Maya Angelou’s Passing

Rather than a ‘Thought for the Day’ I prefer we think instead on Maya Angelou’s incredible life and talent. A singer, actress, writer, film director, and poet among many other things.

This wonderful lady often spoke for the American soul in her poetry. Standing alone on a podium, she would gaze idly out at the audience, hint at a mini smile and say a few words. Those words almost always stopped air from moving.

Her thoughts stunned people. In my case I’d sit and wonder how she knew what was on my mind, and why she could put those words together and I could not.

We have lost a talent so important to mankind it is hard to imagine the consequences. At least we have her printed work to luxuriate in over and over.

And over.

May 31, 2014

Kardashians?

Is there anyone else out there who is sick of hearing about the Kardashians?  I mean really!?  Who cares?  Yes they are numerous. Yes they are good looking. But why are they in the public eye?  Why has the media made such a fuss over them?

Frankly, I don’t get it.

Lots of people get married. Every year. It is special to them of course. But why would that be important to the public? The family, yes; public, no. And the couture lavished on their bodies, the swank surroundings of their nuptials and afterward celebrations? Why does the American public want to see this stuff? To see what life could be like if they had more money?

Life is not about money. It is about relationships and inner peace. And the intellectual development to understand and appreciate all of this. Seeking fulfillment via the lives of others, especially those unattainable to ourselves, seems not only fruitless, but sick.

I have not yet learned of the specialness of the Kardashians.  Good looking? They are not wealthy. They are pretty. And they somehow have landed in the public eye and on television. They are not actors, business people or thinkers. They are not educators, or donors to good causes. They just appear in public and manipulate empty headed social opinion.

Of what use is all of this?

We have poverty issues to solve in our land. We have brilliant minds going to waste because we are stingy with our education dollars. We waste resources on social nonsense while real people with real promise and real solutions to the ills of the world go begging.

I really don’t want to go on a rant about this. But here’s the deal. I am getting a strong sense that America has become the land of the lowest common denominator. It seems to have forgotten the extraordinary things that need to be done and can be done by us. All while we waste time and resources on things that simply do not matter.

Is this what all of our charity, church-going and ‘higher education’ amounts to? Are we simply going to ignore the important so we can make false heroes out of the unimportant?

I think we are capable of much more. More importantly, we need to do much more. People are counting on us. So why aren't we?

A recent headline story touted the growth of MBA programs. I’m wondering if Masters of  Business Administration degrees are actually in demand to fill a high market need in the business community or if degree seekers have run out of other options? Like jobs, good career growth in current jobs, or companies who simply have outgrown their mission and vision and don’t realize that the economy is seeking a new normal? 

American society is in the throes of reinventing itself. Therefore American business is in the same process. But do our business leaders get that?

Stagnation in business causes unemployment. Stagnation of business leadership does as well. Job seekers or people at dead end careers are seeking other opportunities with substance. Are employers able to think ahead of the game?

I think not. So, back to school for lots of people who don’t know what else to do.

I hope someone in business schools can help us all understand what their new surge of students are studying for these MBA's. Is it really the new or is it a stop over between jobs?

Meanwhile, let’s further divert our serious attention to the Kardashians. Hmmm. Perhaps that’s the secret of their allure?

May 30, 2014

Ego Centrism

As I write this it is Tuesday morning May 27. The day after the Memorial Day weekend.

The headline on the internet is: “Storms to Drench, slow Tuesday Commute NYC to Chicago.”

Being a 49-year resident of the Chicago metro area I grasped the error of the headline immediately.  Did anyone else catch it?

If not, let me spell it out for you kind readers: nearly all weather in the USA moves from west to east. There are regional disturbances and shifts in the jet stream that alters this general rule temporarily, but weather moves across the continent from west to east.  So the headline should have read: ‘Tuesday commute to be slowed by storms from Chicago to NYC.’

Further reading of the weather bulletins claimed the most serious storms to be centered just west of Chicago and moving east to include Cleveland. Rain was forecast for the broader region from west of the Mississippi to the east coast.

Now that is the full weather story. The problem is non scientists wrote the story. Ego centrist boobs wrote the story. In New York. It is all about NYC to those folks. The world, you know, is centered in New York. Those of us living in the boring Midwest get this. New York news staffers continually look at the world from their geographic locus. If it’s snowing and sleeting in Chicago it must mean nasty business for NYC in 24 hours or so, so that becomes the story. Not the story in the Midwest and what those folks are enduring; no it’s about what NYC might expect to happen to them.

And because they are writing the national news then the story is about NYC. Not the nation. It’s been that way for generations.

So much for the objectivity and world view perspective of the American news profession.

Many years ago I recall a phone conversation with my dad then living in Phoenix. Although Arizona was experiencing major droughts (surprise!), but dad was certain the problem would be fixed by the state when they arranged purchase of water supplies from the Great Lakes.  Of course I defended our Great Lakes Region by claiming we would never agree to selling water to the western area of the United States. Why would we give up the one resource that marked our region? After all the rust belt was the Midwest not the southwest. The southwest was burgeoning with education and jobs because regionally water supplies were imported to the region to make that happen. But what happened to those areas from whence the water came?

I told my dad that the Midwest remained the manufacturing capital of the USA but at great cost and without any help from any other region. We also have the largest amalgam of educational resources anywhere in the USA and I wondered how that would fare if a lot of our water resources were diverted to other regions. What would happen to the Great Lakes overall and the region surrounding that relies on the massive store of water?

He was a bit speechless.  Remember that our family spent many years together in southern California. My sister and I were born there in fact. We grew up understanding the value and role of water in the lives of Californians, and the future development of the region. It was crucial. We were taught to conserve water at all costs. We were taught to respect natural resources: forests, streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, soils and air. Water led the list of resources to be valued most highly. We were grateful and reliant on water supplies.

Later American greed took over. It wasn't about the health and self sufficiency of a region, it was always about where the next mother lode of wealth would be found. With a little more public infrastructure, a little more water, a region could thrive. So the arid desert was made to bloom while the rust belt lay in ruins.

Never mind that federal tax dollars flow inexorably from the Midwest to Washington DC, the rest of the disembowelment of the Midwest was given up to the southwest and the southeast. Resources flowed there to boost their futures and fortunes. The Midwest was left to fend for itself.

Ego centrism and greed. Selfishness. These are unwelcome personality traits of the American psyche that still rule the day in America.

All you need do to bring this message home is add the term “energy supplies” to the discussion. And then the centrism and greed becomes more evident.

When will our nation grow up and realize its problems and deal with them honestly?

A slow commute from NYC to Chicago? Well ain’t that something? Who’d a thunk it?

