Halloween

Or is that hollow-een?

The times are scary. They match the calendar. Only we are not laughing.

Rallies are staged. Supporters are curried. The speaker soaks it in. feels good. Fields his complaints. Gets more support. He feels good. He thinks he is leading, governing.

Not. Of course, this is not leadership. This is not governance, either. It is one-sided. It is not uniting disparate thoughts and feelings. The rhythm of these shows masks an inability to manage the important tasks. They mislead the already ill-informed.

Yes, their feelings of inability, feebleness, powerlessness are uplifted. The reactions follow: blame, rage, agitation. The need to lash out if only to yell or jump up and down. They are doing something to vent their frustrations.

We hope they keep it there and not take it outside to spill over in other activities of their lives.

A mind unsettled and twisted may take action. The bomber did. So too the muggers and beaters and slashers. Angry at their situation. Angry at their powerlessness. The draw to mob action grows.

A synagogue is attacked; 11 dead; several critically injured; lives shattered as much as the peace is broken. It is a long-lasting result. A horror. The product of terrorism – foreign or domestic.

We are London, Paris, Bangladesh, Beirut or a Syrian village. Violence. Mayhem. Ugly behavior that demeans human life, humanity.

We reject these results, these conditions erupting from anger. It is life we hope to govern.

The how and where-for of governance is tried and true in so many places, societies and history. We know what works; what doesn’t. Openness of process slows us down but makes for buy-in and support.

In the midst of all this chaos are the responders to the horrors. They put pieces together, save lives, help the maimed, remove the dead for their families to grieve over. They find the culprits and put their harm far from the public. They bring peace to a neighborhood if but temporarily.

The governing role is left to their bosses, their professional servants of the people, and their elected leaders who serve the public. These are the ones with the duty to determine a way forward.

A way forward to what? To sustainable peace? To civility? to solutions of problems that have brought us to chaos? Do they understand this? Do they know how to proceed? Do they have help from us, the governed? Are we able to advise and consent to them?

How ready are we to listen and learn what the problems are? And their causation? And possible solutions? And the comfort we have or not with all these considerations?

The work is right there, isn’t it? It is the hardest part to do. To think deeply about what matters and do something about it. No; not easy at all. But it still needs doing.

What can we do to help?

October 31, 2018

Facebook Friends

I get requests from people I don’t know to be Facebook friends. If I recognize someone I know in common, I usually accept them. If not, I scan their Facebook page to see if we think in similar fashion. If there are enough kernels of synchronization, I accept them. Synchronization; doesn’t mean they agree with my thinking but might bring diversity into the conversation; might help others understand broader issues.

Scanning their information, I learn where they were born, where they now live, what job they have and where they were educated. This provides a broad pastiche to begin understanding them. I am stunned at the number of people without formal education. They have survived by doing what is needed to live and survive. They are whole. They have come through their journey thus far to make a life and enjoy it.

In comparison with those I counsel, some thoughts are formed. Here is a small cross section of those thoughts.

·        Positive vibes provide a good outlook on life; they are married and have kids, or maybe involved   with their siblings’ kids until they have their own

·        They engage in fun activities 

       

       They are active and express satisfaction with their accomplishments 

·        They demonstrate caring for others

·        They make the best of their experiences including education, no matter how humble

·        They seek the positive

·        They anticipate the future

Getting my counseling clients to emulate the listed observations of Facebook friends, is the task I must do. Somehow there is a connection to this positive thinking that most of us have. They do not. They are locked in a lonely place. That has led to job loss, poverty, drug or alcohol abuse, and a continuing decline in their spiral of life.

Reversing that spiral is the goal. But how?

Who has the expertise to do this? Can a patient heal him- or her-self? What are the chances that this happens? Does it last? What do non-patients do, the normal ones?

I think they experiment to see what works. They try to fix first, if that doesn’t happen, they seek short term escape from the problem. Later they return to it and try again. They don’t give up; on it or themselves.

The less fortunate don’t return to try again. They are defeated. They accept defeat. They look for blame to escape their own pointing finger. But that’s the problem we seek to fix once again. How?

I fervently feel we can help. Maybe by getting them to laugh? To express themselves in directions they don’t feel able to? If depressed, ask them to jot down their thoughts? Write a poem or short story on the feeling? Perhaps it is a song they are compelled to sing or mutter. Maybe it is reading something familiar that pulls them to a better place and then relaunch their thinking?

Questions. Always questions. It is they who need this. But it is we who press forward for them.

Are we making a difference? When will we know this?

October 30, 2018

Laughter as Hope

In the midst of sorrow, we find something to giggle over. In frustration, impatience sets up absurd happenings, and then laughter. A comedian stands alone on stage and speaks; we listen. He tells a tale, draws us in, then delivers a line that is absurd but recognizable. And we laugh.

I’ve observed this many times; so have you. It is the kernel of absurd that makes us laugh. Absurd is truth or reality taken too far and we see our weakness in stark relief flash before us; that sets us up for a release of tension. We laugh to do that.

The good, bad and ugly of life is the reality. Laughter is the tension breaker. We seek it; hunger for it.

Counseling a homeless person provides insight. He dislikes where he is; it is small, gloomy and crowded with people he doesn’t know. He judges them inferior to himself. He is better than this, than what? Than homelessness. How did he get here? What led him to this?

Not his fault. Of course. People didn’t value him. Family didn’t help when they could. They let him down. It’s their fault he ended up here.

We press for a positive he can latch onto; follow that toward a job. He diverts the conversation to the food provided, the one shower for 40 guys; the unsavory people surrounding him; all losers. Except for him.

