Does it never strike you as puzzling that it is wicked to kill one person, but glorious to kill ten thousand?”

-Lewis Richardson, Historian

It is not hyperbolic to say it:

Public relations professionals now have an epic opportunity to serve the global society and thereby win new appreciation of our profession.

In fact, some are already well into that mission.

Let’s quickly examine the case for this admittedly bold assertion.

"Every complexity, we are told, is the process of evolution. Yet our development planners seem to think that they can do better...that they can create complex things at one throw by a process called planning."

On December 3rd, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the US Embassy in Baghdad hosted a celebration to honor key leaders in the Iraqi disability community in recognition of their advocacy efforts on behalf of the rights of the disabled. Among the honorees was Mr. Moaffak Al Khafaji (at left), the head of the Iraqi Association of Disability Organizations (IADO) who was presented the award by US Ambassador Jim Jeffrey.

There’s a reason why engineering companies build roads, why politicians govern, and why militaries run wars. It’s because these are complex, specialized, tasks, not to be undertaken lightly, requiring specialized training and skills in order to succeed.

Former Congressional Representative Christopher Shays, who most recently served as a Co-Chair on the bi-partisan Commission on Wartime Contracting, discusses the results of the Commission's findings in an interview with Dan Rather. Of the $205 billion granted to contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade, it is estimated that up to a third of the overall amount was wasted on projects that were poorly planned, poorly executed, or simply not needed.

Note: This article originally appeared as a blog post for the Foreign Policy Association

As we look forward to America’s role and responsibility as Hegemon in the 21^st century, we can assume three essential components of smart power as it seeks to frame the diverse narratives of national consciousness throughout the globe.

"Hey - there you go, a Down Syndrome girl pushing the gender agenda"