May 29, 2014

PS: The storms never came. The dawn was beautifully clear. The entire morning was the same. I don’t know who had a slow commute but it wasn't anywhere near Chicago. Maybe NYC experienced it in the evening?  I guess it depends what Paris’ commute was like.

Making A Difference

Ellen DeGeneres signs off her show each time with these words: “Be kind to each other.”

And she means it. It isn't a greeting like ‘Hi! How are you?’ or even ‘Have a nice day.’ No, Ellen is urging each of us to be kind to other people.

It is a reminder that we often are unthinking and not kind. Our natural instinct is not to be aware of ourselves at all times and so we are open to moments where we are harsh, cold, unfeeling and uncaring. It is a natural state of affairs for most people.

As we go about our busy lives – commuting, working, washing dishes, caring for the family pets, cars, self and other family members – we get lost in the details and time constraints. So our manners slip. And our caring. It is natural.

Ellen asks us to be kind to others because it is a simple reminder that we should and can but need a soft reminder. To be good. To be there for others. To extend a helping hand. To make life a little easier at difficult moments.

This is very basic.

The Golden Rule has been around in one form or another since man could scribble letters and keep a record of his life on earth.  The Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In simpler language: treat others as you want them to treat you. Or as Ellen says, “be kind to each other.” It amounts to the same thing.

I am a grump. Lots of time that is my normal mood. Why? Because I ponder life a lot (it’s a burden!) and I worry a lot about how mankind is getting along, and what problems plague us and need to be fixed. It’s the way I am.

When someone knocks on the door, I answer it with a smile and a question as to why they are at my door. I am pleasant to these callers most of the time. If I am not, I can usually change my mood to become pleasant quickly. It is part of my learned manners. The result is normally pleasant.

When I am out and about on the streets and in stores, I greet people pleasantly and receive pleasant responses. Life is good! It becomes even more pleasant.

My problem in this being kind to others thing is when I get behind the wheel of the car. So many people acting so rudely or uncaringly.

Making turns without slowing down, or signaling their intention. Changing their mind and switching lanes at the last minute to make an unplanned turn. Idly slowing down the traffic by listening too intently to the radio, or scanning the cell phone for missed calls, or answering the phone, talking on the phone. Or worse, texting – getting and responding to text messages. No matter how skilled a driver, or how intelligent the mind, texting and phone use while driving distracts. Speeds are slower. Reaction times are reduced. Mindless driving habits become pronounced – slower speeds, lane drift – you name it and the results are clear. Distracted drivers are dangerous drivers.

And rude. Manner-less. Plain and simple. Difficult to be around in any circumstance, but especially so and dangerous when encountered behind the wheel.

Go back to being kind to others. Distracted drivers are unintentionally being unkind. They are unaware of what they are doing. And the effect on others.

The same when being a pedestrian. Do not walk and talk on the phone. Do not play games or text while walking. Pay attention to the others around you. At this very moment. Be engaged in the here and now.

That’s being caring. Do we really need laws for this sort of thing?  I don’t think so.

Just do as Ellen says.  After all every religion of moment throughout history has exhorted the same message. We still need to work on this.

May 28, 2014

Guns & Roses?

Santa Barbara, California is just the latest slaughter site of insane gun laws. The rights of one trumps the rights of all in the view of the NRA…and of Congress…and of countless state houses throughout our land.

It is time to say no.

And I mean no!  NO!

This is not the Wild Wild West of 1830, or 1850, or even of 1880. This is 2014. We do not need guns in every hand or in every home, or on every street corner. Maybe we need a gun on a hike in the desert to protect us from poisonous snakes, or in the forests from bear, or in Beirut, or Tehran, Baghdad. Or Cairo.

This is downtown San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Miami. Is there danger there?  Probably. But there is an army of police and other security to protect the innocent in those places. Those cities are glorious centers of commerce, art, education and hope for mankind. In those places medical research and services are available to save lives and to improve them as well.

It is the neighborhoods that worry me. The homes and apartments of good and decent people. There are few police officers and security details per capita in those areas. But that is where the growing presence of guns is.

And why is that? Because the guns and arms industry want it so. They make lots of money. They buy the services of lobbyists who will say anything to influence the interests of their client. Because they get paid big dollars to do so. Because they can. because money buys speech.

And money buys votes in legislatures and Congress.

And the people of the land do not respect the elected officials in those bodies because the people of the land are weeping. Weeping. Over their dead sons and daughters and grandchildren. Kids slain by gun owners. Gun owners who have been coddled and protected so they can buy guns whenever they wish, with very little fanfare. Crazy, emotional wrecks or innocent people. They buy guns. Because they can. not because they need to.

And they use those guns not to protect themselves but to spread mayhem. Because they do not control their guns. They have little control over them. The guns get out of their hands. Someone else gets ahold of the guns. And uses them against innocent people.

Trouble is they don’t use them against the very people who enable this manslaughter – the legislators and congresspeople who vote the special interest money. And why? Because they get money from those lobbyists and use the money for their re-election campaigns or whatever.

And these same people wonder why they get little respect!

Please vote against any politician who votes to support the NRA.

It is time for the American people to take back the streets and make them safe from guns.

You and I can do it.

So do it. Now! It is time all can smell the roses.

May 27, 2014

Memorial Day

Calling it quits is an alluring move. When a job becomes onerous enough and not rewarding to the inner person, how does one move on?  First the person needs to discern that the critical point has been reached. Second is the realization that action needs to be taken, a decision needs to be made.

Of course the third step is determining what comes after the decision? To quit or not is the decision; but what do we do with the remainder of our life afterward?

Perhaps this is the question we needed to address long before.  What am I doing with my life, is it a satisfying journey? Is there an alternate route I need to explore? If I do these things what are my options for earning a living, satisfying my soul, meeting my obligations to family and society?

This is when we should be dreaming of the long term future. What do we want from life? How much of that ‘want’ is tied up with our career or job? Should I be doing something else with my time and if so, what?

When you are retired the same questions arise. What am I doing with my life? What would I rather be doing? Are these activities feeding my inner person? Is it enough? Might I be doing something else that would be better for the inner me AND others as well?

I’m facing those questions. The move to an adjacent town has caused a lot of rethinking. I have simplified my life with these steps in the past two months: first, resigned from the board of the local arts organization; I co-founded the organization and worked on it for 9 years. A lot of grunt work, intellectual investment and blood sweat and tears went into the organization. In the final analysis the board was not willing to step forward and do what was needed to keep the organization alive and I was not going to make another large investment of time and effort to help them get reinvented. I said goodbye and the organization folded.  So much for my leadership!

Moving out of its taxing district, I had to resign from the city’s park district board. I will miss these people and the ongoing mission of the district. Their work is excellent, much needed by the residents, and the board is in tip top shape to keep this success story moving forward. I feel OK about stepping down. It has simplified my life and schedule.