The positive is elusive while others engage him to discuss his points of discomfort. They don’t hold him to seeking a job; what type of work could he do right away? What would be a stepping stone job to something better? Does he have any ideas to think about along these lines?

No. I have to protect my stuff, he says. Someone could steal it. These guys don’t like you. They plant weed or worse in your drawer near your bed; then report you and you are arrested and put in jail. They do it all the time.

No positive. No forward thinking or ideas. Just commentary on the present. Resentment for the past.

The absurdity of his circumstances does not yield to laughter. How to trigger this? That becomes my target. It doesn’t come. The others trying to help keep allowing the discussion to return to the lowly conditions.

This frustrates me and I announce my leaving. The others in the room are dependent on my ride so they get up to leave. They ask to take them to their home for the rest of the day. They will hire an Uber car to return him to the shelter. He doesn’t want to go but he doesn’t want to go back to the shelter either. Their discussion at their home will most likely lead them nowhere to a solution.

We leave together. I drive them to their apartment. I wave as I drop them off and leave for my own home. Empty. Unresolved. Fathomless, them and me.

But I’m only the driver. Free, not an Uber. But someone who cares and yearns for laughter in this situation. None comes.

Bummer.

October 29, 2018

State of the Union

Both in our state of Illinois, and in the nation as a whole, the condition of our society is much lower than most of us think. How do I know this? By working with people in need and hoping for a better day. For them.

When we encounter a problem, we turn to someone for help, at least information or a direction to follow. We think we will find a solution during our trek through the maze of social services. But no.

What I’ve learned over the past few months, and starkly from yesterday’s post, social services are few and far between. The government of the state has defunded most of their safety net. You will not know this until you need it, or want to help someone else who needs it. It doesn’t exist.

Endless internet and phone listings of departments that once were, but at least their skeleton remains, with more endless recorded answering services telling you where the office is located, but no phone numbers to call for help. You call a higher office and the overworked clerk says “we don’t do that anymore; try XYZ department; here’s their number.”

Of course the phone is answered by a machine and gives a litany of non-help. Defunded. Not in business.

Over and over again these results are encountered. The old and infirm become disoriented by the maze. They are unable to continue the search. They turn to family and friends for assistance. Some comes their way. Much doesn’t. even family are turned off by the maze and leave parents and aunts/uncles to fend for themselves.

We think these services exist. They don’t.

Private charities and nonprofits do exist. They are not in network to help sort the phone calls, though. All they can do is say, “try so and so for help; we don’t do that.” No funding from state or federal agencies to provide the network; just a cut off of funds.

This is America in 2018. Safety net shrinking; some important parts already gone, zero left.

When you hear a politician say ‘eliminate the waste’ they mean, eliminate cost and return tax dollars to the taxpayer. To you and I that may be $50 to $200 dollars. To the rich that means $50,000 to $100,000. It is the rich making the proposals and paying politicians to support their wishes in votes in legislature and congress. They get what they want. You and I get little or nothing.

This is America in 2018. Don’t believe me? Try helping another family gain access to needed services. You will find very little; maybe nothing.

Sad.

Please vote the makers of this folly out of office before it is too late for you.

And we argue about bathroom rights of transgender people as though that is the true threat we face? Bosh! And more Bosh.

October 26, 2018

The Caravan

Long may it continue its trek toward safety, wholeness and promise.

That’s all any of us can do. Keep doing what we do one step at a time, one day at a time. Keep on keeping on until what we need and hope for is fulfilled. A lot of work to be done by the self in doing this. A lot of work for others to help with. A lot of work for society to make possible. All working together.

This is the promise of America. This has always been so. It is written large in our history.

So, too, have been other messages that dashed that hope, snuffed out the flame of promise. Those moments happened. They are the dark spots on our history. This is fact. This is truth. It happened. 

And we hang our heads in shame for each and every time such was the case.

But we have now. We have today. We have an hour and some energy to take another step and make a difference in someone’s life. Now and forever we have this time to act. To do good. To be ‘my brother’s keeper.’ All of the world’s history includes this phrase in one way or another in each of the religions adored by billions.

Yet there are doubters and naysayers. There are people who do nothing and smirk their victory.

They haven’t won. They have lost. Only those who answer the call witness victory.

Oh, the problems remain. We will always have them to challenge us. The poor we have among us always. So, too, the hurt, maimed and sick. It is the journey of life. We do it together or alone. Much better with others. It reminds us of our humanity and dependence on others. Just as they are on us.

I just wrote that. But I heard it somewhere else before. Wonder where that was? And when.

Might you know?

October 25, 2018

Denial and Celebration

Trump stages his rallies. Thousands gather to hear and remain convinced they are right. About what? They are laughing, clapping, stomping their feet, and cheering. What? Truth?

They hear the complaints against the other side, the nonbelievers. They hear condemnation of what they think they are not. It’s the other people making this world rotten. The right people are in their room right now hearing the truth. What truth?

The facts are never reported. Not by trump. Not by his handlers. Not by the press. They only report what was said and the nature of the crowd. But what about truth? What truth?

The families in need. The unemployed now in the abyss of loss where no jobs exist. Their careers disappeared. They did not know. They were busy living their lives to pay attention. They didn’t see it coming, the abyss.

The family that loves their kids even in adulthood. Love so dear they do not see what is coming. The abyss arrives. They know not why.

The church sings hymns and prays for light. They labor to help others. They see why. The abyss, though, swallows whole communities elsewhere, sometimes right beneath their noses. And they are unable to respond to the call. Some in their midst say it is ‘not I’ to do. If not they, who?

Mother Teresa was often depressed, despondent. Her diary tells us so. And why so low? Because she witnessed so much suffering, so much sorrow, so much of the abyss in the eyes of those she loved and cared for. The task so large it engulfed her? The carer cares too much?

