Getting Along With One Another

Two or so years ago Rocky was in the check-out line at the local Walgreens. Ahead of him were a mother and small boy. The child asked for candy and selected what he wanted and placed it on the counter. The mother said no; the boy asked why; the mother said because she couldn’t afford it.

Knowing the cashier Rocky signaled to her that he would pay for the candy. The mother protested but Rocky assured her it was his treat and she could pay it forward for someone else another time. She smiled and said her thanks. The boy was happy. Everyone had smiles on their faces.

Jump forward to this week. Rocky was thirsty for diet cola, something he eliminated from his diet. But a sensitive tummy suggested maybe the cola was needed to settle his stomach. So he ventured out across the street from our apartment building and visited the small Mexican grocery store. A week before he had bought one bottle of diet cola for 99 cents. So, having a little over $2 he picked up 2 bottles. When the cashier rang up $3.21, he realized the cola was now priced at $1.50 per bottle and that he had earlier purchased it while on sale. He didn’t have enough to buy two bottles so he started to return one of the bottles when a lady behind him with her daughter stepped forward and paid for the second cola.

Rocky said he would go home and get more money, but she insisted she would pay for the treat. She smiled and Rocky knew he needed to accept this act of generosity. When he did, she smiled and said, “Thank you!” He glanced at her daughter who was also beaming.

Both the woman and daughter wore hijabs. They were Muslim and shortly afterward Rocky realized the woman was happy to help because it made her feel good. He felt certain the woman’s action was also her way to say Muslims are generous people, too. The shared smiles among the three almost led to tears. A connection was made.

Paying it forward is a good thing for all of us whether on the giving or receiving end of things. Allowing our feelings to come forward is a good thing. It nurtures humility. And each of us can benefit from a good dose of that.

Each time I read a news account of discrimination playing out against Muslims I cringe and wonder if I should visit an Islamic Study Center. We have one just a few miles away. I wonder if I offer to help them in some way if my action would be understood and accepted. Although I would offer the help, it is they who help me understand them better by allowing the interaction in the first place.

I think I better understand why Rocky and the woman and daughter nearly wept through their smiles that day. Yes, we have to have these encounters. It enriches our lives in so many dimensions.

And to that I say Amen!

April 28, 2016

  

Where to Spot Ugly Americans

I know some of you will think this post lame when I say this, but I think it is true.  Ugly Americans can best be seen behind the steering wheels of their cars. At times this includes me as well; I admit it. I’m quite capable of a meltdown while driving in traffic, but please give me a listen.

For nearly four years Illinois Route 59 running through Naperville, Illinois, was rebuilt. It was widened, improved in countless ways, and connected with an amazingly engineered interchange on the north at Interstate 88.

The other day I drove south on Rte 59 to my auto dealer for routine old change, filter and wiper blades. I encountered the new highway in this manner: at the new bridge/interchange at 88, one lane was closed, then two as crews at 9 am began the slow process of removing brand new concrete lanes just installed. A mile farther along one lane was closed for curb and sidewalk construction; then two lanes were closed for the same plus lane concrete removal for some reason or another – completely new concrete!

It took me nearly an hour to go 7 miles.

On my return trip north I made the mistake of thinking that northbound had not been affected earlier and surely wouldn’t be this time. I was wrong. They closed down two entire lanes of 3 at the north end at the I-88 interchange. One hour it took me to travel 5 miles; I still had 3 miles to go but those were mostly uneventful.

Trapped. I felt trapped. Marooned, even. Look, this project probably cost more than $50 million. Not a dime from Naperville. A smidgen from Illinois. Most of the money came from federal programs. But still Illinois contractors and inspectors screwed up the project. Now in its 4^th full year countless businesses and residents have lost their incomes and businesses. Traffic has been reduced to below breakeven. And the city of Naperville does nothing to rescue those businesses or the stranded motorists.

The ugly American in this case is the bureaucrat who has forgotten who pays for this project and for whose benefit it was built. This is not a federal bureaucrat; this is a state desk sitter abetted by a city asleep at the switch.

More ugly Americans appeared on the scene by the way. Drivers who are trapped for an hour in unimaginable traffic conditions undergo critical psycho-social changes. That includes me, too.

In lesser conditions we observe daily driving maneuvers that simply challenge all norms of decency and thoughtlessness. Switching lanes without signaling is minor; sitting at a green light with one’s head buried in his laptop or I-phone until someone honks to stir them to action is so frequent one wonders why we have a law against this behavior when you never see someone actually cited for the offense. Look officers, ride along with me every day and I will point out the offenders at least 4 per mile. You could run your city government on the fines generated by your tickets!

