Making Sense of the Nonsensical

I’ve been waiting to use that title for a long time!  I’ve come close several times, but now seems like just the right time for it.

For example, we have mass shootings in America. However, violent crime is not running rampant in our country. No; it just seems like it with all the publicity focused on truly horrible, violent acts that are very out of the ordinary.  A shooting at a Gay nightclub is out of the ordinary; and it looked like it was a political statement against gay people; most likely it wasn't; rather the shooter was a misanthrope who was internally conflicted over his own gay feelings and tendencies. He is dead. We will never know for certain what motivated him to do what he did. At the end he sought publicity only and lent his name to Islamic extremism; most people do not feel that was his motive only a tangential urge to increase his notoriety when all was lost anyway.

Monday morning’s shooting at a teen nightclub is another example of hideous violence in a mass environment; we do not know the motivation yet; but teens? Why them? Why then? Why there? So many questions. So nonsensical an event.

And the killing of an entire family in Florida or in Utah, or in Oklahoma, or…you fill in the state’s name. These sort of things go on in the privacy of a community or family. Relationships sour and unformed minds of people stunted in their psychological development choose to do weird things that end in violence and not understandable to the rest of us.

How do we make any sense out of all of this?

And that’s just the violent stuff. How did our nation become so twisted that people who do not know history, do not follow facts, but do follow frustration and emotions, support somebody like Donald Trump for President? The man does not have the temperament to be the chief executive of a company, or a nation, let alone America. He can be the chief executive of a corporation that he owns outright. Who’s to argue against him and win that argument?

But in a political environment where others share his power in constitutionally formatted structures, he will not get along very well. Compromise is the key ingredient of all governance. All governance, even dictatorial ones. There are limits formal and informal that must be accommodated. But in a democracy those limits are law and ordered structures. The President does not have all power. There are checks and balances, and that is precisely why we have a trilateral form of government – Executive – Legislative – Judiciary. Even within each of these three there are checks and balances written into the structure and protocols. They are legal and sacrosanct.

Mr. Trump can bellow all he wants. He will not get his way in the halls of Congress or courts. Same for Hillary. She will have to earn her way with each issue within the cultures of each government social structure. And she is uniquely experienced to do just this kind of work. Whether you like it or not, Hillary is that person who can weather the storms of partisan politics. She has the experience to do so.

And that’s precisely why what a lot of people want to happen don’t get what they want. They are not the King of America. No one is. This is not a dictatorship. It is a democracy.

It is messy and at times not logical. But together we make decisions to live by. Best we learn how to better get along with each other and search for what we agree on and move forward from that vantage point.

Now, enough nonsense about parties and their missteps. Let’s focus on what matters most to America and work on that with great focus. If one party or another and its candidates don’t support your values or desired outcomes, then you know who to vote for. For the rest of us we have work to do. And you’d best leave us to it. Your survival and happiness rests on what we can accomplish.

Amen!

July 29, 2016

Disarray of Relationships

I’m retired and 73 years old. I worked from 1962 (part time during college) to 2006 when health issues consumed my time and made full time work impractical.

During my career – mostly at non-profit entities and mission-oriented organizations – I noted the use and reliance on interpersonal relationships. Most were functional and workable. Others were faulty and dysfunctional. Still others were dynamic, synergistic and creative. These are the ones I recall most fondly. Those relationships engaged me in the organization and drew me into the 'foundries' where ideas were made, tweaked and launched within the organization.

Such ideas were seminal in pressing the organization’s mission forward. Programs and operations improved with these ideas. Outcomes of our work improved as well. At the university students experienced more relevant education and developed their adult selves purposely and effectively. Years later we heard from many of those same students as they moved through their own careers and personal lives with success and forward thinking.

I also worked in organizations that had narrow views of themselves. They were there to do a job, make some money so the jobs remained in place, and otherwise didn’t push the organization to higher levels of success or optimal output. In such organizations the customer or end user was often tolerated and not valued. That kind of working environment is crushingly uninviting and thwarts personal growth. Best to leave it behind as a lost cause.

Later in life I began organizations to fulfill a needed social function. These were mostly public service and charitable organizations. Their importance in this discussion is two-fold. They clearly have a social value or mission that is pre-eminent for them; and they also have an all-volunteer working staff. Coordinating activities and operations of such a group relies mainly on interpersonal relationships and mission centrist values shared by all involved. That should make the work easy. Decidedly it was not easy!

Interpersonal relationships are difficult to manage on a continuing basis. On a transactional basis – have a task, get it done; it’s over – is sort of easy. But when these tasks are on-going and require dedication and enrichment of the end users, transactional relationships don’t work well. On-going longitudinal relationships are the key to maintaining structural wholeness and maintenance of mission delivery. Such is the norm for most organizations and their operations.

In a sense we are hoping to acquire a 'career resident' attitude among the volunteers when clearly they have a short-term, transitory relationship with the organization based on many personal interests not necessarily focused on the mission of our organization. So relationships are the critical element in operating successfully.

This is true for churches, too, and schools, and educational support groups. It is very true of long-term public interest groups like the NRA, Abortion Rights associations and Pro-Life groups, too.

Just think of political parties! These are fraught with many complexities – local, regional and national issues; candidates of the same territorial significance; party mission and party philosophy; shared and unshared values that are in conflict; and elections won and power shared in the final analysis.  Political parties are still voluntary regardless of the financial scope of their operations.

The current condition of American political parties is woeful. Both of them – the majors (republican and Democrat) – are in disarray. The republicans are waging war within the party on whether conservatism or practical-ism is the focus of its mission. This is a very unsettled element within this party. There are many Americans who feel disenfranchised by their candidates and political party. So they are speaking out and supporting candidates who are out of the norm. Witness Donald Trump. But witness the other 19 candidates who competed with him for the nomination. Most of them were products of mainstream political processes, but they were mostly not of the national presidential timber dictated by past presidential election cycles. Maybe one or two were mainstream; the rest were not.

And the republicans have to live with that and wonder how they can return to a more normal operational format in the future. For now they must deal with the Trumpist phenomenon.

And the Democrats: with Bernie Sanders too old to prevail in a campaign to the White House, and too liberal to be taken seriously in the halls of Congress let alone the White House (remember compromise is key to success in politics), the Democrats had to figure out how to incorporate Bernie Sanders’ message because much of what he talked about and supported is good material for the party to work on going forward. Is it included and embraced? I think yes in the main, but it won’t be readily apparent for some time as the Democrats wage a campaign to get a candidate elected to the White House.

Meanwhile we learn that the organizational structure of the party took some short cuts in decision making, internal lobbying and strategic thinking that appears to favor one candidate over another. Of course it did! That’s the nature of the organization. Same for the republican party. Who’s positioned to best win the election in question, and how do we make that happen? Bernie was not going to win that discussion; no way. Hillary was the best candidate to do that. You can disagree with that conclusion but history will always clash with any decision to support Bernie. It was not in the cards at this time and party leadership understood that.