The abyss waits for each of us. We avoid it. We help some to avoid it as well. But its day will come. It is the space of the universe. It tells us our small size. It is not you or I who must care. All of us must answer the darkness.

Is that not what we are called to do? And if the response is not enough? What then?

Why are those people celebrating?

October 24, 2018

To the Homeless Shelter

Friends of mine are in their elder years. The man is 80 and she is 71. She has dementia; perhaps at a stage of 40%? I’m not a doctor so I don’t know. He is exhausted watching after her afraid of what will happen if he stops watching. He hasn’t told her or discussed dementia with her. They live in subsidized senior housing and are facing eviction because they spent their rent money on their son.

The 34 year old son faces homelessness and alcoholism. We think he has been sober for about 2 weeks. That’s the good part. The bad: no job; no resolve to get a job; continues to beg money from his father for food, cigarettes and rent in a local motel. He is depressed. He is hopelessly self-centered and unable to search for a job. He gets ‘sick’ every time we arrange to take him to a social agency or homeless shelter.

Sunday we had arranged to check him out of the motel and drive him to the shelter. He claimed sore throat and fever. The shelter won’t admit him while ill. So, another day in the motel and nothing done. I drove to the folks’ apartment, picked them up and went to the motel where the son is staying. No progress. Stalemate again.

I’ve helped them with this problem for 7 months. I’ve driven countless miles, spent unknown dollars on gas and minor meals out with them to talk about their problems. No progress whatever on any of the problems. The result: I’m exhausted and feeling badly used. She is unaware her dementia makes these conversations difficult because she doesn’t know or trust that we have covered these details before.

The ultimatum has been offered: I’ll pick them up Monday morning, take them to their son’s room, and we will transport him to the shelter. This is the last offer I will make. They know it. They accepted. The son accepted. Now I await whether this will actually happen tomorrow. I’ll let you know.

Update: Yesterday came and I received a call from the dad that the son had become frenzied and uncontrollable Sunday afternoon. Dad hired an Uber car, picked up the son, transported him to hospital where they admitted him for observation and calming down. Later in the day I picked up mom and dad and took them to the motel to retrieve their son’s personal belongings, then drove them home. Made arrangements to take them to the hospital Tuesday and drop them off to await the son’s discharge.

Where he goes from there is an open question. The shelter notified the son they will not admit him and think he belongs in a residential facility where he will get the care he needs. Duh! But who knows where and how to get him admitted? In Illinois there are precious few of these places. Worse, it is a mystery how to get patients admitted to them. Kane County doesn’t offer help. The hospital won’t help their patients gain entry to such programs, and other social agencies have turned a deaf ear.

How much wasted time, energy, money and other resources is spent on this type of folly? How sick a society do we have on our hands? We are enablers not carers or solvers. When will this change?

I have no true answer. Does anyone?

October 23, 2018

Confrontation at Church

Preparing for early service yesterday at church, our worship team prepared communion, prepped the candles, stuffed the bulletins, practiced music, and got set for the service. As we sat waiting for the start time, we mentioned the coming election and rued the failure of the county election office to fulfill an early mail-in ballot due to their mistake on the voter’s signature. An otherwise smoothly operating office, I made a wisecrack about republican office holders not caring to do the right thing and suppressing the vote.

Well! That started things off.

A married couple we know pretty well, started bad-talking democrats. I countered with immoral republicans who vote against gays, immigrants, abortion and women’s issues. We didn’t even get to health issues. I restated my recent claim that I couldn’t imagine anyone voting for a republican when their party is so anti everything. 

They countered that Illinois House Speaker Madigan is a crook and has way too much power. I countered I don’t have any power to counteract that fact. Plus I don’t necessarily agree that he is the core of the problem in Illinois. The core problem is the two parties don’t speak to one another or work on compromises that would actually accomplish something for the good of the people of Illinois.

And that goes double for the nation at large. Congressional gridlock. Nothing gets done but name calling. And fake ideology battles.

If they agree with me, why don’t they do something to counteract the negativity of the republican party? If you don’t agree with what is or isn’t getting done, why are you supporting republicans?

I’m not a democrat or a republican. I tend to vote democrat because I hope to give that party some hope in a strongly republican county and state. I started doing that in 1985 when all hope for the republican party nationally was turned over to the Christian right-wing cabal. And that trend has only strengthened.

Blockade. Only barrier governance is happening. When will we actually begin to govern the nation and state with intelligence and compassion? Are those days gone forever?

I’ve attempted to start a discussion group at church so people on both sides of key issues can learn to talk about these matters without losing their cool. The couple cited at the beginning of this post is the very same couple I invited to join me so both sides of issues could be discussed. They declined the invitation saying talking about current events and political matters did not belong in church.

I countered with the point these discussions would take place within the church building as a meeting place only. And it would be the right space if disagreeable people learned to come together in peace.

No go. I felt certain that if I couldn’t persuade these people to talk about their positions calmly, then there was no hope that the discussion program itself would be worthwhile. I gave up on the idea. Given the conflict of the morning, I suspect that decision was correct.

On the other hand, if we don’t try to change the climate of incivility in our society and communities, then we are hopelessly lost. 

Are we?

And if we can't do it at church, where else?

October 22, 2018

Treading on Ice

One evening last winter I got out of my car. In a parking lot of a fast food restaurant. Put my foot on the pavement and heaved my body out as usual. This time, though, my foot slipped out from under me and I landed on one knee and a twisted position. Only way to right myself was put the other knee on the pavement, too. Then I leveraged my arms on the seat and door. Slowly, I was able to stand up hanging on for dear life to the car.

