Balance Returning?

With the Aurora, Colorado shootings the presidential campaigns cooled a bit. That’s a good thing. They had turned rather sour and bitter. Never a good thing in national politics, although there are those who delight in bitter fights among the pols.  Unseemly I think.

I believe more is accomplished by two things in campaigns: honest statements of positions on issues as well as clear thoughts on what you’d do if you won the office. And secondly, positive respect of voters and the office sought. Trashing the other candidate is poor form. The voters can see for themselves who is coming off as the most honest and innovative public leader.

Pretty simple really. As a candidate you are saying you want the job you are running for and here’s what I will attempt to do if I am elected. Meanwhile, the voters are good people capable of making sound judgments on candidates, and because of that, we as a nation can move forward confidently. Positive. You see?

Instead we have a candidate who twists words of his competitor.  Example: Romney turned the President’s comments upside down. Even the press thought Obama had misspoken. Rather not!  Here’s what Obama said: the economy is not a creation of a business person or an investor. They take the opportunity presented by the presence of many assets they did not provide and turn it into a business.

For example, did GE build the Internet? Did Motorola build the Interstate Highway System? Did Exxon build the system of sewer and water systems that operate throughout the nation? Who built the schools? Who formed the universities? You get the idea.

Public infrastructure and society’s major assets are provided by historical accumulation of what we all invest in. Mostly government, by the way. The only time public infrastructure was championed by private enterprise was when they spotted the chance to have a monopoly and charge outrageous prices! And often they did that with government subsidy. Think the national railroads. But if you think they are the only ones, think again about trucking firms using the infrastructure of national roads, bridges and safety systems such as lighting, traffic signals and police patrols. Think also of the airlines.

No, private entrepreneurs did not build the system. We all did. Sometimes in concert; often in opposition to one another. But almost always with public money.

The very definition of democracy is cooperation, sharing of workloads, discussing the issues in the open and voting on them. Making decisions together. Taking a leap of faith in the future and investing both private and public dollars in the elements our nation needs in order to reap the benefits.

As President Obama has said:

“We built this Country Together. We built the railroads, and highways; the Hoover Dam, the Golden Gate Bridge together. We sent my grandfather’s generation to college on the GI Bill together. We instituted a minimum wage and worker safety laws together. Together we touched the surface of the moon, unlocked the mystery of the atom, connected the world through our own science and imagination. We did these things together not because they benefited any particular individual or group, but because they made us all richer. Because they gave us all opportunity. Because they moved us forward together as one people, as one nation.”

Well said Mr. President!  And a million points of leadership was needed in all of those accomplishments. Leadership from elected people, and investors, and workers, and voters, and too many to list. Leadership. Hope. Followership, too. But together. All of us.

The past accomplishments have been great. We are called on to continue the tradition. It is what makes us American.  Now. Let’s put a happy face on that! And a positive spirit.

Please require our candidates to do the same. Good attitude. Respectful. And offer innovative ideas for us to consider moving forward. We need solutions. Not insults.

July 31, 2012

Fixing Economics ~ Part 2

If we are to work our way out of the economic mess we are in nationally then we have to take some bold steps soon. Let us not forget that this is a global issue as well, and that we are all in this together – each and every nation – whether they played a direct role in making the mess or not. And also let us not forget that the American economy is often a leader in the world of high finance; we are relied on; yet this time we played a heavy role in bringing down the international economy. So we have a responsibility to help fix it. Here are my suggestions.

First, restore the Glass-Steagall Act or something very much like it. Build an armored wall between the insurance, investment and banking industries. They serve distinctly separate functions, each of basic importance to the nation’s economy. More importantly, all three establish strict elements of trust and faith in our economy. That is very much in short supply these days.

Second, restore tax rates on those earning $500,000 per year or more to the pre-Bush tax cut rate. These dollars are to be focused on balancing the current budget and the following two; after that, reduction of the national debt.

Third, establish an alternate energy investment program with a goal to produce enough new energy to reduce oil consumption by 50% by the year 2018. Tax credits to be liberally provided to all investing in this goal.

Fourth, establish a national education task force to redesign the entire public education system, removing impediments to learning and social discrimination both cultural and financial. The goal is to create a life long learning culture that enables personal adaptability to change throughout all life phases.

Fifth, reform campaign finance laws to eliminate contributions from corporations and political action committees. All campaign costs to be covered by the government entity to which the candidates are seeking election: states pay for state candidacies; cities pay for elected officials; federal government pays directly for senate and congressional elections. Established budgets to be created; no funding from any other source allowed.

Sixth, cut congress in half: one senator from each state; exactly half of all congressional seats in the House of Representatives. At the same time, eliminate all elected official health and retirement benefit programs. If they need these programs, let them live on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid like the rest of the American people.

Howls of protest will be heard. Tough. It’s time the elected became a part of the solution. So far most of them have been creators of the problems. There are good people in the Senate and the House of Representatives.  Unfortunately their good work is overpowered by the bad apples. As long as they are unable to police their own institutions, then the electorate has to do it.

We have chaos in the land. There will be more before it is settled. So let’s bite the bullet and move forward toward solutions that serve our future as a nation, not special interest groups and political parties.

Eventually, political parties will change or be eliminated. One person means one vote. No more or less. Parties mess up this balance. They no longer earn our loyalty because their leadership has run amok. Time to say so. Time to do something about it.

Are you game to try?

July 30, 2012

Fixing Some Economics

Sandford Weil, the past guru of CitiCorp and the growth master of that corporation, now says it is time to break up the large banks. He believes this will save taxpayers money, like in avoided bailouts and the like in the future. I think he is right.

Coming from Sandy Weil, the observation is more than a little ironic. Weil long ago realized that banks could only grow their balance sheets if they were allowed to own insurance companies, own investment brokerages, too; and begin to do business crossing those two industries with the banking industry. To make this happen some government regulations had to disappear.

So in 1999 after several years of bantering and faux arguments among republicans and democrats, congress congealed (is there a better term out there?) to arrive at a decision to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act. Glass-Steagall expressly kept investment brokerage operations separate from both banking and insurance operations. And vice versa for all three of the industries. It was a major piece of legislation following the horrors of the Great Depression.

Think about it. Separated, bank deposits could only leave the banking firm to buy investments, purchase insurance; those withdrawals reduced the size of the bank’s balance sheet. However, if the bank became a holding company and owned a brokerage and insurance company, the money switched pockets but remained on the balance sheet of the holding company. Meanwhile, the bank holding company increased by the holdings of both the insurance and brokerage firms, expanded the bank’s business exponentially.