Rigged? Pshaw! Not the right term to use. There is a process and a logical one, to follow. The party did and Hillary came out the nominee. Get over it. Now, unless you think Trump is the best candidate overall, get behind Hillary and win this election for all of us!

That’s what is in the best interest of the nation. And deep down you know it.

Going forward the Democrats have to accommodate a broad range of issues. Bernie’s issues are very important. So are Hillary’s. And so are a host of other issues begging for attention in our nation. There is much to do. Trouble is there is not enough time or money to attend to everything all at one time.

We must settle for what we can do best now and move on. Later, we can choose more issues to champion and work on.

Republicans have the same job to do.

Outside the two parties the rest of us have a lot of work to do. The primary position at issue is this: Are we a conservative, liberal or middle of the road nation politically? This is an age old issue and it is not settled. But the act of working on it and deciding it should not make enemies of our neighbors. We should be big enough to discuss the issues of the day without needing a gun strapped to our hip to make the point of who has power. And who doesn’t.

For me it is ideas, relationships and human values. My party of choice needs to focus on those things to get my support. And now you see why I’m a Democrat these days and not ‘the other.’

Thank God for that!

July 28, 2016

The Pull of Past, Present and Future

I am looking for a trajectory of motion. Going somewhere from somewhere. Motion. Travel. Progress from point A to point B. A trajectory, path, route, itinerary.

Know what I mean? Well, maybe you don’t. I need to give you more information then.

Sitting in the present – the here and now – I am doing just that – sitting. Oh, OK, maybe I’m standing, but I am stationary. Not moving, just looking out to see what I can see, feel what I can feel, smell and taste what is there. Experiencing the here and now is static. The moment I move to another position I am in another moment, another here and now. Moving from one place to another is motion and it has left the present; it is the past in that split second.

Thinking of the past we might note historical movement from one era to another, or how one era is different from another period in time, and we can even plot how the eras came to be analyzing the stories and actions that came before each era, each story. That is historical movement when we study cause, effect, result. It isn’t real motion, but you can plot a trajectory in all of that.

The past has motivation for us – or pull – if we note things we either want to re-create or avoid in the future. We have yearning then for something remembered either hideous or beautiful. Will this yearning be enough to ‘move’ us to do something in the here and now? Will we work to create something we think is of value and should be present in the lives of our contemporaries?

Maybe so; but the past is not in motion; the present is. And then only for a moment as it becomes the future.

The present has little pull on us. We either like what we are experiencing in the present and wish it to continue or we wish to avoid the unpleasantness that is visiting us at the moment. So we behave differently to make the good last or the bad disappear.  That is all we can do in the present. Experience it and adjust.

The future, however, is another thing entirely. It is not real, for one thing. It is potential. It is the blank slate upon which we can write a story of our own choosing. We can make it happen in some ways. Or we can observe it happen without interaction with it. Or we can analyze the hell out of it from a perspective based on the past.

I rather like conjuring what the future can be or ought to be. Yes, there is a value orientation to the ‘ought’ but then that’s what dreams are made of. We get to choose what is important to us. From those elements we construct what we want and plan for it, take action toward achievement and all the rest as we build a trajectory of motion toward and into the future.

Now I must admit I find this fascinating, absorbing, and enriching all at the same moment. Packed with possibility and portent. Imagining the future is exciting. It has propulsion built into it. Perhaps that is the part that is exhilarating.

At any rate, let us look at a few things we can imagine for the future.

1. Shape of economy

1. What should the business environment or economy look like in five years, or ten?
2. What would this ‘view’ require from us to make it happen? How much of this is already happening and pulling or pushing us whether we realize it or not?
3. What of all of this is to be engaged and what avoided? What is the rationale of each? Surely there are good points to be made for each and every point in need of support or not. 

2. Role and condition of public education

      a.  What are the measurable outcomes of the system? Are they good, bad or ugly?

      b.  What would we like the outcomes to be? What is good, and what is better? Or

           even best? How about the whole concept of ‘life-long learning’? 

      c. What should be happening if the system were performing good or better? What systemic 

          processes need to be working for such results? 

      d. How can we design an entirely fresh public education system? And who has the credentials to 

          do this? 

      e. Can we develop a new educational system while the old one is still working?

6. When finished with the design, how do we get it approved and resourced?
7. And finally, how do we implement the new system and make full use of the talents from the old system in adopting the new?
8. Will the new system that replaces the old be more efficient with public resources? 

3. Global peace and prosperity

      a.   Are most of the nations of the world living in peace or not?

      b.   Are those living in peace experiencing prosperity relative to their standards?

      c.   What are the root causes of lack of peace in the nations so affected?

      d.   What can the nations of the world do to help those not in peace?

      e.   What do all nations need to do to share the wealth and build prosperity across all

            nations? Is this doable and desirable?

f.        Are education resources present in these nations to sustain prosperity once

      gained?

g.       How do all nations share educational resources for nations in need?

4. Ecological health of the planet

      a.   What is the ecological health of the planet using international standards of

            measurement?

2.  What is the priority of each health measure to be repaired, attended to? Which

is the most important one to fix first, second, etc.?

3. How is each dealt with successfully?
4. Who in the global community is capable of doing this work? Perhaps an international team?

5. Who pays and how does all of this get coordinated internationally? 

Are these enough for you and I to agree that gazing into the future and dreaming about it has practical value? Does all of this suggest that we have a lot of work to do to prepare for the future? And have fun doing it while it is in progress?

I think this sounds fun, exciting and very purposeful. Rather than sitting around complaining about something we are actually engaged in the doing of it. How about that?

Now for the big challenge: how do we get people in our own nation, let alone the rest of the global community, involved in making the future happen in this manner? How many of you are ready to lend a hand to this prospect?

If you are ready, when do we start?

July 27, 2016

Fact Checking and Education

You can tell that newspaper readership is down significantly. You can also tell which news outlets on TV are supported by which age groups and ideologies. The cancerous discourse that is plopped into public view via blogs, columns and Facebook and Twitter feeds are legion.

Too bad they are often wrong or wrong headed. Few attempt to check the facts before opining on something. Most stubbornly stick with their preconceived positions and ideology. Thus discourse is anything but a sharing of well formed ideas and conversation.

It is merely a shouting match. Much like the ads that are broadcast by candidates for office, interest groups or organizations with specific views – mainly the anti abortion and pro gun lobbies.

Personality destruction appears to be the tactic. So too anyone who holds a view opposite of the advertiser.

Unfortunately for all of us, none of this discourse helps deal with the problems we are ‘talking’about. Those topics remain with us and beg for solutions.

