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A time for change
Rich Nass
1/31/2009 7:45 AM EST
We've all heard the talk about "change" lately, particularly when it comes to how our country is run. We went through many campaign months of how we needed change, how that would be the only way to revive our country. When those talks started nearly two years ago, the country wasn't in anywhere near the dire straits it's in now.
We now have a new president, with ideas that are very different from the departed president. Those new ideas are a welcome sight for most Americans. I have been very encouraged by the things he's saying, but more importantly, I'm really encouraged by the feelings that seem to have engulfed the country, where we're now standing as one.
A similar feeling was in the air after the attacks on September 11, but it's a little different now. At that time, we rallied together because we had to, to fight back. Now, we seem to be rallying together because we want to--we want to make things better. But President Obama was quite clear in his message that change will not happen in months, or even a year. It could take many years.
Where does our embedded systems community fit into this sea of change? It can and should play a major role. The embedded systems community has been at the heart of many of our "revolutions." For example, the automobile revolution could not have happened without the embedded systems developer, albeit it that developer was quite different from today's embedded systems developer (let's not argue the definition of an embedded systems developer right now). Then came the PC revolution in the 1980s. Later, was the mobile phone revolution.
Identifying the next revolution is somewhat difficult. But for better or worse, times like these have a way of spawning innovation. Unfortunately, the reason for that is not the best--engineers get laid off, and the lack of jobs causes them to start their own companies. Some of these startups can be wildly innovative, developing new technology that falls into the breakthrough category. That technology is often acquired by and brought to market by one of the bigger companies, but such innovation may not have otherwise occurred.
I've heard it said on may occasions lately, "Let's use this recession to our advantage." There's not really any other way to look at it right now.
Richard Nass is editor in chief of Embedded Systems Design magazine and editorial director of TechInsights. He can be reached at rnass@techinsights.com.
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ESD editorial staff: SRambo
2/11/2009 11:18 AM EST
Comment sent to Richard Nass by e-mail:
Mr Nass,
I need to put my son to bed, so I'll get right to the point. Your article stinks. I say that because you sound like you're trying out for a job as an Obama spokesperson. We are not all "standing as one", and at least the people in my immediate sphere are not welcoming the ideas from the new president. Labeling these ideas "new" seems odd as well. Just as the great depression was prolonged by the "new deal", so will this recession be prolonged by Mr Obama's new ideas. I'll be happy to admit I was wrong if this is not the case in 4 to 8 years. Unfortunately, all I can hope for is nationalization of industries (and the accompanying inefficiencies), higher taxes, higher unemployment, more government involvement in our personal lives, and a generally massive government infrastructure that crushes our economy.
Sincerely,
Rich von Lehe
Senior Software Engineer
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wirelessguy
2/11/2009 11:31 AM EST
Thanks for the note. It's rare that I write something political (in fact this may be the first time), but I was really moved by all the buildup surrounding the inauguration. It's the first time that I can remember that so many people (and not just in the US) took the time out to watch the inauguration. It's clear to me that the ways of the past eight years led us down the wrong path. So, at least in my opinion, a new path is welcome.
--Rich Nass
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ESD editorial staff: SRambo
2/11/2009 11:36 AM EST
(The following e-mail comment was sent in response to comment posted by Editor in Chief Richard Nass--aka, wirelessguy.)
Nobody can take away the historical significance of our first black president. It is easy to say that vast majority of Americans admire that. But that doesn't translate into everyone welcoming his policies and ideas.
I would love to debate the causes of our current financial crisis including Barney Frank and Chris Dodd and their roles in relaxing the lending standards which has had disastrous results. The housing bubble clearly had its origin in the 90's and without the housing bubble, we have no recession.
Bush actually proposed a higher degree of regulation over Fannie and Freddie [1] in 2003 and was basically called a racist because it would have kept more minorities out of home-ownership.
[1] http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3D6123BF932A2575AC0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print
Why Barney Frank is still in office is beyond me. Here's his quote from the article:
''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''
Of course many people don't want facts or sound financial principles. They want a feel-good policy, regardless of the secondary effects.
Your article was full of vague feel-goodness about the new president and an unsubstantiated rebuke of the previous president, which is what I took offense to. When I want political commentary, I'll go to the Wall Street Journal.
Rich
p.s. At the risk of sounding petty, Reagan's inauguration in 1981 was more watched than Obama's.
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ESD editorial staff: SRambo
2/19/2009 10:13 AM EST
Dear Mr. Nass
I read your article "A time for change".
I think the key word in your article is "feelings". I am far less interested in how you "feel" than how you "think", for it is in process of thinking that one solves problems. Did you ever stop to "think" about the long term effects of multi-trillion dollar deficits? Have you stopped to "think" about long term tightening of credit, or lack of investment, or the inevitable inflation that will result as a necessary consequence of pouring so much borrowed (or printed) money into the economy. How do you "think" that will effect small business?
I agree that it was "feelings" like yours that won Obama the presidency, but should people stop "feeling" and start "thinking", they will realize that it is truly a "time for change".
