Art of Negotiating

Two parties have the authority to make a decision affecting both of their constituents. The constituents are both part of the same whole. That pretty much describes the republican and democrat political parties, their members, and the population of the United States. Not all are represented by the two parties, but their decisions affect all of us.

Now the situation requires the parties to decide how to proceed on many matters. They focus on the moving parts and what should be included in the discussions, the negotiations. What is expendable among these topics? What is gained if ‘we win’ or if ‘we lose?’ Stakes are tallied and ‘wins and losses’ are ascribed to each item. Discussions continue based on these variables and the values ascribed to each.

Somewhere in this process both parties define a ‘win-win’ position and aim for that. If they get close, they declare an agreement and put it in writing.

That is one way to accomplish a negotiated settlement. There is another way. Here it is.

Each party defines what they hope the outcome will look like. This is not focused on their own interests, but on the people they represent – the American people. If negotiations were successful, what would the people gain and what might they lose?

Now each party should map out the stakes involved in the negotiation. It does not focus on each of the parties but on the outcome in the best interests of the people.

Be honest; is this the way negotiations are working in Washington, DC? Is Congress working in this manner? No? Why not? And what can we do to change this?

The big picture appears to be ignored. Long term outcomes are not defined or even involved in current governance circles. A problem exists and has for a long time. This problem could spell the demise of our nation and culture if it remains unrepaired. The stakes for all of us are enormous.

When negotiations are allowed to focus on narrow, personal issues, outcomes are short term and bent toward special interests. Long-term objectives are not in the picture. They are ignored.

Nothing good can come from this. Action is required. In our system of government, what mechanism can be employed to fix the problem?

May 31, 2021

 

The Way We Were

I know, an old title but one that speaks to each of us for a special time. If we are lucky, many special times. One of mine....

Overhead the trees dripped limbs, leaves and seed pods. Sap, too, if you parked under them. Aromas oozed throughout the neighborhood. Fresh air, newly mown lawns, lilacs blooming and a bit of dust and people pollution (car exhaust, cigarette smoke, cooking aromas from nearby restaurants). This was Oak Park, Illinois in 1966 to 1968. The air was warm in spring and summer, cool in autumn, cold and damp in winter. The network of streets and avenues were busy with cars, bikes and pedestrians year round. People moving from home to work, to school, to shopping, to visiting and to church. A very walkable community. Close knit and densely populated.

Brick apartment blocks were common, some red, some gray, others blonde. Three or four stories, all walkups. Big apartments – 2 and 3 bedrooms. This is how American families raised their kids in urban Oak Park, a town, even a village, but also a small city abutting Chicago. A quick rapid transit ride from two lines in town dropped you into the heart of downtown Chicago in 8 minutes. Buses and other rapid transit trains distributed riders to nearly every spot throughout Chicago. And the jobs were plentiful.

The last half of the 60’s jobs went begging for workers. Wages spiked and the cost of living was pretty good. I had graduated college in June 1965. Hippies were sprouting everywhere, the Viet Nam war was on most every tongue, especially if you were in your teens or just getting out of college. The draft was voracious. All young men wondered when they would be sent to Nam. Me? I went through the pre-induction physical in July 1965 but failed it. Bad lungs and flat, flat feet.

The times were already politically roiled. Viet Nam was only the latest of arguments – to go or not, to fight or not, why were we in Viet Nam in the first place? No, the larger issue was Civil Rights. This was Martin Luther King’s era, the right to be, the sit-in epoch, fire hose diplomacy, police dog and tear gas threats. Black Lives Matter was not a theme back then; no, we argued for basic rights to just be in the 60’s, and to be free to walk, work and make families. Instead, none of that was a right. A struggle, yes; a right, no.

In April 1968, King was assassinated. Riots, looting and urban fires erupted. Social unrest was the disorder of the day. In June 1968 Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. Add to the social unrest the political unrest and then the social angst of Viet Nam and you have a good sense of what 1968 was. Don't forget the 1968 Democratic National Convention held in Chicago and the resulting police riots.

Oak Park took it in stride. Bookstores were busier than record shops. Churches were alive with sermons and discussion groups yearning to coherently understand the issues. The elections were near. President Johnson announced he would not run for re-election. America faced an important national election with no clear winner in sight. Upheaval was the watchword of the day.

When King was killed in Memphis, doubt hung over our nation. A collective gasp was inhaled. Society stalled for moments before violence started. The wail of people matched that of sirens. Something had to be done; no one knew what. Only the outcome was hoped for – justice for all. We did not even know what that would look like, but it was what we wanted.

Life stuttered in its routines. Commuters commuted. Bakers baked. Cooks cooked. Mothers mothered and fathers fathered. But nothing was the same. Nothing was normal. An awakening was born.

Some of us started new jobs. Some retired. Others started families. Me? I entered seminary. I wanted to invent a new ministry that would meet people where they worked and lived, not in church, but in the centers of life. The seminary supported that vision. They and I hoped it would be a path to healing a sick society struggling with racial divides.

That did not happen, but it was a good start. Years later the path veered into human resources and then higher education student development work. Later the nonprofit bug soared, and a career was carved out to support nonprofit hopes and dreams. Passion, purpose, and planning became my guiding stars in working with hundreds of organizations intent on building a better country, a better more just future.  

Today, I still press envisioning desired outcomes and the way to attain them. 60 years in the making and the struggle continues. Today’s problems are similar, just different details. The core is the same: justice, equality, respect for others. Still needed. Still in short supply.

Dreams unrealized. A job still needing to be done.

May 28, 2021

 

Returning Home – Part 2

It was my turn Friday to visit my old neighborhood.  Oak Park, Illinois, 251 South Home Avenue. I lived there two years or so. The landlords – Glen and Lucille Hannaford – were long-time residents of Oak Park, in fact the home we lived in was the one in which she grew up as a little girl. Both Lu and Glen belonged to my church, First Congregational – Oak Park, United Church of Christ. Glen and I sang in the choir, and Lu attended Sunday services. Our friendship grew and she offered the garret apartment to me.