Rather than making a broadside attack on education, why not simply say the educational system has grown old and weary and needs refreshing if not replacement? It is time for a total makeover. And that message should be welcome. We have asked our educators for generations to ‘make do’ with too little resources and too much mandate of agenda. Neither is a good thing.

You and I are not the professional educator. We must ask real educators to engage in a renewal process for the entire system. This is not a reflection on them or their unions (well maybe!). I’m more concerned that the funding agencies and the decision makers on funding are too politically motivated and jaundiced to do a proper job. I think it is time for the old system to continue until a new system is invented, vetted, and ready for implementation.  This will take years of serious work. But then switch over to it!

The payback will be enormous. Education is the most direct investment a society makes in its people. Its citizens. The people are the source of all in society, and they should be benefiting from all of society at the same time. This is not about power or money. It is not about ideology unless you believe deeply that all education is private and should not be funded by public sources. I would argue that point back to the Constitution and the American Revolution. And the Civil War. If you don’t get the points of those three primary elements, then you likely are not much of an American. Re-read your history!

Education is how one generation informs and prepares the next generation to engage in society going forward. It is also how we teach our young to adapt to change and new things. In similar fashion we can help people of all ages learn new things and adapt to changing conditions, careers and livelihoods. Quality of life has many components. How many do we teach our own people? And how much about the rest of the global community do we teach our own people?

If our society is to be sustainable it must learn to deal effectively with all manner of things, movements and changes. Our society must adapt and regenerate itself. This is how we invent and create worthwhile things. It is a product of adaptation. Rather than feared it should be welcomed.

Are we welcoming change? Do we see it as opportunity or threat?

I rather believe that too many people see change as threat. Thus the political divide we are currently experiencing!

But I would much rather we all see change as opportunity to be more, live better, and create a more sustainable life of quality and value. We have done this over and over throughout our history as a nation. And as a global community, too. We just don’t pay much attention to the latter! Perhaps we should pay more attention and enjoy the ride.

Meanwhile we have much to do at home. Fact checking is just one small act. Educating our people fully is huge. Best we get down to work on that don’t you think?

July 26, 2016

  

A Nation in Decline?

The title today reflects last week’s Republican National Convention’s conclusion that Trump is the answer to America’s being in decline. I’m here to assert they are quite wrong. Our nation is not in decline, but like so many eras it is in a period of change and regeneration.

Our time is always that of change. Healthy organizations constantly change. So do healthy societies. Furthermore it is a sign of health that people have the stamina and flexibility to discover fresh things about themselves and circumstances to yet again re-invent themselves and solutions to problems. The crisis or problem is the motivation to take action. That action is done best when it is a positive response to a challenge.

I think this is the way America normally operates. It accepts challenges, adapts to circumstances, and then musters the gumption and creativity to figure out the problem and the solution. Finding the resources and implementing the solution comes next, but in a democracy we need agreement to move forward.

And that’s the rub these days. A lot of people are afraid of change. They sense they might lose something, and put off fixing the change. Put off the repairs long enough and the ‘problem’ morphs into a larger crisis, perhaps even a catastrophe. Democracy is like that; it is messy, unwieldy, and awkward.

That’s where Donald Trump enters the picture. He’s the awkward in this situation, made possible by too many people afraid of themselves and their future. They see ‘boogie men’ in dark places and behind many bushes. They are fearful of walking down the sidewalk in the evening, let alone greeting the next day with a smile and a shrug!

In my America citizens are adaptable and able to deal with setbacks and problems. It is all in a day’s work to be managed and dealt with. Got a problem? Figure it out. Define it well so we know fully what we are dealing with. Then let’s get some good thinkers gathered to invent the solution. Along the way might we be able to improve on the situation overall so the problem doesn’t arise again very soon?

Change. Adapting to change. It is a challenge. It is often awkward. But those challenges build muscle in our bodies and brains that we can use to turn problems into opportunities. At that point we can move on to inventing the future the way we want it to be.

This frame of mind is common in most of our people. Look back at my many posts where people of all sorts deal with issues of all kinds and make the best of it. It is from this melting pot of people and ideas that great striving and accomplishment come. It is the story of America written over and over again each day as our people live life fully through thick and thin to build yet better days.

If some of our neighbors don’t believe in this, they are the poorer for it. We are the strength of our own lives. We together are the strength of our own nation. And working with like nations we are the voice and hope of the world going forward long into the future. This is not a pipe dream. This is what our lives are supposed to be like.

When you wake up in the morning and arise from bed, do you greet the day with a groan or a smile? Are you a positive force at the beginning of your day or a negative one? Do you identify with possibility or fear of what is to come?

That is an elemental issue needing your personal attention. If yours is a negative view you will need assistance to adapt to a healthier outlook. If yours is a positive view you are already well on your way to making a good day great.

We don’t need a Donald Trump to fix anything for us. We are already fixing things. Yes we have problems. And we will always have problems. We are lucky to have the problems. They force us to deal with each day as a challenge. This is what calls forth our energy and creativity. That alone is satisfaction for getting out of bed with a smile and purpose.

America is a very good and healthy nation. It processes change well. Sometimes too many people are manipulated by others to create a climate of fear so they can garner power and wealth at the expense of others. Soon their agenda is learned. Soon others take over and bring us back to reality.

When we are good, we share. When we are fearful we do not share. We defend. We store up things to use in the future. We become stingy. We blame others. We do not smile. We fear others, then each other, then our own families. Turning inward is not the answer. It is the problem.

Turning outward is the answer. Sharing life with others is the answer. Realizing others have strengths and willingness to share gives us community to build more strength and purpose. And that all combines to lead to future.

What a joy to find the purpose and positive in life. The opposite is not.

July 25, 2016

Women’s Success

I co-chaired a meeting the other night that specifically invited women to discuss their hopes and dreams of owning their own business. Twenty appeared. Their diversity was evident as they streamed into the room. Age, race, interests, passions and talents, too, were all evident in a wide array of difference. It is refreshing and reaffirming that so much possibility resides in the people we mingle with each day and so much more from those we don’t even see.

At one point in the evening we asked the attendees to share their candid definition of success. As we went around the room we heard stories of hope overcoming struggles and despair. Some shared tales of dreams put off by duties of motherhood. Others told of their battle with illness or addiction and how their lives turned around and now they are ready for the next chapter of meeting life head on. Around the table we went encountering fresh faces, some tears, but lots of smiles on heads held high.

I was moved by this honest sharing. But I was struck by this realization – not one of the participants had uttered a financial success definition in terms of money. Not one dollar bill was spoken of. Sure there were the phrases – “need enough to pay my bills and keep my family safe” or “of course we need to pay the bills but I don’t want riches.”