My passengers saw me in the car, then nowhere! Dropped out of sight, so to speak.

Well, that’s life in the fast lane of 75. It is also a lesson on treading on ice. There is no good footing.

And I feel our country is doing that at this very moment.

Problems are hailed as failures. Solutions are absent everywhere. No one is speaking of their ideas and means to improve on what we have. Just experimentation with social justice, social services, and play with the economy as though it cannot be broken.

But we know it can be broken. This has occurred throughout our lives. And recently too. The current economy seems hale and hardy, but it isn’t. Deep down we know this to be true. Hidden unemployment is a huge factor. No one is attending to this. Overpriced stock market is another. Bond prices skittering about, too.

Lowering taxes claiming it will stimulate the economy is only partly true; in down times, lowering taxes can stimulate the economy; in a stimulated economy, lowering taxes normally causes inflation. And that is what is happening now. The rate of inflation isn’t bad yet, but when too many people with money in their pocket chase too few goods, prices will rise and that’s inflation.

The deficit rises too. The tax cutters claimed a stimulated economy will earn more income and taxes will be paid on those dollars, covering the reduced taxes. This has not occurred. In fact, it rarely has occurred. The trickle down economy theory has proven itself wrong many times.

So what do we have now? A nation treading ice hoping inflation will remain modest, household incomes will rise from trickle down contrary to fact, and congressional leaders are telling us that ‘entitlements’ need to be reined in. Of course the entitlements are not that at all.

They are referring to Medicare and Social Security. Folks, these two programs may be run by the federal government, but they are both paid for in full by you and I, the beneficiaries of the programs. Our FICA taxes are actually premiums for these two social programs. Their cash balances are gigantic; problem is your senators and congresspeople have borrowed against those balances to pay for other government activities they approved. Now those debts are coming due and if they could kill the programs, they wouldn’t have to pay back the loans.

You know what we tell these freeloaders? "No Way Mitch McConnell and James Ryan." You cannot steal from our programs. Perhaps we should remind you who’s boss? And that you have entitlements as elected officials that we all pay for and we can take away from you?  How would you like us to do that?

Those are the ABCs of this argument. They are wrong; we are right. Time approaches for us to tell them so on November 6^th.

Surely you are voting!?

October 19, 2018

Means to the Ends

That’s what matters in today’s political environment. If the ends are OK, then whatever it takes to get it done is OK with voters. That’s power talking. That’s political genius speaking.

Or is it.

Over thousands of years mankind has discussed the issue: Do the ends justify the means?

The resounding answer is no! It is tempting, of course, to take short cuts and speed up the process. But cheating – and that’s what it is – robs us of our honor and nobleness. Once gone, it is almost impossible to regain. And if that does happen, most likely the people will be suspect forever.

Recall long-standing feuds. Long seething hatreds. Religious acrimony between sects. Review the history of eastern Europe. Note the massacres done in the name of religion in the Baltics, in Indonesia, in India, Africa, the Middle East and the Slovakian region. Horrible stories. Did the ends justify the means in all of those cases?

Did Hitler’s murder of 6 million Jews justify his ends?

We say no.

But here we are. The mirror does not lie. Only we who peer into the mirror know we are lying or cheating.

Doesn’t trump see that? Doesn’t his moral core understand that? Or does he lack the moral core?

Winning the Supreme Court Justice nomination by any means available has poisoned the white house, the Supreme Court, and the political party that perpetuated the big lie. The 'mob' wasn't the Democrats. They were the republicans behind this machined nomination. They knew of Dr. Ford long before the nomination was made public. How else could 65 names appear on a signed letter attesting to the nominee's character against her?

Now what? How will the court maintain public trust in the face of this? How will women face the fact their government chose to reduce sexual assault to that of minor status? A man’s word against a woman’s word.

America is better than this. It can rescue its own morality if we care enough. But do we?

Do we?

October 18, 2018

Thinking Future

Can we just stop talking about the past? Well, maybe not really; it is our story and how and what got us to this day’s situation. But no; I’m speaking of leaders, their identity, development and availability to lead us through to the future.

Example, republicans couldn’t figure out who should have run for president in 2016. So over 20 did. They say this is transparency and a good thing. I say rubbish. They had a posse of possible leaders and no disciplined way to weed out the weak and improbable. Slowly but surely, they did weed themselves out of the running until there were still too many reaching for the gold ring. In the end the most improbable candidate surfaced. And horrors of all horrors, he won the election and we have major problems as a result.

Democrats were not much better. More focused on fewer candidates. However, the players played for keeps and wouldn’t come together in unity to win elections. So, from a sure winner, they split the vote and refused to vote for an ‘enemy’. Result was failure to win the election for the white house. But more was in play.

It appears that both parties did not have a leadership development process in place. Some good people but no clear leaders able to rise to the top for the public’s inspection. Both parties. And now, republicans have the trumpeter only; no depth of field; no breadth, either. Just the pretender and con man. 

Democrats have some old people and some young leaders. The elders will not be elected. Their time has passed. The future belongs to younger leaders with more energy and inventiveness. Global issues demand it. Good sense expects it. So, Bernie, advise and consent your party’s leadership, but do not run for president. Hillary, your time is now past as well; help young people step up for 2020.

Booker is promising. So is Kamala Harris. But are they ready? Will the nation vote for another African-American presidential candidate? Will they support a woman candidate? I’m not sure, but then I am unaware of both these persons’ full talent, mettle and ability for the white house job. What is the party doing to help them?

It would help if our public discussion included defining what we hope for our future. What outcomes do we want as a society? How difficult will they be to acquire? How much collaboration and cooperation will we need to do this? And then, what kind of leaders will we need to help us achieve those outcomes?