So, Glass-Steagall was made to go away. Congress agreed. So did the Clinton White House. That turned out good for Clinton and the Congress persons at the time.

Afterward the economy went nuts. Expanded. By leaps and bounds. Banking firms couldn’t buy up competitors fast enough; also bid up pricing on investment brokerages, insurers, too; the whole financial industrial complex took on a new shape. Enormous growth. And deals were made every day just to keep up.

Loans, too. Those were major growth products. The economy witnessed new companies, technologies and industries. Employment soared. So did incomes. So did taxes. So did sweet deals. Until, that is, the bill came due for all the excesses. A bubble of humongous size was building.

Then balance sheets became hungry for more cash, that is unencumbered balances of cash for transfers and transactions; new investment products were created. These took the form of bundled mortgages, bundled loan products of all sorts. They were sold as investments to willing buyers, usually banks and investment houses looking for opportunities for hungry investors. When that ran out they turned to international markets. That’s how Europe got roped in. Big banks sucked up a lot of the American investments with the assumption that it was insured by the USA government, and came with a good reputation. JP Morgan/Chase? Bank of America? Citicorp? Such grand names with solid credentials. Surely they wouldn’t sell us junk?

Well, in some cases they did. And as the American house of cards collapsed, so did Europe’s.

Now do you understand how the current mess got started and continued on for some time? And also, in its complexity, why it has been so difficult to repair the damage?

Who was in charge during this time? The White House was George W. Bush’s political fort. Congress was his personal power group. You know the rest. With favorable tax treatments and lax regulatory supervision, there was no way to avoid a lack of policing the miscreants. After all, they were all players in the same game. Hard to believe, but true.

So now we have the job of fixing the mess. Who’s on first base? Barack Obama. Did he make recommendations and proposals for repairs? Yes he did. And after partisan squabbles most of those short term proposals were approved. Not without changes, but at least they came into being and did a lot to remove immediate pain and dissolution of our financial system.

Of course, the good was apportioned to republican politicians; no blame was assigned to Bush; and the continuing hard times are all laid on the shoulders of the current President.

After Obama attempted to get bipartisan support going forward, the republicans in the house and senate stonewalled him. Stalled for time. Then the mid term elections gave power of the house back to the republicans. This was a major loss to the President’s strategy. Although he should get high grades for trying to put partisan politics behind us, the republicans would not let that happen.

So, ever since the time of the mid term elections, republicans have hollowed out all of Obama’s proposals, or flat out refused them, The Senate remains the only reasonable political body in Washington DC, but that is weakened by the arcane policy of 61% required for passage of anything in dispute. Sick. Disgusting.

The government does nothing. Because it is unable to get past its own road block of partisanship.

How do we get beyond this point? There are only two primary strategies to pursue. I’ll share those with you in the next posting.

July 28, 2012

What's in a Name?

Leonard Bernstein said,

“A liberal is a man or a woman or a child who looks forward to a better day, a more tranquil night, and a bright, infinite future.”

He did not say a liberal is an anti-conservative. Nor did he say a liberal was a control freak of government. And he certainly did not say that liberals were enemies of constitutional government. He focused instead on desired results. What people of all stripes hope for. In the future. People like you and I.

Liberal is not a term that means something negative. There are liberal conservatives and republicans and democrats. I know this because I was once a liberal republican. Not anymore, the republican part, anyway!

No, I am a person with hope in the future. I’m a person who recognizes problems and seeks solutions to them. I work with people from all ideologies to do this work. I dream of better days where all people are respected and nurtured in their yearnings. Where kids get the education they need to be whole. Where parents are not viewed as enemies but partners in building the citizens of tomorrow. Where businesses work with local communities to build healthy living environments. Where citizens study hard and understand local issues and vote on them intelligently. Where teachers are allowed to teach and not required to parent other people’s kids. Where police make the streets safe by partnering with all the citizens. Where art is appreciated as a communication force and enriches lives.

From Facebook.com/bloggingforchange comes this quote:

“Throughout life, you will meet one person who is unlike any others. You could talk to this person for hours and never get bored. You can tell them things, and they’ll never judge you. This person is your soul mate, your best friend. Don’t ever let them go.”

Another label ~ soul mate. We have them. We don’t always recognize them. But they are there in our lives. So good to have. So fabulous when we know they are there and who they are. That means we are tuned in, aware to our surroundings. Not easy in a chaotic world. No not easy at all. But when the calm comes over us, look for the cause of the calm. Might it be because your soul mate is at hand, on the scene? Do we know who these jewels are? Do we work at awareness?

Kevin Hall, author of “Aspire” shares this idea:

“To teach is to show. You can’t teach what you don’t know. You can’t guide where you don’t go. And you can’t grow what you don’t sow.”

The label is teacher, or guide or consultant. Many variances but the same core meaning. We ask teachers to be so many things they are not meant to be. And by doing so rob them of the time and energy to be really exceptional teachers. I don’t know how to reverse the trend, but maybe teachers need partnerships from us to free them up so they can concentrate on their jobs? This would mean proper day care separate from schools, parenting where it belongs in the home, and alternative growth-oriented activities provided in the community, again, not in the schools. The intellect of a nation resides in its people, in their minds and in the intentional development of such capacity by people who are trained to do so. All the other stuff belongs with the people who can take these tasks from the busy teaching staff. I bet that would make them happy. And the kids much better students. And the future of America much brighter. Maybe we should try this?

And finally, a quote I may have used before, but remains anonymous:

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”

Good label. The best really: yourself. Only you can define you. Don’t stand still while others try to do it for you.

July 27, 2012

Fear and its Trump

To start the day I share this quote from Facebook.com/glbtworld:

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

Good statement. Our birth gives us a future to work with and toward. Without it nothing. The second important day ~ when we find out why we were born ~ that’s a loaded concept.

Loaded because if we know why, we can do so much with out life. But sadly many don’t do the homework that brings them to such a realization. Maybe because the homework takes time, patience and hard work. But I have news for them: doing this work is not only necessary, it is rewarding. Yes. It gives us power and a sense of joy. The effort is very much worth it.

From Facebook.com/blogging for change comes this quote:

“What would happen if everyone cared?”

Indeed, what would happen? I can only guess but I think it would carry revolutionary results. Just imagine pleasant people actually caring about your welfare! Policy makers paying attention to the end results of their work benefiting others! Teachers actually teaching and helping students gain self control, self awareness and self actualization. Businesses caring about the needs of their clients and customers, not the profits from that caring. Oh, the profits will be there and in great supply because the customers will be astounded and return for more product and service from those businesses where they can obtain them.