The catch: the apartment came fully furnished but without kitchen appliances because the apartment wasn’t legal. During World War II housing was scarce, so Lu and her family converted the family home into three apartments. The most valuable was on the first floor and was rented out. The second floor became Lu and Glen’s. The third floor was mine and quite spacious for a single guy. When the war ended, Oak Park fought to reduce population density and outlawed the attic apartment. The stove and refrigerator were removed. I lived in the place with electric coffee maker and a hot pot in which to make soup. A bar refrigerator was added so I could keep cheese and cold beverages. I ate most meals out.

The house was huge in truly grand Oak Park fashion. Most likely this was a 4000+ square foot home with a huge wrap around porch. Likely built at the turn of the century (the last one, 1900). Everything was walkable – restaurants, cleaners, grocery store, church, downtown and, of course, the Lake Street L into the Loop. This was also the home from which I left to enter seminary.

In April of 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis. That evening the smoke from the Chicago Westside neighborhood – Austin – wafted into my living room windows. Sirens punctuated the nighttime hours. Devastation was heavy in Chicago, and much of the city was locked down. I still made it to work downtown but soon felt the pull to seminary to address the racial sickness of my America.

Oak Park had become my home. Small town yet urban, old with history and heritage. Oak Park made me an adult after college. It just did.

And so it holds a dear place in my heart and mind.

Seeing it again was fun, not anti-climactic. The dead elms had been replaced by flourishing trees everywhere. Green lush reminded me of long ago days in Oak Park. But the traffic was horrendous. Everyone seemed to have a car or three and parked it on the street. What were once broad avenues were now narrowed lanes barely able to host two passing cars. But the verve and people were everywhere bringing life and spirit to the community. Just as I remembered.

After driving around the church, library and stores – some still standing, others not, or empty – we headed home. We toyed with going to Hyde Park and the seminary, but Rocky was adamant. No, he indicated; people get shot in Chicago!

I had to agree. The news is filled with expressway shootings, neighborhood drive-bys, and random marauding in populated areas including the Loop and Magnificent Mile. So we deferred that visit to another time.

I remember my landlady, Lu, warning me about the seminary’s location. She said, “people are shot and killed there!” All these years later the same is true. Sad.

May 27, 2021

 

 

State of Mind

The sun shines bright. Temperatures are in the 80’s during the day and upper 60’s at night. Trees are leafing out. Grass is greening. Flowers are blooming. The sky is blue and free of heavy pollution. The pandemic is easing significantly, and public interaction is growing. Restaurants are re-opening, schools are open, commuters are returning to both the streets, and public transportation. The economy is picking up. Unemployment is dropping. The stock indexes are high and buoyant. Families are gathering again for important events – graduations, weddings, parties, holidays.

And yet, something is off. Public discussion is yet cantankerous. Election results are questioned months later. Political discourse is opposite of collaborative and innovative. This is true for municipalities, counties, state legislatures and Congress. All of Congress.

We are starved for live entertainment. Music of all types, especially classical in my case. Broadway musicals and plays have been shut down for 14+ months. We need their intellectual stimulation and joy. We need celebration and beauty. We need calm and ponder.

And wonder. We need to appreciate so much of what is truly amazing, good, positive. Has the pandemic shuttered that or helped us see it more clearly? I am not sure the answer. Not sure at all.

And so, the mind is not up and lively. No; the mind is bogged down with concern, worry and fret. Will the mind remain rooted in despair or worse? Or will it shudder once or twice and say enough!? Will that be the turning point back to reason and invention?

Dissatisfaction is a heavy in life, but it is also a motivator to change what can be changed. Change what needs to be changed. The how and to what remains an open question. Who will help make the good happen? Who will stand in its way? Will dissatisfaction be large enough to attract the doers and negate the naysayers?

That depends on the will of the people. You. And me. Us.

May 26, 2021

 

More Bits and Pieces

Chicago Racial Politics: Chicago has a black gay woman as mayor. She is extremely intelligent, thoughtful and articulate. This is her first elected office. She ran to restore honesty, diversity, and creativity to city government. Big problems need innovative solutions and transparency. Those solutions should come from a diverse set of people with access and input to the process of government. In spite of enormous problems dumped in her lap – pandemic, public school civil war among teachers, their unions, and CPS administration,  a police department under Department of Justice restrictions, and a wave of violent crime – this mayor has stood up each day and governed with courage and forthrightness.

Her reward? Bashing because she is a woman. Bashing because she is black. Bashing because she is a Democrat. Bashing because she is gay. Instead of helping her govern, her detractors block her efforts to do the right thing.

Why anyone wants to be elected to public office is beyond my understanding. We have made the job impossible. We have multiplied hate on the very people who can and want to do the right thing.

I am embarrassed for Chicago. I am appalled for Illinois. This is our state and our region. Why don’t we help create a bright future for us rather than dwell on the negative? Are we antigovernment? Anti-gay? Anti-female? Racist? I prefer to think not. But the chatter doesn’t support my conclusion.

Homophobia: I have received negative taunts for being gay. I am up front about my gender orientation. I do not hide it. I do not advertise it. I just am who I am. Meanwhile, I speak my mind on a host of topics and life qualities. Interesting that negative comments are rarely based on the logic of the arguments for or against a topic. But gay? The homophobia is up front and obvious. Sad.

Ungovernable?: Have we become ungovernable? We don’t believe our government when they speak to us about weather threats, pandemic advice, press conferences, scientific breakthroughs, threats from foreign powers, crime statistics, economic forecasts….? Really?