The trumpet is not our hero; obviously. But who is? Who is on the horizon that can take the lead and serve the nation well?

A critical question for our times. It deserves an answer.

October 17, 2018

Michael Bublé Retires

Why is this noteworthy? Because Bublé at 43 years of age has experienced the importance of life in searing reality. His 5-year-old son, Noah, has suffered from cancer now in remission. He has three children, but Noah posed the life and death struggle.

Michael Bublé knows something today that he didn’t a little while ago. He values life. He delves into its meaning. He is now free to pursue that which is important and life-giving. Music industry stardom didn’t bring that to him. Oh, he’s good and very popular. But he admits to working for the reward – money, ticket sales, award show galas, recognition and all the rest. He has all that. But he realized it was not as valuable as life itself.

Noah taught him that. Noah’s life held in jeopardy by a thin thread, taught him that.

I have a hunch Bublé’s future artistic success will be authentic, smashing and huge. That’s what happens when you focus on ideas, creation and inventive genius. Let it be. Don’t force it. Do what’s natural. The rest will follow if it will; if it doesn’t, so what?

This lesson is pure gold. The rest of us can learn from it.

When we value something too much, we fear losing it. Fear destroys joy. It also robs us of spirit and creativity.

Time to get back to what is important. What makes you joyful? What makes you happy? Is it the simple things? is it each other? Or is it riches and possessions?

Time to think. Weigh. Value.

October 16, 2018

Continuing…

If you are a woman, why would you vote for any republican? If you are gay, why would you vote for any republican? If you have a preexisting medical condition, why would you vote for any republican? If you are an immigrant, why would you vote for a republican? If you believe in education as a great equalizer among all citizens, why would you vote for a republican? If you are an entrepreneur and own your own small business, why would you vote for a republican?

All good questions. And the only sensible answer is… “I won’t vote for a republican.”

Why is that? Because republicans, following the dictates of their own party, support legislation and policy formation that combats every one of the persons identified above. Every one of them.

The war of ideologies began a long time ago. I recall it roiling in the 1960’s. The ebb and flow of this struggle was at times epic, but then would subside. Today, ideology is king because republicans have control of most state governors and state legislators, as well as the well-known control of the US Congress, White House and now Supreme Court.

Witness the trumpet threatening to close down the federal government in order to get democrats to support funding the border wall with Mexico. Democrats are opposed, but are willing to talk a bit to gain leverage with saving DACA immigrants. Failing that deal, the trumpet claims the democrats are supporting a shutdown of the government. Not True! He is the threatener in chief. It is his call. His deal. And the republican controlled government machinery is going along with it.

If the government shuts down, lay the blame right where it belongs – republicans.

Why the republicans have relinquished their principles and values to a deal maker without morals, is the key question. What’s in it for them? I can only think of two answers: the first is power; the second is money. There is a third possible answer: money and power.

I get it. They want both. Their souls now belong to the devil. And the trumpet.

Oh what the history books will relate to future generations.

I think the republican brand will disappear and be replaced by something more friendly. Below the surface, however, will lurk the DNA of what we have today. It will reappear eventually. But if global warming proves true, we won’t have to worry about it then.

Perhaps we ought to now?

October 15, 2018

Bits and Pieces

So much happening. So many words tossed about in public spaces. Not many of them factual but enticing. Just as they were meant to be!?

Sessions vs Chicago: a talking point by trumpet trying to shame the City of Chicago for its current history of gun violence. He tries to shame his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, by asking him to look into Chicago and straighten it out. Hmmmm. The Department of Justice investigated Chicago’s gun violence and related police complaints. The DOJ came up with a negotiated settlement which requires Chicago to rein in its police department. Negotiated. Settlement. By the DOJ. What would Sessions possibly do at this late date in the process? He has no knowledge or skin in the game. If he enters the fray it is his own job he is attempting to save with the trumpeter. Sad. Very sad state of affairs in Washington DC. And they think they can do a better job here than Chicago can?  Ours is a local social problem complicated by poverty, racism, sexism, gangs and lax gun laws. What could possibly go wrong? And an ineffective AG working for an ineffective propagandist will only get in the way of real solutions.

Trump vs Innocent Kavanaugh: the anti-fact president declares Kavanaugh was found innocent of the charges he assaulted Dr. Ford. Not true. No finding of fact was even attempted. No legal filings were made. No criminal processing to find guilt or innocence was engaged. Innocence was not found. It wasn’t even searched for. However, all the complaints have now been filed with the Washington DC Court of Appeals which promptly asked the Supreme Court to direct the complaints to another appeals court because the DC court had Kavanaugh on their bench for the last 12 years. Avoiding a conflict of interest, Chief Justice Roberts assigned the cases to the Colorado Appeals Court. Now there may be some legal processing to determine guilt or innocence, but I doubt that.

Trump vs Federal Reserve: the propagandist in chief is hard at work demeaning the Federal Reserve Bank. The trumpeter is unhappy with rising interest rates while he has long bemoaned the ‘artificially depressed interest rates’ experienced during the Obama presidency. I guess he truly doesn’t understand the role of interest rates in our market driven economy, nor does he understand the independent nature of the Federal Reserve in controlling the money supply via interest rates to best manage inflation. The white house tenant continues to bandy about terms he doesn’t understand for the propaganda value they hold with others who understand these matters even less. It is all window dressing without substance. Leave the Federal Reserve alone to do its job. It’s trying to maintain market stability during tumultuous pressure by politicians to accomplish the opposite. First the supreme court? Now the Federal Reserve?