From the Internet, anonymous unfortunately:

“Ignorance is the root cause of all evils. Knowledge eradicates ignorance. People hate out of ignorance and out of fear. So it is our duty to educate ourselves as well as masses around us.”

Armed with facts and knowledge we can understand our world. We can deal with it forthrightly, not in fear or trembling. With those facts and knowledge we can discover still more facts and knowledge. We can learn to learn, do research, come to conclusions about very complex issues. We can discern truth and value. In short we can live more fully and productively.  Without this foundation, however, we not only don’t understand the world around us, we are more likely to fear it. And fear is an element that distorts reality. We are less likely to trust. Less likely to know help when it is offered to us. In short, we make a bad situation even worse. And all by ourselves. The opposite is so much more pleasant. Let’s practice it as much as possible. In fact, let’s start with strengthening the education systems throughout the country.

This next quote was also found on the Internet. It is part of the script from the movie, “A Single Man”. Speaking the quotation is George, played by Colin Firth:

“Let’s leave the Jews out of this just for a moment. Let’s think of another minority. One that…One that can go unnoticed if it needs to. There are all sorts of minorities, blondes for example…Or people with freckles. But a minority is only thought of as one when it constitutes some kind of threat to the majority. A real threat or an imagined one. And therein lies the fear. If the minority is somehow invisible the fear is much greater. That fear is why the minority is persecuted. So, you see there always is a cause. The cause if fear. Minorities are just people. People like us.”

Well, there is the fear factor again. And succinctly put, don’t you think? The power of the minority, at least in the mind of the majority, is the sense of fear it contains. Actually, the fear is baseless, isn’t it? And if the fear were nonetheless present, education would eradicate the fear and show it to be baseless in the first place.

Fear. What a hold it has over us. Fear of differences. Intolerance. Poor understanding of issues. Lack of trust in others. So much negativity.

We hold the power in our own two hands to defeat the fear. All it takes is exercising our right to read, learn and vote. Meanwhile our system of government is at risk merely because others fear. Such irony we live with in America!

July 26, 2012

Sitting Through the Storm

Am sitting at the keyboard at 6:15 am. Sky became dark and darker still. Storm warnings have been sounded. This is flatland Illinois. This is where no mountain, nary a hill, stands in the way between wind source and us! So we take storm warnings seriously. Especially this year. Many heavy storms weathered already. More to come from the looks of it.

This has been an exceptional year for weather. Mild winter, warmer than usual. Good early rainy season, great for planting and rebuilding root systems in trees, shrubs and perennials. Wonderful spring growth season.

Then the heat. And dry period; long, arduous, unrelenting. But dry air. Livable.

Then the storms. 70 to 100 mile per hour winds, backed with lightening, thunder claps so loud you sat stunned, and rain. Lots of rain. An inch here, two inches there, some places getting upwards of 3 inches in an hour or less.

Century old trees uprooted; some blown down, broken mid mast like toothpicks. Electric power out for days. Roads closed for days, too. Fourth of July parades cancelled, fireworks, too. Unheard of cancellations in these parts.

But here I sit looking out the window and nervously typing as quickly as possible before the power leaves us. Rain driven by heavy winds. Trees tossed higgledy piggledy. Dark. Very dark. Spooky.

Just another summer storm of 2012.  We need the rain certainly. Just not the violence and proof that Mother Nature does hold the power!  We are believers, already!

I’ll take a pause here and inspect the homestead for damage or storm’s progress.

All’s well so far. Storm has calmed. Still very dark and a huge storm lies to our northwest heading our way. So more storms, maybe for the entire day.

When I say dark, we’re talking about nearly midnight dark; street lamps are on. Dark!

Later: For hours this went on but finally the dawn arrived around noon and the day began to become a little more normal. By 3 PM we had sunshine. Temps had dropped from the 80s in the morning to 70 as the storm passed. Then afternoon saw temps resume upper 80s and high humidity. Steamy.

News reports say storms did lots of damage, again, but this time to the east of this closer in towards Chicago. Still, 300,000 without power; many more trees down and houses crushed.

Tonight we are expecting more storms and then tomorrow a return to near 100 degrees. A hot summer, indeed. That’s not so bad; it’s the violent storms I wish to avoid.

Just needed to share this with you all.

July 25, 2012

Music or Not?

Many things cross our minds each day. Seemingly they are not connected; but I think they are! Truly they are.

I have interest in many topics as you know. No doubt there are people who think this odd. But I believe that most topics are bound together in some secret chemistry or other. Take art. The entire subject is fraught with complexities. Where do you start in discussing it? Which genre is up for scrutiny? Why this one and not another? From what perspective is the critique originating, and to what end?

I will get to art specifically, but first, let me say how surprised I am to find a well thought out expression of this discussion’s elements on the Internet.  And fully without anyone taking credit for it! Astounding I think!  Here’s what I’m referring to:

Why teach music?

• Music is a science

It is exact, specific; it demands exact acoustics. A conductor’s full score is a chart, a graph which indicates frequencies, intensities, volume changes, melody and harmony all at once and with the most exact control of time.

• Music is mathematical

It is rhythmically based on the subdivision of time into fractions which must be done instantaneously, not worked out on paper.

• Music is a foreign language

Most of the terms are in Italian, German, or French; and the notation is certainly not English – but a highly developed kind of shorthand that uses symbols to represent ideas. The semantics of music is the most complete and universal language. Also, many songs we study are from other cultures.

• Music is physical education

It requires fantastic coordination of fingers, hands, arms, lip, cheek, and facial muscles, in addition to extraordinary control of the diaphragmatic, back, stomach, and chest muscles, which respond instantly to the sound the ear hears and the mind interprets.

• Most of all, music is art.

It allows a human being to take all these dry, technically boring (but difficult) techniques and use them to create emotion. That is one thing science cannot duplicate: humanism, feeling, emotion.

So many things to marvel at! Perhaps the most artful itself ~ the intellectuality that expresses all of this. Whoever wrote the quoted material is brilliant, don’t you think? Covered not just music, but art in general, and what it all produces as benefit: humanism, feeling, emotion. I would add thought. Each of the elements covered in the piece provides food for thought and growth. The how music is produced. The why. The fact that it is, and spontaneously so.

The building blocks of a human being’s life are complex. We nurture those blocks into reality with our kids from birth. We teach them melody, lyrics, rhythm. We hum lullabies to calm them to sleep. We mature the musical forms and messages as their brains grow and comprehend more and more material. We do this, don’t we? Intentionally and yet without willful plan: thought out and specific?

And of course we surround our babes with color, and texture. And design. Some whimsical, some geometric, some functional. Some two dimensional while others are three dimensional. All art forms. Right?

