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Immigration: California leads the way

September 19, 2016 By Pervaiz Lodhie

Hispanic communities are a key to a positive future for the United States, if only we would see them that way. As I’ve seen among my own employees, Hispanic immigrants are hardworking, diligent, and loyal. They are one of the main reasons my Southern California-based company has survived through all the economic changes since 1983. Long-term, loyal employees are one of the greatest strengths of any company – certainly of my company. And when employees are happy, they are productive. And many of my longest-serving, most loyal employees are Mexican-Americans.

Immigrants are the solution, not the problem. If all the Hispanics suddenly decided to leave, this country would shut down. My home state of California shows this very clearly.

It’s no accident that California remains the leader in the economic growth of the United States as a whole, and that California’s historic background is Hispanic. There are families of Hispanic background living in California going back many generations. Many of them are highly educated, very active in the state’s political system, and deeply involved not only in agriculture and service industries, but in other sectors of the economy.

This state is set up to welcome and encourage immigrants. The most striking thing about the social environment of Southern California is its diversity, with immigrant communities from throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin America living and working together in remarkable harmony. It’s not perfect, but – having lived here myself, as an immigrant, for almost 50 years – I can say that the communities of Southern California really do show a great appreciation for each other, far more than in most other states. This mutual respect brings out the best of what America is about, and the results show in the state’s resilient economy.

And this matters to the country as a whole, because California is a bellwether. Immigrants really do play the major driving role in California’s economic health, and the health of California – recently back up to sixth place in rankings of world economies – is important in turn to America’s health. And there is no immigrant community more important to California’s health than the Hispanic community.

Hispanic people are very family-oriented, and Hispanic families in California have links across multiple generations to their countries of origin in Latin America. Breaking those family links is a recipe for disaster. The strength of a family is a key to the strength of a state or nation and its economy, because a happy family will be very productive. In addition, Hispanics spend a greater percentage of their income into the American economy than other communities do.

Shame on people who want to build a wall between this country and Latin America, or to make Hispanic families live in fear of being deported. Hispanic immigrants contribute a great deal to the economic, political and social health of this country – far more than the rest of us know or appreciate.

Pervaiz Lodhie is founder and CEO of LEDtronics, a pioneering LED lighting company based in Torrance, California. He is currently writing an autobiography, Lighting the Way: An Innovator’s Journey in Pakistan and America.

Further Musical Encounters: Mexico

September 17, 2016 By Dennis Rea

Much to my delight, Blue Ear Books’ 2014 republication of Live at the Forbidden City: Musical Encounters in China and Taiwan seems to have triggered a spate of musical experiences similar to those described in the book. While any tangible connection is tenuous at best, I like to think that this is the sort of serendipity that characterizes Blue Ear and its family of authors.

First came my participation in the memorable MuzEnergo tours of Russia and Siberia in 2014 and 2015, followed a year later by my first-ever gig in England at Sonic Rock Solstice 2016, described in a previous blog on this site. Most recently, my band Moraine was privileged to enjoy an eye-opening visit to Mexico to play at the 12th edition of FestivAlterNativo in the attractive city of Queretaro, located about three hours north of Mexico City. Devoted to “avant-rock” of various stripes, FestivAlterNativo proved exemplary in every way – warm hospitality, a historic venue (the civic museum), respectful presentation, excellent musical company (great bands from Chile, Jalisco, and Queretaro), and most importantly, a full house of truly enthusiastic listeners, the likes of which Moraine rarely sees in our own hometown. We delivered one of our best sets ever and came away with an energetic spring in our step and a lasting impression. Hats off to our most excellent hosts Francisco Paco Lucas, Juanjo Salas and Begona, and Julio Sandoval, all the volunteers who make FestivAlterNativo one of the finest events of its kind anywhere, and the many new friends and fans the band made in Queretaro.

While I had failed to arrange a public gig for Moraine in Mexico City due to poor timing, a key introduction to Mauricio Sotelos Vargas led to an even more satisfying ‘concert’ of sorts, a live-streamed video broadcast of Moraine in a completely improvised meeting with Mauricio’s band, Mexico’s premier “avant-folk” unit Cabezas de Cera. It was very unusual for Moraine to merge with another band in a jam session, and anyone’s guess what the result might be, but happily, it was magic from the first note. We emerged with a 90-minute recording of inspired collective interplay and new friendships with Mauricio, his brother Francisco, and the marvelous guitarist Eblen Macari that we hope will endure for years to come.

Setting aside music, Mexico itself was a major revelation to me. Previously, I had never ventured beyond a couple of U.S. border towns, and never realized the extent to which my views of the country had been jaundiced by slanted reporting. But after visiting the gorgeous hillside city of Guanajuato, Queretaro, and the unjustly maligned grand metropolis of Mexico City, I immediately fell in love with the country and its people and am eager to return for further explorations, musical and otherwise. In many ways, the U.S. doesn’t benefit from the comparison.

Looking back on all the above, it occurs to me that a sequel to Live at the Forbidden City is shaping up nicely. By now it seems clear that my calling in life is to play unusual music in unusual places and live to write the tale, so look for a fresh collection of musical travel tales to emerge on Blue Ear Books in the not-too-distant future – stay, um, tuned…

Podcasting, cycling, and going slow

September 16, 2016 By David Howell

While driving through Portland to drop my son off at Lewis and Clark College, I stopped in for an interview about The Descent into Happiness at The Sprocket Podcast. You can listen to the interview here.