Running red lights and stop signs is epidemic. Honk your horn and you risk a fist fight, or worse if they other guy has a gun aboard.

Going the speed limit and planning turns well in advance are common sense driving habits. Evidently not so for most people. They herd their cars down the road. They mush their steel chariots wherever and whenever they want. And they simply do not give a damn about you and I. Not a damn or dime.

Our society is selfish, greedy and unthinking of others. All you have to do to know this is drive 10 miles anywhere – in city, suburb or country lane. It is horrendous. And it is sad.

The good sense and good nature of Americans has been lost somewhere along the line. When was that? and how will we ever get it back?

Please. Don’t shatter my last vestiges of hope and tell me there is no returning to the good old days of good manners! Please don’t say it. Now hush!

April 27, 2016

Paul Ryan?

So the new Republican Speaker of the House is coy about his political future. He ran with Romney for Vice President against Obama/Biden and lost badly. But then he wasn’t Speaker. Now he is and that is something to protect for him I think.

Paul Ryan is an attractive man and gets along with a lot of people, many who do not think as he does. And in a politician that’s a good thing. Especially these days. Getting along with others is the first step to making compromises that actually get things done. We need a lot of that behavior in Congress these days; it would be a happy relief!

So Ryan continues to learn his job in place. And he seems to be doing well until…well when he isn’t!

You see Ryan continues to play the conservative political game as though it is the only game in town. It isn’t. it is not even one half of the game, but the rest of the field is so split among differing ideologies that the conservative hold on congress continues to gridlock all governance.

Because conservatives are fearful people – it is the nature of why they are conservatives in the first place (they don’t trust anyone, even themselves, so they spread discord and suspicion everywhere) – they don’t dare give an inch to anyone who doesn’t agree with them 100%. The trouble is even those who do agree with them 100% are suspicious in their eyes (the nature thing again!) and so they hold back giving into the suspicions.

Again, the gridlock goes on.

Well, this fall’s presidential elections will help settle a lot of things. First, someone will win the White House race. I think it will be the Democrats. And I think it will be Hillary Clinton. With that settled republicans will need to skirmish their powers to finish the Obama term and get some decisions made that they can still make. Gridlock will ease just a bit.

Along with the White House race are all of the House of Representatives and the one third of the Senate. I think the Senate will move toward Democrats and cause the Senate to be much more evenly split. This will allow some movement in that house of congress.

On the other end of the building the House of Representatives will also shift away from Republicans and toward Democrats. This will be caused by the anger and frustration of the American people about their own government. They know it is not about the White House but actually about Congress. That’s where the gridlock resides. And they want that to end. So votes in the House will shift towards even-steven and gridlock will ease a bit.

This all means that republicans will need to pick their fights more carefully. Their missteps in the last decade or so have removed all doubt about their ability to govern and to conduct international affairs. They are not capable of enough subtlety to govern domestically or internationally. It is a sad state of affairs but true enough. The hens have come home to roost!

It would help the two party system if both parties began negotiating today toward this inevitable end. We need a full Supreme Court roster of justices. We need fair and aggressive budgets. We need reform in education. We need climate actions that would hurry the demise of the oil economy in favor of renewable energy. And we need economic blinders removed to witness the new age of innovation that is ready to leap from the shadows of our moribund economy. There is a whole new world to be built and experienced. Right now only the young will gain from this experience. The elder generations have given up and dug in. Of course they will lose doing this and die deaths of regret and loneliness.

The world is exciting only when engaged. The opposite only causes fear and trembling. And that’s no way to live life.

We all know this so why do we allow backward thinking and greed to control our futures?

I think the answer is simple. We are too lazy as a society to do the work needing to be done to make the truly great things happen. And yet this is where the excitement and fun happens. Why put that off when a little work and risk will open it up to us all?

Can the elections be quickened? Could we possibly change the calendars of government and get this awful, embarrassing political season behind us?

Oh how we all wish it!

April 26, 2016

Granddaughters

I have two granddaughters. Lindsay and Kira, the first 15 and the second 12. Both are beautiful. Both are talented.