Why do you think that is? How intentional is this behavior on our parental or adult part? Is it intuitive? I suspect that is the case, but don’t really know.  All I know is that these art forms are communications. They inform the brain – from ours to the baby’s. Information shared between two minds. Synapses firing away in full force.

If we were plopped down in a strange tribal land and met with the natives, what would we do first? Smile? Shake hands? Cower in fear or extend a symbol of friendship? What exactly would we do?

One thing that paragraph suggests, however, is we would attempt to communicate with the strangers in some way. Communicate. Connect in some knowing way our two different beings.

That process is at its base, intellectual. And the synapses of the brain are the physical attributes that will allow that process to happen at all.

The same is true in developing the brain of a young child. Art is a language that helps us  do that. A very important point to think about.

I think that if we eliminate art education from our schools, we do so at our own peril.

July 24, 2012

Lesson on Being Me

Had a friend long ago who revered Eleanor Roosevelt.  In my family this was not a topic discussed lightly! My folks were not fans of FDR and the whole New Deal era. So I didn’t have much of a chance in my early years to become acquainted with what the nation faced during the time of FDR’s administration. As his story unfolded in much detail through the Great Depression and the beginnings of the Second World War, it became clear that history was telling us of a true American Saga.

As my friend related it to me, the hard work of those years fell to everyone. Farmers and businessmen. Shop keepers and assembly line workers. So too were ‘jobs’ hard for the unemployed, the disenfranchised, and the homeless. Times were much harder than they are today. Politicians scrambled and argued over the spoils while vast numbers of people suffered. Then came FDR and the behemoth of government began to turn effectively toward the needs of the nation in ways it had never done before. Because it had to?

At FDR’s side was his wife Eleanor, a feisty individualist in her own right,  educated and smart as a whip. She was the eyes and ears that served FDR well in those tough times. And she went out about the countryside and talked with people, interacted with them and learned their story. She inspired them to be prideful in their station, and to help one another. And slowly she wove a fabric of ‘can do’ into the American spirit, just when it needed it the most.

She gave the caring and loving front to the nation when and where her husband could not. And the duo worked magic in the land.

Some will argue that big government was birthed in those years. But I would counter with this observation: national government at that time demonstrated its ability to marshal a nation’s will and vision of the future into a formidable power that tamed evil in the world. The depression was slain. So too were Hitler and Japan. And the world was brought to a point of peace to lick its wounds and rebuild.

Rebuild to a better model that captured the spirits of many nations. And the United Nations emerged as a powerful force for good, so too international cooperation and education, and intra border understanding.

Compare that with where we are today! We could use a peaceful visit to those times of rebuilding. Then we were hopeful for the future because we had been through hell. We had been through doubt and fear. But together we had survived it all and prospered to make 70 years of magical happenings. We did it then. Do we really need to re-experience a depression to learn how to cooperate with one another again? Do we need a world war to educate us on how to collaborate with other nations to maintain the peace?

Eleanor Roosevelt helped restore a nation’s sense of itself at just the right moment in history. What would she say about Columbine High School, Or Virginia Tech, or Aurora, Colorado? What would she do about the growing disconnect among voters and politicians?

I do know she said this once: “Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you’ll be criticized anyway.”

That is a message worth reading several times over. With persistence. With calm acceptance of your own logic from deep within.

A wise man once said, probably a Chinese Wise Man: “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins. Not through strength, but through persistence.”

May we find some of that in the days ahead and couple it with the courage of Eleanor Roosevelt. I do believe our best days are ahead of us. Together we can make that statement come true. Will you lend your hand to this dream?

July 23, 2012

Mass Shootings & American Culture

What is it with mass shootings in our country? Why here? Now two of the most infamous incidents are in suburban Denver. Why there? What was the motivation? Why males, all relatively young. Teenagers in the Columbine event in Littleton, and now 24 years old in the latest massacre in Aurora.

And of course there were the shootings at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, and Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. So Colorado is not alone. No region is alone in this.

Questions. More questions. Struggling to find reason and sense from senseless acts. Getting our heads around facts that seem to be non facts. How do we settle into these happenings? When do we get comfortable with them, at least to look at them, study them and come to some workable conclusions?

Not easy. So many people become enraged over issues, public discussion or bad public behavior – they lose their cool and rant and rave. We see it all the time. Hell, we contribute our own bile from time to time to such happenings – at least in unguarded moments, to blow off steam. That’s our coping skills working.

But we don’t pick up tools of massacre and hunt down people to kill. In cold blood. What gives a very small minority of our fellow countrymen the license to do that? Not really license, at least in our minds, but the unmooring of their conscience enough to do these things? How horrible. How do they rectify their actions with the loss of life, humanity and love?

Unanswerable questions really. We can only imagine the causes. Mental health scientists and practitioners will study these events for years, leaking out theories until something clicks into place.  Meanwhile, we hold our collective breath and live another day, and then another. We recapture our faith that these incidences are very few and we can be assured that peace and sanity will resume.

The trouble is causation needs to be nailed down if we really want confidence in our conclusions. In a land of free speech many people get their jollies by ruffling feathers. They feel good about doing this. They go for the juggler. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe because this earns them a living? Or makes them feel superior? Or in power? Take your pick. Those are just some of the theories behind their motivation. There are many more to consider.

We have political parties manipulating sound bites for both money and votes, so they can exercise control over Congress, or a state house, or the policy setting position at some government entity or other. We have churches, mainline and kook fringe, redefining Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and as many variations as you can dream up! They have little authority to say these things, but they say them just the same. And it is a free country, so we let them. It’s in our culture, right?

And they are listened to. And nut cakes buy guns and shoot innocent people because they can, and it makes them feel in control for a moment or two. Whether they took this drastic action based on what they heard will be open to debate forever. No will ever know. It is the unknowable.

Meanwhile we seek calm and peace. A nook in which we can think. To come to terms with who I am, and who you are, so that we can be at peace with each other. That’s the very least we can do. At a time like this.

May this be the last such time like this. We can hope, can’t we? We can always hope.

July 21, 2012

BSA Homophobic?

So disappointed the Boy Scouts of America have retained their policy of no gays – either among the scouting ranks or in leadership positions. They had an opportunity to redress their discriminatory policy. They even claimed an open process two years long examined the policy from every direction. Yet they came to the old conclusion again; unanimously no less.

Now, unanimous is hard to come by if the process were totally open; and as exhaustive as their two year timeline suggests. Surely someone with an opposing view would have voiced their position. With all the national attention focused on the BSA over this issue, the public felt encouragement to hope that an easing of the policy was imminent. But no; not to be. Let us remember this national pressure has been ongoing for about five years now.

