Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Your Vote Matters

Last week, we shared that the government's chaotic response to the 'VID caused a restauranteur in Minocqua WI to shutdown for the season. Not that such a decision is an unusual situation in these unsettled times. But, the owner wrote an open letter to his fans, closing it by saying, "Please join me in voting against everyone who hurt us on November 3." 

Here's hoping he ordered his pair of Regenerative Organic Stand Up Shorts from Patagonia...because a company spokesperson has confirmed they are sold out of run that had the words "Vote the Assholes Out" on the backside of the garment tag.

Too funny.

The Suffering Congress Ignores

Few have been spared from the pain wrought by the 'VID. But, it's the small business owner that has been impacted the most. And, when one recognizes that roughly 95% of tourism-related businesses are classified as "small business" by the SBA, you have your proof that travel and hospitality have been hurt the worst. Yet, Congress fiddles while small businesses close, wiping out hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs and millions of jobs.

A restauranteur in Minocqua recently closed his business until next season, citing the lack of State leadership in an insane, partisan-fueled stop-start-stop dance that has been Wisconsin. His closing line in a Facebook post announcing the close was "Please join me in voting against everyone who hurt us on November 3."

You'd think that, in the less than 50 days to election day, our elected leaders would be focused on voters over campaign contributors and political ideology. But, I see no such evidence as scores of business owners shutter their dreams and the livelihoods of so many. Think they're pissed? Think they'll vote?

Maybe what our elected leaders all need is to read this open letter from one of the owners of the now-shuttered Mermaid Inn on New York City's Second Avenue. I dare any member of Congress to read the owners' story and not be galvanized to do something NOW to assist these businesses who were forced to close in March. 

Because, if action isn't taken, I dare say that there will be a sizable portion of the more than 15 million people that were employed in the restaurant industry in this country in March that will give voice to their disgust at what Congress has become on November 3rd.

Or, one must ask, does Congress even care?

At Your Peril

The Republican-led Senate last week rejected a second stimulus package that would have provided aid to non-profit associations. These are the organizations that provide services to communities that government often can't bring themselves to fund, at least not completely. United Way. Arts Organizations. Social Service agencies. The organizations that were inexplicably blocked from the first stimulus package.

Among these non-profit organizations are scores of Destination Marketing Organizations...the agencies that are critical to jump-starting local economies. Agencies that cannot be lost if the carnage wrought by the Federal Government's ham-handed response to the 'VID is to be reversed.

To the Republicans that continue to vote to block this stimulus package on party lines, with no regard for the citizens they claim to serve...have you considered that there are over 12 million Americans that work for non-profits in this country? That's 12 million voters that, come November 3rd, could seal your fate, elect Joe Biden and destroy your control of the Senate? Has any of this dawned on you?

Winter is coming.

You should reconsider.

What's More Important to You?

A recent study by Engagious found that respondents were equally divided on whether they would be more upset if their candidate lost in the upcoming Presidential Election or if the College Football season was canceled.

I think I want to cry.

How We View Ourselves Differently

When the 'VID began to rear its ugly head, Destination Marketing Organizations pivoted on a dime and came to the aid of their business communities. DMOs went from Destination Marketers to Destination Leaders overnight.

Not that what recently happened in Cedar Rapids IA wouldn't have happened before the pandemic (because that's just how the CEO of Think Iowa City is wired), but it's a wonderful example of DMOs that are increasingly being understood as a vital agency to the lifeblood of the community.

The destruction that whipped through Cedar Rapids during the recent Derecho left tens of thousands of people without power for days, grain silos crushed, millions of acres of crops destroyed, homes and apartment buildings damaged and destroyed. 

Cedar Rapids is 20 minutes up the road from Iowa City...but that didn't stop Think Iowa City CEO Josh Schamberger from quickly assembling a crew of University of Iowa athletes, coaches and other volunteers to make that drive to help strangers recover.

That's what Destination Leaders do...even for other towns. Even for competitors.

Josh Rocks.

A New Vision

We have several ways to stay connected with our friends and clients in the Destination Marketing space. Of course, there is this (almost daily) blog, coming up on its 14th anniversary.

We also publish a monthly newsletter in which we share sector news and a commentary from yours truly. I tweet sporadically. And we repurpose the important missives on our Facebook and LinkedIn pages. Oh yeah...and the podcast is here.

