 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Anyway, during the Q&A — which was incredibly hostile to Rickover, naturally — a girl with a purple mohawk got up to ask, “Don’t you think that ethics courses should be mandated for nuclear engineers?” And Rickover responded, “No. You can go to church on Sunday.” The crowd hissed, guffawed, and booed. But what a bracing and far-seeing answer! Anyway, back to this panel at Davos. As I introduce the evening, I mention that each participant will rise to “say a few words about himself.” It crosses my mind to add “or herself” . . . but I think, in those split seconds, “No, we’re all adults here, and standard English should be accepted.” Am I stupid or what? The first panelist — a lady academic — gets up and says, “First of all, I’m not a ‘himself,’ I’m a person.” Another woman at her table breaks into vigorous, and lone, applause. The awkwardness is heavy. I should have known that standard and correct English is considered an offense by many of my fellows. Ah, well.
I’m able to ask Knight, “Settle something for me, would you?, once and for all. How do you pronounce the name of your company?” I’ve always said “Nikey.” But a few tracksters, who consider themselves purists, have said to me, “No, it’s ‘Nike’ [to rhyme with “pike”], you moron.” Phil says, “We say ‘Nikey’ ” — and that’s that. Straight from the horse’s mouth. Nike is a Greek goddess, and speaking of Greek goddesses, Gianni Angelopoulos is on hand. She is the glamorous, beautiful, bright, formidable ex-politician and pillar of Greek society who is spearheading the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She gave up her rocketing political career to marry Theodore Angelopoulos, the shipping tycoon. Her story is a startlingly romantic one, for this day and age. She is known to her entire country as “Gianna” — like Cher or Madonna. To be in her presence is to melt, I must tell you. I imagine that she simply crooks her finger and coaxes from CEOs millions of dollars for the Games. She has an extremely tough job on her hands: Athens has terror concerns, putting one and all in mind of Munich, 1972. But this soft, beautiful woman has steel in her spine, and she seems to be the right person in the right job. Also with us is Adolf Ogi, a Swiss who is a major player in the U.N. and other bodies. I have glanced at his bio and seen that he once headed the Swiss Ski Federation. So, when I meet him, I say, “You’re a skier, aren’t you?” He answers, “Not really. I am an amateur skier. But my main work has lain elsewhere: For example, I was president of Switzerland, in two separate terms.” Uh-huh. I’m remind of one of my favorite stories of all time. D.C. mayor Marion Barry meets Greg Norman, the golf champion, at a party. The mayor says to him, “So, what do you do?” Norman, probably a little nonplussed, says, “I play golf.” Barry says, “That’s great: I play tennis!”
I’m able to tell him the story of Allen Weinstein, author of Perjury. Weinstein, you remember, set out to establish the innocence of Hiss and the consequent guilt of Chambers. Following the facts, he found that exactly the opposite was true — and went ahead and published his findings. Weinstein surely suffered professionally, socially, and personally for it — but of course, he was right.
Anti-globalization protest leaders have complained that the authorities are trying to “criminalize our movement.” But, of course, protesters themselves have criminalized that movement, through their criminal acts. A couple of years ago, they completely trashed the McDonald’s in Davos (natch). This year, the McDonald’s is completely boarded up, not a golden arch in sight. But will the activists remember where it was? Some of the protesters are dressed as monkeys — no, really — and others carry a golden calf. This calf is borne by persons wearing a George W. Bush mask and a Donald Rumsfeld mask. “Rumsfeld” is wearing a yellow star — nice. Real nice. Also, the protesters are raining all over the place xeroxed dollar bills that show President Bush in place of George Washington and have the president saying, “We f*** the world.” On the back it says “In War We Trust.” It seems clear that these activists are not interested in winning anyone over. They are simply an annoyance and an object of contempt, if not pity. But they’re having so much fun! Most seem in their teens or early twenties, and they are really having a ball, full of glee. I almost envy them! They’ll probably work for corporations in a few years. I think of that famous — and once-shrieked against — Edward Banfield title: “Rioting for Fun and Profit.” I don’t know if these kids are pocketing a profit, but they’re sure having fun.
Well, if you say so. The air in Davos is filled with this kind of rhetoric. It’s what Clare Booth Luce, I believe, called “globaloney.” But it is harmless, for the most part — also sincere and praiseworthy. As I’ve mentioned, the Annual Meeting resembles the Olympics in certain respects. The platitudes and sentiments are similar. And I see World Economic Forum chief Klaus Schwab as the Juan Antonio Samaranch of this whole affair. Levine’s UBS Verbier Festival Youth Orchestra comprises more than 100 musicians from 34 different countries. The players range in age from 17 to 32, with most of them in their mid-20s. (I have to say, “Youth” are getting older, aren’t they?) Before the concert begins, an official asks each member of the orchestra to stand, by country: The countries are called from A to Z. This is strikingly like the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. When the American players are asked to stand, I can’t help noticing that they — on their own — look as “diverse,” ethnically, as any international youth orchestra possibly could. According to the program (again), the Verbier players “are outstanding ambassadors, building trust and goodwill and creating harmony and pleasure wherever they go.” I gotta tell you, folks: I was on the plane with some of these people coming over to Switzerland, and “outstanding ambassadors” was not exactly the phrase that came to mind. But then — as the name of their ensemble insists — they’re “young.” And that’s it for now. See you tomorrow, for the fourth and final installment. |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
<% dim printurl
printurl = Request.ServerVariables("URL")%>
ll right, folks, we’re at the halfway point. This is the third part
of what is sort of a Davos Journal. Parts I and II were “published”
on Monday and Tuesday. (To read them, please go 
I moderate a panel — actually a “working dinner” —
titled “Toward a Global Ethic.” I’ve always had a problem
with these words “ethic” and “ethics,” actually. “Ethics”
has often seemed to me sort of a watery substitute for people uncomfortable
with saying “morals.” I recall a speech by Hyman Rickover, at
my college. Adm. Rickover — “Uncle Hymie” — as you
know, was the “father of the nuclear navy,” a no-nonsense hombre.
I remember that he insisted on arriving at and starting this speech on
time, which threw everyone off.