Funny how that worked out. Seems to me that the process of examination was not open and was not exhaustive.

The issue of pro or anti gay rests in the bedrock of their theology, I think. If you are a conservative Christian and take the Bible literally, then you see things that others don’t. You make your pronouncements based on ‘abominations’ you choose to focus on while omitting all of the ‘abominations’ listed in the Bible.

Biblical researchers will help you understand what the Bible said back when it was written. Those researchers will help you understand the culture of the time and what people believed and why. The researchers will also tell you how language changed over the millennia and reshaped meanings of phrases and words. Understanding the Bible in the language of 2012 is difficult indeed.

If you care to really understand something you have to dig. The lazy person relies on the words of others, the work of others, the lack of questioning of others.

The BSA is in the control of fearful people. They love the status quo. They play theologian and Biblical scholar without the credentials. Last I understood the internal BSA management and leadership culture, the Mormons had a lock on it all. If that remains true then it is easy to understand how the BSA came to be this conservative, inward viewing organization.  God and Country indeed!

I see America as being inclusive. I view our nation as one which celebrates the uniqueness of each individual. Ours is a country built on individuality, not lemming behavior of follow the leader over the cliff! I also think the vast majority of Americans believe in ‘live and let live.’ Who am I to judge the other? Why then do they judge me?

The Mormons, and conservatives in general, seem to think that gay people are predators. Why on earth would they think that? Do they think straight people aren’t predators? At least some of them? Who are the pedophiles? Are they mostly straight or mostly gay? Research tells us this is a straight person’s problem. Sure there are gay pedophiles, but that does not define all gay people, no more so than it defines all straight people.

There are gay teens in the BSA. They won’t tell you, but they are there. There are gay scoutmasters; they won’t tell you but they are there. They are there for the same reason that straight boys and scoutmasters are there – to help other people develop healthy lives via the scouting philosophy and educational mission. Scouting is good. It works. It should be supported and embraced throughout the land.

But not as a discriminatory, head in the sand organization. Such will only distort the young minds of the generations entrusted to the BSA leadership.  Shame on them.

If America is good, and I think it is, and if the BSA is good, and I think it is, then there is no room in either for discrimination. And petty ignorance.

If the BSA and its hoped for product of enlightened young men is to live up to its promise, then it needs to get with the reality and truth of the times. Else we train misfits.

What a waste of hope and principle.

July 20, 2012

Bald Politics

I’ve saved up some thoughts on the political season. Many who know me understand my predisposition to think on politics. It is a second skin for me. And no, I’m not a republican or democrat in the strictest of terms. I’ve spent more years as a republican than a democrat, and even then one cannot predict my support on an issue. And no I am not a libertarian – I doubt anyone has a clear definition of one of those, so I’m not one of that pack!

No, I am an optimist. I think our nation, our people, are capable of doing great things most of the time. However, it requires we keep our thinking caps on so we are dealing with reality and facts; not idle fears and raging prejudices. We are so much better than that. And yes, both political parties can have truth on their side, it’s just a matter of timing.

Meanwhile I think we ought to give thought to ridding ourselves of political parties. They seek power over others rather than truth and justice. So why bother with untrustworthy agendas? Let’s just pay attention to the details and the issues that matter.

I’ve collected some quotes I think might help us with this task:

1. From Samuel-Warde.com:

“Jobs Program

1.      Filibuster American Jobs Act

2.      Stonewall monetary stimulus

3.      Threaten a debt default

4.      Cut discretionary spending in the debt ceiling

5.      Cut discretionary spending in the budget deal

6.      Blame unemployment on Obama

7.      Win 2012 election”

The republican strategy has been clear for some time. They used this same thinking during the Clinton White House; they prepared the way during the Bush White House. Now it is in full use.

Manipulation. Don’t fix problems. Blame whoever is handy. Don’t cooperate with our collegial form of government. Just obstruct. Then say it’s the other guy’s fault.

How dumb do they think American voters are? Are you going to let them get away with this? Huh?

2. John Steinbeck:

“Socialism never took root in America because the poor there see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”

Interesting thought isn’t it? With an open society we can ‘see’ ourselves as rich and powerful. We don’t need others to make it happen. We don’t need a manipulative ideology to live life. We just need our own brain, creativity and access to resources to make it happen. The system is just fine. It’s the denizens who capture control from time to time who are the problem.  Come to think of it, that idea pertains to political parties.

Let’s get rid of them. We don’t need the crutch. We can work together just fine. But first let’s make sure obstructionists are out of the way!

3. Howard Zinn:

You are saying our problem is civil disobedience, but that is not our problem.

Our problem is civil obedience.

Our problem is the numbers of people all over the world who have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience.

Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war and cruelty.

Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running the country.

That’s our problem.”

We went to war in Granada. We went to war in Panama. Ditto Korea and Viet Nam. And also Iraq. When do we learn that ‘leaders’ do not always tell the truth in these matters? And if they are telling the truth as best they can, are they correct in fact and judgment? George W wasn’t in the latter two wars; it raises question in the former.

Zinn has a solid complaint. Our obedience needs to be well earned. It is not about persuasion. It is about logic. When will we know enough (study hard!) so we can make independent judgments on these matters? Having political parties around to do our thinking for us makes us weak and tempting prey.

4. From the Internet, anonymous:

“Republicans insist that tax cuts for the wealthy stimulate the economy.

70% of our nation’s wealth is owned by just 10% of all Americans.

With all that money laying around, if the rich were going to fix the economy on their own, they already would have!

Face the facts. Republicans can’t.”

I believe the science of economics has already denuded the republicans on this point. The rich claim to be the risk takers of our nation. In reality it is the government that has taken the risk, and we taxpayers have paid the bill. The rich need to be taking on new risk if our problems are to be repaired. If they don’t wish to do so, then we shall tax them and use that funding source to take on the problems.  See how simple that is?

5. Bill Maher:

“If conservatives get to call universal healthcare ‘socialized medicine’ then I get to call private for-profit healthcare “soulless, vampire bastards making money off human pain.”

God Bless Bill Maher! Conservatives and republicans are not the only ones who have license to label things. The rest of us can too. Perhaps we should get there first next time? How about the dissolute republicans? They take but cannot give?  I kind of like the ring of that phrase.

6. Anonymous from the Internet:

“Simple question: should the republican governors who are refusing to implement the Affordable Care Act lose their tax-payer funded health insurance?”