The Sprocket Podcast is great in that they focus on “simplifying the good life” by inviting guests onto the show who talk about all things green and sustainable–such as cycling. What’s unusual about the podcast as a genre is how it allows for a sustained dialogue. In this case, it’s an hour-long conversation about the need to slow down and how bicycle touring is a great medium to learn how to go slow.

Brock and Adele pose with Dave for a photo after they discuss the power of slow cycling.

America Needs Its Muslim Immigrants

September 5, 2016 By Pervaiz Lodhie

I was a founding member of the Pakistani-American community in Southern California. I arrived in Los Angeles on March 3, 1967, enrolled at Pasadena City College, and gained tremendous practical experience as a nighttime stock clerk at a company that made instruments with thousands of small parts. I received my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cal State-Los Angeles in 1971. The state governor’s signature on my diploma was Ronald Reagan.

The brain drain that I was part of was very sad for Pakistan, but very good for America. Most of the Pakistani immigrants of my generation were professionals – doctors and engineers – and they brought with them not only professional skills, but great entrepreneurial energy and a belief in America as the land of opportunity.

Washington, D.C. just doesn’t connect with immigrant communities. America’s lawmakers and policymakers should have asked themselves, “Where do we want to be in twenty years?” and planned accordingly. Immigrant communities have not been given the respect that they deserve. The historical truth is that America is a nation of immigrants, and immigrants built America.

A constant fresh influx of immigrants is very important for America. But today the country as a whole is suffering, because the brain drain from the Third World that benefited America for so long is going into reverse. What made America is dying. After acquiring best practices from America, many talented immigrants are returning to their countries of origin.

Pakistani-Americans are one of the most highly skilled and productive of recent immigrant communities. Doctors are needed everywhere, and Pakistani doctors are, almost literally, everywhere in America. Coming from a country with weak institutions and a history of dictatorship, Pakistani doctors – and engineers, like me – appreciate America and are willing to work in places where many American professionals are not.

But Pakistanis and other Muslims are not included to the extent we should be in this country’s public life. Part of it is our own fault: Muslims in America have never had a collective voice. We are too divided among ourselves. Many of us are also either too busy working hard to make a better life for our children, or afraid to say anything out of fear. And these days, with the presidential nominee of a major political party making overtly anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant threats, our fears are all too real.

I am one of tens of thousands of professionals who came to America from Pakistan and, frankly, helped make this country what it is. I mean that literally: nothing can be built without engineers. And, for at least twenty years, the number of American engineering graduates has been declining. America doesn’t have enough engineers. And you need engineers – and doctors – even if you have to go to Pakistan to get them.

Why Do Millions Support Trump?

August 20, 2016 By Pervaiz Lodhie

Why do millions of people support Donald Trump for President of the United States? Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, that is a question that needs to be asked in America in 2016.

The people who support Trump, as well as those who supported Bernie Sanders, are people who are suffering. Washington, D.C. has separated itself from the American people. I saw the beginning of that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when jobs began moving out of America to neighboring countries and the Far East because of corporate greed and trade agreements pushed by politicians of both parties.

At the innovative LED lighting company my wife and I founded in Torrance, California in 1983 – our American dream – I have tried to create and maintain jobs for American skilled workers. I was fairly successful for almost 30 years, until 3-4 years ago I faced a stark choice: shift the jobs of some of my loyal, long-term skilled employees to China, or shut down entirely. If I wanted to stay in business, I had no choice.

When the world is a global village, it’s a global market. When you have good relationships and a balanced approach, you can sell your products all over the world. You can have a win-win-win situation, but that has to be understood. In today’s America, the needed wisdom is not there.

When Trump started saying certain things in 2015, I started paying attention. As an American employer of American employees, I have suffered from job losses to China. I lost more than half of my long-term skilled employees to job exports, so I take these things very personally.

Regardless of how this election turns out, millions of people will vote for Trump. Those people are mostly blue- and white-collar workers who have been made jobless over the past several decades. Trump’s stupidities and bigotry are not the main reasons they’re flocking to his agenda. Those people are not visible to the lawmakers in Washington or to corporate America. Washington has not been seeing them or listening to them for several decades.

It’s a sickening feeling to watch this election play out. Hillary Clinton is the establishment. Trump is touching all the right nerves, but neither he nor Hillary has the ability to right the wrongs. The election – and the nation – are heading toward dangerous territory.

The agenda of America’s government should be to create a more balanced approach. The trend of exporting jobs has to be stopped. Some jobs are finally starting to come back, but no thanks to anyone in Washington. I’m starting to bring some jobs back myself, as one business owner. But Washington is driven by lobbyists, and lobbyists are driven by the giant corporations, and giant corporations are driven by the demands of their stockholders.

My effort as an American employer, both to save jobs and to create new ones, failed not because of anything I did wrong, but because of the politicians in Washington and the giant corporations they serve, who wanted to maximize their profits. In that process, both Washington and corporate America completely ignored America’s skilled working class – people whose lives had been structured for generations around manufacturing facilities in industrial cities and town across America.

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