A week ago I resigned from the chamber of commerce board and its executive committee. Two reasons guided this decision: team work was missing on the board and among the key leaders of the organization. Discussion was conversation passing by people not through them. Mission engagement was missing. Vision belonged to ‘others’. Too many people were along for the ride. You know the sort of thing: “It’s an honor to serve with these people on this board.” Actually is ought to be an honor but the honor comes from principled and committed belief and action.  Engagement. I saw very little of that.

Meanwhile, sitting at the hub of the three towns’ newspaper I could observe real economic development needs of each community. The chamber serves the same three communities. And those economic development needs are going unanswered, unattended. A partnership with each town’s governance structure is needed. Earnest conversations and dialog are needed. Inventive solutions and programs are required if we expect the future to development into something better than today’s situation.

The chamber had no engagement. Not even any discussion on these matters.  So I resigned.

Now I have only my involvement with our church and the operation of the local newspaper which I co-founded and currently serve as managing editor. The paper is as it always has been: in deep financial condition. Heavily indebted to volunteers for both their money and their labor and commitment. This cannot go on endlessly without monies growing enough to pay back accumulated debts. The end of the paper may be in view.

I do not want that to happen. So my current involvements have been streamlined and I have more time to spend on the newspaper. Still that may yield to a decision to shut down sooner rather than later. Time will tell.

What to do with my time left? Well, I have always believed that listening is a good thing and that people who are in the thick of building a business can always use volunteer help, so I researched how retired business people volunteer effectively to mentor small businesses to health or to higher levels of achievement. I discovered SCORE. Look up its website and learn more about it.

For now SCORE is an organization of 13,000 volunteers nationwide of retired business people who lend their services for free to teach, mentor, guide and urge small business owners on to new heights. This is economic development at the grass roots level! And it fits me to a T.

I will begin with workshops, mentoring small groups attempting to form new non-profits to serve societal needs, and produce seminars and workshops that build actual skills for long term success of these small business units. My background in non-profits will be used. My strategic planning skills will be used. My teaching skills and communication gifts will be used.

I’ll keep you posted on how this goes. But for now, I see a very interesting future about to take shape. That is a good thing. For me and others.

Isn’t this a rebirth befitting a Memorial Day? 

May 26, 2014

Thought for the Day

Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD. He was respected as an intellectual and gained a reputation as one of the most effective emperors in Roman history. Here’s a thought from him I think you may benefit knowing:

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. if there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

It is a mouthful but a good mouthful. Think upon it this weekend as you prepare for another week of purpose and work.

May 24, 2014

Leaving People Behind

Kids are dropping out of high school. That’s nothing new. What is new is the realization that drop outs do not fit a standard bill. They are from all walks of life, economic backgrounds, beauty standards, and intelligence levels.

Drop outs are people who quit their education. They are also quitting their life.

I lived throughout junior and senior high school in fear of being bullied. Because I was a nerd. And a sissy. And growing all too aware of my sexual orientation. Yes; I was gay, a homo in those days. And I didn't want anyone to know. I didn't want the bulls eye painted on my chest or back. To be targeted as the weirdo. The misfit.

So I studied. I made a virtue out of nerd-dom. I got mostly straight A’s. I threw the grading curve for a loop and lost popularity because of it. Popularity? When was I ever popular?

I had friends. I sense they were the guys that were afraid they too would be a target of bullying if they let down their guard but befriended me because they knew what I feared. The same thing they feared. The girls, on the other hand, liked my being a nerd apparently. And they would ask for academic help from time to time and then slap down their boyfriends if they took a step toward me. Yes. I had protectors in a group of girls who were very much not like me. But I appreciated the attention they did afford me. It was not physical. It was not sexual. It was emotional, though.

That’s my story. It is but one story among millions. Each kid has his own saga of terror – the imagined angst of youth growing up not well, not wanted, not right. For some it is immigrant status in which the greater society casts a downward sneer on the foreign newcomer to our midst. I've never understood.  America is the land of immigrants. We all came from somewhere else at some point in our family tree. We all melted into this stew pot of social order and made a nation from it. Fresh meat or leftovers, the stew became tasty, even zesty! Strong flavors and nutrient rich. A diverse mix for a strong result. An amalgam that yields to an alloy of potential.

The physically unfit, or unattractive. They carry a load that pulls them down from their capability.

People left behind. Kids who drop out. Kids who give up on themselves. Are they lazy? Are they stupid? Are they emotionally stunted? What are their capabilities?

That remains to be tested and developed. Mentors help. People who care enough to talk and listen to these kids. These young adults. Maybe listening restores some personal power they lacked before? Can we help them see a future that bristles with possibilities if they only try? Will they do this if we lend them a hand? Or a shoulder? Can we help reverse this tide of defeatism that will surely cripple our nation if we let it go on?

There are people all around us who could use a warm shoulder and an open ear. They will learn about possibilities from us. They will strengthen language skills. Logic and math skills, too. Social skills are teachable. Confidence, too. Beauty, no; except the eye of the beholder part which is beauty enough in my book.

Once I sat in college choir rehearsal. This ungainly kid in the back row was asked to form a note and vowel. By himself. At first a warbly uneven tone; then a purer one was pulled from him by the director; surprising the director and other singers alike. This kid’s singing voice was a jewel in need of a little training. And confidence.

That experience changed the choir. Each singer realized they could do better. And our tone and effort improved much.

That kid was me. All it took was a shove. By someone who cared. And the result was noticed.

That, too, was a jewel recognized amid the crowd. One among many.

Who can you help uncover their promise?

May 23, 2014

Aging

The roll of fat came slowly into view. Twenty years it took. Slowly accumulating from an extra piece of pie; not often cake; sweet rolls, too. And cheesy crackers, lots of salt, toasted edges.  Then there were the English muffins, toasted well – you know the kind, blackened edges on craters of toast, strong enough to hold flavor and engulf melted butter without softening.

The steaks were good, too. But then they were mostly protein. Unless of course you count the huge baked potato covered in butter, salt, pepper, chives and sour cream. That potato was often dreamed of! The skin baked well enough to be thickened. The skin formed a boat for a skim of potato plus melted butter. Eaten like a piece of toast, the skin was full of flavor. The butter helped! So did the salt and pepper.

The cheesy creamed broccoli casserole was another accompaniment that came with the steak. The steak you see was not fattening. No, it was all the other things that came with it that added to the waistband.

Then there was dessert. Not often consumed at home, in a restaurant New York Style Cheese Cake is available. Tall and soft; crumbly crust on the bottom. Perhaps a drizzle of granache? Wind up the dinner table experience with a fine cup of coffee, hot and steamy with just the right amount of sugar. The candles are dwindling now, and so has the appetite.

The stomach, however, is full, satisfied, perhaps a little overstuffed.

