for age, we’re no different from the rest of you. We care about what’s happening in the world. We try to stay as current, productive, concerned, fashionable, and athletic as any other segment of the population. We think it’s important to stay engaged with a cross-section of different ages, issues, and cultures to keep us relevant. My friends are not on the sidelines; they are busy working on cures for Alzheimer’s and cancer, trying to bring sanity to the gun debate, delivering clean water to polluted areas in Africa and Asia, improving services to veterans, helping the poor find jobs, making art or writing about complex issues. That’s what we’ve always done and what we continue to do.

Yes, there are old farts in plaid pants who drink too much and worry about their golf handicaps, just as there are young men hanging out on street corners with their pants around their knees. Neither group represents the whole spectrum of the American demographic. Most of us are working hard to stay in the game and make a difference. We tweet, text, email, stream, Facebook, Instagram and show up to work just like everybody else. So cool it with the jokes and backhanded compliments about old people.

We think it’s demeaning when older couples are called “cute. It implies they have desiccated, sexless partnerships. What’s more we don’t want to be “inspiring” if that means you’re surprised when we weigh-in on complex issues, run marathons or ski.

Most of my life I’ve lived close to the edge. Now, at 82, I’m even closer to the edge – of eternity – and lucky to have lived a full span. My friends who died when they were young were denied the pleasure of seeing the changes that time brings to the world and their families. They missed out on so much… I don’t want to miss out on anything as long as I have the ability to stay in the game. That’s why this seems important and why I’m digging in for the homestretch.

Asian cultures honor and venerate their elders. Elders are looked upon as repositories of wisdom and guidance. I’m not expecting it, but we could use a little more of that here. Age can be a positive attribute, but it shouldn’t be the defining one. Let’s focus on relevance. I want to be smart, relevant, and still live on the edge. It sharpens the focus

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