countries and ideas

“This country is an idea, and one that’s lit the world for two centuries and treason against that idea is not just a crime against the living! This ground holds the graves of people who died for it, who gave what Lincoln called the last full measure of devotion, of fidelity.”  

Sam Seaborn, The West Wing

Ok.

It is quite possible that re-watching West Wing should be mandatory for people. And while I believe it is must see re-watching for Americans … I imagine it wouldn’t hurt anyone in any country.

I am sure those people who want to see liberal versus conservative will find gobs of reasons to not watch it <I have heard that some ultra conservatives hated the show>.

To everyone I will simply say “the show encourages smart thinking … and the difficulty in finding solutions <easy, hard, one that makes everyone happy, one that makes everyone unhappy> in a complex world in which politics and politicians run the complex world.”

Regardless.

This isn’t a debate on the show itself.

But when I recently heard one of the characters say the above quote … a thought just started growing in my pea like brain.

A country is an idea.

Nothing more and nothing less.

We like to think of countries as well defined pieces of geography … lines on a map … maybe some big wall lining a boundary … maybe even a guard post or two which defining where you enter and leave.

We like to think of countries as superpowers … or emerging … or civilized … and sometimes uncivilized.

We define countries by their military power … their economic power … their lack of power … their dreams for power.

We define countries by their type of government … or some pithy ideology <despite the fact it is more often in the nuance>.

We define countries by things like capitalism, socialism, communism … which ends up including fairness, greed, corruption, equality, inequality and a variety of values associated with the population <despite the fact we are trying to pin down individual characteristics on populations sometimes numbering in to the millions>.

We define countries by size on the map, location on a map and even who drew the map.

Well.

A country is an idea.

That’s it.

People don’t die because they are ordered to but rather for an idea <what Lincoln did call ‘the last full measure of devotion’>.

People don’t do … well … almost anything … unless they actually believe in the idea.

Here is the kind of wacky thing if you think about this idea.

This idea.

People may not even be able to articulate the idea.

They may not be clear on what the idea actually is.

They may not even be able to agree on the idea itself with their neighbors.

Sure.

They may get close … and in general most will poorly articulate some simple platitude while trying to encapsulate what is typically a fairly complex web of things making up the idea.

But.

Their country is their country.

And it makes you think … what kills countries.

Of course a country can physically cease to exist if it is divided, conquered, or absorbed into another country.

But this is about the idea.

In fact … I could remind everyone that Poland ‘ceased to exist’ for almost 100 years as it was absorbed by Austria, Russia and Germany prior to World War 1. And yet most Polish remained Polish in their heads, hearts and souls … therefore Poland remained as … well … an idea.

This idea is powerful.

It is what makes people wear or display their flag.

It is what makes me answer “I am a Spaniard” or “I am Ukrainian” or “I am Polish” or “I am Nigerian” or … as with myself … “I am American.”

And I even sit up a little straighter when I say those words.

And frankly in today’s world … you begin to question the idea.

Or maybe what makes the idea work and be successful.

Ideas are tricky things.

You simply accept them when all is going smoothly <and most probably get a little complacent with regard to the idea>.

You really only pay attention to the idea when there is a problem <personally or countrywide … so there are a variety of opportunities> or a crisis <disaster>.

By the way … this doesn’t mean you don’t believe the idea … in fact … it shows how much you actually do believe in this intangible thing. You are willing to fight, argue, angst and in general terms lose your mind … over this idea.

Ideas endure.

Not because of governments … but because of people.

But that is really no different than business organizations, community clubs, families, etc.

Governments set boundaries <just as parents do> … and the idea endures within a variety of different boundaries.

Anyway.

The idea of a country is often articulated around bar stools in bars, kitchen tables at home, cooking grills outside, street corners, etc. … but most often succinctly articulated by speechwriters who get paid to put few words together to capture the essence of an idea … like this recent United States State of the Union speech:

 “…the basic bargain that built this country — the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like, or who you love.

It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few; that it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation.

The American people don’t expect government to solve every problem.  They don’t expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue.  But they do expect us to put the nation’s interests before party.

“That’s just the way we’re made.  We may do different jobs and wear different uniforms, and hold different views than the person beside us.  But as Americans, we all share the same proud title — we are citizens.  It’s a word that doesn’t just describe our nationality or legal status.  It describes the way we’re made.  It describes what we believe.  It captures the enduring idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations, that our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others; and that well into our third century as a nation, it remains the task of us all, as citizens of these United States, to be the authors of the next great chapter of our American story.”

It really doesn’t matter who said these words <although we people seem to get the presenter and the presented words all tangled>.

This is an idea.

This is a country.

Well <part 1>.

I imagine my point is that if you accept the fact that a country is an idea … it really cannot die.

Well <part 2>.

It cannot die on its own.

It can be mismanaged so badly the idea as it exists dies <only to be reborn as a new idea>.

“Brands do not die natural deaths. However, brands can be murdered through mismanagement. Some brands are beyond hope — but others can be revitalized.”

Larry Light <an ex CMO who knows some shit about brands>

Anyway.

If you accept that countries are ideas then you also accept the fact that a country is very much like a brand <in fact … a country is a brand and I have given that very fun presentation and that post is coming>.just like brands we fret about our own brand <a national extinction> but at the same time we angst over building other brands.

The idea exists and is always in flux and no matter how badly you feel about your brand … or concerned … or even have some doubts … brands are pretty enduring even when mismanaged.

I don’t want to debate with anyone on mismanagement of any country … and especially America.

I don’t like politics and I find few politicians who I would want to follow.

But my point about countries and ideas and brands really has only one point when it comes to comparison to business.

Governments are nothing, repeat, nothing like running a business. Dysfunction, or lack of action, can be solved in one swift decision in a business … not so much in governments <unless you are in a non-republic like system>.

However.

No matter what a business may try and convince you … they don’t ‘own’ or build a brand … the buyer does.

A government doesn’t own the country idea … the buyer does.

The business and the government just have the ability to manage the brand … not own it.

Our ‘mixed up soul’ is ours … it resides within the citizen … the people.

Ideas are powerful things because they reside in the minds of people. And nothing is more powerful than the mind.

We are thousands … no .. millions … of ambassadors of an idea. A country in and of itself.