The next day one does not notice last night’s dinner. But in a few weeks a succession of dinners will be noticed at the belt line.

Who is to care? Not me. Not any more.

The battle of the bulge was never mine. I was almost always skinny. Could eat anything in any amount and rarely gained an ounce. Then came the age of 50 and the diet began to show.

From a 32 waist to a 48 took a few years. They were good years. Very tasty. Very satisfying. Now, however, the weight is a drag, an anchor dragged everywhere I go. Instead of helping to burn calories the anchor slows me down and suppresses metabolism. Calories disappear slowly these days.

If weight mass is to be reduced it must come from fewer calories consumed plus more calories burned in activity.  Friends tell me to go for a walk. I do not want to. It is uncomfortable to move the feet, ankles and legs. Besides, the hips begin to ache quickly and even standing becomes a chore.

The truth: weight begets weight; also begets sedentary lifestyle which begets more weight. And the cycle is set and continues on its track.

There was a time this mattered. Not much anymore. I’m not engaged in a beauty contest, or a Mr. Universe pageant! No muscle. No tone. No physical beauty. Just here. A body serving its purpose.

The mirror reveals evidence of aging. The weight gain. The wrinkles. The gray hair creeping into view. Thinning hair, too. A jowl or two forms along the jaw line, and something dangles below the chin and its not a beard! When moving the head rapidly motion is detected in several spheres surrounding the face. Yes, things are changing.

Aging is like that. First a creep, then a gallop.

I know some people are fixated on this process. They fret about it. Even worry. And wish it were otherwise. Too bad, really. The aging process is a gift. It is the platform for perspective. It helps us realize what is important and what is not.

Appearance is not. Oh, it’s attractive. There is an allure. Maybe even a magnetism, but then it is gone in a whiff. Here today and gone tomorrow, you know? Beauty is not only skin deep it is, as they say, fleeting. Time takes care of all.

Aging. Appreciating. Deepening. Feeling and understanding more. Yes. It is a gift.

If you work with people in crisis you understand it more clearly. Drug addicts and alcoholics who cannot control their behavior and addictions. They want what you have – sobriety – but they seemingly cannot achieve it. They are missing a component of life that makes them what they are – at least until they recapture the essence of self that matter the most to them and returns them to health.

If you work with people who underachieve and freeze their minds while attempting to solve business or life problems, you begin to understand that what is important in life is not what you invent for yourself. No; it is what others give to you without asking for it. Their love, their support, their respect. From this you know a value placed on you by others and this becomes a big thing.

How could I have missed this about myself? How could miss this in others?

Easy. Too much focus on self leads to wreckage. Get out of self. Step away. Don’t fret over appearances. Help others with the contents of their life. And yours will be enriched without asking.

The best kind of riches.

May 22, 2014

Critical or Cynical?

School teaches us to think critically. Analysis of facts. We read well worn literature and discuss what it means in class. As we do we learn that there are differing views on what the literature means. To each reader there are minute differences in meaning. They read the same words. One would assume they would capture the same meaning.

But life is more complicated than that. Layers and layers of meaning lay on the surface of life. Like dust at times; move the dust around with the tip of a finger, see a view of what lies beneath the dust. Push that aside and still another layer of whatever resides below that.

Same with literature. The cadence, rhythm, color of wording…the context of the phrases, the mood of the reader coupled with the mood of the author…different senses of what is being stated. What the author intended is not even at issue; it is what the reader took away from the material that matters. And then how each reader in the classroom gets something different from the same words.

This is critical thinking. It does not always lead back to the same spot – origin of material, or conclusion of facts. No; critical thinking takes us on a journey through logic and intensity of feeling. This is where art resides. This is the beginning of poetry. This is the moment of creating an idea.

And it is good.

It is good because there are many ideas that exist on their own yet even more that rely on the ideas of others. Not the same ideas, but cornerstone bits and pieces which give rise to other ideas. The social value of thinking and learning; of expressing thoughts and capturing the same. There is no beginning or end to this process, is there? It is all of a piece of the maelstrom of life. So much material. So many layers. Each interacting with more complexity than when it started. Sort of like a Jackson Pollock painting. You know the genre – drip painting or swirled spills on blank canvas until the picture is a network of swirls and lines and colors and…layers of presentation. Layers. Again with the layers.

With such complexity of meaning critical thinking becomes like an art form. It becomes basic communication. But it still does not discern for us final meaning. Or purpose for that matter. We haven’t even spoken of this – purpose of expression. Purpose of words.

I think it is connectedness. We express ideas to become partnered with another person. We do this to become identified with group, with social order, with other lives, with meaning, purpose, and….

Purpose pops up again. Hitching on to another person and learning what is on this other mind. The connectedness. The sharing of ideas, of meaning. Of sharing life with others.

Critical thinking is not negative. It is a force of understanding. It is a seeking of shared meaning at least for a moment. So at least two lives can dare to move forward on some level of commonality.

We communicate for this purpose. But so much more is involved.

Now switch to the television. Turn it on. Listen to what is being said. More than 50% of the words are sales pitches. They are trying to get you to see a product or service that they think you need and attempt to get you to buy it, remember it, pursue its purchase. Selling something. To you. For commercial gain of an organization.

And of the TV producers, too. Without the ad revenues no programming would be produced. No programs would be viewable. At the flick of your switch.

Now the other 50% of content on TV. It is what? A whole lot of drama, sex, violence and other fare that is to distract you from other life concerns. There are also documentaries and news programming that informs. And of course there are propaganda programs that influence rather than inform.

What is it we are exposed to on TV? How do we determine what it is we wish to consume over the air waves. Do we analyze the material, the content? Do we understand what it is we are consuming, hearing, reading, listening to? Are we truly understanding the impact of this material on our inner lives?

And how do the layers now stack up? Are they folding together purposefully and intellectually? Are they making sense that will help us live our lives? Or is there another purpose entirely?

Analyzing. Thinking. Critically dissecting content so we pull the most value from it. Discerning truth from fiction. News from entertainment.

Critical thinking. Do we pursue it? Do we even do it? Are we losing our trained edge to be critical thinkers?

I think that depends if we even realized that we were being trained to be critical thinkers.

So many people hear ‘critical’ and think ‘cynical’. They look for a darker motivation of the speaker/writer/performer. They wonder how their message is intended negatively toward them. They may even build anger over this motivation. If they do an entirely different message forms on top of the original one, and more layers are created to have a life of their own.

How exhausting. How utterly exhausting!

Rather we openly seek understanding. Should we do this we will likely enter the realm of critical thinking, seeking common understanding rather than divergence.

Comity and community. Civility, too.

Now that’s refreshing. Maybe we can kick cynicism to the curb?