Why am I reminding you of this? You may be a regular on this blog...but not a subscriber of the Z-News. And, if that's the case, you missed yesterday's release of our new position paper on how community marketing must change if we are to maximize resources, talent and opportunity. And, we think it's unlike anything you've seen.

We're boldly going where only a handful of visionaries have gone before...and we'd love to hear your thoughts.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog.

The Lack of a Coherent Strategy

The global pandemic has laid bare the absolute lack of leadership across the globe that should cause us all to re-examine whether voting for an eloquent candidate produces qualified individuals to lead us.

Here in America, a President that was unable to grasp the enormity of the growing menace passed it off as nothing to worry about in the early days of the 'VID. And, whether you support or loathe the man, the President told us not to be concerned...and the power of the office lulled many into complacency when swift action was needed. We now pay the price for that faith.

Because of that lack of leadership at the top, States were the next line of leadership. Some addressed the pandemic aggressively. Others followed their President's lead. The resulting shitshow of uneven mitigation threatens us all.

One of the leaders in shutting down the virus was Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. Many of us watched as he would announce lockdowns...and Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and others would rapidly follow. In the early days, Ohio was rocking it on the nation's behalf, stepping into the leadership void at the Federal level.

But, in recent days, the protocols that Ohio has employed have a lot of people scratching their heads. There is a lack of consistency and coherency in the ever changing rules businesses must follow. A recent op ed piece by Chelsie Thompson, President of Renaissance Performing Arts, called into question the inequity of the State's standing orders.

Strip Clubs are open (essential services, apparently?) but Performing Arts Centers are not? Casinos are open..but not live theatre? Bars featuring live music with hundreds of people, shoulder to shoulder, are OK but museums are not? It's as if the State believes Arts & Culture are inconsequential.

As Chelsie so eloquently said, "What we cannot accommodate is the continued confusion on what is and is not allowed to happen across the state, the obstinate refusal to acknowledge the presence and impact of our industry on Ohio’s economy, and the egregious double standard to which the arts are being subjected under the Responsible Restart plan."

Honestly...can we have leaders that work with epidemiologists to produce a coherent strategy? Is that too much to ask?

Yeah...it obviously is.

Time's Up

Facing an exploding pandemic, increasing crime rates in our urban centers, schools that are struggling to re-imagine a virtual re-start, the need to effectively deal with racial inequity and millions upon millions of workers put on waivers...Congress goes home for summer break?

Legislation that would help restart the economy through our Destination Marketing Organizations sits on dusty desks, not approved and never signed into law. And, Congress heads home to enjoy the last few weeks of summer?

And, now comes word over the weekend that they may actually come back...but only to deal with the Post Office debacle because THAT concerns their hoped for re-elections. Apparently, the rest of the nation can go pound sand.

That's really all we need to know about how this Congress has utterly failed the American people. 

As we vote this November, know this: A vote for an incumbent is a vote for this shitshow to continue. What has been said in the Black Lives Matter movement is just as true here: "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." Every incumbent is complicit for not standing up to party leadership and saying "no mas."

That's how bad this has gotten. They have all failed us...and it's time to choose an alternative. Or are you good with this childish bullshit that threatens us all?

Choose wisely, Grasshopper.

A Dangerous Situation

An oil tanker strikes a reef off the coast of Mauritius. Oil begins to seep from a crack in the hull. The government looks for the ship's black box; the opposition party calls for the removal of the Environment and Fisheries Ministers. And, the oil continues to seep from a crack...for over a week.

And, in the absence of any meaningful action from the government, volunteers are ignoring an official order to leave the clean-up operation to local authorities, donning rubber gloves to try to mitigate the environmental disaster.

From a chilling report in The Guardian: “People by the thousands are coming together. No one is listening to the government anymore,” said Ashok Subron, an environmental activist at Mahebourg, one of the worst-hit areas. “People have realized that they need to take things into their hands.”

It's happening all over the world. After manipulating the truth and proving they are incapable of fixing problems, governments are no longer the authority. We are.

I'm not sure which is more frightening.

A Sobering Map

Last week, the President said, "Nobody Likes Me."

Actually...nobody likes us anymore. Or trusts this country's horribly hamhanded response to the 'VID.

Me thinks the two are related.