The Jamaican ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks, announced this year that she would step down from her position to return to the business world–a decision that reminded me of what our priorities as free people ought to be.
Here is someone who was the first woman to achieve one of the most important and most coveted diplomatic positions in her country; she chose to leave her position not because anything was wrong with it or unsatisfying, but because she wanted to return to her other successful life as an entrepreneur.
She is a well-respected mother and a woman of immense integrity, character, keen intellect, class and grace–all qualities of a natural diplomat. But I had to ask, why stop doing something that you’re so good at?
It reminded me of what we conservatives believe at a foundational level: While public service is noble, it is equally noble to pursue success in the private sector because everyone benefits from good products, good service and increased productivity. It reminded me that diplomacy is the servant of government, and that government is the servant of free people.
She’s got the right priorities, and always has. Her respect and admiration among her colleagues in the diplomatic and entrepreneurial community is unprecedented.
Marks became Jamaica’s 10th ambassador to the United States in May 2010. Her background is entirely in business, as she holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, and Nova University. She went on to found Paymaster Limited, a multi-transaction company. The company has spawned others, serving millions of people around the world.
Marks has led five other financially successful companies in different industries, including real estate, manufacturing, finance and travel. She has also served on numerous boards of advisors, including the Jamaican National Health Fund’s and the University of the West Indies’ (Mona School of Business), her alma mater. She was the first female president of the Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica and has been recognized with numerous awards for her business and entrepreneur career.
This is the type of person that should inspire our young people.
What’s especially unique about her is that she is an ambassador from a third-world country to a first-world country. Who has more to teach and who has more to learn from the other? I think our country could stand to learn a little bit from this business-inspiring leader, learn to love business and–at best–tolerate government.
When I look at the way our government under the current administration treats our businesses, I can only wonder what we can teach Marks, other than what not to do.
I am disgusted by the way the media has tried throughout the current election cycle to portray business people as out of touch, robotic and strange while glorifying the rebelliousness of rappers, adult novels like “Fifty Shades of Grey” and materialistic celebrities. You are what you love, Aristotle taught us, and if these are the things we love, then we are as low as they are.
What we should be praising instead is the virtue and industry of our pure and virtuous entrepreneurs. No one has ever had real freedom without economic freedom. Any good the government will ever do will at least be financed by private industry. All empowerment comes from the free market–the government can never empower you, they can only stop disempowering you. The solution to all the ills that the left deploys Big Government for will only be solved by private enterprise and daring entrepreneurship.
I’m reminded also that government is a necessary evil, not a good. Marks is getting back to real life. Like Cincinnatus returning to his farm or George Washington returning to Mount Vernon, all our political leaders shouldn’t be in politics for a career or a fancy business card, but to make a contribution and get back to real life. It’s a paradox that two of our finest and most principled U.S. senators–Jim DeMint and Tom Coburn–will be retiring at the end of their term: We lose them because they are principled. Meanwhile, Harry Reid will continue sucking up a federal paycheck.
I asked Marks what advice she would give to young entrepreneurs. She said that “an entrepreneur follows their vision to implementation, and when they fall down, they get back up.”
That message of persistence is one that all children should learn, and learn early. We hear so often in this age of entitlement that people are too proud to take a certain job or too picky to do what they have to do. This is an aristocratic ethic, although most of us do not have the privilege of being aristocrats, but anyone can be an entrepreneur.
That is one of the beauties of the free market–its equality, which comes from its blindness. It is no respecter of persons, no more than the grim reaper is. We can’t all be rock stars, we can’t all be rappers, but we can all learn the material and spiritual value of hard work. And yet, despite its accessibility to all and despite its importance, a distressingly small number of our young people are learning it.
Armstrong Williams’ content can be found on RightSideWire.com. He is also the author of the new book “Reawakening Virtues.” Come join the discussion live 4-5 p.m., 6-8 p.m. ET at www.livestream.com/armstrongwilliams or tune into S.C. WGCV 4-5 p.m., Sirius/XM Power 128, 7-8 p.m. and 4-5 a.m. ET, 6-7 p.m. D.C. a.m. 730 WTNT, 7-8 p.m. WGNU a.m. 920 St. Louis. Become a fan on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