May 21, 2014

Making It Better

Practice makes perfect. Maybe sometimes this is true. It didn't work for me, especially with piano and violin lessons. I wanted to make music. And I had some talent, but not enough want. So practice became odious. The sounds from the instruments did not improve. Sour notes invented themselves with some help from me! And rhythms. Chords appeared without theory or pleasing harmony.

So I stopped. Learned to sing instead. And that has remained with me for a lifetime. Practice in this case has made it better. But not for instruments in my case.

Relationships are also tricky. They require a lot of work. A lot of selflessness especially when very little is present! Those are the worst times to do the needed work, but then that’s why it is called ‘work’.

Anne Frank wrote in her diary from a hidden space in Amsterdam:

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

These words were written by a Jewish girl hunted by the Nazis. They did find her eventually. They yanked her from her hiding place and killed her. Anne Frank knew what she was writing about. The world was a hideous place. It was dangerous. It was much unimproved. It needed a lot of attention.

So it was wonderful to her that improvement was so easy to do. So little had to be done to make it a better place. Each and every person could that if they wished to. All they had to do was wish it.  Anne could wish. But she couldn't do much about improving the world. It was the world searching her out to eliminate her. To improve the world so they thought. Kill Anne Frank.

And thus she is important to us, the survivors. All these years later.  Anne was born in June of 1929 and died in March, 1945. Her story is the story of the world community in the early 1940’s. Her story unfolds amid evil. It unfolds demanding solutions by strangers from far away. Because those nearby could do so little. Or chose to do so little.

Anne was correct, though. Wasn’t she? Things were so bad only a little thing needed to be done to make things at least a little better. Plant a flower in a bombing field amidst the broken glass and mud? Wear a smile to replace the look of stark fear?

Her days were very dark. The Holocaust was and is dark. A blotch on history – the story of mankind on the planet. We did so poorly then. The world did respond eventually. Too late for Anne Frank. But not too late for millions more and for mankind in the long haul.

Perhaps we say these words too soon. Perhaps there is the need for improvement yet today? That depends on who is doing the looking and the discerning. That relies on a consciousness of more than one person.

On the other hand this quote is a jarring reminder that consciousness is not dead:

“The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do.”        ~Author Unknown

Too little too late? Perhaps not. Thinking we can change the world is the first step in doing the changing. Anne Frank was right. It is easy to change the world. You just have to want to. To see the world as it is. To not accept that that is as good as it gets. Things could be better.

And we can make a difference.

But will we?

May 20, 2014

Money Theme

American democracy is a messy affair. It allows each person in the nation to have a voice whether they use it or not. Trouble is too many do not use it except in the voting booth, and many times that’s too late.

Meanwhile, crazies have a field day and speak their minds on all topics whether or not they know much about each of those topics. And then many others who are lazy, assume that the talking head has the facts and must be speaking the truth. But they do not. We know that. We know that over and over throughout all of history.

So now comes modern America. With commerce and trade and economics pounding out the tattoo that money makes the person. He who has the money has the power.

I am here to say otherwise.

I have three quotes today that I wish to lay before you.  First is Bernie Sanders, independent Vermont US Senator:

“The American people have proven that if they speak out,m if they flood Capitol Hill with phone calls and emails, they can stop a war. Now is the time to use that same energy and passion to save the middle class.”

Because the middle class matters. Always has in the America we know. It is the middle class that produces the mass of needed new births, people who strive for education and meaning, and then work for it. They earn incomes, pay taxes and buy the goods of the manufacturing and money-class. They keep the wheels of industry turning by buying the goods, working the jobs that produce the goods and inventions, and follow the rules that keep the social order in order.

The middle class is the back bone of America. It’s about time everyone understood that simple fact.

Another quote from Bernie Sanders:

“We have the people behind us. They have the money. And at the end of the day, the people will be stronger than the money.”

The ‘they’ in the second sentence refers to the money-class. Not the people in general. Although the people in general DO have the money. The people own the nation’s assets, promise and future. Always have. But only if they seize the power of their knowledge and labor. Only then can they demonstrate the power of the republic and maintain it.

I’m not talking revolution, although that has occurred in America twice (American Revolutionary War, and Civil War). No I am not talking about revolution or war. I am merely talking about the power of mind and logic over crass selfishness and evil.

330 million Americans have a lot of power. Less than 10% of 330 million, is under 3.3 million people, and they can and will be swept away by the masses if smarter people don’t begin to get the message.

Case in point: British Petroleum has no license to operate in America. They say they work for the common good of America. But they polluted the Gulf of Mexico, they lied about the cause of that disaster, they claim to have spent $20 billion to restore the gulf and its American shores. But they didn’t. First of all the US government sequestered $20 billion from BP to do the cleanup but it was never completed and the wronged properties owners and businesses did not receive all of their compensation. Probably never will. Yet BP spends $100 million or more on TV advertising saying ‘mission accomplished’ when the truth is the exact opposite.

I said at the beginning that profit motive in energy is only part of the picture. Too much profit motive and the good of the social order goes down to defeat. BP ought not have that power. So the solution is either they do what’s right or American nationalizes BP. Pretty simple.

Too severe a penalty?  I think not. They have damaged our environment, put millions of people out of work and continue to manipulate world energy markets to gain more wealth for themselves while unhinging the economic equilibrium for billions of people. If that is justice, then something is wrong.

And all I need do is point to every religion of mankind through the ages. Not one of them would side with BP in this matter. Not one of them.

People power will trump money power any day. All it takes is people to get the message and understand it and take action. But the money people know that is very difficult to achieve. So little bits of money properly spent in propaganda and publicity (one and the same thing?) undoes all the people power. Hideous don’t you think?

The third quote is from Russ Feingold, deceased Minnesota Democratic US Senator:

            “Speech doesn't corrupt. Money corrupts. And money isn't speech.”

A corporation is not an actual citizen with voting rights. They ought not be able to buy the votes to turn elections, buy Supreme Court Justices or any other power point in our society. Those power points belong to individual citizens.

When will we insist on this balance of power?

May 19, 2014

Thought for the Day

Two quotes to ponder today.  First:

“The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself.”                  ~Author Unknown

Let that sink it a bit.

Now for the second quote:

“We’re not going to have the America that we want until we elect leaders who are going to tell the truth not most days, but every day.”      ~Ann Richards

These two citations go together like bread and butter. If you think otherwise, America may be in deeper trouble than I feared.

May 17, 2014

Midst a Crowd

Driving solo for 1800 miles to Phoenix is a non-crowd thing. No one in the car with me. Just the radio, CD's and satellite radio. Or silence.

Good thinking time. Lots of scenery to watch along with traffic conditions, but then, all those Interstate miles don’t involve heavy traffic with the exception of occasional urban areas en route. Those traffic conditions are unpleasant but do not constitute ‘crowd’ as I normally think of it.