Success to these women was all about quality of life and self satisfaction. Most came from caring for others. There were intellectual and professional excellence goals as well as meeting the needs of others as fully as possible. Such goals speak to the heart and soul of a society, not just these wonderful women! It proved to me over and over again during the evening that our nation is strong and regenerative and focused on the right things.

That is not the picture we get when reading the newspaper or encountering the evening TV news.

Far from it.

When I listen to others speak I hear their pathos as well as their energy. Both relate messages of passion and hope. They dream dreams and see opportunities where others view only problems and crisis. These good people see tasks to do to help others. And they follow through on it.

I remember an act of kindness shown me as I stumbled around the streets of London on vacation. I must have looked quite lost. This woman of about 50 approached me and simply asked, “May I help you?”  And I said, yes, I was looking for a specific street and building. She took my hand gently and led me to the corner, pointed to the building in question, and said I should find what I was looking for there. My wife merely looked on at this tableau and smiled! A kind Londoner helping a tourist. Simple. Direct. Helpful.

And kind.

Do we do enough of this in our own lives? Do we see people in need and lend a hand? Helping does not always require a financial donation or an epic project. It often involves seeing and listening and simple acts to follow. And then on with our own lives. Done and over!

Why make such a project of everything? And yet we must if we are to build lives that matter. A job. A career. A business. Each takes our attention and preparation and earnest application of work. The reward should be impact on others if we expect it to have impact on our own lives.

In the final analysis it is about this impact not the dollars earned from our labors that matter the most. They matter to the others but also to us. Along the way something more is being constructed – a way of life to be followed by others – a social fabric that has muscle and stamina – a nation that has vision and lasting value.

We are the sum of our parts. And who we are is the sum of the many parts we have working within us. This is another measure of diversity. May we treasure this well and maintain it high on our value structure!

July 22, 2016

Making a Difference

I am doing a large project. I am attempting to write a book. At the moment it is my intention to compile the book from a compendium of blog posts I have published these past five years (almost). Not an easy task. There are over 1525 posts to cull from. And much of the writing is similar throughout. Some sound like a broken record stuck in the same groove. I know; I am aware of that.

There is a lot of material to review and select from. Nearly 900,000 words. A book usually begins with 100,000 words and pares it down to about 70,000. So I have enough material for one good book, or nine poor ones! Or maybe three solid pieces worthy of public consumption.  Who knows? And the chances that this project will go nowhere is on the probability scale as well!

For now I am thinking about a title or theme that would unify the first book. I am thinking of “Making a Difference”. That seems to be a theme often echoed in the posts. Do something for yourself, do something for someone else, get moving, take action, you can do it! That sort of thing.

Having said that, I am no closer to the finish line for a manuscript. That remains a tall objective. I will keep you posted.

Meanwhile, I will continue with my commentary on current events and see where this will guide me in my thinking. All life is a journey; all thinking, too. Journey’s have a beginning and an end, but along the way there are many rest stops, vista viewings, and visits with strangers. Sometimes a journey involves detours and side trips that pose journeys of their own. That is what makes both life and journey apt metaphors for one another.

At the same time I discover things about life in general, and about myself. Nosing around often uncovers little noticed tid bits don’t weigh much by themselves but in context bring fresh meaning to light. Sort of like listening to a recording of a favorite symphony and in a moment a musical fillip makes its presence known, one that had gone unnoticed before. Suddenly the symphony is enriched and will remain so for future replaying. Next time I’ll listen for this feature with much anticipation.

Appreciating the fit and feel of a piece of art or furniture in the home is like that, too. It may be a comfortable friend bought many years before, but now it takes on a trusted role of familiarity and safety. My environment is personalized and meaningful with this present.

And so like life itself, we players on the stage move about doing things, fulfilling responsibilities, performing chores for self and others, but otherwise don’t make much of a production of this. What impact does my life have on others? And yours as well? When we observe someone walking their dog down the street, do we think of the day that person has lined up? Do we attach importance to their routine as a valued member of our community? Do we even know what dreams and aspirations others have for their lives? Is there anything we could do to help them? Might this be the thing that makes a difference in someone’s life. Not mine, the other’s?

An interesting question. Like that of an artist who creates an art work that resides on a wall or shelf. The art is not thought of frequently but it is noticed from time to time. Most of the time the art is ‘there’ and doesn’t register a specific meaning or value to us. Then one day – Pow! – it does register. We notice it and suddenly it makes the room or makes us feel differently when we are in that room with the art piece. It has ‘shaped’ our sensibility about the place we inhabit.

That art item made a difference. The artist made a difference. Our lives are changed because of that art piece. We see ourselves differently, and the place differently, and so on.

Making a difference involves so many odd bits and pieces. I think of it mainly about how organizations and communities can make a difference in the lives of people. But there are other elements that can make differences to.

Maybe that’s the title of the book?  Making a Difference. I’ll have to give that some more thought.

July 21, 2016

 

Truth and Consequences

This week it is the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Next week it is the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. A lot of words will be said, shouted, spittled and broadcast everywhere. By both parties. But the tone and agenda of the messages have been around for a very long time.

For republicans the Clinton name has been anathema since the late 1980’s and throughout the 1990’s. When Hillary’s name cropped up as a presidential candidate the republicans went into high gear to continue the onslaught of their hyperbole. Unproven all, but cast out on the waters as truth.

But such really isn’t the truth.

The Clintons have been vilified by political enemies for decades now. Why do you suppose that is? After all is said and done probably upwards of $100 million has been spent on accusing the Clintons – both Bill and Hillary – of illegal acts. Not one court case ever was decided against them. But they were dragged through the process nonetheless. And that’s just what their political enemies wanted: create an atmosphere of smoke and claim there must be a fire somewhere in there!

Only there wasn’t. Just envy, and the realization that the Clintons were smart, savvy, informed, educated and willing to lead with ideas and programs that actually address the needs of the nation. That’s risky business of course. Nothing good ever came from not taking risks. And the republicans – being business people and entrepreneurs and such – should know that risks always must be taken if progress is to result.

Come to think of it that’s the problem in a nutshell, isn’t it? The republicans reacted to the Clintons. They reacted to the Viet Name War. They reacted to prosperity and misspent it to a huge recession bordering on depression. They destroyed the banking system in the process and the real estate business and mortgage banking industry. And then they reacted to every little bit of repair work that needed to be done but by then they were no longer in the White House so they obstructed the repairs to their own debacles. They didn’t want to be blamed for the debacle in the first place, but then they didn’t want a Democrat to get the credit for fixing a very broken system.

So accuse the President in the White House at the time – Obama – of everything you can think of so people will say he is the most failed president in history.

