The role of free speech in defining America's voice.

It's a bit ironic that I would be writing about the values of transparency and candor and their importance to the brand that is America during a presidential election campaign. In fact, I can't think of a more appropriate time to demonstrate my point, albeit by contrast.

We start this entry with a brief history lesson and then a point or two.

Creativity and the First Amendment
Making a new fangled democracy from scratch isn't easy. In fact, the Founding Fathers of the new union of American States found quite a few issues they couldn't settle through negotiation (slavery being one). But once the Constitution was completed, there was one thing everyone could agree on ... the Constitution wouldn't pass.

The document had done a good job of covering detailed administrative and operational issues. Bureaucrats love procedure and process - and they haven't changed much over the past two hundred years.

The difference this time around, however, is that there were a number of founders - most notably Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and a few others, who found significant holes in the constitutional document. These two commentators - each one from a different point of view on the role and importance of government - were able to provide an objective review of the document and joined the chorus of voices expressing concern for the protection of personal liberties.

The original Bill of Rights - those first ten amendments to the US Constitution - provide some of the most important protections to individuals in America. These limits on government were unique to mankind when they were introduced and are some of the most eloquent and elegant statements on personal freedoms in existence today. They reflected concerns of citizens at the time they were written and, for the most part, still accurately reflect the concerns and expectations of citizens today.

It's no coincidence then that the freedom of speech has played such a significant role in defining the American brand worldwide over the past two hundred-plus years. Americans have, for the most part, rewarded brands, institutions and people who say what's on their mind. Conversely, American consumers have demonstrated time and again their disdain for brands that lie to them.

Successful American icons are generally portrayed as "straight talking." Whether those icons are cowboys, jazz, apple pie, high school football, John Wayne or Abe Lincoln - there is a natural love affair between things that are true to themselves and things considered to be "American."

Honesty and candor are important to the pursuit of the American dream because true creativity can't happen in a vacuum - or, worse still, in an environment of unkowns and lies. Creativity, the kind that can save people's lives or change their environment to make it a better place, requires a clear understanding of the challenges that lie ahead.

Unfortunately, this expectation of candor and honesty can lead to some pretty ugly statements. When the President of the United States challenges terrorists to "Bring it on," or that Osama bin Laden is "Wanted dead or alive," Americans see a leader who is being honest with his feelings while others - especially those outside the USA - who see the ugly side of this honest streak emerge as bragadocio, or in the case of our current president, a "Texas swagger."

The interesting thing to note here is that Americans don't like it when they find out a brand is propped up with lies. This is true whether it's a product, an institution, a celebrity or a politician. Enron. Michael Jackson. Even our current political leaders are getting pummeled for their inability to tell the truth or admit a mistake.

America is a noisy place.
One of the things many people who live outside the USA don't seem to realize is how our First Amendment freedoms shape our media landscape.

Thanks to a Constitutionally-protected right to say whatever is on your mind, we have a culture that supports over 25,000 magazines, 40,000 newspapers and tens of thousands of broadcast and cable properties (television and radio). And while all of these media properties pick up and repeat the opinions and thoughts of Americans (and others), those messages are received differently inside America than they are on the outside.

Over two hundred years' experience of deciphering this clutter has tempered Americans' ability to listen and has made us very selective in how we filter information received through the media. This trait, alone, makes American media audiences different from others and it's a fact we often forget.

And it's a trait that most other foreign cultures don't take into consideration when dealing with American customers or American brands.

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