Story of Want

I’ve been thinking about this for some time. the ideas keep coming but are separated. The logic does not flow. Lately I’ve been getting glimpses of how they might fit together. Just peeks, now and again. Enticing! Even disturbing of sleep from time to time.


So, what’s the gist?  Here are the disconnected thoughts. Let’s see if any of them can be weaved together.

·        Blame; someone is always finding blame for something they don’t like; there has to be a person or persons responsible

·        Past, history; our focus on what went wrong, trying to find the cause of what we don’t like today

·        Group thought or ideology; what are they, and what don’t I like about it or them?

·        Right thinking; what do I believe and why do I think it is better than other thought patterns?

·        How can I/we detract from those people or thoughts that I don’t agree with?

·        How can I/we push our position forward to gain more support?

·        I’m working on problems; how are each defined? What is the core of each problem?

·        Why are the problems ‘problems?’ Why are these important to me?

·        What are the solutions to the problems? Is this a gradual process of repair, or are big steps needed to fix the issue? How probable are the big steps to gain support for implementation?

·        Why fix these problems now? What order should they be worked on? What are their interdependencies? Any at all?

This process of wondering through possibilities can be endless; or at least it appears so! It is this quality of complexity that deters successful management of problems and issues brought into focus.  So what to do? What is the connector?


Perhaps the connector is contained in the word ‘outcomes.’ What I think and support is different in many ways from what others think and support. It is the very nature of public discourse, discussion. Others are always analyzing and poking holes in what others say. It is the nature of our debating society. The juxtaposition of ideas struggling against others for supremacy. The best ideas continue to rise to the top until we as a society have agreed on something.


Well, it doesn’t always work well. The rising to the top often kills off many good, workable ideas; they are offered out of sequence or priority order. The trick is to remember those ideas for later use in their correct order. That must be done so as not to lose the valuable thoughts that are workable. Don’t ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater.’


So, what to do? What is the missing link here?  Oh, right; outcomes.


At least I think it holds promise to help us move forward.


But first, a backtrack.  History. Our story of how we came to be Americans. The ins and outs of that story. It is not all pretty. Some items are downright ugly. No use ignoring the wrong turns we took over the centuries; we took those turns, right or wrong. Most were right, but a lot were wrong. That’s why our history was slow at times. We didn’t make rapid progress. And we still exhibit this behavior of fits and starts. It is time-consuming. And it drains our energy. Of more importance? It distracts us from what is truly important.


What is important? The story we want to represent us over time. What we have attempted to be leads us to today, with all the good and bad. That leads us to ask, “What is it we want our story to become?”

I call this our fustory.  All this work, history, ins and outs, false starts and damaging mistakes have led us to today. What is it we wish it to be?  What outcomes do we think ought to happen if the fustory is to happen to fulfill our dreams of it?


These outcomes will need broad support from most of our citizens.  We need consensus on these broad points if we are to evolve to our dream point.  By the way, we may never finally reach the dream point; but it will always be out there pulling us toward it. It is the nature of a dream. And our story, too. We struggle for it to be better.


Some consensus outcomes I think we already have set in concrete:

·           Equality of opportunity for all

·           Diversity of age, race, culture and gender issues

·           Recognition of our immigrant past, present and future

·          Access to quality life-long education

·          Economic opportunity for workers, risk takers, et. al.

·          Project our values into the global community for their safety and opportunity

·          Recognize we Americans do not wish to be controllers of the planet; but we don’t expect others to 

          be, either; this is a global village of which we are all equal

·          Strive to treat others as we want them to treat us; both here and globally

·          Strive always for peace

·          Work hard to protect our planet home from self-destruction of any kind

That’s my list of outcomes. None will likely occur in perfection; we will always need to work
forward on their progress.


Besides, as generations come and go they must learn these lessons and abide by the consensus  process. That takes experience, time and introspection. And education. And a heart filled with goodwill.


I’m still hopeful all of this is possible. I’m willing to work for this. Are you?


March 21, 2019