I think that we should quit fighting drugs in the U.S. Hey, like they politicos are saying, if we can’t win the war why fight it? So my proposal is that we quit all wars that, one, are resulting in lots of casualties (not necessarily the loss of life, the definition is specific to the war), two, cost lots of money, and three, cannot be won easily.

Truth is, the supply of drugs in the U.S. hasn’t gone away, we are still pumping money into the system to try and stop the problem, people are dying of drugs and in drug-related incidents/crimes, probably everyday. So why not throw in the towel? My guess is that’s not what the American people want, and since our politicos have their fingers on the country’s pulse then we should probably trust them to just keep wasting our money.

You think we’re winning the war on poverty? Think again, yeah the economy is good, but are there still people living on the streets? Do we still dole out food stamps? Have we built our last low-income housing project? I don’t think so, but there again, the bright minds in the Nation’s capital know better than us.

My Two Cents: Not all wars will be won within political timelines, does that make them not worth fighting? Do we have a responsibility to see that the Iraqi people are left with a more stable country with less violence and fear of violence? I say that we do. Are wars pretty? Heck no! Are they sometimes necessary? Unless you know a way to convince the oppressors, dictators and tyrants of the world to let go of their evil designs, I think, sadly, wars will be around for a while.

(Photo Credit: townhallmeeting.org)

You know, I am a relative newcomer to the PR field, but I think I see where executives have a hard time with PR. Executives are concerned with value, and PR, unlike advertising, doesn’t always bring immediate results–especially big immediate results. Ask Russ how long it took to get articles published about his clients in top tier publications, it is very much a relationship process, and how many of us can go out and become best friends with someone in only one day? (Execs and shareholders don’t want to wait that long)

PR’s eternal struggle will be to bring and show value. I had a manager who believed that PR was not measurable. As desireable as this was, it simply wasn’t true. If PR wants to keep its seat at the C-suite table, it needs to show results, it needs to show how it meets the bottom line. Where I see a struggle today is with new and emerging communication channels, how do you measure the effect of a YouTube video for your client? How do you measure the value of a Podcast or blog? The PR Pros who succeed in demonstrating value in these media will be very successful.