Lindsay plays violin, ukulele, guitar and experiments with keyboard. She composes songs and sings as well! She plays in her high school orchestra, the Elgin Youth Symphony and attends summer music and arts camp in Michigan each summer. She was deeply involved in her middle school drama department and continues that experience into high school. She reads, writes and recites literature. We read books together and discuss them. Our current assignment is Uncle Tom’s Cabin written by one of our ancestors. This fascinates Lindsay on the one hand and fuels her understanding of current events and issues that matter to her on the other hand.  All in all, a very well balanced young woman. And she is beautiful, poised and excited about life in the real world. And earns all A’s consistently in school.

Now Kira is a different person entirely. She is a gymnast, plays the cello and guitar, is inquisitive of the world about her and very active. She reads, studies and earns top grades. We read together weekly at first the early childhood classics, then modern day youth literature. Her mind is developing quickly and incisively. This last Saturday morning rather than reading together she participated in one of her several gymnastic meets. I witnessed this one first hand. She competed on the vault, balance beam, uneven parallel bars and floor exercises. All beautifully done. All captivating to watch as these young women push their bodies to limits of strength, reach, movement and beauty.

Kira is poised and willowy. Beautiful and the very picture of a gymnast! And maturing before our very eyes. Summer music camp is drawing closer and she is excited for that experience.

Of course we grandparents attend concerts and plays the girls are in; but this was my first gymnastics meet. The experience recalled my attending my son’s athletic events – baseball, soccer, basketball – both in elementary grades through high school. In the very early years John did soccer; it exhausted him and us, his parents, watching his little legs churn the grass field first one way, then the other, all without seeming purpose! And finally one day he said he didn’t want to do that anymore; and with great relief we gladly withdrew him from youth soccer! It was as much our relief as his; who wants to sit on a cold, drizzly day on a wet lawn chair watching pointless little legs running endlessly from one end of the field to the next? Yuck!

But he went on to play sterling baseball and basketball. Some of those games are memorable. They were exciting and demonstrated a precision of play I had never noticed in sports before.  Now admittedly, I’m no sportsman. Far from it. I even actively dislike sports, mostly because I don’t see the point of it all, and actually because I didn’t participate in any of it when I was young. In fact, I hated gym with a passion. When I wish to conjure feelings of utter despair, I remember my days of enforced gym class attendance. It was truly something to survive. And not well!

But now with no worry of my required performance other than sitting in a chair and watching, gymnastics is a treat. Go Kira!

When our kids were growing up in Illinois their grandparents – both sets – were living far, far away, one set in California and the other in Arizona. Although they visited in summer for a few weeks, they were not around to witness weekly maturation and growth of personhood as we are now doing. It is a special treat. It is also something I never imagined for my own life. But it is here and now and very real. And what a pleasure!

My grandsons are yet quite young – 27 months and 3 months. They are gorgeous and engaging now. They will become most watchable in the coming years. What fun to know them through those years yet to come.

Meanwhile my dotage experiences a new generation blossom before my very eyes.

April 25, 2016

Comparative Religions

I sat down with a friend of mine recently for lunch. On our agenda to discuss was comparing religions. She would know. Her theological journey in life has spanned Irish Catholic, American Catholic, American protestant, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), Muslim, back to Greek Orthodox. She wore the hijab for nearly two years and among her friends, neighbors and townsfolk caused much talk. Then she abruptly ceased wearing it and returned to an earlier church.

That is when I asked if we could talk about all of this so I could better understand the religious perspectives she has lived through. Although this would help me understand her, I really wanted to understand the underlying principles of the various religions. Those were the things confusing me.

She gladly agreed and we had a wonderful chat. Here are some thoughts we shared.

The Godheads of the various religions remain the same. God is God for Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths. They have different names: Allah is the Muslim God; Yaweh is God to Jews (among many other names!); God is God for Christians. They do not differ.

The Bible is also a constant. The first five books of the Old Testament is the Pentateuch for both Christians and Jews; the Old Testament remains the same for both Jews and Christians. And the Bible is a holy book to Muslims as well. Their Quran dovetails with the Bible. Both are holy texts.

Prophets are similar as well. Abraham for Jews. Mohammad for Muslims. Christ for Christians. It might interest Americans to learn that Christ is venerated by Muslims as a prophet; they simply do not believe he is the Messiah. In that Muslims agree with Jews: Christ is not the Messiah; yet another will appear before end times.

Love, peace and self responsibility: are these handled the same among the three religions? Absolutely yes. All three religious faiths preach and teach us to love each other as ourselves. We are taught responsibility for our actions and lives. Do not blame others before we have assessed our own failings and roles in failures.