Regards,
John Zeiler
IMPACT Engineering
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Ewout Boks
3/1/2009 7:50 AM EST
Come on, Rich von Lehe,
mr Nass is just trying to cheer up the readers of his column amidst all the depressing talk of depression.
You may or may not disagree with Obama's plans, but mr Nass doesn't discuss these. He merely tries to rally the troops to use embedded technology to forge ahead.
As for Barack Obama, his job is really awful. Basically he must act as the trustee of the bankrupt shambles that the USA are. You and your fellow citizens are to blame for that, not Obama. And don't let me get started about that bloody idiot Bush, who you and your fellow citizens decided to elect twice. It is all your own fault. So stop bickering and please move on as mr Nass suggests.
Ewout Boks
Principal Embedded software engineer
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ESD editorial staff: SRambo
3/2/2009 9:28 AM EST
Mr Nass,
I read your column in embedded.com of the 1 January 2009 and am aghast at some of the responses. Why should you not be allowed to 'feel' that there is change on the way? The curtness of the rebukes staggers me. I'm sympathetic to how you must 'feel' since the cringeworthy presidency of G.W. Bush.
How your country's allies 'felt' about him is unprecedented. When we thought about it and the facts have been uncovered we have 'felt' outraged to say the least. The doyen of democracy has been behaving very very badly and for the meanest of economic expedients. There was no relationship between the Iraq invasion and the 9/11 debacle, never was. Saddam Hussein was substantially an artefact of US foreign policy in the 1980's. Rumsfeld knew about what Iraq had because he was there, helping to establish it all. Hussein was doing the dirty work and fighting the Iranians for the U.S. and her allies because the Shah of Iran was over thrown by it's people. The Shah was hated because he was a nasty bit of work who was anything but democratic, but he was also a tool of U.S. foreign policy and got too nasty while helping to establish and maintain U.S interests.
Obama can at least speak eloquently and form a reasoned argument without resorting to stuttering obfuscation and emotional speech. It is this type of emotional language, used so well by 'W' that helped to outrage the U.S. citizenry, post 9/11, sufficiently to mobilise the war machine. The language was of revenge, vulnerability and outrage and people took it and rallied behind it. I think they did so because they didn't know or care about the history. As a result many good people were hoodwinked and conned by the subsequent war incursions into Iraq and Afghanistan. Did you know that Usama bin laden was paid by the CIA in the days of the Russian incursion into Afghanistan? There is so much more going on behind the scenes that most American citizens never get to hear. That lacking makes the populace prime candidates for the nastiness that you have just come through. I blame your media, not the people. Now perhaps the people have woken up from their collective slumber. Perhaps Obama will be a president of propriety and good behaviour as this rests with another human capacity, that of hope.
Regards,
Steve Curtis
Australia
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white_castles_are_awesome
3/4/2009 12:34 PM EST
Funny. Now here we've got this guy from down under telling us how we should feel. Yep, you most certainly have a pulse on the American Citizenry being a 16 hour flight away. By the way - is "ally" a euphemism for "armchair general" now?
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Gyrometer
3/4/2009 11:47 PM EST
Well White Castles. Good arguments. Go lookup ad-hominem in yout dictionary. I was actually sympathetic with Richard Nass. OZ is more than 16 hours away. Last time in U.S. it took 27 hours to get to Colorado Springs. Sympathetic allies can take exception to behaviour that is hypocritical. We do have a diverse press in this country and books whch we do read. When your country's behaviour threatens world stability I'm going to get scared even if I do share your espoused values. ("The US does not commit torture" etc etc) Look up "Rendition" in Wikkipedia just for starters. Yep you totally destroyed my arguments and observations. Humble apologies.
Regards Steve
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white_castles_are_awesome
3/5/2009 10:02 AM EST
I know what an ad-hominem attack is. I would suggest you look up the word sarcasm. My reply was sarcastic - not a personal attack. I also suggest you look up the logical fallacy of "begging the question". Your original post was full of it. Essentially your argument is "George Bush and the US policies were awful" Why? "Because I say it is so".
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AmericanGladiator
3/5/2009 10:33 AM EST
Pick your poison I guess, Steve. With Bush you get a strong military, a moderate amount of overspending, and a swagger that apparently many didn't like.
With Barack Obama, you go from a nominal ~400B deficit to a ~1.7 trillion deficit (although his own democrat party is starting to balk at the massive spending). You also get open hostility towards businesses and capitalism. You get a Robin Hood worldview where he believes it is his job to redistribute wealth and create massive government programs (which are extremely hard to get rid of). He is the antithesis of what made America great.
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white_castles_are_awesome
3/5/2009 11:01 AM EST
Steve (and Richard),
I am going to issue an apology to you both. While my political views remain unchanged, I can see now that my tone has been too harsh. Thank you for pointing this out to me, Steve. I will endeavor to be more .. what's the word.. civil in my disagreements. No sarcasm this time.
Rich von Lehe -aka WhiteCastles
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