No, that’s the Bush years that earned that sobriquet. Obama has weathered his 8 years with poise, grace, intelligence and policy creation that makes sense both in the eyes of his own citizens and that of the world community as well. In fact the global community wonders what is wrong with Americans that they don’t value the massive talent of Obama who serves so very well indeed. The world community is envious of the Obama's and America. But they scratch their heads over how the Obama's are treated.

Well might they wonder.

But then the consequences of what the republicans have done for 25 to 30 years becomes ever more evident watching the current republican convention. Their agenda is quite simple:

-Claim wild statements as truth regardless of the facts.

-Claim the world is crumbling and America is at the center of the destruction

-Claim only republicans can set the country and world right again

How they can claim on that when the facts point in the opposite direction is beyond me. But then republicans haven’t been very logical or truthful these past many years. They lean on misspeak continually and hope that if it is repeated often enough then it must miraculously turn into the truth.

Trouble is it doesn’t. Truth is truth. Fact is fact. History is history. Read. Learn. Piece together the real story. And then tremble at the misrepresentations being made by republican leaders.

The hyperbole is classic negative politics. I’m sure we will witness some of the same during the Democratic Convention. It is part of the American political landscape. Not a pretty element of our landscape but evidently a permanent one at that.

Communities are built by working together on common problems. Common causes focus energy and purpose very well. That’s what brings groups, communities and regions together. And so it does nations as well.  All of my blog posts make this point over and over again. Nations are built by all of us working together toward common goals.

Americans have more in common than they do differences. We have our diversity of skin, ethnicity, cultures, religions and so much more. But those are differences that enrich our social tapestry. It comes from our ‘everyone-is-an-immigrant’ story. It is what has made us great.

This strength that has made us great is being attacked as though it is a weakness. That’s the opposite of what it is. Those who don’t agree are mostly frightened that they are witnessing their life force ebbing away. What they ought to be seeing because it is in front of their very face, is that our life force – the life force of our nation – is strong and strengthening because of our broad diversity. Their lives are not fading away, they are growing larger.

Trouble is they are letting other people speak words not of their own making. And feelings, too. So they and you will vote power and riches into their coffers. That’s what this is all about people. Power and riches. Not good deeds, not truth, not full dreams of better tomorrows.

Tearing down our own house to win power and influence is the ultimate destruction of self. It is a form of suicide.

This season of politics is not pretty. It hasn’t been constructive or pretty for a very long time. That is the danger we are now living with.

There is much negative thinking among our citizens. There is suspicion and distrust rampant among us. From this comes fear, anger and defensiveness. One step away is violence. Arming everyone to the teeth ramps up the probability of violence all the more. And when it happens we wonder WHY?

Really? The Why is evident on your TV tube. The spittle is still fresh on the lips of the speaker. A speaker of fiction and vitriol. All for self aggrandizement and power. Oh, and money, too.

The shame clings to us all for being a part of this hideous travesty.

July 20, 2016

Peace Among Violence

As we allow our minds to embrace violent happenings in recent weeks, we place ourselves in the shoes of those who experienced it first hand. Along an historical promenade in Nice, France, while fireworks are ending a spectacular display, food vendors are still on the scene selling treats and sweets, babies are being pushed in their strollers, families are gathered for a celebration of community and nationality. An outing in pleasant weather, at night, a time of magic. And Mediterranean weather fit to perfection.

Then, a rumble and muffled thuds and screams, then more screams and the beginning of a stampede. The mind reels trying to understand what is happening. From a calm and peaceful warm evening to one of mayhem and violence. People hit by a truck, a large, heavy truck. Speeding through the crowds of people, innocents all. Kids run over, babies, too. Bodies flung into the air, bouncing on the pavement, blood now appearing around each of the bodies, spreading toward pools and then off to a gutter.

Mayhem. Death. Injury. Fear. Trembling. Gun shots. Then the truck is silenced and stopped. The gun shots stop. The moaning and screaming does not.

This is the face of violence in the world. From whom, by whom and why still not known. But we will. The facts will assemble gradually and our understanding will broaden until we do know most of what went on and most importantly, why.

This was Nice on July 14, 2016.

The massacre in The Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando was in a more confined space, but still an assembly of people busy celebrating and dancing to loud music and the noise of a crowd. Then the shots were sprayed rapidly throughout the group of people. The thuds, the blood, the screams and moans grew. The dark and fear and trembling came, too. Just as in Nice. The why was not known then, and may never be known at all. All we know is 50 people died almost instantly. Another 53 were hospitalized and some remain there.

The damage done. The carnage lived through by some and died in by far too many. In their imaginary shoes we try to experience what they did and wonder the same as they: why this? Why now? Why me? Why?

This was Orlando.

And Dallas. Five police officers shot dead by a sniper trained by the US military. A black man seeking revenge for something we still don’t understand. The cops protecting blacks and whites protesting the killing of young black men at the hands of cops in other cities and states. The causes are worthy of our attention and concern. We are called to do something about injustice and for peace and love and understanding within our communities of America. The Dallas cops were doing their job willingly and well. But from this setting came death nonetheless. Senseless and regrettable just like the killing by police elsewhere.

This was Dallas.

We encounter these horrors with tight chests and buzzing minds. We feel the fear and terror. We share this in our mind but not the same as the victims, of course. They know the terror much better than we.

But it belongs to all of us.

We who survive and live on must learn the why of the events so we can better prevent them from happening again. Not an easy assignment. Especially when we are still angry and in a daze at the horrific nature of the events. But we must. We must find the peace in our core so that we may think well upon what we need to do.

Not out of revenge. But out of peace and love for the future.

July 19, 2016

Anatomy of a Sermon

I was raised a protestant in the Congregational Church now known as the United Church of Christ. It is the church of early American settlers – the Pilgrims. They were known later as Puritans. How over the few hundred years they became the most liberal of Christian protestant denominations I will never know! I’m not interested in the how, just that it is.

Now comfortably in my 70’s I have been asked to prepare a sermon for my Lutheran church, a church home I am nestled into now for over 10 years. Yes, I once attended seminary (back in the late 1960’s), have pretty much dedicated my life to social concerns, agencies and careers. I care about people and how they deal with their lives through thick and thin. So my interest in church and religion is life long but rocky theologically.

It was the theological discipline to creed and ritual that dashed my thoughts of becoming a minister. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of people and society so chose, instead, to labor in higher education, non-profit agencies, and consulting work. Along the way I became a writer of sorts. Still trying to understand the ‘sorts’ part of that statement!

So, here I am, standing before you ready to present a sermon. I agreed to do this to help the congregation bridge the preaching gap between Pastor Wende’s retirement and the start of our interim pastor arriving in August.

I had planned to present to you a combination of two of my recent blog postings, both praising and thanking the pastoral services of Wende West, and using those words to show how PW was a true pastor in the biblical sense.

