By Bambo Bamgbose, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for e-Management

Are you Terrified Enough Already and prepared to sign on to a new TEA party? I, for one, am!

It seems the news today is all about what is not working in America: Congress, the financial system, healthcare, education, the economy . . . . And this list doesn’t even include the crises of yesterday—terrorism, pandemic flu, drug war, devastating earthquakes . . . . . or the ongoing crises like the European sovereign debt crisis, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Arab Spring movements.

It seems the news today is all about what is not working in America. Perhaps, we should focus on what works. Let’s start with our democracy.

We hear a lot these days about the 1% and the 99%, but what about the silent majority within the 100%? I don’t know about you but I am terrified enough already (TEA) and I think it is time for the silent majority to show up and say something about what is good, what works, and what we want to see changed.

The problem with the 99%?
One of the claims of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street movement is “We are the 99%,” which loosely refers to the group of Americans who are not in the top 1% of income earners in America (which includes those earning at least $500,000 annually and not so incidentally, includes more than half of U.S. Senators and House members according to This Week magazine). What is not clear about this so-called 99% is what binds them outside of the general perception that there is a problem with income inequality and the unemployment picture is dismal, which are important issues in their own right. When journalists try to articulate the views of those protesting with this movement, the responses included “more and better jobs, more equal distribution of income, lower compensation for bankers, bailouts for student debtors and mortgage holders, reducing the influence of corporations in politics . . .” and the list goes on. As one journalist put it, “It is easy to understand what the Occupy Wall Street movement is against, but no one has really articulated what they are for.”

The paradox of the 100%?
The issues raised by the Occupy Wall Street movement, are by no means “fringe” issues but they are not the only issues concerning the vast majority of Americans. The tapestry of issues that challenge many of us in our daily lives are not isolated to just what is wrong. It is a complex mix of our needs versus our wants, our reality versus our ideals, our selfishness versus our generosity, our love for independence versus our appreciation for community, our admiration of free enterprise and success versus our distaste for greed and excess. For instance, while many of us may dislike the current Congress (according to a CBSNews Poll), we love our own congressman or woman. We say we don’t want big government, yet we complain when services or items we care about are eliminated or put on the list of items scheduled to be curtailed (base closings, social security, Medicare, defense spending, tax breaks, etc.).

So what does work?
Let’s start with our democracy. Yes, it is messy at times. But ultimately the fact that I can write this blog article and you are reading it without constraints or censorship is just one of many examples that we still live in the freest society on earth. Here, citizens are free to practice any religion, explore new ideas, and associate without restraint. Our investment in education, which admittedly does need reform, still leads the world according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Our economy, while struggling, is still the largest and most productive in the world of any single country with annual GDP of almost $15 trillion (the next closest country is China at just under $6 trillion). The European Union and its Euro zone, which combines the economies of 17 different countries and was created to compete with the U.S. economy is the only thing close to rivaling our economy with GDP of approximately $16 trillion. And if we were really to compare apples to apples, we would really need to compare the Euro zone to the combined economies of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

What can we change?
There is a lot we can change and we should do so—including areas highlighted above, where we do have things that are working. Our economy needs to adapt to the challenges presented by a globally connected world, where labor costs and standards of living vary greatly between countries and where capital can flow easily across borders. Our education needs to be improved so that we are getting better value and results for the investment we make. Additionally, we need to prepare our workforce to compete globally, rather than just within our borders. Our democracy needs a government that is more responsive to the needs of the greater society, as opposed to just special interests or the core bases of either political party.

But we are better off if we institute change from a positive place of forward movement rather than as a reaction to fear. We are entering an election season where radio, television, and the Internet will be inundated by ads from various candidates imploring us to support them and promising us change of every kind. As you consider these appeals, ask yourself how many of them are telling you what works, what is good, and how to change it for the better versus scaring you into a decision.

What do you think?
What do you think is good or still works—in our country, your state, your local community? What would you like to see change for the better—in business, culture, communications, politics, education, energy and environment? Are you ready to sign up to a new TEA party that is tired of being terrified and is ready to electrify our schools, neighborhoods, and communities with a fresh infusion of enthusiasm, optimism, and energy? Tell us what you think and weigh in!