I came away from our discussion feeling much better about these religions prospering in America and all over the world. The different paths that believers have taken over history is at the root of what separates them from others in their own faith traditions. Sad but true, just like America came to war over slavery and its abolition. So Muslims came to war over their own traditions. These disagreements led to violence and mayhem even within families. This is what has fueled huge historical upsets in the Middle East over many hundreds of years. Jews understand this; they have warred within their faith (and others) for thousands of years.

Is it no wonder, then, that American Christians fight over their own sects, denominations and faith traditions?

As I stated earlier, loving one another as ourselves is the answer to all of this distress. Our faith bearers and creators bade us do this. Why then do we resist following their dictates?

I guess it is human nature to shrug off the yokes of authority whether God-given or man made, huh?

And so it goes. There is much to be learned from comparing religious faiths. There is also much to learn why we do not heed such authority in our lives.

Tsk. Tsk!

April 22, 2016

Conflation

Oh, don’t run for the dictionary!  Conflation is a term that means – combining or confusing different entities due to common characteristics but losing the distinguishing features that truly separate them.  Conflation, not inflation or deflation. And please let us not confuse this if infatuation! The permutations stagger the mind!

So, conflation is the topic today. I mean this by way of the common mistake of news readers and spin masters combining issues as though they are the same or very similar when they are actually quite different and have no causal relationship with one another.

Take international trade. Goods being made outside of our borders and made available to us for prices much lower than we can buy them for when made within our borders. The price differential causes market dislocation. We end up buying the cheaper goods rather than our own. Conversely, our more expense goods sell poorly overseas because of the same principle. The only saving grace is when the goods are not equal; quality and features matter a lot in many applications, so some goods are bought at higher prices because they are worth the difference. Actually, the similar goods are not the same and are quite different. Thus the price differential.

American goods are more expensive due to our labor costs, taxes, tariffs and distribution costs. Not all of those costs are under the control of the manufacture. Some costs are placed on the product by government regulations which aim to protect consumers, quality standards and fair trade interests.

So, if you make products for world trade markets, make certain your product is innovative and unique before expecting a premium price at time of sale.

Loss of jobs to international markets? Yes; it happens. But why? It is not because of free trade or companies moving jobs overseas for tax advantages. I’m sure some of that happens, but let’s face it: American labor costs are generally too costly. Not in all cases, but in most run of the mill manufacturing scenarios it is true.

Rather than allow wages and salaries to rise unchecked, it might be better if profit sharing by employers with their employees would function better. Keep labor costs in check but allow employees to share in earnings of the company based on their contribution to the whole. This has been tried in some industries but not all. It works well in some cases, but not well in others. This area needs work and fine tuning.

Tool and Die making has mostly disappeared from America. It now resides mostly in China. Bringing it back home is not very likely. Besides, technology is driving major change in this industry specialty and the old tool and die making trades/skills/arts are disappearing in favor of on-line engineering and design using computers. 3-D printing is becoming so good it is actually challenging manufacturing of some goods.

3-D printing technology has not completed its development. Much remains to be done and expanded. DNA duplication is now being done and prosthesis body parts are being made that do not call forth immunosuppressant defenses. Imagine that! Amazing and stunning.

3-D printing technology is resident in Belgium and other parts of Europe but a mainstay here in the USA. That doesn’t mean it will remain here but the point is this: innovation is the king of the future. It always has been and most likely will remain so.

We should allow mundane manufacturing to go wherever it is cheapest. The higher economic good should remain as much in America as possible. This is where the future is built, invented and improved. If we retain this ability we will retain strong market dominance throughout the world.

Conflation – combining cheap labor with market dominance – doesn’t even enter the picture when viewed from this perspective.

There are other conflating issues that confuse the marketplace of ideas.  Morals and abortion? No way. How about foreign auto makers driving American manufacturers out of business. Nope. Our companies have expanded faster into foreign markets including buying out brands and building our own plants in other countries. Truly foreign content vehicles are more the standard these days. I’m not sure any vehicle is 100% made in the USA any longer. Anyone know that factoid?

Conflating issues is easiest for politicians. They make sound bite statements and mislead voters. Modern press outlets do little to combat these misstatements. So we are all left to our own resources to negate conflation.

I think it is simply a matter of basing our thinking on facts clearly available for checking.

Meanwhile we will let the pastors and theologians who want to mix it up with politics have their own war on facts and fancy. A lot of conflation comes from the non-provable discussions, anyway. Best to stay away from them entirely.