No, crowds to me are groups of people, massed on a sidewalk, in a waiting area of a large transportation hub, or in stores and offices, auditorium or theater. Crowds of people together but not actually interacting with one another with the exception of a few couples or small groups who know each other.

Alone in a crowd. An interesting experience when you think on it. Do I ignore the others surrounding me? Or do I make attempts to connect to strangers? Well, over many decades in these situations I almost always attempt to make a connection. So as not to feel alone?  Who knows?

Kim Culbertson gave us this quote on the internet the other day:

“People think being alone makes you lonely, but I don’t think that’s true. Being surrounded by the wrong people is the loneliest thing in the world.”

By the wrong people. As I ponder that phrase a sense of solitary space comes to mind. Unconnected. A lack of resonance with people nearby.

Soon after graduating from college I busied myself in Chicago’s metropolitan scene. I had friends from campus who were interested in similar things as we hung together after work. These activities tended to be political gatherings, campaigning for favored candidates, that sort of thing. After the events we tended to form cliques at cocktail parties, candidate meet and greets and similar social functions. Winding down from the scheduled event we’d discuss all sorts of issues, normally centered on the political party (Republican – this was the mid 1960’s).

During those chats I noticed how serious the discussions became, how intellectualized the prattle. After a while it seemed people postured their ideas and their personalities as if this was needed to prove their worth to the group. As more alcohol was consumed the chatter became downright pedantic.

A few months of these interactions and I became bored. Yes, even lonely, in a crowded room. There was no meaningful connection to the group. They were talking in code and for their own preconceived notions, not the objectives of the group. I felt alone. They seemed alone. I realized we were all speaking a foreign language and not connecting. In a crowd we were alone. In a very real sense.

Have you felt like that? Alone in a crowded room?

Many years later I found peace with this. Is used the alone time to think about the big picture. What were we doing in this space? What was our purpose for being here? Were we seeking meaning? Togetherness? Were we searching for ourselves? Why then this particular venue? These specific people? Were we likely to find what we were looking for here?

Over the years I became adept at using these moments – these social spaces – for good. I could almost see why others were present. They provided the yin for my yang, the creative push to make sense of the setting. And the big picture evolved, slowly, then with more speed, a gathering focus.

Interesting. Process formed. Meaning oozed out a bit. Things began to make sense. Little by little. And the crowd took on a value totally different than what I began with.

Today it remains the same. Some of my best thinking is done in solitary, on the road, miles whiling past the window. But still the crowd scene provides the alone time, too, for thinking and piecing together important thoughts.

Maybe we all need this time? Together to be alone?

May 16, 2014

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Full or Blank Mind?

In the middle of the night you awake. No particular reason is evident. Health is fine. Mind is at rest, no pressing problems begging for solutions. Interpersonal relationships appear in order; nothing upsetting current or about to emerge as far as you know.

So what’s on your mind? Is it blank? Or filled with ideas, thoughts, logic strings whizzing past at furious pace?

Usually I sense for the time. Then for the sounds if any that may have awakened me. If nothing apparent, I wonder about the weather; is the moon full up in a clear sky? Or is it cloudy, rainy, stormy or whatever?

Nothing seems amiss so the mind fills almost instantly with thoughts. Random most of the time. But they connect quickly with what I last was working on before going to bed. Maybe it was the latest edition of the newspaper and what needs to be completed before publishing and distribution. Perhaps it is an idea niggling away in the back of the mind for a future column? A burning issue I dearly would like to see properly addressed. Or maybe an idea freshly proffered to readers, something that would move them to act on something.

Oh well. Nothing much on the idea list at present. Just the same old, same old.

One of the biggest concerns on my mind these days is what is perceived by the general public as motivation of other people to do, say or be whatever emerges. Motivation. Do people assign a motivation to another person for what they say or do? I think they do.

And that may be the crux of many problems we experience as a society. Think about it. If someone says or writes something you think you don’t agree with, do you question the logic or factual basis of those comments expressed? Or do you wonder why the person said them in the first place? Do you wonder if he/she has an agenda? Is there an intention to manipulate perception of others? And why? Is there a power motive or profit desire? Or perhaps it is merely a desire for influence over someone or something?

Complicated business, this. Not wanting to be made a fool of, we have suspicions about the motivations of others. That is part of human nature. But it is also a negative nature. It can hold us back. It can cause us to distrust immediately rather than maintain and openness to new ideas and opinions.

What someone thinks about an issue is not wrong automatically if it differs from our own view. It is just another view. No; the difference is not what unsettles us. I think it is the suspicion of intent that unsettles us.

Karl Rove clearly said he questioned Hillary Clinton’s candidacy based on her being brain damaged by an illness she suffered a year or so ago. Whether he actually meant that or intended to cause doubt in the minds of others and thus influence the possible candidacy of Hillary running for President in 2016 is now the bone of contention. Of course his intention was and is to roil the political waters. That is his perceived job for the republican party.

However, such intentions are likely counterproductive. Why? Because the American public is sick to death of personal attacks and frivolous nastiness based solely on political aims.

And well we should. I like to think that most of us have good ideas to share for the common good of our community, region, family or nation. Good ideas are not the sole province of a select few. The human mind is fertile and richly productive if we let it be so. And if we encourage everyone to freely give of their views and ideas we should be the better for it.

Nasty social environments shut down such natural sharing. Good ideas from good people are discouraged in the sharing pool. Good people move on to more fruitful fields of pursuit.

When this happens the body politic is stripped of some of its assets. Karl Rove knows this. Most political managers know this. Their job is to know these things and to frame the public discussion in favorable light of their assigned power blocs. And thus the ideological struggles continue to their illogical positions of calamity.

Yes calamity. Rather than invent a crisis over Benghazi, why not take the Benghazi tragedy and craft a way to avoid all such future possibilities of that sort of tragedy? Isn’t that what we should be doing? The Benghazi ‘issue’ is made up for political reasons. Congress budgets funds for foreign diplomatic stations around the globe. They have oversight for security for those stations. If something goes wrong, it is process that should be examined, not political motives. The latter is certain to derail all logical progress in solving problems. But it will certainly create a maelstrom of ill will that will produce a wholly different result; hideously, an intended result.

Twisted is the term that comes to my mind. Why do people waste time, talent and other resources in this manner? Because they wish to minimize someone’s influence or power and build power and influence for another competing power base. Problem is this: we are all supposed to be working for the same thing, the success and effectiveness of our own nation in keeping peace in the world.