Simple justice, folks. If health care programs paid for by the government is so bad, then the elected officials benefitting from the programs should be removed from the programs’ coverage. Ditto for retirement benefits. If Congress is so upset over Social Security, here are two things they need to do immediately:

a.       Remove themselves as beneficiaries;

b.      Stop borrowing from the trust fund’s balances.

Another variation on the to-do list: Congress ought to live on the retirement benefits from Social Security not some bloated program designed by them for their own benefit. If it is good enough for Americans in general, then they ought to be satisfied with those benefits, too.

Final comment: Pay attention to who is making a good faith effort to fix problems and spread the credit to those who collaborate in the fix. All others should be ignored.  That should earn democrats your vote in 2012. Republicans have failed this test for many, many years. Shame on them.

July 19, 2012

Goodness

A bunch of positive thoughts to get us through the day:

First: “A good friend knows all your best stories.

            A best friend has lived them with you.

            See the difference?”

As I live my life I’ve met many interesting people. I usually cannot tell which will be very special to me. Or how long it may take to realize their specialness. But it happens anyway. One day I wake up to know that person, that one, right there, is indeed very important to me. He or she helps me understand the random happenings. Making sense of ideas is so much clearer with the routine interaction with this person. Some people have minds that jump to connection with yours, almost instantly. I can barely believe it is happening – the synchronization of thoughts, feelings, awareness of meaning. Like magic our brains are working together. And we laugh! Oh how we laugh. Surely this is a best friend?

How many do we have?

Second: from Doe Zantamata,

            “Keep your chin up. No one expected you to save the world,

            Otherwise you would have been born wearing a cape and tights.

            Just do the best you can.”

The intake nurse at the alcohol rehab center told me bluntly: “You don’t have to drive the bus when you are a rider.” Lucky me! I had a witness to this exchange. And he reminds me of it from time to time, usually as I’m driving my own car down the street. He casually states the obvious: “You’re driving the bus again!”

Don’t do that. Others are responsible for themselves, what they do. I’m in charge of what I do, my life. Meanwhile, toil in your own garden and let the others pull their own weeds. Last I checked, I had no cape and certainly no tights! God. No tights. Ever! They look so bad on me.

Third: from Knowmyworth.com,

            “Note to self:

            I am doing the best I can with what I have in this moment.

            And that is all I can expect of anyone, including me!”

These quotes are taking on a pattern. That’s nice. We need patterns. They provide resonance and lessons underscored for clear meaning. If I allow myself the freedom to be, in all my strengths and weaknesses, then surely I can do the same for others. They are doing their best. Am I?

Fourth: Deepak Chopra,

            “Be happy for no reason, like a child.

            If you are happy for a reason, you’re in trouble,

            Because that reason can be taken from you.”

Take the time to examine the moment. It is rich within itself. Value it. It contains much that we can use and appreciate. Chopra has it right. Happiness can be taken from us easily by others. Best to find the things that are timeless. They provide endless joy and reward.

Fifth: Kenneth Overton,

             “You will always lose when trying to please everyone.

            The only way you win is if you’re pleased with yourself!”

Surely you know this. Surely I know this. But do I remember? Perhaps the greatest failing I have is and has been the urge to please others. That is like climbing a greased pole. The task of pleasing the self is hard enough but doable. Tend to it.

Sixth: Anonymous,

            “I am aware that I am less than some people prefer me to be,

            But most people are unaware that I am so much more than what they see.”

Missing the good stuff in all the details of life. So easy to do. It is not a needle in a haystack, though. It is there for the looking. If we cannot find it we have lost it to the act of judging. Avoid judging; find the good that stares out at us from all directions!

There is much to be grateful for. Being open to it is the first step in finding it.

July 18, 2012

Ideas That Matter

If you sat chimpanzees down at 1000 typewriters (excuse me, computer word processors!), in time wouldn’t we get all the ideas we need? Wouldn't you think that eventually every idea ever written would be written again? How many solitary ideas are there, anyway? Is there s finite number?

Well, rather than worrying about that, let’s look at some old ideas, those pulled from years ago by people you probably haven’t thought much about lately.

First, Albert Einstein:

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Would you have thought Einstein would have said something like this? I didn’t. I picture him as a scientist, mad maybe, certainly nerdy, with wisps of hair protruding everywhere without a care. I see him solving a math problem. An enigma of physics. Something grabbing his attention so much that he spurns food, water and other basics. Just to concentrate on the primary puzzles of mankind.

Well, he did, didn’t he? Even the quote above demonstrates that. We got ourselves into this mess, what do we have to do to get ourselves out of it? Using the same old thoughts didn’t get us to a good place, how about trying some new ideas? Indeed!

Second, John F. Kennedy:

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

I think it is amazing that people work so hard to avoid change. The moment is with us for an instant or a series of instants. Then it is gone. The past can be studied for help in understanding today, or the past. But the future will happen no matter what. The question remains how we will deal with it, or make it happen as best as possible. How do we do that? I suggest embracing change so we understand it better and can use it to our best advantage; not my advantage, our advantage. Let’s find ways to avoid pitfalls, or at least understand them better if and when they occur. Change ~ past and present ~ will pave our way to the future. Adopt it for the ride of our lives!

Third, from Carl Sagan:

            “I don’t know where I’m going but I’m on my way.”

Sounds like a lot of us! But the central point is ~ although it is better to pull the map out before we set out on the journey, we are already in motion so best we get out the map now! The future is not waiting on us. It is happening. Now. And it will unfold with or without us. Adopt that idea and embracing change will come naturally. And sooner!

Fourth, Franklin Delano Roosevelt:

“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”

Remember those national forests and parks? Those wonders of nature so grand and majestic? Those places where the ‘purple mountains majesty’ reside and reign? Well, it turns out they breath in the junk we pump into the air, and clean it up well, and then release fresh new oxygen into the atmosphere. Basic biology. Basic physics. Protect them and they will protect us. Waste them and they will waste us.

And finally, a quote from an unknown source, but surely an old one:

            “When you judge another, you do not define them; you define yourself.”

So if we say all Muslims are terrorists because a few have proven to be such, we show ourselves openly as flawed human beings. And yes there are many making the statement. They are our cowering brothers and sisters who don’t get it. Help them understand the fundamental value of reaching out to understand those who are different from us.

We are strong people with good minds and creative talents. We can do much good. Much good is needed in this world. Together we can do it. When do we get started?

July 17, 2012

Being Judged: Gay in America 2012

Did you know that 40% of homeless youth are LGBT? The #1 reason they’re on the street is family rejection? [LGBT = lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender]

Did you know that over 33% of youth suicide attempts are by LGBT youth? Compare that with the faulty statistic that from 2% to 10% of the population is gay. Truth is, no one knows what percent of the whole are gay. There are no reliable data that consistently shows this figure. Best guess is 5.5 to 7%. Yet suicide attempts are 5 to 6 times higher than gays are prevalent in the population. Powerful statistic even when made conservative!