Find another reason to vote for a candidate than this scurrilous method.

April 21, 2016

Satisfaction with Government

I get it that some people don’t like government. They think it is too much givernment. But that’s sarcasm and we have too much of that already.

So, let’s look at this issue a little bit more.

First of all, we have the national or Federal Government. Uncle Sam. And second we have state government. Third are the several forms of local government – city, county, library, fire and park districts. Maybe you have townships, too? Well, local governments are assigned a lot of tasks. Most are specialized by function and geographical territory as well. Taxing bodies have physical boundaries found on area maps. You own property in that area you then pay taxes based on property values for the various taxing bodies.

Let’s start with the most local form of government. If people are dissatisfied with local governments, then it must be because they dread the amount of money going to each. Actually, most taxing bodies are modest in their tax levies. The sole exception are school districts because their service is so large, so far reaching and costly that a large tax bite is extracted from property owners. This is significant in many locales.

It should be remembered that renters of residential properties don’t pay property taxes directly; they do, however, pay indirectly through their monthly lease payments. And yes, rent prices rise along with tax collections so landlords have the funds to pay their property taxes.

In Illinois, especially suburban Chicago, property taxes for local schools generally amount to $4000 per household; many are much higher, approaching $7500 per household.

Other taxing bodies typically charge less than $100 per year for their services. Fire protection districts are usually over $100, but libraries, junior colleges, counties, and the like are much less than $100 per year each. Most municipalities cost less than $500 per year, often much less.

Local taxing bodies are important to our routine lives. We see them at work every day and we interact with most taxing bodies in some manner or other on a daily or weekly basis. If you use schools daily you fit this description. Same with frequent visits to the park district for several of your family members.

Municipalities of course build our local streets and roads, traffic signals, sidewalks, plow our streets in winter and sweep them in summer. They prune public trees growing on public parkway, too. They provide support, building codes and enforcement of same, and provide much of the infrastructure (water, sewer, garbage collection) the community relies on every hour of every day. And governance is an open book: public meetings, newspaper reports on those meetings, periodic newsletters and reports to the public by the taxing bodies, and voting in elections for representatives to serve on the governance boards and commissions. Local taxing bodies are accountable to the people and most are serious on being accountable frequently throughout the year. If you don’t like something you can call or meet with someone to discuss the issue directly. Dissatisfaction should be short lived unless your complaint is cost and you live in a high cost of living area. Not much you can do other than move to a cheaper area.

Now, state government usually exacts fees, excise taxes, sales taxes, fuel taxes and income taxes. The amounts can be heavy but usually are much less than property taxes. That is the case in Illinois but it may be the exact opposite in other states. To compare apples with apples in these matters, one must know first how taxes are levied and by whom.

In Illinois the dissatisfaction is broadly based not on tax rates but on services provided and the accountability of governance overall. Our state legislature is deeply gridlocked by political party and ideology. No amount of logic or sanity enters this picture. Only power. And no one is giving an inch. The result is nothing much gets done. The state budget was due July 1, 2015 and none has been passed yet. This is a deplorable situation and schools, hospitals, doctors, social services and life and death support systems are all hurting.

There is much to be dissatisfied with in Illinois and that has little to do with local governments. State government yes.

About Federal Government, yes we all can be dissatisfied with Congress because it is gridlocked on political and ideological bases. Nothing more and nothing less than that. Nothing much gets done because of this. We can all be dissatisfied with this state of affairs. Blaming this on the President is dumb because he does not control Congress nor should he. That’s the way the Constitution arranged the separation of powers in the government. If you don’t like that then your argument is with the constitution. Personally, I blame ideological purists in both parties that keep Congress from doing its job. They do this only for political power and ideology. It has nothing to do with the President. Oh there are plenty who want to put all the blame on him but they would be wrong to do so. This is a constitutional fight within the Congress and between ideological camps.

So, there you have it. The public is generally dissatisfied with all government in the USA. But it is important to separate which governments are being discussed and then focusing on the why of the dissatisfaction.

Personally, if we junked the party system and began again with a more functional approach to doing business as governments, I think we would be better off. 

But then you have a lot of people who believe that no government or minimal government is the only way to go. I feel life is far too complicated to drastically reduce the function and reach of government. People need help and far too many people are too selfish to do this sort of work themselves. No, they want someone else to do that; meanwhile they don’t want to be bothered with the details of human suffering and policy discussions. After all, that is just too far beneath them!

More’s the pity!

April 20, 2016