And when an elected official, or even a professional administrator working for a government unit, gives a report, we trash the person if we don’t like what he is saying? Or don’t agree with him? Really?

When we vote, do we trust the ballot? Do we think a candidate is honest or not? Do we question her ulterior motives? Or do we vote for the person at the top of the ballot even though we don’t know who the person is? Do we even research the ballot before election day? Are we voting intentionally and knowingly or in the blind?

Do we listen to interviews with elected officials with an open mind or are we searching for something we can bash them on? The more we bash public servants, does it surprise us why people are so reluctant to run for office? Once in, do we support them or pull the rug out from under them?

The answers to these questions will tell us much about governing America. My hunch is we are reaching a tipping point when no one believes anyone anymore.

Is this cynical to the extreme or factual? Either way, what do we do to restore balance and fairness?

May 25, 2021

Abortion Again?

Another wedge issue to waste our time over, abortion is an issue with easy solutions.

First, don’t have one. End of story for you. Live with all the consequences of that decision. Do not come running to taxpayers to fund your decision if the baby is not wanted.

Second, have one wherever it is available and ask for help funding your costs. People who support abortion rights will help. Also, sue the father for the costs.

Third, if you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have sex with the opposite gender.

Fourth, support legislation that will penalize men in the unwanted pregnancy. They are 50%+ of the problem.

Down to the basics, every one of the above solutions.

Legislating functioning of the female body is absurd. If you do not agree, then legislate the functioning of male bodies. That’s also absurd but people in this argument are not rational, so what does it matter?

If you want a baby, find a willing partner and do what you have to do. That is the time order of decisions in this matter. If you find yourself pregnant and don’t want the baby, then decisions were not made, or done out of order. That’s on you and your partner, not the taxpayer.

If you want sex without protection, then the cost of that comes with responsibilities. Face up to your adult responsibilities and fulfill them.

I believe abortion is the right of the woman. I think the male has a responsibility in this and must support the consequences. But the woman, if she wants the abortion, gets it no matter what. That is her body and her choice. Somewhere she should be able to get the medical attention she needs.

If America is so deluded as to keep this discussion alive for another 5 minutes, then it deserves the crap that will follow. Sheer nonsense that this question has not been settled once and for all.

My God understands this. Why doesn’t yours?

May 24, 2021

 

 

 

Bits and Pieces

Again, Gates Divorce: I am disappointed in the turn of news cycles concerning the Gates divorce. This is a very private matter, not a public one. Curious I know. Even titillating, but still private. Wealthy people, famous people, idols even, are attractive news machines. Still, they are human beings living life and struggling on with human problems like our own. Leave them be to deal with this pain on their own. They deserve that just as you deserve the same.

Meanwhile, poor or rich, people live their sexual lives, their intellectual lives, just like you and I. An affair; really? That changes our valuation of Bill Gates? Or anyone else? He is not a leader in values; he is a leader in philanthropy, public health, public education and a host of other issues, funding and researching those problems for innovative solutions. He has not been elected to serve us. He chooses instead to serve the commonweal. What he does in bed is none of my concern. Or with whom.

Face Masks: Oh for God’s sake! No one knows who has been vaccinated for COVID-19 and who has not. Carrying a ‘passport’ for vaccination status is time-consuming to arrange, and distasteful to a society accustomed to privacy and freedom. The simple solution: require masks until COVID deaths are zero for 3 months. The only harm done is a decline in common colds, flu and a host of other spreadable sickness. The greatest good is defeating COVID-19. Grow up America. Wear masks as a badge of courage to do the right thing.

Israeli/Palestinian Strife: America’s involvement in both Middle East geopolitics, and support for Israel’s safety and independence, are clashing. Of course, they have clashed continuously since 1949 when Israel’s statehood was forged from piecemeal cloth. Discerning truth and fact from this cauldron of distrust, is a duty of the press, of the observer, and of the principles themselves. The discussions surrounding discernment, however, invariably become suspect to anti-Semitism. That is too bad, because strong, logical analysis is needed whether it favors or not Israel’s position. Being against an Israeli position ought not be thought as anti-Semitic. The bits and pieces of this examination are important factors to weigh if the right answers are outcomes. Why focus on tactics and strategies when the attention should be on defining desired outcomes? We might make more progress if we focus on that more and less on judging anti-Semitism.

May 21, 2021

 

 

Congress Able?

I have been reading a lot of articles and journals lately about world affairs. So many challenges. So many possible positions to combat problems, avoid others, and prepare a future that builds on positive opportunities, not negative defensives. For Americans, we have a tri-partite form of government that provides checks and balances. These also could perform as creative centers challenging one another to find best solutions to common problems. But there is a problem.

Congress has shirked its role in creating, managing, balancing. Instead, it has blocked. Mindlessly blocked possible solutions. Intentionally not cooperating with creative solutions. It has made decisions solely on politics and ideology. No research. No discovery. Just litmus test reactions to an idea proffered by someone else.

This is abdication of duty. It is intentional. Well-practiced, too. Long standing, as well, about 30 years now, maybe more.

Here are some issues that ought not be about ideology. These are issues that serve the common good of our nation, not just for our own people, but for long-term international competitive survival with global powers:

·        Renewal of infrastructure

·        Expansion of technology – access to, speed and load capacity, integration of technologies, etc.

·        Access to education of all based on their interest and capability; maximize personal growth

·        Immigration reform – it is the core of our national identity; the system is broken and needs repair for the good of all of us; not protective but expansive, healing and inventive

·        Access to healthcare – universal, preventative, innovative

·        Environmental protection and health – heal the planet’s wounds

·        Foreign relations focused on global peace

An example: China poses a major competitive threat in education, science and economic power. All of these are healthy challenges we can respond to. However, the power to do so rests mostly with Congress. But they are not even talking about the issues listed above. Rather, they bicker and posture among themselves and their parties to serve insular values rather than those that support the commonweal – of nation and global village.