But I changed my mind. World events have swirled perniciously close to home and memories and thus I have chosen to focus instead on those unsettling events. Why? Because we are all affected by them and need reassurance that the world has not, indeed, gone mad.

Of course I speak of the unsettling deaths of black young men at the hands of police officers, the massacre of 5 Dallas police officers while they were protecting the lives of a peaceful protest, and now, the slaughter of 84 innocent children, men and women in Nice on Bastille Day. Many more remain in hospital, some in highly critical condition. And of course we shall not forget the 50 souls massacred in Orlando a little over a month ago.

And then Friday night's coup attempt in Turkey. At latest count over 265 people dead including coup participants, defenders, police and civilians caught in the crossfire.

Violence. In the world and here at home. Whether with guns or fists or boots – it is hideous. Demeaning and abasing. Heart wrenching, also. The mind staggers to make sense of it. The WHY? Why this form of violence? Why now? Why these people in this place? For what purpose? Why?

Living in the real world is not easy. Accepting raw facts is easy on the face of it, but the reality of those facts are difficult to digest. Thus the WHY writ large.

In today’s Gospel reading (Luke 10:38-42), Martha complains to Jesus that she is left alone by Mary to do all the hospitality work. She accuses Mary of shirking her duties as a woman and hostess, and thus burdening Martha. Jesus responds that Mary is where she should be and that Martha’s work is good and appropriate.

Why? Theologically the answer is that Mary – a woman expanding her role to student at the feet of the teacher (Jesus the Rabbi) – was a necessary growth of spreading the news Jesus had to offer the world.

Being in the world, that is what Mary did, drinking in the words and lessons offered up by Jesus. Hospitality to the assembled was provided by Martha. All was good. The real focus of the gathering was learning.

And so we are here to learn what? How to live in the world? How to accept the hideous violence around us and make sense of it? For what purpose? Well, that is the purpose, isn’t it? To question and explore the hideous so we can learn what to do about it that will restore peace and calm long into the future. The need is evident. The outcome in question. The action yet to be determined.

The act of learning is really a journey of exploration. From that earnest probe of fact we discover things we did not know before. We learned how life is lived in the shoes of others, for one. But we also learn cause – effect – result of many facts. Those discoveries yield to understanding – the fruit of all education, all learning. The honesty we bring to this work will better produce honest results we can rely upon.

Then we can act and live with purpose and direction  that will make a difference.

Is this not what Christ’s teachings were all about? What he asked of his disciples to learn and to broadcast far and wide. His enlistment of the willing Mary is a sign of his process, to teach and spread the Gospel.

Yes, Mary was doing the right thing. So was Martha. Each in a different role. One old and well learned, the other new and disturbing. But oh so exciting.

We will never fully understand all violence in the world. But we can learn more about it and its causes so we can live lives of purpose and peace. Such is the journey of living life, of learning life, of developing our own life of authentic love, feeling and understanding. It is not always easy to accept, but first let us love and learn. And then reach out.

Spread the word. Spread the love. Spread the Lessons of life.

Amen.

And so you have the formation of a sermon formed before your very eyes. This is what went through my mind as I prepared for the Sunday message. Not a bad lesson and example for my blog journal and commentary, I think. So I offer it up to you for whatever it is.

Peace!

July 18, 2016

Bits and Pieces – More, Much More

So much is happening these days one wonders when we have time to breathe. And then we remember it is an automatic response and a natural process of living. The news is not altogether natural, however; it is manufactured much of the time, and presented in ways designed to spark reaction and behavior that others hope to create within the audience. And then we realize that’s what we are – an audience.

I am not saying that all media work is manipulative. No. I think, however, that much becomes manipulative over time as news managers attempt to package their messages in ways that are attractive to audience response. That directly transforms into ratings. Ratings, of course, are used by the sales department to sell ads and price those ads according to the attractiveness of the news outlet. The higher the attractiveness the more people will be exposed to the ads the air time buyer is purchasing.

These transactions become so routine over time the news outlet becomes an audience pleaser. Like Fox News. It has staked out an audience segment it feels is its base and programs to it. Panders, actually.

Really? Yes, really.

All it takes to deny this is to turn off the media and go elsewhere for thought, wonder and information. To the sources of news to the extent they are available to us. To the blank page as an option to fill with thoughts of our own. And then to ponder anew yet again at what life means and how society is getting along. And of course that leads us back to the media. Good or bad, love it or hate it, the media is where the words are these days.

What we can bring to the mix is our doubt over the accuracy of the reporting. We can challenge the wording and the emphasis on some facts and not others. We can imagine the vacuums of thoughts that are manipulated by some. If you question this point, look at the headlines just on July 15, 2016:

Homeless attacked, set afire and killed in San Diego

Michigan Courthouse killings

China’s ‘land-building islands’ do not pass muster in World Court

Black Lives Matter protests go on

Trump belies facts and history; claims truth anyway

GOP denies freedom of religion, marriage, and rights to LGBTs

GOP drills down on Hillary; means to make life hell (like this is news!?)

Amazon internet effect: competitors’ closing stores (the Mall Effect)

Russia’s sole athlete at Olympics branded a traitor

Stock Market Volatility

Brexit, Politics and Economics

Now that’s quite a list for one day. News is not pretty. Downright upsetting. If you were the news manager for a TV station or radio outlet, what would you do? If the size of your paycheck depends on ad sales and rising ad prices, I bet you would look for the news items that would attract your audience and make sure that viewer segment is satisfied. If you are correct then program ratings will respond with an uptick. Higher ratings will be calculated into ad pricing, and ad buyers will seek audience exposure. That’s how it goes. And your paycheck grows. Bonuses don’t you know!

If we can get past this we might be able to change the ratings game and its negative effect on the news gathering. Here’s how.

First, truly list what you are interested in following on a daily or weekly basis. Might this be a helpful list?

1.      City news developments

a.       Rules, laws, enforcement

b.      Economic development programs

c.       Cultural programming and benefits

d.      Crime statistics, trends

e.       Other

2.      Regional news developments

a.       Rules, laws, enforcement

b.      Economic development programs

c.       Cultural programming and benefits

d.      Crime statistics, trends, court reporting

e.       Other

3.      State news developments

a.       Rules, laws, enforcement

b.      Economic development programs

c.       Cultural programming and benefits

d.      Crime statistics, trends, court reporting

e.       Other

4.      National news developments

a.       [same as above]

5.      International news of interest

a.       Peace news among community of nations

b.      Economic news within global economy

c.       Cultural and educational exchanges in global community

d.      Other

6.      Business News

a.       Investment trends

b.      New businesses and their leaders

c.       Innovation, partnerships and breakthroughs

d.      Stock market indexes and trends

e.       Economic indicators worth watching, studying

f.       Other

7.      Sports News

a.       Game results, tournaments, etc.

b.      Athletes of distinction

c.       Health and training in the sports world

d.      Other

8.      Arts and Leisure happenings, developments

a.       Events, calendar

b.      Reviews of events past and present

c.       Artists in the news; their stories

d.      Inspiration and artistic expressions

e.       Other

You get the idea. Find what you are interested in and follow it. Where? Wherever you can find information central to your area of interest. That may be in educational journals, business journals, professional association journals and news digests in specific, narrowly defined fields. You may find websites that do much the same and provide the information much faster and more conveniently.

