Dan Holland 鈥�79, P鈥�07, 鈥�08, managing director for private wealth management at Goldman Sachs, moderated the June 8 webinar, Navigating the Global Landscape. He opened by tackling the recent death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, and the growing outcry in support of racial equality. 鈥淲e have serious social issues to address,鈥� said Holland, who co-chaired the webinar series and serves as chair of the Carroll School Board of Advisors. 鈥淗ow does this impact our reputation around the world?鈥�
Former NATO Ambassador Nicholas Burns 鈥�78, H鈥�02, P鈥�09, 鈥�12
In making his point that the killing 鈥渉ad an extraordinarily negative impact鈥� on world opinion, former NATO Ambassador Nicholas Burns 鈥�78, H鈥�02, P鈥�09, 鈥�12, added: 鈥淲hat people admire about America is not our military might. . . . It鈥檚 our First Amendment, our Bill of Rights. Our national DNA allows us to admit our mistakes and do something about them.鈥� Now is a time to admit and correct mistakes, he added. 鈥淲e have to recommit ourselves to do the right thing.鈥�
Among other roles in the US State Department,聽Burns聽served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs under President George W. Bush. He is now a professor at Harvard鈥檚 Kennedy School of Government and founder of the Future of Diplomacy Project. At the June 8 webinar, he delivered the Dorothy Margaret Rose Knight Discussion, an annual presentation at the in-person Finance Conference.
According to Burns, it is critical that business and government leaders also recognize where they have failed during the coronavirus crisis, to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the coming weeks and months.
He called it 鈥渁 grave tactical and, I鈥檇 say, ethical error鈥� for the U.S. to pull out of the World Health Organization during the COVID-19 crisis. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 like trying to defund the fire department in the middle of a major fire,鈥� Burns said. 鈥淵ou might want to reform the fire department, but not while the fire鈥檚 still raging.鈥�
To be sure, Burns noted, 鈥渢he WHO didn鈥檛 perform admirably in the critical weeks in January. They didn鈥檛 ask the tough questions of China; they went along with China鈥檚 failure to be transparent with the world, and that set us back.鈥�
Indeed, Burns identified the rise of authoritarian China as the 21st century鈥檚 defining challenge for Western-style democracies. Even in polarized Washington, he said, the need to counter China鈥攁nd at times work with China鈥攊s an issue that Democrats and Republicans can and do agree on.
As for Burns, he believes that transnational diplomacy鈥攅specially shoring up our alliances in Europe and East Asia鈥攚ill be key to meeting that challenge. Not to mention other pressing challenges, such as climate change.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to rejoin the Paris Agreement,鈥� Burns said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the only country not in it, and we鈥檙e the second-largest carbon emitter.鈥�
But Burns is not pessimistic about these challenges鈥攏ot while he gets to hear the ambition and optimism of his students. 鈥淭hey say, 鈥榳e can create a carbon-free world and yet have a growing global economy by 2050,鈥欌�� said Burns. 鈥淪o there is hope. As long as men and women are combining forces to try to improve the human condition and be successful, there鈥檚 hope in the world.鈥