There are many people who feel bullying is not a gay phenomenon. I agree that bullying is not limited to gay kids; it occurs whenever someone gets power over someone different than himself. And by the way bullying is not limited to situations involving youth. Bullying happens among spouses, co-workers, neighbors, strangers. Bullying happens in many families. And most turn their heads from the problem. Why? Your answer is as good as mine. Shame? Embarrassment? Powerlessness to stop it?

Sexual identification happens to each of us. It is a process of psycho-social growth and awareness. It is biologically driven. It happens during the youthful years of 11 to 15 normally, but can occur earlier and much later. But happen it does.

The process is often subtle; awareness grows slowly and is mixed in with a lot of other life changes, experiences and drama. Good Lord! Remember your early teen years? Recall all the happenings of the time? Pimples? Dating. Body changes. Physical urges we only later realized were sex related. Feverish temperatures that changed in a flash? Eyes zeroed in on the body parts of other people? Without agenda? Without forethought? It was just there? What was I thinking? What was happening? Am I a pervert?

No, just a young person growing into his body and skin. Maturing in fits and bits seemingly without design or schedule. If someone is in control it certainly isn’t me! Remember those times? Take some moments to recall them. We can remember them with more confidence and comfort now; but not back then. Those were weird and exciting times. Not understood. Didn’t know if it was supposed to happen or not. Was it normal?

Now think about it in a different mode. You ARE different than everyone else around you. You are not feeling the same things they are. I am out of synch with them. And I have no one to turn to for questions and answers. My parents would be freaked out by the questions. My brother and sister wouldn’t understand. My best buddy wouldn’t either, or would he? Can I chance it by asking him/her?

Now you know in a tiny way what it is like to grow up gay in America. There is no manual for any one of us while growing up. There are people who think they know what we are going through, but actually they don’t; only I know what I am going through at any one moment. Same with other people. And it is very private. It is very alone. And scary. “All alone am I……”

Sandra Bullock said this:

“There’s no race, no religion, no class system, no color, nothing, no sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else. We are all deserving of love.”

I love her words, her sentiment. She brings it home to the central point. We are all worthy of love, in both directions: loving another and being loved. These are not simple matters to deal with, however. And when society gets involved the brew becomes much more complicated. Automatic pilot in interpersonal relationships doesn’t work in these situations. It requires us to be thinking and feeling at the same time. We can do this very well. We have proven that many times throughout our individual lives. They are our high points ~ when we are very well connected with what’s happening around us.

But so often we are not connected. Things happen. We may be in proximity to the happenings, or not. We are not aware of what’s happening. We cannot be connected at all times. Unfortunate things happen. Bullying happens without resistance from others. Parenting needs are required when parents are not on the scene. We are on our own. And what happens. The not so subtle occurs. Discrimination. Hurt. Not understanding.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said:

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

Yes, a real accomplishment. Growing up different – Afro-American, Asian, Hispanic, young or old, rich or poor, gay or straight – in what we think is an homogenous society is a challenge. For the most part we do it; we get it right. Not without pain and a lot of anguish, but time and love and family and friends working on it get it right in the end.

That’s the good thing to realize. The bad thing ~ some people never get the chance; it’s over before they….

July 16, 2012

Abysmal Students

I’m not speaking about today’s youth. I am talking about most of the adult population, those who cannot separate micro economics from macro economics. Money and banking as an academic discipline, international trade as another discipline; how about deficit spending and how that affects money supply, inflation or deflation rates? Or natural unemployment rates compared with critical unemployment rates. One is normal and transitory, the other is reflective of economic upsets. We can have too much unemployment, and not enough unemployment. We can have too much inflation or not enough. We have growth and non growth. There are a lot of other terms we could toss around and I bet most would not understand most of them.

What’s the point? Just this: too few Americans understand our economic system and how it works. When things are bright and booming, what made them that way? What keeps them that way? When conditions are gloomy and in the dumps, what made them that way? What do we do to counteract them?

My point is that too many people think they understand basic economics but really don’t. They want to understand what is happening around them but jump to conclusions based on too little information. They also listen to people who don’t understand the discipline and fall for sound bites. After a while the bites add up to a diet sufficient to support faulty conclusions.

These folks also decide on who to vote for in elections based on economics; yet they, the voter, don’t understand economics and therefore do not know what each candidate’s policy position means, let alone what likelihood that position will have in affecting a positive change to current economic conditions. How can you vote for someone on that basis when you don’t understand the basis in the first place?

A few thoughts to harden the focus:

·         If tax breaks for the highest income earners is supposed to stimulate job creation, where are the jobs?

Comment: the underlying assumption seems to be that those saving tax dollars from the cuts will invest those dollars in activity which will create jobs. However, in the current case, wealthy people may not spend such dollars, but rather save or maybe invest them in existing stocks. This action does not create jobs UNLESS an organization or firm needs to borrow those funds to expand their operations and hire more people to do so, or buy more production goods that expand equipment manufacturing, building factories, etc. Such is likely not the case. There is an oversupply of inventory on hand; no need to make new goods to sell to the newly enriched. There is an oversupply of buildings in which to install a new factory; no need to build a new factory. There may be an opportunity to sell more cars or boats or vacations to the wealthy, but these are marginal dollars at best. The vast majority of the people in the market continue to be distressed and unable to buy the goods and services that will boost the economy from the tax cut.

Another comment here, this one from Adam Smith, the father of modern economics and father of capitalism:

“It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.”

It is not unreasonable because they are able to, and are the primary beneficiaries of the risk incurred when making the investment in the first place. If they are to do so again the system must be healthy.

·         If the Federal Reserve is supposed to lower interest rates to stimulate new investment, how do they do that when interest rates are at historic lows? How does one lower the rate below zero?

Comment: the economy currently contains huge capacity that is unused. We have people ready to work; buildings ready to be used in which to make goods and services; computers at the ready to handle the computations and transactions to support business activity; money supply galore to fund new investments. What we LACK is demand for these goods and services. We have the NEED but not the DEMAND. There is a major difference involved here.

·         If capitalism is a system that efficiently manages the flow of economic goods to market, meets consumer demands at the lowest and fairest prices, and sets values on all manner of production of goods and services, why then are the markets not functioning smoothly? Where are the opportunities in the market to pursue new wealth? Where is the innovation of tomorrow coming from? Who is going to make all of this happen?