A nation focused on self is an enemy unto itself. We must have outward focus to survive global life.

If our governance machinery is bogged down with internal strife, then we all lose. Our friends and allies lose. Our enemies win.

Congressional dysfunction must be repaired. Or sidestepped? How do we restore institutional functioning? Who has some practical answers to this enigma? Please, not another short-term fix. We need life-long, value oriented rehabilitation. Perhaps we can eliminate Congress with another institution?

Suggestions?

May 20, 2021

Being Centered Cancels Noise

It has taken me a long time to learn this lesson: the more centered I am, the less noise I hear.

Concentrating on things that matter to me distracts me from the noise surrounding me. Political banter becomes nonsense not worthy of my time or attention. That noise will remain as long as people react to it. That is why the noise is made – to distract you from the good stuff.

Just imagine if you and I kept our minds focused on objectives that truly matter for the good of the people, society, family, and self. Not matters of greed or self-aggrandizement, but things that truly build fairness, equity, justice, happiness. Keep building that, what happens? The very things complained about by noise makers will disappear. Their complaints will become hollow, purposeless. Instead, the quality of life will improve and give proof to the promises we have made to one another.

While finding my purpose, I find the self. Finding the self propels me to do the things that matter to me and to others. Others are moved to do the same when they realize how easy it is. The ripple effect should carry this farther and farther to millions of people. Maybe it will transform the nation. It surely transforms the self.

From there it becomes international. Maybe. It is a possibility. Certainly the potential for that to happen is there.

Making a more perfect union is not a goal; it is a process. Like loving yourself and one another. It is a process and not easy.

If I have trouble trusting others, I should focus on trusting myself first. Let that build. Test the waters and trust others. The more I do this, the more trust I can invest in others. That investment pays off. The trust is returned. Trust builds. The padlock on the future is unlocked. We have only to walk through the gate and make the good things happen.

This is not utopia. This is real life. This is struggle and yearning. This is hope to follow. This becomes our future.

And the noise then has no purpose. Be the reason why that happens.

Follow the path.

May 19, 2021

 

Find Self; Find Purpose

In the past few days, we have talked about noise. Noise that blocks understanding and seeing the world the way it is. Being busy with things that have little or no meaning, purpose, value. Blocking noise helps find peace, quiet and self.

Finding the self means not aggrandizing it with selfish focus, rather it means finding value once your self is rid of the noise and self-absorption it attracts. In that state of being, the self is free to discover what is of value. It most likely will learn that serving others is the value builder. Doing so without thought of self is the most precious discovery.

What to do with this find? Use it to make life better for everyone. Start with the neediest. Move on to others. Just keep doing this.

Soon you will discover something else: what needs to get done is truly up to each of us to do. Want peace? Do not wage war. Do not excite an enemy. Help them. Help them repair what they feel is broken and see them change.

Education not accessible to many? Do what you can to bring education to them. The same with poverty. Jobs. Labor pool readiness for new jobs. Food for the hungry. Music for the starved soul. Books for the curious mind. Beauty for those starved of it.

What do you think and feel is good? Know is good? Ought that be for your comfort, enjoyment, consumption? Or ought it be for many others? If the latter, help others gain access to the good.

No one is asking me or you to fix the world. No one pretends we or they have all the answers. The truth is we can and should not be a part of the problem. Rather, we should be a part of the solution. Help with it. Advocate for it. Not out of ideology, but out of a life driven by value and purpose.

Too many deaths from handguns? Learn why. Learn ways to minimize the toll. Do that for your own life and those close to you. Urge others to do the same. Be a part of the solution, not the problem.

Same with litter, pollution, and wasted resources. Live with purpose and frugality. Enjoy but do not waste. Share but do not waste.

Be you. Be free. Help others be the same.

May 18, 2021

 

Power Noise

Politics is noise. It acts to be seen and heard. Sound bites and smiles. Anger for punctuation. Even spittle. But its value is nothing. In the final, final analysis, politics is nothing. Thus, noise.

Think about the war of words surrounding ideology. Consider the emotions involved. “It’s my freedom you are threatening.” “No, it’s my livelihood you are taking away from me.” “Government is not central to your life, nor should it be.” “But government can accomplish much we cannot do alone.”

And so the arguments go. Which candidates mirror my belief? My ideology? Who can I trust in corridors of power?

My answer? Very few can be trusted. Why? Because they seek power. With power they also acquire wealth because it is available for the taking. That is not cynical; it is fact. Check the balance sheets of any politician who has been in the public’s eye for more than 5 years.

Well, if politics is noise and of no value, what is left to value?

The answer alludes most people. But I think the answer is easy to discern if noise is screened out. From complexity manmade – noise – comes chaos that hides the vital fact.

That fact is: life is short. Live it for its basics. Breath. Food. Smell. Comfort. Struggle to do. To build. To shelter. To hear pleasant sounds. To relate to another, a significant other. To create family. To nurture and love family. To seek beauty, find it, and be affected by it.

Life is of value.

Not all have equal value. Some are disabled. Others are challenged by other distractions of poverty, violence, unemployment, ignorance and…well, the list goes on and on.

Those with unequal lives are suppressed by others. Help the suppressed. Comfort the unequal. Share the beauty of life. Lose yourself in what matters.

Noise does not matter. Noise is barrier. Avoid noise. Block it.

Now, see life and value. Focus on it. Savor it. Do it. For others, do it.

In the end you will discover something you did not know you were missing.

Block noise and find yourself. 

May 17, 2021

 

Noise

So many headline topics. So much excitement, fear, dread, shock, and awe. We are pulled in one direction and then another. Our attention is begged continually by internet news feeds, summary newsletters, media outlets and certainly TV news. If they aren’t shouting a dire story at you, they are advertising one just 30 seconds ahead.