Instead it appears some are working diligently to create dissension and chaos for their own personal gain. Senator John McCain is one of those. He has an opinion on nearly every military and foreign affairs subject as long as it pertains to finding fault with another American’s position on the same matter. Trouble is he is woefully out of step with understanding many of those same issues. How many times did aides and Senator Lindsay Graham have to whisper in McCain’s ear a correction on a factual issue when he was campaigning in foreign lands in his presidential bid to beat Obama? Embarrassing. He did this many times. The result diminished him but also the American reputation abroad. He was campaigning outside our borders; a large no-no. One refrains from such behavior.

So why did he do it? Because he felt certain people viewed him as an expert in military and foreign affairs. But he is not that kind of expert. It is a perceived expertise with a false surround.

So his motivation can only be political: to gain power and influence over another; weaken another while strengthen the self.

This is most likely why most Americans detest politics. They see so much energy and money expended on non-productive behavior that could be better used solving actual problems.

Let’s face one crystal clear fact: elected officials form the board of directors for our governance agencies. They are there to have oversight for the public in public matters that are managed by professional personnel hired by government to implement programs and services. If the ‘board’s’ attention and energy is spent on power balance efforts then the real work of the agencies are being ignored, perverted or mismanaged by the board itself.

Does this sound like your state legislature? Or Congress?

Of course it does! They have lost their way in the main. And it is we – the voters – who have to correct the situation. We have the power. We have the duty. Will we do the homework to know who is serving long term public goals or personal ones?

That is the crux of the question. Motivation indeed! What is our motivation as voters?

Seems to me the blank mind needs a disciplined ‘filling’.

May 15, 2014

Possibilities

The community around us. Lots is happening. Lots more could be happening. Issue is how do we choose more, or different happenings? Why should we? And if we should how do we process this so it isn't happenstance or accidental? Shouldn't something this basic, this important be the product of something very intentional? Purposeful?

Our own life. Same thing can be said about what we do with changing our life into the future? What options do we have? Which options do we pursue? Which are intrinsically more valuable? Which more natural for me, and thus more likely to be successful for me and others who benefit from that same success?  Think doctor: if the highest effective development for a person is being a successful surgeon, then the surgeon benefits from being good at what he/she does, but the patients also benefit from having access to a talented, successful surgeon who knows how to do the job.

Our family and close friends. If we are changing our own lives by searching and implementing possibilities, doesn't this mean we are helping those close to us do the same? Or are we afraid to do this, to meddle in someone else’s life? Really? The families I’m connected with are every bit assertive of their opinions! Overly much so!  Are you kidding? Isn't this where the term ‘dysfunction’ has its roots in family affairs?

At any rate, assertive family communications can be damaging; not all of them should be. Helping loved ones see new possibilities is an important coaching role that trusted family members ought to fill. Perhaps the problem is the trust?

Each of these is a proving ground for change. Challenges to change. Recognition of the need to change. Broadening of perspectives that enrich lives. Or, if such challenges are not adopted, perhaps the proving grounds help us understand better why our lives are good, in fact, very good, just the way they are! That alone is a good thing. Change is not always required at any specific time.

It does pay to be prepared, however. Not a bad exercise to work with often.

Proving grounds. For change. Searching possibilities.

In public life where do these possibilities pop up? Perhaps t his is the crux of my posting today. You see, it seems to me that possibilities arise from the interchange of voices in all walks of life wherever they connect. On the sidewalk, at the corner store, in the café, or department store. In the parking lot or grocery store. Or even in the local newspaper.

People think and talk all the time. They share ideas. They volunteer their efforts on projects of interest. They get involved. They show they care in so many ways.

This spirit of sharing alone is a stir pot of possibilities. It is where we become aware of problems or new ideas for handling old issues. Possibilities are born in this environment. The voices exchanged help others see those same possibilities. If we are lucky something comes of this interchange. A new project forms, a few souls decide to do something about it. Not a huge project, you understand, but a small one, something they can have an effect on. In time who knows? The little project may mature into a project or program of substance. A tradition perhaps? Something the entire community can get behind and years later wonder how this wonderful ‘thing’ came to be in the first place?

That’s how traditions are created. Quietly. By only a few people. Interest grows. And something develops over time to be very important to our community way of life.

At the base of it all I think it comes from being open to possibilities. For self and others.

Are we conscious of this process in our lives? Do we wish it to be so?

May 12, 2014

Drag and Click

When desk top computers became more prevalent, followed by the explosion of laptop computers, ‘drag and click’ exercises were made a part of the software package. Drag and click – the operation which allows the operator to point with the mouse to an object on the computer screen, than drag it to another location and click to leave it there. That’s what I’m referring to.

The largest exercise to help people learn this operation was solitaire.

Now you know what I mean! I loved playing solitaire on the computer. It is fast. No cards to shuffle. No dealing the cards. No laborious and boring pulling and sliding and sorting the cards to the proper sites. Now it was done in living color quickly and easily. My speed improved. I became a whiz.

I also became addicted to this. One day I spent 7 hours raptly engulfed in it. Finally I deleted it from my computer so I would not be so tempted in the future. Yet new computers and discovering ‘retrieve and restore’ features allowed me to resume some of my previous addiction. I still play solitaire, but as a palette cleanser between projects. It helps me think forward on the next task.

These days the addiction is under control. And no, I did not allow it to capture my life, nor did I allow it to become a gateway to other computer-based addictions like poker, black jack or any other folly. I've been good! Yay team!

But….playing solitaire the other day allowed me this conclusion: boring is boring whether from solitaire or watching the news. Think about it.

I've gotten so bored by the news lately that I actually prefer watching a TV series rerun without the ads. It is more engaging and life affirming. Certainly more so than the news.

Not that the news is all bad. It isn't: weather is good unless they over blow the pending gloom of storms and attendant possibility of Armageddon! All sports is folly to me, unless it is my team’s advancement in the national standings (oh please, the Cubs are not contenders, ever; the Bears are usually disappointing, and there are no other teams I actually care about!). Natural disasters are of interest because they are so unpredictable and could affect me or loved ones; and the drama is so universal a concern.

But international news is rarely about them, it usually gets turned around to be a threat to the USA and then on to who’s to blame? So, political nonsense takes over that report and makes it useless, superfluous certainly, and ultimately dangerous to us because blaming ourselves for the ills of the Middle East is pure crap. Or Benghazi, Libya, Crimea, Ukraine, etc. Those people have a responsibility to manage their own affairs. If they need humanitarian assistance then we should be there to help. But militarily, ideologically? Bosh!

Let’s see, American national news. There really isn't any. It is all political folly these days. Who’s on first, who’s to blame for whatever, and how nice the new guy looks on TV. Maybe he should run for president? Before we learn what’s on his mind or what the vacancy in the cranium holds? Again bosh.

