In this 21st century, democracy is descending and autocracy is ascending in countries around the world. That is the conclusion and argument that Yascha Mounk and Roberto Stefan Foa present in their article titled "The End of the Democratic Century" published in the May/June edition of Foreign Affairs. For much of the 20th century, the United States was the leader in promoting and promulgating democracy and democratic values internationally. With the Trump presidency that leadership has eroded … [Read more...]
Articles
Frank blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and writes occasional columns and articles for publications such as the International Business Times and The Economic Times of India.
Frank writes on a wide variety of topics that are critical to shaping the future of America and the American dream and to making the United States and the world a better place. These include: Business; education; poverty and inequality; politics and public policy; immigration; manufacturing; innovation; leadership; citizenship; and social commentary.
Frank’s most recent blogs are highlighted on this page. To read other blogs or articles by Frank, click on the categories or publications links on the left.
1968 to 2018 The Arc of American History
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. – Martin Luther King 1968 was a watershed year for the United States of America and us. It appears that 2018 may be so as well. 1968 is the year that Martin Luther King and Robert Francis Kennedy were tragically assassinated. It is also the year that Frank Islam came to the U.S. from India to study computer science at the University of Colorado in Boulder and Ed Crego, after serving in Vietnam, joined the staff … [Read more...]
Secrets to success for India’s budding entrepreneurs and startups
India is blessed to be the third-largest start-up economy in the world. Unfortunately, there is a curse that comes with that blessing. That is, as indicated in a 2016 report issued by the IBM Institute for Business Value and Oxford Economics, 90 per cent of Indian start-ups fail within five years. The question is what can be done to reduce the number of failures? What are the secrets to success for India's budding entrepreneurs and its business start-ups? There are many. But, … [Read more...]
Ensuring An Effective Civic Education-Time To Strike Up The Band
What are the ingredients for an effective civic education? In March of this year, the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) issued a position statement that declared, At its core, civic education should provide students with the ability to take informed action to address problems relevant to life in a democratic republic. It should target the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to ensure that young people are truly capable of becoming active and … [Read more...]
The Struggle for America’s Head, Heart and Soul
Since the beginning of this year, there have been a spate of books such as Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury; David Cay Johnston’s It’s Even Worse than You Think; and James Comey’s A Higher Loyalty that “spill the beans” on Donald Trump. While entertaining reads, they do not provide much insight into the future of this democracy. Three new books released within the past few months do so — because they provide perspectives on the ongoing struggle for America’s head, heart … [Read more...]
The Trump Divert-Autocracy
For some time now, we have been mulling over how best to describe Donald Trump’s approach to governing. Others have labeled it an autocracy, an oligarchy, and even a theocracy. Recently it dawned on us that because of Trump’s unique style and persona no existing term could depict it completely or accurately. So, we have coined divert-autocracy as a new compound word to capture the essence of Trump-ness. This divert-autocracy is a full frontal assault on the United States … [Read more...]
Why the Indian diaspora in the US matters
Over 31 million people of Indian birth or descent are part of the Indian diaspora spread around the world. Of them, 3.1 million, or 10 per cent, are Indian-Americans living in the US. The Indian-American diaspora has proven to be a vital resource contributing to the economic, political and social development of India. Devesh Kapur highlighted the importance of the Indian diaspora in his classic 2010 book, "Diaspora, Democracy and Development: The … [Read more...]
Education the game changer
Frank Islam Profile in India Life and Times
The Trump Divert-Autocracy
For some time now, we have been mulling over how best to describe Donald Trump’s approach to governing. Others have labeled it an autocracy, an oligarchy, and even a theocracy. Recently it dawned on us that because of Trump’s unique style and persona no existing term could depict it completely or accurately. So, we have coined divert-autocracy as a new compound word to capture the essence of Trump-ness. This divert-autocracy is a full frontal assault on the … [Read more...]