Noise. All of it noise. Does it symbolize anything? Activity, certainly; but meaning? Are we learning anything from the noise?

More noise. Advertising touting a product’s usefulness, or its humor, its piquancy, zest for living or whatnot. Noise. Constant noise.

The pandemic brought home peace. Solitude to ponder. Calm in which to read without interruption. Time to scan the noise for meaning, value and actual news.

Social distancing during the pandemic gave me this solace. Space came with it. Quiet. The on/off button to many devices were found. Blessed silence. No need even for music. Peace and quiet in which to  - discern. Ponder, think, sort and wonder. Logic kicked in and weighing thoughts became a ‘thing.’

Discernment is not easy. It takes work to fit puzzle pieces together until they create the whole image. From that we know the meaning of the whole, even then some doubt remains. Each piece is important as a part of the whole, but not in its aloneness. It means little if anything alone. Only when it joins its rightful place does it help meaning emerge.

Meanwhile the inbetween is where we exist. The noise is context, not meaning. The noise is background, not message. Do not confuse it with fact or truth or anything of value. It is what it is; noise.

The pandemic is/was horrid. People suffered. People died. Families mourned. Lives were disrupted and changed forever. But amid the horror is/was peace. Peace to think and find values that always were there but lost to the noise.

I treasure the peace gifted by the pandemic. I am using it to become whole again. I am discerning noise from meaning.

Politics is noise. Turn it off. Consider values and meanings of import. Seek the peace. Turn your back to noise.

Find the off button. Click it.

May 14, 2021

 

Israel and Gaza, Again!

More violence in the Middle East. Palestinians upset with Israel and her policies in Jerusalem have sparked the newest events. But they simmer continually there. If quiet breaks out, Netanyahu makes a nasty move toward Gaza and Hamas responds. It takes nothing to light the flame of violence.

Netanyahu knows this. It is the means to his continued presence in government. He creates fear to maintain a seat of power in government. He has done this continually for years. His grasp on power today is less and threatened. But he remains. One must ask why.

Part of the answer rests with the Israeli people. Collectively they fear their constant haters, anti-Semitic nations, regionalists, other religions; you name it, they are wary. On guard. And they should be. History informs them they are right to be afraid.

Leaders ought to be lessening that fear, but Netanyahu knows that would mean the end of his reign. No, he must stir up trouble to remain in power.

Israelis are educated, smart and resilient. I think this should make them aware of Netanyahu’s treachery. But they are not. The big lie continues to control the people. When its power wanes, Netanyahu merely orders more settlements built in Gaza for Israeli settlers. The fight resumes. Violence kills. Missiles are launched. More walls are built. Chaos reigns supreme among the impoverished Palestinians making their miseries tinder for the next violent outbreak.

Simmer and boil. Simmer and boil. Stir here; stir there. Keep the pressure on. Stay in power.

No. Biden ought not be moved to help. We have helped enough with this folly. Billions of American dollars prop up Israel’s power elite annually. This travesty has gone on too long. Find a solution that works for the entire region. Find a path to peace. Prepare for a long trudge on that journey. But do it.

The people of the region – all enemies of the other – need to find peace and achieve it through their effort and sacrifice. This is not an American problem nor solution. It is Israel’s, the Middle East’s, and all the warring tribes.

The world needs this speck of peace in this trouble region. The time is now.

May 13, 2021

 

Ramping Up

The economy is building from the pandemic lows. Several industries, mostly in services, are coming back to life. Bars. Restaurants. Travel transportation and lodging outlets. More are returning to activity that has been moribund for over a year.

During that period, businesses have disappeared, mostly small ones. Entrepreneurs have been busy, however, and are plotting their return to markets. Lenders, consultants, mentors, and others have been at work helping those entrepreneurs jump into new businesses. Just you wait!

Manufacturing has shifted to new methods. Robotics have replaced some processes. Some products are no longer needed, same with some of the laborers. It is a new world that is building. Finding people and processes that will mesh smoothly will take time.

Of course, ideological people will turn their hand to misleading the public about what is happening. They will turn this into politics that destroy not build. More of the same negativity we have lived through for the past 5 years in particular; longer if you count the decline of one party in particular.

No; the truth is the economy is coming back to life but not in the same old way. It will take time for the economy and all of its moving parts to find the right balances, resources and support to find its way to a new equilibrium. Labor is one aspect of this. Skillsets is another. Infrastructure yet another.

Supply chains, distribution networks and customer bases that are willing and able to shift to new standards and behavior. None of this is automatic. None of this is easily changed to smooth operations. It takes time to give birth to the new.

So, a bunch of people thought a million new jobs would jump to life? No; that was not reasonable for many reasons.

First, the unemployed or underemployed are not your usual low wage workers. Instead, they are the managers, technical creators, entrepreneurs, and risk takers that require strong wages and salaries to lure back to work. These are people who once earned $90k to $150k. They will not work for $15/hour, nor should they. An employee jettisoned in the pandemic is not going to adopt a new career greet at Walmart, or restocking shelves at the local grocery chain. It would be a horrible waste. More, it would be a travesty to the person and his/her psyche.

Second, birthing a new normal takes time and planning to get it right. Risk taking is one dimension of this; but risk ‘giving’ by others to make it happen takes time to make it right. Bankers, investors, mentors, coaches, and a host of other collaborators, need time to help in ways that help. Together, they come together to build, to construct.

If low paying jobs are what current employers want to offer, let them embrace a wave of new immigrants to sweeten the labor pool. Just do not count on that remaining the same. Those good folks will create their own jobs, businesses and careers and the low paying jobs will go begging again. Better if we know this and accommodate it now.