Over time you may find a variety of publications available over the internet you can scan quickly each morning and evening, and then follow up with more detailed reading and research when time is available.

And, you may even learn how to read a newspaper in a way that avoids the junk and focuses on the gold you are after. Just be careful of who the authors are and what their credentials are! That’s one reason I suggest following a good family of professional journals and association news feeds. Those are the experts who have the credentialed data.

We will process the news intelligently or not. If you are an audience member to be manipulated, then be forewarned. If you are a consumer of news that means something, then the world is your oyster to explore.

Remember that exploring leads to discovering. And discovery leads to understanding and innovation. How exciting that all can be. So much better than a ratings game!

July 15, 2016

Bits and Pieces: Guns, Cops, and?

Protecting Neighborhoods

I expect to walk a sidewalk to a store, office or restaurant. I expect no obstruction to this action other than pedestrian traffic, traffic signals, and perhaps a longer walk from my car to where I’m headed on foot. I do not expect to confront or be confronted by a person acting very odd and heightened by the presence of a gun. In fact if I were confronted by someone with a gun I don’t know what my reaction would be. I doubt it would be calm.

Why some areas of a town experience weird acting people and guns is not in my understanding. My first inclination is to call the police for protection. I would want order restored and the least threat of damage to others to occur. This is a law and order issue in the instant. Why that instant exists at the moment is not in my purview. Order is the first thing on the list of things to do. Later, we must learn why this situation existed in the first place.

That question is complex in and of itself. But finding the answers to it are complexity magnified. Designing the proper solution to avoid such problems in the future is yet another magnification added to the situation. This is Public Policy 101. It is a difficult subject to master. For those elected and employed to do this sort of work, it is difficult not only to do but to get others – especially the public – to understand what must be done.

Your freedoms and rights must be protected. So must they be protected for others, including the suspects. And of course the people working for us all in elected and professional positions alike must be protected as they go about their work. This is what makes public policy work so difficult. So many masters. So many truths. Only one or a few can be implemented at a time.

It would help if neighborhoods understood their problems first. It would help if they struggled with knowing why they have odd behavior happening more frequently rather than less. And it would help if they understood why and from where the guns have appeared. Are they regulated well enough to maintain peace or are they a problem causing the violence just because they are present? That’s what the citizens of the neighborhood have to understand and seek help for.

And then they have to ask for that help so the helpers know they are welcome to work with them. Not suspected of being an enemy but welcomed as a partner to solve a problem.

Protecting Protests and other Rights

Cops and public authority have you and me to protect as we live our lives. We choose how to live the life and we are protected in doing it as long as we are not breaking the law in the first place. So, lawful assembly and action is not only allowed it is a celebrated freedom in our nation. Public authorities protect that. In Dallas last Friday police were doing exactly that when they were attacked by a sniper with deadly training from prior military service.

Why this individual went off the track is something to learn from research. For the moment on Friday the police had their job to do and they did it. They protected the innocent and got the bad guy and saved many lives. They lost five of their own plus 11 more wounded, some maimed for life. This is the threat they endure for the privilege of doing their job for the rest of us. They are cops. They are protectors. They are not the enemy.

And the protesters were protected.

Protecting the Protectors

But the cops have their own training to protect themselves as they go about their dangerous jobs. So they were protected. But theirs is a very dangerous job with lethal consequences. Some died last Friday. More remain injured.

They all deserve our thanks and support for the travail they suffer and have suffered in doing their jobs for us.

Common Elements – Guns; too many of ‘em

There are two sides to Black Lives Matter and Police Brutality. In the first instance black lives do matter. For me that is a given. I am white and old. I have a lifetime of sensitivity and dedication to racial integration and civil rights. It is my personal history and earliest political bent. I am definitely not an enemy to Black Lives Matter. I get it. And so do millions of other people. Our skin color – white – does not make us an enemy.

Cops are not brutal in the main. In fact most police personnel live lives of quiet and calm. They are on the line to do a tough job for the rest of us but they usually do not encounter violence while it is being committed. Often their jobs are boring and routine. That means our public life is routine and peaceful. In the main.

When violence happens adrenaline and fear and threat response take over. In some of those cases police personnel can and have overreacted. More violence has occurred as a result. And some of that violence could and should have been avoided. It wasn’t. It is now a fact of life and we have to process that. That does not make the problem an epidemic among all police forces throughout the nation. We must all understand that.

It is a wake up call, however, that something remains wrong and needs attention. So let’s fix that however we can. In the meantime let us not paint all police personnel with the same broad stroke labeling them enemies. They are not.

But guns are everywhere and that heightens the emergency. How do we reduce gun violence in America? That is the question. And it deserves an answer. If we don’t know the answer, then we need to research it. The NRA and all gun rights groups should be helping with this research. They claim guns are not the problem. Then let them prove it. Meanwhile their work can be used to assist the rest of us in finding the solution.

All of us working together on the question: How do we reduce gun violence?

July 14, 2016

Values, Trust and Violence

If you don’t trust government then I guess you don’t trust schools, snow plowers, road pavers, police, the military overall and millions of city, county and state clerks, attorneys and managers of countless programs that safeguard quality of life for the lesser income families among us. Or maybe you trust most of these government units and levels, but some you don’t. Which ones might those be?

And who is in charge of managing the issues above you don’t trust? Have you or anyone else you trust looked into this matter and determined how to go about improving on the situation? Or are you sitting on the sidelines complaining, getting bitter, making others bitter, and doing nothing helpful? Or maybe you are ‘doing something helpful’ by stepping forward with protests, brandishing guns or some other power move?

None of the items in the previous paragraph are helpful but here are some steps that might be:

1. Call your state representative or state senator if your problem is a city, county or state issue.
2. Call your congressman or senator if your issue is a national/federal issue.
3. Call your local library and ask for help in forming a discussion group with facts, figures and appropriate research that may lead to a welcome, informed citizen’s group getting involved in solving the problem. At least understanding the problem better, if not solving it.
4. Then, based on what you have learned, politely steer obviously wrong public statements by others in the press or on Facebook or wherever, to what are the correct facts. Do so politely to defuse an already emotional climate surrounding many issues.

