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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan
@mrrowan.bsky.social
74 followers 80 following 210 posts
Creator of the Planetary Potential, available here: https://anchor.fm/planetary-potential Author of Startup Vietnam: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Socialist Republic, available here: https://andrewprowan.gumroad.com/?a=169430099
anchor.fm
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · 6d
You should read the things he says about Usha–and his rented dog.
mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · 25d
I saw on the news today that the first boat from the other day had turned around when it was struck.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · Sep 3
Imagine showing this headline to someone in the year 2015...
mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · Jul 12
How many people do you think have died resulting from their own pride?

And have died due to the pride of others?

The same amount?
mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · Jul 5
Glad to hear you and yours are safe.

I have a friend in the area who had to leave at 3 AM once flood waters got inside and then climbed a tree to survive.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · Jul 2
A friend who immigrated to the United States:

"I came when people believed in the American dream and had empathy."
mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · Jun 13
It works right up until the end. The most extreme & overt example of this (which anyone can watch on YouTube) is the Ba'ath Party purge in 1979.

SH understood that the shared culpability was the vehicle to both effectively clear house and move forward into a new era.

Group dynamics are powerful.
mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · Jun 11
*every decent person
mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · Jun 5
Nor is it a good sign for us, either.

We used to only read about those Kafkaesque "adventures" happening in banana republics and far away places under despotic rule... or at least I did growing up.

And now it's here.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · Jun 1
Shocking but not surprising.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 29
It's time to get out of mainland China if you're a U.S. citizen.
mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 27
I thought he read these out loud to someone (dictation) who basically typed it out word-for-word in a Microsoft Word document and then showed it to him... or at least that's what I recall seeing in a documentary from last year.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 27
How many U.S government officials have sworn an oath to a document they've never read?

Do you think it's more or less than the number of people who sign contracts without reading them first?
mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 25
3. When people he knew like his neighbors transformed and acted like strangers; and 4. When the roads closed and he realized that it was too late to leave (and that he shouldn't have ignored reality for so long).

In short, systems fail slowly and people remain in denial.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 25
Not exactly what you requested but this is on the run up to hunkering down: prephole.com/surviving-a-...

Basically, he says there were key moments: 1. When everyone thought it would blow over; 2. When the power went out and there was no sign of the government, they knew they were on their own;
How I survived a year of SHTF in 90s Bosnia
No electricity, no food, no running water, no law. In a now legendary forum thread, a user named Selco tells preppers about his experiences and what he and his family did to stay alive.
prephole.com
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 24
Imagine the number of people who are still captive that we don't know about...
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 24
Anyway, I try to focus on what I have control over & I don't have any control over the current heading of the country that I love, which is particularly painful in its own way.

But part of life is learning to let go.

And I hope that I'm wrong.

Lastly, dial 988 before attempting self-harm.

RIP
mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 24
Many people died to make the U.S. what it's been since 1776, i.e., who we're honoring on Memorial Day.

Will some of those sacrifices have been in vain? Only time will tell.

But I'm not sure that the U.S. will last another 250 years at this rate.

Oligarchy, autocracy, and kleptocracy are all apt.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 24
Today, I serendipitously met a therapist (LCSW) & we spoke for about 30 to 40 minutes.

People are hurting across the country, especially in marginalized communities.

You never really know what people are going through–unless you're a therapist.

And there is more incoming pain–for all of us.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 24
I will say this: when people believe they have nothing to lose it's a dangerous time, especially for governments.

Monumental transitions themselves are inherently dangerous because no one knows what's coming next and people are deeply afraid of the unknown.

We are rapidly approaching that point.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 24
Just as suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, the U.S. is permanently harming itself during a time of grand and dynamic changes–with more stark transitions ahead.

This moment won't last forever and the mistake is thinking that doing what worked in the past is going to work now.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 24
The problems facing the U.S. (and all of us) will outlast him.

To be clear, I don't think he will be successful with his agenda but there will be a lot of unnecessary and capricious harm as a result.

And then what? Well, his replacement will have even fewer options to turn things around.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 24
I don't pretend to know everything but I can see that all Americans don't inhabit the same reality.

I don't blame POTUS or his predecessors in my lifetime.

The current one has less power than any POTUS before, and was elected twice because people *felt* something was amiss in the United States.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 24
Everybody knows the political system is broken but who is fixing it? The political courage is fully depleted and whatever political capital is left is purely partisan.

What does the U.S. stand for? And what do we want to be?

At this point, there is no denying that the U.S. is in clear decline.
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mrrowan.bsky.social
Andrew P. Rowan @mrrowan.bsky.social · May 24
for the days and years after the collapse of the Soviet Union right up until September 11, 2001.

Look at the current state of politics in Washington, D.C.; we have lost our way.

In short, we are in a bad place.

And not only do we keep heading in the wrong direction–we're accelerating!
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