America has always been resilient to changing ideas and commerce. And quality of life. Just watch her adjust to the enormous challenge of getting past a pandemic. But first, give her time!

May 12, 2021

 

More Bits and Pieces:

Labor pool: employers need to train and develop their people much more than in the past. This is a competitive edge for them. Why should they expect to get work-ready labor? If they want that, they need to participate in the educational system from Kindergarten through High School, and beyond. Research and Development budgets are not as deep as they once were. They expect government to fund research for them at public universities. Well, dig deep folks to help the rest of us pay for this!

Labor shortage? No. We have plenty of people willing to work and able. But they refuse to work for slave wages. $15 and hour is roughly $30,000 annually full time. Can you support yourself on that wage? No. Two people in a household earning $60,000 can support themselves and maybe one child. If there is a child, best there be free daycare and full-time in person schoolrooms. Still, who cares for the children when the parents are working, and the kids are home? Maybe employers need to think about offering daycare services or stipends?

A strong wage is $25/hour. A professional salary is $45 to $60/hour. Management pay runs much higher, $100 to $200/hour depending on size and complexity of the organization. This is why some executives earn millions per year.

If America wants families, they must support them. Livable wages and salaries are a beginning. Health care is another part of the picture. Daycare for kids is yet another. Most elders remember a time when dad worked, and mom stayed home. But living expenses make that impractical today. Low wages complicate it further.

Wake up America! You have the workers. You have to make it worth their while to work for you.

Divorce: Bill and Melinda are but one couple. Let them be themselves. Divorce is tragedy personified. Blame is useless. Sharing the pain and building a pathway for two separate futures takes focus and goodwill. It is not easy. Leave the heavy work for the principals and stay out of their business.

China: is not the be all and end all society on Earth. It is but one; big, yes; only? No.

China has widespread poverty and poor living conditions for rural populations. Urban regions are much better off because that is where employment reigns. Rural regions remain agricultural, and peasant based. This holds back education, healthcare and much more. Just ask the social workers struggling with these problems.

China imports a large amount of food to feed her nation. They also import vast quantities of materials to operate their factories. Although they have the science and engineering to perform clean engineering, the demand for output is so great they continue to operate industries with poor fuel efficiency, air and water pollution just like the 1950’s in the USA. China has much catching up to do. They could be a leading economy if they concentrated on doing that. however, they are nowhere near that presently. Competitor in the long term to the US? Indeed. But we need to stay ahead of them.

Career Paths: subject to change, continual change. It is up to the employee to manage their own career. That means learning to acknowledge change and plot career pathways based on interests and talents. No one must do this for another. An employer should be supportive of this on-going development, but most are not engaged with it. Personal initiative must be relied upon. This means me, you, and all of us. Doing this makes us more adaptable and creative. That makes us an attractive employee to others as well.

May 11,2021

 

 

Normal Imagined

Unemployment claims are dropping. Employers are hiring again and confronting maddening shortages of applicants with skillsets they need. Schools are returning to classrooms. Universities and colleges are preparing for fall terms with full enrollment and classrooms. Broadway shows are scheduling their openings. Concerts are staging their return. Is normal returning?

In a sense, yes, In the broader sense, no.

Normal has boundaries to its definition. The normal we once knew, will likely not return. That is the nature of change. One normal shifts to the next. Morphing takes place continually. We don’t always notice it because the shifts are small, miniscule even.

The pandemic was an enormous shock to our normal. With its passing, a new normal will form, one we will inure to and accept as new. Normal. What that will likely be is left only to our imagination. But let us have some fun and imagine what it might be like.

Work from Home: a growing feature of employment prior to the pandemic, the pandemic shocked us into a necessary change. It worked. Employees performed their tasks well and imaginatively. Productivity soared. Collaboration and teamwork did not suffer as it was suspected to do. New networking pathways were discovered. Commerce strengthened in ways unimagined. Prediction: work from home will continue to be a major feature of employment, perhaps as much as 35% or more when including hybrid arrangements – two days in office per week, two days at home, one day in field. This shift will likely make work on weekends a new normal as well.

Commuting: fewer people will join the mad dash to work like pre-pandemic days. Additionally, flexible hours will witness commuting hours spread out to fill the entire day. Reverse commuting will likely grow as people choose to live in more desirable or affordable places. Commuting becomes less an issue with flexible commuting and more work from home.

Real Estate Changes: office space demand will lessen as labor pools no longer need large office building hubs to conduct business. They can do ‘hubbing’ from anywhere they have internet and Zoom connection. Residential real estate demand will spread throughout a larger geographic ‘market’ thus reducing competition for many areas. How downtown areas will be used in the future is an unknown; culture, entertainment, education, government, or what? Office and residential patterns will settled into a better known routine eventually, but for now the market is pure change.

Shopping: Amazon made remote shopping a commercial force before the pandemic. With the pandemic, remote consumerism became the means to shop for everyday items like food, clothing, supplies and much more. We learned to buy big ticket items by phone and internet. We hired people over the internet. We bought and sold homes over the internet, too. Shopping is no longer the in-person entertainment it once was. Remember when ‘window shopping’ was a thing and done mainly when the stores were closed? Now we do it online, 24/7/365. This is our normal for shopping.

Technology Access: finally, universal access to technology is a must. Like public water, sewer, air quality, stormwater management and government, a modern society must also add technology access as a public utility. WiFi, internet and bandwidth/speed must be made available to all of us. It is the center stone of shopping, commerce, education and now medicine, too. Communication and news print as well. What are we waiting for? The new normal requires access to technology. No obstructions. Government: step into this arena and make it happen.

There are more areas we could cover, but those mentioned above demonstrate how the others will be driven to new normals. Creativity and invention come with change. Let us embrace it.

That is our normal.