Comment: Our markets and nation have needs; they also have demands What we lack is visions of the future and the moxie to go after it. The opportunity exists. Its challenge and reward is going unanswered. Unheeded. Ignored. The markets are not responding; simply put. Buying gold is motivated by fear. Stocking up on rare commodities is a hedge position pushed by fear. Sitting on one’s hands is a wait and see strategy that rarely creates anything new.

Something is missing here! And it may be a large complex of things missing such as the middle class (they not only buy the vast majority of goods and services sold in our economy, they also possess the knowledge, talent and art needed to produce the goods and services in the first place. Who do you think are filling the classrooms or laboratories or training labs? Who is gearing up to understand the new knowledge, the new education, the new technology, the new products and services the economy is going to produce? Who fills the jobs when they are not empty? Huh?

Class warfare? No. Captains of industry? No. Government interference? No. Lack of personal vision and courage to step forward and get things done? Yes. I think so. I think this is closer to the truth.

Something named Punjabgigraphics.com brings us this quote today:

“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”

Perhaps we should all try again; tomorrow; or today. It’s our decision to make.

July 14, 2012

Keeping the Balance

I hope I’m not boring you with the quotes found on the Internet. Personally I like them. They help me focus on the basics. That keeps me in touch with the now and balanced. It keeps me on the right path. Here are a few new finds:

• “Surround yourself with people who know your worth. You don’t need too many people to be happy, just a few REAL ones who appreciate you for exactly who you are.” – Author unknown

Not everyone can do this for you. Only the ones you become truly transparent with, very, very honest with. They see you up and down and through and through. They know your thoughts and where they came from. These are rare individuals in your life. Keep them close to you at all times. Savor them.

• “I can’t promise you a perfect relationship without arguments over our differences and trust issues. However, I can promise you that as long as you’re trying, I’m staying.” – Author unknown

This is one way to become transparent with each other. Let your efforts to understand be quite apparent. It’s hard to hide these things, but it is natural to do so, to attempt to do so; we fear looking flawed before those we care about. But they need to know we are being honest with each other. And with myself.

• “Want to know something?  What?                                                                                    Loving you was the second best thing I ever did.   What  was the first?                        Finding you.”

Zowie. No further comment necessary!

• “We have flown the air like birds

and swum the sea like fishes,

but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers…”

~Martin Luther King Jr.

How did this man become so wise? So attuned to the human condition? Maybe because he suffered so much as a minority? How do we loosen up enough to be human, to be flexible, be vulnerable? To be honest? Isn’t this what allows our authenticity to shine through? No make believe or posturing?

Knowing who I am takes time and effort. Coming to a conclusion in its own time, not rushed or faked, but nurtured and explored, this is a process that takes time to get right. And getting it right means we are accurate in our conclusions. We can be more certain about our understanding. Reality is a demanding tutor. This is authentic. We can be more fully known by others, but also we learn to know them more fully.  It works both ways. The knowing and being known. The relationship. It soars. It breathes.

Elie Wiesel has so many good thoughts to share with the world. Here’s one:

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

When injustice is observed, say something. When women are wronged or objectified, take action. When minorities are subjugated or marginalized, refuse to be a part of it. Sound an alarm that this is taking place and won’t be tolerated. When any group is set apart as above or below others, question why this is being done. Question it. Question the assumptions. Make the other party work for their opinion. If it is good and right, it will become apparent. If it is not, it will crumble in the face of logic and justice.

Balance. Focus. How hard it is to maintain, let alone find. But it is worth the effort. As Americans it is part of our DNA.

July 13, 2012

Influencing Others

Some people work hard at influencing other people. They primp and posture, play word games and try to say the right things to prove they are one with you. These are the folks who can adapt their speech and actions to blend in with a target audience. They do this to be believed, so you will have trust in them and their message. Sound fake?  It is. But it is also everywhere these days.

Meanwhile, back at the real people ranch, this can be said (taken from the Internet, author unknown):

“You will never know how many people you have encouraged and inspired because YOU made the choice to be Yourself.”

This statement has authenticity precisely because it is constructed on honesty, openness, vulnerability.  We imperfect human beings simply don’t always know who we are, or what we mean. We struggle for meaning and clarity of expression. We stumble around. We try on ideas and phrases to see if they fit exactly what we mean. This honesty and openness is transparency personified. All that is missing is consistency and that takes practice!  Lots of practice because what we think one moment may not be the same in the next instant with slightly different circumstances.  The variables. They mess things up. But really thinking about these matters ~ deeply, helps build a consistent path of logic. That’s the consistency I speak of.

Warren Buffet has been one of my heroes for a long time! He recently said, “Honesty is a very expensive gift. Do not expect it from cheap people.” So when a billionaire states unequivocally that rich people should pay higher taxes because they can afford to, and have been the beneficiary of the very system they honor, we should listen to them. This is a justice issue. It is not a political, or economics issue, or at least ought not to be. Buffet understands this.  He is worried that the Golden Goose will be slain out of ignorance.

His message may be too late! Seems Congress thinks otherwise and has been following a perilous course now for nearly 12 years. They protect those who do not need protection while those who do, are left alone in the wind of chance.

Another find on the Internet:

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” (Author Unknown)

Think about that! How many times have you been stunned by a simple act by someone else? Whether done for you or someone you are observing, the very act gives you a peek at selflessness. It is a form of love and caring for ‘the other’ who are everywhere. Opening a door for a person loaded down with parcels, or leading a halting, lame person to a seat. Assisting someone up from a bench, or warning a pedestrian of a too-close car! These are actions that demonstrate caring. Small acts which keep our human identity front and center. They influence others. Unknown by self. Not done for self. But for others. Powerful.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) said: “Tolerance is giving to every other human being every right that you claim for yourself.”

If this is what you want and expect from others for you, then you owe it to them in return. Even when you disagree. Even when our lives are starkly different. It is a form of shared identity with others in our culture, in our society. That is another way, in America, to say our nationhood. We share that, don’t we? We value difference, don’t we? Diversity? Cultural pluralism? There are few absolutes in cultural norms, are there? What makes life interesting and enriching is its diversity. Few nations in world history can claim such richness as America can. And yet we allow political discourse to settle on those differences as though they define who’s right and who’s wrong! Blather! Rot. Nonsense!

The Dalai Lama has stated over and over again: “Love is the absence of judgment.” Pretty basic stuff. Very simple. So hard to learn and live by.

But we can try. And we must. Each day we need to make the effort. Embrace and include. We are all one struggling to be. Let’s make that the best we can be! You never know who might be watching, and being influenced!

July 12, 2012