Women Voters vs trump: 50% of our adult population are women. Most of them vote. One political party appears to be anti-women; the republican party. That party used to be home & family and mom & apple pie. Today that appearance seems quite wrong. Whether or not the democratic party is more welcoming to women, remains to be seen or even earned. If one party is not welcoming, then hopefully the other one is.  The question remains: will women vote accordingly? Current events suggest a vote for a republican candidate is a vote for a conservative supreme court, a vote against abortion, a vote for more organized religion in our governing system, and a host of other issues. Is this a true reflection of issues that matter to women? If so, why would there be any doubt about which political party garners their votes?

October 12, 2018

Are you a struggling nonprofit?

NOTE: This topic is a departure from my norm in this space. However, I've given a lot of thought to nonprofit organizations lately. Here's more on the matter:

I’ve found analyzing nonprofit performance is easier if they have a strategic plan. Most plans have the elements defined that are easily tracked for healthy operations. If I’m working with a new client I often suggest doing a planning session, so they and I can properly assess their situation.

As a SCORE mentor with decades of strategic planning experience, I offer planning guidance free. My job is to help clients succeed. If they do, they will bring financial strength to their own operations, their beneficiaries, and the local economy. That’s SCORE’s objective. For profit or non, we help organizations thrive.

Nonprofits are usually under the radar of most mentors and coaches. For-profit businesses and nonprofits are similar in operations. Their objectives, though, are different. Nonprofits deliver services to those with specific needs no one else addresses. Usually this is the case because profits are not readily available from such operations. Charities, social services, food banks, and other agencies rely on fundraising to balance their financial results.

Nonprofits still need to break even or run a small profit to build capital that is needed for strong and stable operations. Building reserves is an important goal for both long and short terms. these funds tide the organization over in bad times; or they provide the ability to expand services in good times. If clients have needs, the organization continues to help them.

All organizations share common operating functions. These include financial, marketing, human resources, operations management, technology management to name the biggies. Nonprofits have important differences in some of these areas. Financial management will need to include fundraising programs to balance the balance sheet. Marketing will need to support fundraising and recruitment of volunteers to help ‘staff’ operations. Human Resources needs to recruit, develop and train a board of directors to be certain leadership is readily available to support the organization. And managing volunteers in operations is a field unto itself.

As in all organizations, the most valuable asset of an organization does not appear on the balance sheet. It is the people who support, operate and fund the organization. Recruiting, training and retaining these people is a key ingredient to success, both long-term and short-term.

If all of this sounds familiar to you, perhaps you should contact a SCORE chapter near you for assistance. You will find many mentors with life-skills and career experience that can help you in your specific circumstances.

Meanwhile, carry on with your valuable missions to serve our community and its people. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and needed.

October 11, 2018

Governing by Twitter

Social media is fine among friends; it keeps people in touch, even families. It is even useful as a form of cheap marketing to local people in need of products and services. Small businesses find this useful, affordable and accessible.

Social media is also fine for airing opinions and scanning trending thoughts on common issues.

It is not good, however, to discuss issues. Sound bites are the rule in social media, not complete sentences and fully formed ideas. That takes chat rooms or other two-way/group communication protocols. Webpages often host such discussions.

Sound bites are good for put-downs, jokes, and ads. They are easily distorted to ruthlessly stop discussion, feed manic rants, and the like. Accordingly, sound bites are not useful governing communications.

Sound bites are propaganda tools. Plain and simple.

Want to roil a crowd? Use sound bites. 8 words or less. ‘Lock her up’ is a good example. Has no substance, fact or supporting thought. Just an emotion, a declarative. Empty. But effective in stirring up a crowd.

Want to make a crowd think? Ask them questions. Ask for their concentration on some core thoughts. Then pose more questions to get them to think more deeply on the issue. This does not stir up the crowd; it calms them down. For many it is boring, but then, crowd behavior is not apt for discussion.

No, discussion requires smaller venues, fewer people, and an atmosphere conducive to discussing fine points of logic related to the topic under discussion. It takes patience, thoughtfulness, and some diplomacy to discuss many issues of our day.

So heated are opinions, so riled up are large groups of people, that arguments begin with use of key phrases.

We face many critical issues: Do we continue to invite immigrants to our shores and embrace them for their diversity and cultural differences, and talents? Do we respect women and their bodies? Do we allow women full control of their own bodies like we do that of men? Do we accommodate and welcome differences among us like ethnicity, skin color and so much more?

We don’t. You know we don’t. Those questions are all loaded in our current events: How big a government do we need or want? How do we care for one another in need? What responsibility do we have for each other? All good questions. All important to discuss with one another and create consensus so we can manage the issues with care and intelligence.

This will take calm discussion. Factual discussion. A willingness to do some research on aspects of the issues and bring them forth to continue discussions. All of these behaviors require us to respect one another and calm our speech. These are not characteristics of social media in 2018. So other venues are needed away from the hustle and bustle.

Who starts this and when? Not a president who twitters incessantly on many issues instead of building consensus as true leaders would. Indeed; who will lead on these issues?

Both political parties in America need to develop leadership among their supporters. They should have been doing this all along. It is not about winning elections. It is about leading a nation. It is about public service. These are not phrases that describe the state of our current political parties. Just the opposite.

And that’s a shame. Let’s start there and find leaders who can do the job we all need.

October 10, 2018

Still Thinking

Like many of my readers, I am still thinking of the aftermath of recent events in American current events. The Supreme Court nomination of Kavanaugh is a prime example of dysfunction. So too, the chaotic revamping of tariffs. The thunderous words against allies. The sweet-talking of current and former enemies.

Let’s see what’s been going on for the past 30 years in the diplomatic world. Clinton built up foreign relations. Bush bullied his way through Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama rebuilt international relationships once again. Trump is doing a neat job of destroying established relations with our foreign friends all over again.