May 10, 2021

 

 

Bits and Pieces

Bill and Melinda: Heavy heart watching the failure of their marriage, Bill and Melinda Gates are my heroes. Together they have learned how to build a better social order, solve enormous problems, research, and broaden understanding, push forward the boundaries of science and medical practice. All on a global scale. All focusing on the quality of life starting with the poorest among us.

Their task has been watched and enjoined by many who wish to solve some of humankind’s largest problems. They have the money to make a difference, and the organizational strength to follow through. More importantly, they have the will and heart to continue to do really big things. Why? Because this work needs to be done and they have the commitment to keep at it. And a lot of resources they are willing to share.

We can only hope that their divorce will not lessen their dedication to continue their work together.

A failed marriage is a tragic happening. It need not destroy the lives of the two people and their family. Done right, divorce can build strength to face the future. We can hope this is true for Bill and Melinda.

Liz Cheney and GOP Credibility: Liz Cheney is a Wyoming republican who has proven her courage and independent mind. She has questioned those who still claim the 2020 presidential election was a fraud. She questions the veracity of donald trump. And the wrath of her fellow GOP leaders is aiming to punish Liz Cheney for that. This has been the trouble with the GOP for many decades now. People with diverse thoughts are excluded from the GOP Big Tent. Gays. Women. Abortion. History. Truth.

Punishing Cheney is a self-inflicted wound to the GOP itself. Its credibility has long suffered. Now it lowers to new depths of fiction and fake leadership. When will republicans learn that to be mainstream, they must be part of the mainstream. Liz is showing the way how to do that. But no; the GOP continues to play deaf for other reasons.  I wonder what those reasons are?

Building the future of their party on the shifting sands of propaganda and make-believe is folly. Liz Cheney knows that. What about the others? Why don’t they get it?

Mandatory Vaccinations: Public health and safety concerns over the years have required children to be vaccinated prior to enrolling in school. This was true for diphtheria, measles, mumps, polio and more. Flu shots have not been mandated because the disease mutates rapidly, and the vaccine must change annually. Vaccinations were required from the public to build a healthy nation and lessen suffering, disability, and death for so many. It worked in the main. Many common diseases in the past are now history. The others are not as serious a threat as they once were.

The same trajectory of public policy needs to be implemented for COVID-19. Require vaccinations prior to kids returning to school in the fall. Require proof of vaccination for admission to public events with large crowds. Same with other large gathering spaces; have vaccination proof or stay away.

That policy provides the motivation for broad scale vaccination of the public. Is this constitutional? I am not a lawyer let alone a constitution lawyer. Let the courts battle out the details. Meanwhile let’s require vaccinations as a strong measure of protecting the public. All its generations.

May 7, 2021

 

Herd Immunity

The flu season comes and goes. It mutates in many forms. It makes people sick. Tens of millions people get sick, miss work and other obligations. They infect others and they lose time with disrupted routines. We research the flu viruses continually. We seek vaccines to lessen their impact. We manufacture hopeful vaccines that will help society cope with the next season of flu bugs.

They seem to work. We have lessened the impact of common flu. We have not ended the flu, nor have we avoided all deaths from the flu. But we continue to do what we can to lower the human toll of the highly changing disease.

We do not have herd immunity from the flu.

We are trying to gain herd immunity from COVID-19 because it is more deadly than the flu. Until that happens, surely there will be a COVID-20. And COVID-21, etc.

We will not stop researching the means to lessen COVID’s grip on our society. Until everyone is vaccinated, we cannot count on herd immunity. Because of that we will continue to be bedeviled by the disease and encounter death among our weakest.

Why some people do not get vaccinated is a mystery to most of us. They do not feel an obligation to the rest of us to be a part of the solution rather than a part of the continuing problem. They fear the vaccine and the science that produced it. They fear human error and fallibility. They put on a face of courage to avoid the vaccine as a duty they are called to do. It is a false front. The bald truth is they fear losing their individuality.

The rest of us dare to face that threat so we can move on to live our lives as normally as possible. We wish to continue creating, loving and living as best as possible. We learn to live with fear and surpass it for that which comes after it.

Meanwhile, herd immunity is a distant promise that may never happen. Of course, if we vaccinated hordes are right, the unvaccinated will perish in time and cull the herd of the weakest. Darwin will have won again.

He usually does.

May 6, 2021

 

Something From Nothing?

No, not really. Something always comes from something else. Whether it is a worn out idea that frustrates us, or a fresh thought that motivates us, ideas come to us because of some logical connection to something that matters. Border crisis is evidently comfortable to Americans; comfortable enough they do not think of alternative solutions. They tsk-tsk about the ‘crisis’ at the border but do nothing about it. They talk about it without going the extra step to think on what to do about it.

We have built walls. We have built water barriers. We have constructed guard towers, remote camera networks, alarm systems and a bevy of other tools. To do what? Discourage immigration? To scare people away? To pretend we have an impenetrable barrier to newcomers.

Well, we do not.

Desperation continues unabated in lives of escapees. They seek safety. They seek a means of employment. They seek opportunity in which to embrace their family. We do not know what that desperation is like. We do not understand it. We are just afraid of strangers living among us, of the needs we will be asked to pay for. Perhaps competition for resources and jobs? Maybe internal strife and domestic terrorism? What about loss of our identity and culture?

All good topics to divert our attention to the real problems. There are two: first the reason why people are desperate enough to leave everything behind to gain a fresh start. Second, why we are afraid of their joining us, becoming one with us.

The first problem can be understood through study and education. That problem can also be fixed if enough resources are sent to the nations in distress and help them overcome their problems so desperate citizens are healed and loved. Those efforts have been attempted and bungled. They have echoed of nation building and failed. We have even aided emigres to resettle in other nations so they are safe but not our problem on our border. That has not worked either; the receiving nations were overburdened by large numbers of immigrants overwhelming their own small populations.