Here’s one issue that will get an automatic barrage of resistance.  Gun violence is too high; what can we do to lessen it? All you have to do is ask that question and you will be attacked 1000 times by people who jump to the conclusion that you are going to come after their guns.  The fact that this has never happened in the entire history of America doesn’t seem to dissuade them.

All I want is a polite, informed discussion on the issue of gun violence and what the nation can do to lessen the violence and produce a safer living environment for all of us. Can’t we at least identify the problem, measure it, track how violence has lurched up and down over many decades and plot what might have been the root causes of such outbreaks? Might serious and calm study of the related issues actually teach us some things we didn’t know? Kill assumptions; base talk and dialog on facts. That’s my goal for the time being.

Hopefully some months from now practical solutions can be defined and considered for implementation. What those might be I have no idea about currently. I’m still in the stage of defining the problem.

Meanwhile in Dallas one warped individual with clearly deep personal problems decided that white people are the problem and cops in Dallas are responsible for violence against black people of urban areas all over the nation. His solution was to take guns to a public peaceful protest and kill as many policemen he could, policemen who were present to protect the peaceful protesters. All good police personnel who already are part of the solution, not part of the problem.

In other communities hair trigger emotions exist that apparently are causing some policemen to think trusting African Americans in some situations is dangerous to their own safety. Those same people then quickly take action that takes the life of innocent citizens (innocent until proven guilty, please!). The problem is the hair trigger. Why is it present in the first place? Does the local black community evidence high crime, runaway violence, and the presence of many guns involved in day to day police incidents? If so, the community needs to ask for help in solving their community problem. The police may not be the guilty party they think. The hair trigger, remember? Who caused that? Police? If so, the local city officials need to step in to ease that situation and build more positive community relations. All will benefit from this.

Is any of this easy to work with or solve? Not one whit of it. It is perilously difficult to work with. That’s because trust is mostly absent and hard work is needed to rebuild it. Without trust among the principles nothing will be accomplished that’s good. Only more violence.

It takes leadership to solve this problem. And that leadership is not always an elected official. It is a church person, a clergyman or deacon, a priest or a nun, or a congregation member willing to step forward and work with people in trouble. It is a neighbor who feels calm heads need to sit down together to discuss the problems and vet out potential solutions. And in turn these same people need to find others with authority and resources to add the necessary ingredients that will assist building lasting peace in the community.

Building strong communities is an art. That’s why community organizers were invented back in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s. They are worth their weight in gold because they work with seemingly valueless assets and turn the community into highly productive, high quality places to live. Hard work but worth the effort.

If enough people like this are stepping forward then communities that are suffering have a good chance at happy outcomes. If not, only sadness, violence, death and lack of hope remain. And that does not define the America I know and love.

July 13, 2016

Follower, Anarchist or Leader?

The news is filled with agony and horror. Shootings. Of seemingly innocent people; by cops. Then citizen snipers shooting (and killing!) cops, in a city where cops killing civilians is not a history. Guns everywhere. For what? To protect myself from others carrying guns? Like the Old West of yore?

Or guns to protect me from invaders from across the border, or aliens from outer space? Or maybe from anarchists living among us distrusting all forms of government save their own?

Violence. Against people unsuspecting of the attack. Guilty or innocent of what is no longer the point. Gang shootings happen. Guilty on guilty. Black on black. Terrorist on terrorist. Robbers on storekeepers. Pedestrians shot for their wallet or purse.

Guns gone awry. Violence begetting violence. Trust meeting distrust creating more distrust. Chaos begetting chaos.

Is this what we want America? Is this your or our vision of the future?

If you were President of the USA what would you do? Answer that question, please. Answer it with the full force of the power and freedom to act you think the position endows you with. What would you do?

This is an interesting situation to ponder. For one, you are not the President. For two, your understanding of the President’s power is most likely faulty. For three, you and I are in control of the nation’s power, not the President. So, your supposed unlimited power does not exist in reality or fantasy.

And that’s the point.

Leaders lead. Followers follow. If the leader leads and none follow there is nothing accomplished. A small following leads to the same; nothing.

The opposite is not true – followers leading with leaders following. No; that sentence provides the definition of chaos and anarchy.  If the citizenry rises up to lead a movement to wrest control of the nation, anarchy is the tool and the result is revolution.

We know that because we lived it in the 1700’s. It is our national heritage. Our population then was sparse. The population lived in sparsely settled communities spaced far apart. So the sparseness itself was sparse! Defending such a nation of settlements by the imperial power of England was more than difficult. It proved impossible in the end. Something we learned in Viet Nam, too, remember?

Times are different. We are a nation of huge urban areas and densely populated areas. The only sparsely settled areas of the country are out west where the landscape does not support massive social gatherings and communities. But reconnaissance and speedy transport allows defense and offense in such large swaths of territory today.

Revolution is not practical. But chaos is.

How chaotic is our nation? How amenable are we to allowing leaders to lead and we to follow? Are we still distrustful of such leadership? Are we therefore prone to revolts by citizens to the extent of massing chaos? And will this take us to the brink of chaos and over?

I think we all need to press the ‘pause’ button and rest a bit. Ponder the above words. What do they mean? Where are we going? Do we intend to let this happen? Or do we feel a central focus within society to maintain order and build a solution to the problems?

A free press allows much to be written about, stated over airwaves, and touted far and wide. A freedom of assembly allows massing of citizens to talk, exhort, celebrate and make movements happen. Freedom of thought, religion and all the rest allows content of our messages to develop fully and wherever they may.

But the result? Where is order in this? Is goodwill enough? We assemble for major football game tournaments. We gather for the Rose Parade on January 1^st in Pasadena. We gather for Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on Thanksgiving. Are these peaceable assemblies? What makes them different than those that are not peaceable? Other than the result, but one cannot know beforehand the result.

I think we Americans have some serious thinking to do. We have a rambunctious national election for president lurching all over the nation’s map. By its nature it is upsetting; purposefully so it can persuade people to support specific candidates and points of view. That is how elections are managed so the ballot box result can be had in November every four years.

But the process is reeling out of control. We have lost our discipline. We are not thinking of the issues in depth. We are not employing logic and education to the issues. We are dealing with emotions which heat up uncontrolled behavior. We are whipping up reactions that lead at times to violence. Will this escalate to larger violence and chaos?

No one knows. Our officers in blue are asked to risk their lives to protect the peace and public order. Yet we snipe at them; we question their judgment; we sue them; we jail them while they are in the justice system; their incomes are impounded and their pensions removed. This is the thanks we provide our peace officers?

Chaos has many faces. The innocent and the guilty. The protector and the instigator. The just and the proud along with the scalawag. At what point do the rest of us say enough and empower our leaders to do their jobs?

I suggest to you that the time is here and now to follow or lead. That takes will on both sides of the equation to work.

What will you be? A leader or a follower? And then ask yourself, Why?

July 12, 2016