Over the past few decades presidential whims have unsettled professionals in the foreign relations field. Career diplomats are an endangered species. Turnover, resignations and early retirements are legion. In the George W regime alone, over 500 career diplomats left their posts rather than put up with the nonsense of Bush/Cheney distortions.

I suspect the same will occur as a result of trump’s tenure.

That will leave who to do this important work with aplomb and professionalism? Good question.

There are other aftermath open wounds in need of healing. Truth is one. The American moral compass seems oddly skewed; hell, it’s smashed to smithereens. We have upended the logic of truth and the pathway to it.

The economy was rebuilt on a more solid foundation under Obama to repair the meltdown of the Bush years. But trump continues to undercut that foundation and has delivered a boon to the greedy. Tax cuts – unaffordable and inflationary – are given to the already rich. Tariffs undercut the stability of known markets and now unsettle the very credibility markets seek for stability. The stock market overinflates values and does so on a house of cards certain to collapse at no notice.

Unemployment numbers continue to fall below the ‘full employment standards’, but do not take in the vast numbers of idle workers who have been pushed out of disappearing careers. What of them, we ask? Who will help them find new work and purpose? Not to include them in the unemployment statistics is folly. And it is the crevasse of doom to the stock market and engine of happiness so readily believed by the high fliers.

The international banking system is being tested yet again; this time on a much shakier base. With both unsettled markets and international relationships, what could possibly go wrong? Just wait and see!

Values are important to a community. If they are shredded, the community becomes unsettled. Faith in the community wanes. People look elsewhere and in slow motion they move to other, more welcoming communities. If women cannot trust men, then half of our communities live in distrust. Anger follows. Simmering. Long lasting.

Immigration is bemoaned. It is scapegoated for cultural shifts long present in our midst. These are not new to us; they have been with us all along, from the inception of the New World. It defines who we are, not what is wrong with us. It is our strength.

For friends and family who suffer in these times of curious bewilderment, I hope our foreign friends will understand that America is on shifting sands of self-awareness. The process is not finished, nor will it ever be. But we pray they know of our unsettled nature and that most of us yearn for solid ground under our feet.

We will find it and become trusted friends once again. Have patience with us. Please!

October 9, 2018

Aftermath

Rage continues. On both sides of the Kavanaugh issue. His temperament remains in question. That doesn’t seem to bother republicans. He is a conservative ideolog who favors republican political views. We know where his court decisions will most likely be in the future. The long future.

It is a shame this happened. It is a full transparent view of what ails America and its governance system. It cannot deal with incivility or principled discussion. It melts down. Resentments fly. Emotions soar. That makes whatever exists in the voice box OK to let loose. Not!

Leadership roles call for calm and reasoned direction at times like these. Few have been provided. There are individuals who have tried, but then failed in their own conclusions. Flake and Collins are the most recent examples. The white house should provide some calm, but only vituperatives  are heard. The democrats continue a shrunken role and demur inspired leadership.

I think America is better than this. We can have a principled nation if we work for it. The lazy way out of all this is to read little, feel little, and leave voting to others. This is what we get from automatic pilot; the greedy are not lazy. They are motivated to seek, find and grab for themselves.

Look in the mirror. Ask the reflection if ‘I did enough to keep the nation on an even keel?”

The answer is likely no. We didn’t discuss the issues with others except with those we knew would agree. We didn’t want to get our hands messy with the details. We voted and let others do so as well. But the ignorant did vote; with half a mind, and only that focused on self.

This is the risk of democracy. We know what follows.

So, what will we do about it? If we don’t act, we will truly deserve what we get.

One lesson I would hope people would consider is this: leadership is a shared duty of many mindsets. 

The merging of ideas embraces more than one point of view. Including diverse viewpoints provides broader acceptance of other people and cultures. It is who we are as Americans. We are not of one ancestry. We are a polyglot of nations and cultures. It is why we are natural leaders in history. We do not badger or threaten others in the world community. We are, after all, a part of their history too in generations past. We preserve their dignity to preserve our own roots.

We are not of one religion. Nor of theological belief. We are several in that department as well. Best we embrace all so we welcome all. Not that any of us are forced to believe in another’s religion, but respect it and let them be. They will do the same with us and our beliefs. Freedom of religion is freedom of both parties, none judging the other.

We are all believers in something. Ideology or theology. To let this be in full diversity is enriching, not threatening. We must find the unity among the many. 

October 8, 2018

The Finish Line?

Will it go well today? Will this be a day to remember fondly? Will our moment in history give proof of our worth? Will our form of government do well today?

The US Senate has received the FBI's investigative results. They meet this morning to vote on the confirmation of Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. Will they confirm or deny? 

Or will Judge Kavanaugh withdraw from consideration?

Either way, our moment in history comes due today. What will we have done with it?

The whole world is watching.

And we barely breathe.

October 5, 2018

Profound Moment

A profound moment in history is upon us. Will we respond well to it? Will we show our resolve for bedrock values we say we believe?

We shall see. The moment is upon us. We are thinking. We are sensing the depth of its worth, reach and consequence. Is this a turning point? We don’t know.

After John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the nation reeled and pondered the future based on its ugly present. The 1964 Voting Rights Act was enacted to protect voting rights of a huge swath of minority citizens among us. Equal rights for women followed, but stutteringly. Neither action was easy; it was made possible by much suffering by many innocent citizens we knew and loved. That was a profound moment in our history.

We know today that racism and sexism are very much a part of America’s present. We say both are wrong. We say something must be done about them; both of them. Their presence smells of our rot as a culture. We dare not let it persist.

But how do we do this? How do we address such issues?