The second problem – our inhospitality, is a different problem. It is also more difficult because we have to unhitch the reality of history and fact – we all are immigrants in our land. Face that and move toward solving a myriad of problems we fear. Face them and generate innovative solutions. The enterprise, the effort alone, is rewarding.

Life is change. Confronting change leads to creative thinking and invention. Invention leads to new products and services and new business opportunities. It also leads to human services, education, medical support and a host of commercial ventures that make all of this possible. In the end it leads to jobs. Small businesses or large, jobs are created to meet demands. Money is exchanged to fuel the transactions. The economy bustles with new activity. Expanded activity. The more we do this the more we learn and the more adaptive and creative we become.

All of this is change. All change is uncomfortable. But all change is the cause of invention.

Get involved. Understand the human tragedy unfolding in nations not far from our own. Know these are people needing care and love. Learn what challenges this will mean to our people. Then solve those challenges. They are the meat of new opportunities.

Seize those to remake lives. Ours and theirs.

We both win.

May 5, 2021

 

Going Home

It was Friday and my only client appointment was a Zoom at 9 am. Should be done by 9:40, then breakfast. I told Rocky we were free after that. I asked what he would like to do with the rest of the day. A few minutes later: visit the neighborhood where I grew up.

A simple request, but like all of us, we grew up in more than one neighborhood. Rocky’s first neighborhood was the Little Italy area where UIC now stands. The university acquired the needed land to build the new campus in the early 60’s. Residents were displaced. Businesses were shuttered. One of those was Rocky’s dad’s grocery store.

And so, they moved to Franklin Park on Mannheim Road. His dad opened another grocery in a vacant storefront. Eventually outgrown, another storefront was built nearby. A vacant lot behind the store and its parking lot was the site of their new home, built from scratch. This was at the corner of Mannheim and Fullerton Roads.

That was the neighborhood Rocky wanted to visit. Not the UIC site; nothing was there. But Franklin Park? Yes. We ventured forth.

Two old guys 76+ got in the car and drove in mid-day traffic – I-88 to Eisenhower Expressway to Mannheim Road. Then north to Fullerton, hung a right and stopped. The store was gone. A large strip mall now stood in its place. But the house was still there. We stopped in front. The yard was well kept, the attached garage had been converted to living space, and three cars sat in the driveway. The neighborhood to the immediate west was all commercial. To the south and north, all commercial and much traffic. Fullerton at that spot is wide and immediately off of Mannheim. Busy. Congested. Traffic noise supreme.

Catching his breath, Rocky gazed at the home. This was where he lived before going to school. This is where his mom and dad made life routines with oh so many memories. He could almost see them, there in the yard, or there in the window. Then to elementary parochial school in Northlake until High School, West Leyden High. We drove by his church, his school, and the high school. We drove around the town centers he frequented back in the day. He recognized old buildings and looked at many new ones. His demeanor was pensive. Now silent because of his laryngectomy two years ago, his hands went to his mouth as he gasped in breath through his stoma. The silence held sound. I knew he was stunned at what he saw.

Not home again, just visiting old memories through the mind’s eye. The last time he remembered seeing this place was 40 years ago.

We started the trek back home, this time using surface routes. Through all the suburbs and crazy traffic. Revisiting many sights familiar to me as well in my field career experience. Slowly we left the past behind and retreated to our present. Once home, we napped. Over an hour we napped. And thought.

I mulled over my own return visit to past homes in Chicagoland. The past 50 years is easy; all Wheaton, Warrenville and West Chicago. Before that was Lake Shore Drive (3900 North); Hyde Park (Seminary and the University of Chicago), Oak Park and Knox College in Galesburg. Well, I’ve been past the Lake Shore Drive location, and visited Knox a few times, once within the past two years. What’s left is a meander through two neighborhoods in Oak Park I once called home, and then Hyde Park. I learned my seminary building has been repurposed by the U of C, but the seminary built a new building next to the Law School. I feel the need to visit these places. Soon. I don’t know why.

I know I can’t go home again, but I wonder how these places that meant so much to me once will rekindle memories fond or otherwise. I suspect we will venture out again, two old guys in a small SUV, doing battle with the dizzying array of traffic and congestion unimagined 56 years ago. I wonder how we will do!

May 4, 2021

 

Border Crisis?

What crisis? Well, I guess the one where thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants swarm our southern border with Mexico clamoring to enter our country. And that’s a crisis how? Why? And if it is a crisis, what ought we do about it?

First off, no blame please. Immigration has been mismanaged for more decades than we can rightly count. All political parties have mismanaged the issue. All have manipulated this issue for reasons of power. Not rightness. Power. Plain and simple. A travesty. And a public shame.

We have had decades to get this right but have chosen to ignore it. And then we claim it is a crisis when newcomers to our nation are not welcomed? They are not housed, medically cared for, fed even? We throw up tents, bring in armed guards and prison personnel to ‘manage’ the crowds. Really?

What do all of the greatest religions of the world tell us to do in such circumstances? Welcome them, feed them, bandage their wounds and injuries, house them, educate them and assimilate them into our homeland? Is that what we are told to do?

Yes. Exactly correct.

So why hasn’t this been done?

Fear. More fear. Propaganda pressing fear onto our own people.

Immigration is America’s story. Our story. Immigrants refresh our population, add muscle and motivation to our labor pool, provide different cultural backgrounds for spice, and add to We The People to build a more perfect union of people doing for us all.

What part of Abe Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address did we not understand? “A government of the people, by the people, for the people.” And the people were those entering our land, raising their families, populating the nation, striving for a more perfect union. Building from diversity.

Just what are we afraid of? That the newcomers might be better than we are? Hungrier to succeed? Be wealthier than we? More educated? More willing to work? What exactly are we afraid of?

I’m listening. What is that you are saying?

May 3, 2021