What to Learn from China
“At work, we don’t talk about politics, religion or sex,” finally decreed my boss Steve at the brokerage firm I worked at for the first decade of this century. We brokered grapes to vintners and also bulk wine to winemakers who needed it. Sparks flew, mostly between those whose interests were rooted in the country and those who were based in town. The brokers were full of stories and opinions, but we needed to work together. Sports was the safest topic, and during March Madness, everyone was on board! Even among the admin people, I knew that Jackie, who had been at the company even before me, was a fan of George Bush and Dick Cheney, as I was not. She feared terrorists, and didn’t care how they were dealt with. She was fine with the Iraq war, while I thought of it as an imperialistic money-grab. This was another dichotomy I found. Those of us who had been out of the country felt all humans deserved respect and their own sovereignty, while those who had never left the United States didn...