If leaders and news people wish Americans to take them seriously, they first need to get in touch with what is important, what is factual, what is our vision of the future, and then attempt to make that possible. Ideology is currently empty. Highly educated people spout nonsense on every topic: medicine, economics, history, culture, governance, social and entertainment. In fact entertainment has become the big word for all of the news industry. If it is entertaining it will sell and grab ratings.

Not! Or rather it should not. Who makes this possible? You and I. We turn on the boob tube and watch it (whether on our I-phones or I-pads or computers). We provide the ratings. We make the dumb shows possible. And that includes the dumb news, including NBC News with Brian Williams. So disappointing. So discouraging.

I think we are better than all of this. I think we can return to a more serious age of concern, intellectual engagement and problem solving that is reasonable and accessible. It is not rocket science. It is personal.

It is you and I being willing to pay attention to what is important.

Are you ready?

May 13, 2014

Incompetence - Corporate America

Modern technology has revolutionized communications. They are smooth, quick and accurate. And cheap. So cheap robots now make the calls, record the answers and do so digitally. So well does this service work, costs have plummeted for many corporations in dealing with customer service. But not all.

Apria Health Services generally provides respiratory products and services. I’m on oxygen provided by a machine called a concentrator. Before that I was on tanks. Big tanks and small tanks. Now I only have small tanks for back up should the power go out or the concentrator quit working.

I've been on these services since 2006 or 2007. I’m no longer on oxygen 24/7 but at night for 8 hours, and for long naps during the day.

The equipment is supposed to be checked quarterly and the individual tanks replaced as needed and used up. Robo calls make the visitation appointments. Robo calls make the reminder calls. Robo calls take your answers digitally, and late arrivals are communicated, again by robo calls. Not very personal. But efficient.

Trouble is we moved a month ago. I called Apria and changed the address so they didn't think I had run off somewhere with their equipment! Also to help them find me when they next needed to make a delivery or check the equipment.

However, they have attempted to service the equipment at least twice recently, maybe 4 times. Each of the appointments were missed; we were stood up. I called this time and asked if they had the right address; they didn't. When I registered my surprise they put me on hold twice trying to switch me to someone else. The call took over 30 minutes with no progress made.

It’s easy to understand what happened. The corporation is too large and the right and left hands do not know what the other is doing. Internal corporate communications are not functioning properly. Their billings are up to date. Their insurance information is up to date. Their physician referrals are up to date. Just their patient data is not up to date.

And evidently no interest in making improvements.

I cannot tell you how many times I have run into this corporate myopia. American firms who think they do great work but aren't really! In fact, they act as though they don’t want to correct anything. The problem is with the patient. Not them. No authority is exercised to correct the problem.

Why do we Americans put up with this? Let’s see, you all complain about smaller government and the governments all have contracted because the economy tanked as a direct result of dumb politicians making decisions that did great damage to the economy. They blame government. It isn't government careerists. It’s dumb politicians playing politics.  But wait! American business is building nicely and getting reinvented using the taxpayer paid-for infrastructure and research and development. They want all the freebies, and they want lower taxes, but then they don’t make the investment in the economy that the rest of us do. No, government gets smaller, people complain about government not doing what they are supposed to do, yet government costs are dropping, jobs are dropping (government ones) and then the politicians wonder why employment hasn't recovered.

It has recovered. Private employer jobs are growing very well. It’s government jobs that need to be rejuvenated.

Meanwhile, American businesses treat their customers like shit and expect us to remain loyal to them.

All I ask is competency. I don’t expect their loyalty. Just do the right thing at the right time because that’s what you are getting paid to do.

When I point this out to you, I expect an apology and a thank you for pointing out their error. It would be even nicer if they all thanked me for telling them exactly how to fix their problem as well. But then, that’s a retired consultant’s habit. I guess I shouldn't expect a thank you anymore than I would expect an invoice paid in my name.

Would be nice, though.

May 12, 2014

Thought for the Day

Ran across this quote the other day from Floyd Westerman, a Lakota First Nation native:

“I would like to quote a very prejudicial doctrine that was handed down by the Supreme Court in 1823. it said that the Indian Nations do not have title to their lands because they weren't Christians. That the first Christian Nations to discover an area of heathen lands has the absolute title. This doctrine should be withdrawn and renounced to establish a new basis for relationship between indigenous peoples and other peoples of the world.”

Think about that. No Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, atheists, or any other believers or non-believers. Only Christian. In America. In the land of religious freedom. In the land of equality and justice for all.

Just imagine this. And then look deeply into a mirror and say “I am an American.” Can you do that and be proud?

I can’t.

May 10, 2014

Investing for Future

US congressman Ron Kind from Wisconsin, is a young democrat. He made this statement the other day and I thought it might be fruitful to take a look at it.

“We have an immediate need to reform student loan repayment programs so that students aren't punished for seeking higher education.”

There are some in America who think this is not true. They posit that if a person wishes to better themselves they should strive to do so, earn their own money to do so, or take the plunge of faith and go into debt to do so. Of course those same people probably have plenty of funds to pay for their own kids’ education and wish them to succeed beyond those of lesser means. That’s what’s known these days as independence, competition and small government.

What’s missing from this point of view are two things.  First, charity. We should wish all talented people to have access to whatever education and development needs they require to flourish in our society. It comes from caring. It comes from ethics. It comes from positive mental attitude. And yes it comes from religious training and theology. At least one would think so.

Second, our society will flourish if every person has what they need to prosper intellectually, professionally, career-wise, etc. If we hold people back because they are female, black, immigrant, brown, or in any other way different from ourselves, then we cheat all of us, not just the object of our discrimination.

Think about it. Half the population are women; half men. Yet we shower males with education, scholarships for athletic prowess, and all the rest.  Because?  Does anyone have a good answer to that?

I’m male but I was married, have two kids, one a daughter, have a great daughter in law, have two beautiful granddaughters. I also have a mother, two grandmothers, several aunts, a sister, and so on. Why would I wish them a more difficult time of development just because they are female? Why would anyone?

Same goes for any other ‘minority’ among us. The truth: we are all part of a minority. To allow it to have predominance over another or subservience, is just plain wrong.

Education provides leveling power for differences. Let each person soar to whatever heights they are willing to work for. But first allow them access to those resources. I need them. You need them. They need them. If they succeed, we all succeed. So, we should all pay for it.

Congressman Kind should seek federally funded education at all levels and be done with it. No debt for the student. Or the parent. Equal access to equal educational resources. So that we might all benefit.

Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat from Iowa, gave us this to work with:

“The American dream promises that if you work hard and play by the rules, you’ll be able to save for retirement and enjoy your golden years with your grandchildren. We must ensure that, after a lifetime of hard work, Americans are able to retire with dignity and financial independence.”

All true. But it would be even more true and affordable if free education is made available to all in the first place. Perhaps Rep. Kind and Sen. Harkin should work together.

May 9, 2014