Talk about them. Openly. Honestly. Without rancor or retribution, as much as these are part of the problem. Try to love the people involved. Forgive them and ourselves for the complicity in allowing these travesties to continue for so long.

Turn the tide and embrace change. This is a change that will cleanse and freshen.

A profound change birthed in a profound moment of history.

We owe this to so many who have suffered. We owe it to ourselves.

We become whole at such moments. Will we?

October 4, 2018

Stand Up

Stand up for what you believe. Say so to others. Do this and make a difference.

That’s what Dr. Ford did. She did so once she knew Kavanaugh was on the short list of Supreme Court nominees. She wanted to sound an alarm that he was tainted by a physical sexual assault she was certain he had done to her. She wasn’t getting back at him; she was protecting the Supreme Court and our nation. She stood up at the right time. Not an easy choice. Not without incredible pain and suffering on her part.

Then other women stood up and said their truth. To anyone who would listen. Radio and TV audiences. Newspapers, Twitter, Facebook. The nation heard these testaments of pain and horror. Friends, too, learned of horrible acts committed many years ago upon their person. We learned of many such stories.

I was stunned by this. Yes, I learned of these personal accounts from friends. I talked to my daughter and learned that she knew of others as well. An awakening to a problem much larger than what I had thought. Much larger. Horrendous.

The nomination process selected Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court judgeship. And other women came forward. Dr. Ford was not alone.

Then America’s women announced their resolve to hear truth from coast to coast. And it was. Men heard. Not all of them agreed; some were unwilling to listen. But congressmen and women and senators, too, heard and reacted. Soon a movement gave its evidence to the entire nation.

Two women confronted senators with their story and outrage that their stories may not be accounted weight in the Kavanaugh testimony. One of these senators was Flake of Arizona.

He was shaken. He could not ignore the sound of innocence and truth. And abuse. The starkness of it.

He asked the process to be delayed. It was. The vote count projected for the Senate floor was too close. Senate leadership yielded in the face of the math. So did the President. The process was delayed for more examination of the background and facts by the FBI. As it should have been all along.

We are in the time-out of this process. We do not know the photo finish at the end. It will come. We all have hope.

In this time of pause we learned the power of truth. We heard the power of women. We heed it. And await the outcome.

Stand up. Make a difference. Always.

October 3, 2018

Civics 101

It is time for citizens to re-educate themselves on how America’s form of government came to be. And then, how it works in principle. This education will demonstrate how the principles were abridged at times and distorted the process. Amending the process is one thing; distorting it is another.

Transparent government is a principled goal. How it operates in clear view of everyone is what makes it work while remaining trusted. Changing it must also be deliberate, out in the open, and clearly mandated by the amendatory powers of the people as provided in the US Constitution. Thus the people retain the power to govern themselves. Elected officials are our proxy in this. They speak for us and make decisions for us. If they err, they are replaced by those who are supposed to follow our will as expressed in the outcome of elections.

Professional personnel that do the work of the government are hired by our elected officials. At the expense of the people, the personnel – career professionals hopefully – are trained, supervised and accountable to our ‘board of directors’, the Congress. Overseeing the entire process is the Executive branch. Maintaining scrupulous supervision of the guiding principles, is the Supreme Court.

The system ought to work; it has for over a couple centuries. Some hiccups are to be expected. What is not expected is a takeover of the government itself by factions within the government. The will and direction of the people have become obscured by the professional politician, not the professional staff.

These miscreants have been elected by us, the people. They can be un-elected by us in the same manner.

I guess our duty is clear. Vote in the mid-term elections and every election thereafter. It is an unspoken oath of citizenship. Just do it.

October 2, 2018

Winning and Not

SCOTUS nominee Kavanaugh advances to the next step in a wobbly process. It is still alive, the process. I suppose that is a form of winning. The fact, however, that the process has been snagged on several prickly points tells us that opposition – loyal or otherwise – gives proof that the larger process is alive and well.

In the above case, the republican nomination remains alive and close to approval. But the democrat opposition has thrown all of it in doubt.

Although not yet definitive, a message of hope is coming into view: serious discussion of issues is aired in public. Transparency of motivation, power, and decision making is on parade. It is ugly but transparent.

In a democracy, especially in one heralded historically as one of the longest and most stalwart of survivors, values do make a difference. The downtrodden do make a difference. Women make a difference. Opinion and logic make a difference.

The oddest thing about all of this is that we think it is special. The truth is our system of governance has been hijacked by career politicians who have forgotten who they answer to and from where all power comes – the people.

I’m 75 years old. I’ve been a student of public policy and governance most of my life. It grabbed my attention in my teenage years. I’ve gone along on the ride for at least 60 years. My memory is good. My education is better. My logic well tuned.

America in 2018 is not the model of what the framers of the US Constitution had in mind. Both houses of congress have been distorted by power, money and greed. Along the way ideology has crept into the mix as though it is the pinnacle of what is important. It isn’t. The people are and their well-being. The commonweal is the whole point of the American system of government. The health and welfare of the people of the nation are the focus and the beneficiary of the system. To accomplish that aim, the governmental system must be representative, policy based, fair and just.

It is not difficult to see our system is broken.

Some reforms are needed. Here are a few:

1.      Get big money out of politics

2.      Get politics out of the judicial system

3.      Install term limits at all levels of government

4.      Keep the voters in charge of the entire system through their ballots

5.      Abolish the Electoral College; it is out of date and no longer necessary

I think that covers the causal issues of today’s primary problems. Kavanaugh’s confirmation should be aborted; he should withdraw his own nomination. He does not have the temperament or non-partisanship to be on the highest court of our nation.

That would herald one win and one loss. But there it is. The power rests with the people.

October 1, 2018