What caught our eye - 7/6/19

July 6, 2019

The Stars and Stripes over Lake George. Long may she wave.

Happy July 4th weekend, everybody.

In honor the Fourth, this special issue of Facing Out features four good reads selected by our team. Enjoy! See you next week with our usual full report.

HAD IT WITH HAMILTON –Jemmy drafted the Constitution, Tom the Declaration of Independence. Ben discovered electricity. So enough with the fuss about Hamilton. http://bit.ly/HadItWithHamilton

OH, NO, CANADA – Some look north to our Canadian neighbors as exemplars of all that is good, wise and progressive. But one New Yorker asks: Should Canada bar public employees from wearing religious clothing at work? http://bit.ly/CanadaReligiousGarb

MEET BORIS: The man about to become Prime Minister of Britain, a former journalist and mayor of London who challenged employees to Ping Pong games on the Mayor’s desk, is either a hilarious populist who appeals to both left and right, or an elitist, dishonest, lazy demagogue, or both.

TOUGH HYDE REQUIRED: His words are on tattooed Miley Cyrus’ arms. Richard Nixon quoted them. Nelson Mandela shared them. They comfort any man or woman who has ever tried to do something hard and endured the gratuitous attacks of the unaccountable cynics. In this era of social media snark, you can’t beat the speech Teddy Roosevelt gave in Paris on April 23, 1910. http://bit.ly/TeddyRooseveltQuote

NEARLY FINAL WORDS

On the weekend that we celebrate American Independence, we turn to the French historian and diplomat Alexander de Tocqueville, author of “Democracy in America,’’ and to the first U.S. Minister to France, Ben Franklin as they consider the same issue: the balance between personal liberty and government control.

BF: “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters. ”

AD: "It profits me but little, after all, that a vigilant authority ... averts all dangers from my Path... if this same authority is the absolute master of my liberty and my life."

PLEASE SHARE: Feel free to pass this along to your friends and colleagues.

THANK YOU to our content contributors John Brodt, Bill Callen, Lisa Fenwick, Colleen Potter, Tina Suhocki, Bill Richmond and Nolan Murphy.

FACING OUT: FACING OUT is what we do. We help companies, organizations and individuals work effectively with their most important external audiences – their customers, their shareholders, their communities, the government and the news media. www.behancommunications.com

Facing Out features news and other nuggets that caught our eye, and that we thought might be of value to you, our friends and business associates. Some items are good news about our clients and friends, others are stories that we hope will leave you a bit more informed or entertained than you were five minutes ago. As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback.

Let’s make it a conversation: mark.behan@behancom.com