Current Events 2018

Over the past seven years I’ve written about many topics. Some remain the same year after year. Recently I began thinking on topics that appear often in public discussion. I thought I’d make a list of what is now current. We can look back at the list and consider items that continue to beg for solutions over and over without much progress. Should be interesting.

Current event topics in 2018:

1.      Trust in government: policing missteps, politician misdeeds, bald face lying, etc.

2.      Federal debt level; annual deficits and cumulative total

3.      Employment data trends: up, down, stagnant?

4.      Health of economy: who’s hurting and its effect on the rest of us

5.      Access to quality education: all levels; affordability; effectiveness; trends going forward

6.      Access to affordable healthcare

7.      Environmental protection; global warming

8.      Global community; open trade; cultural diversity

9.      Fix our immigration and naturalization system

10.   Work toward world peace and lesser military confrontation and buildup

Now, how long have some of these topics been around? How persistent and resistant to solutions? Here’s my take on that question:

1.      Trust in government is a variable over time; ups and downs are common throughout history. American political temper, however, has been trusting in general. The push and pull of partisan politics and the ideological struggles between conservative, liberal, libertarian and centrist positions have atomized political discussion. Nasty communication patterns have developed that further polarize political discussion and manipulation. 

      The answer may very well be more people engaged in the actual process of governance. Being elected to public office – any office – provides perspective for the office holder. Once in a position with access to all the information and the authority to take responsibility for it, brings focus to the office holder. Things are not as clear cut as they were once thought.

2.      Federal debt, both annual operating deficits, and the total debt accumulated, have been  long-standing problems. As a percent of Gross National Product, debt has been generally affordable, but economic downturns have often added to the debt load and the federal purse was used to bail out the economy. The current situation is more dire than recent periods. The upturn in deficit spending because of massive tax cuts have added much to the national debt and promises another $1 trillion run up this fiscal year. The problem, however, is manmade. And the motivation for this is not yet crystal clear. Certainly, political games have been played to earn support from corporate owners and wealthy individuals. But the real motivation may be to force a show down between big government and small government. If true, then the deficit is being run up to demonstrate how social programs and safety net programs are unaffordable. The goal will be to minimize those programs or eliminate them outright. 

       The resolution is to re-establish higher tax rates on the wealthy and on corporations. That will reduce deficits and restore balance to the economy. Besides, if we eliminated – outright eliminated – all social programs, it wouldn’t be enough to make a dent in the deficit and debt. For the dent to grow, massive cuts in military spending would need enactment; that, and major tax increases on the wealthy and corporations. The truth: social programs are a blip compared with military spending.

So far, both of these topics have been around a long time. Both are central to our form of governance. They are features and yet bones of contention to many. As a nation, as a people, we discuss and argue the merits of many positions on both topics. In the end, they amount to the same thing – trust and belief in our people, our government processes and agencies, and the purpose and value of its workings.

One person does not hold the magic answer. No, that takes all of us to determine.

Return here tomorrow for more on this list of current events!

July 31, 2018

Are They Listening?

I’m not a marketer. I don’t sell things. I have had to sell ideas, though. Not quite the same thing as goods. But some of the same principles apply.

First of all, does the target need the idea? Are they aware of their need? If not, the task is more difficult. That is true, however, only if you know for certain they need the idea. If you are wrong, you will not be heard.

Often needs go unmet because the needy are unaware of their need. Simple as that. The frog in the slowly heating frying pad is unaware of his danger until it is too late.

The hot stove teaches the young boy not to touch, in the future that is.

But ideas are difficult to sell. Most of the time the audience is not willing to listen. Getting their attention is the real challenge. How to do that?

Let’s see, a loud noise startles people; but does it capture that part of their attention that will follow you message? Or perhaps an oddly stated title and opening sentence will grab their curiosity? You can try that. Sometimes, it takes entertaining them in some fashion until, too late, you have them absorbed in one message and you spring the plot twist on them with the purposed message. That is an arted form of communication, but one that increasingly has traction in today’s cultural mosh pit.

Try writing a newsletter. Humdrum and ignored most of the time. sparkle it up and they may continue reading. Tone is important. Conversational, friendly, easy to read. Along this path information may be passed freely. Even the humdrum contents can be presented and remembered.

Just don’t get lost in the art. Then it is quality rambling without purpose or effect. Bummer!

House organs are formalized newsletters in organizations that wish to communicate with all of their employees without sending an interoffice memo. It is usually attractive graphically. It is also chatty in places, and very official in others. Some staff look forward to the monthly house organ. Most don’t.

How then can readership be improved? Help the reader identify with the writer, the topics or the importance of the primary message. Make it a fun read as well. Entice them to read and engage. That requires an understanding of the audience by the writers. Their real job is to connect with the reader.

Grammar, vocabulary and tone of voice are all elements to consider. Topical importance may have attraction value as well.

The content is a sharing of ideas. Conjuring a receptive attitude is part of the communication transaction. It is the front door of understanding anything. Only then will ideas be shared as intended.

This is an art form in present day culture. Song lyrics, music forms and graphics tell a story. The written word must do the same. It may not be easy, but it challenges the artist within. Know that and be free. Let the words dance on the page to a tune and mood that readers will want to read.

Then see if it works. Measuring its effectiveness is more difficult than creating it!

July 30, 2018

Things Not As They Seem

Family of four on vacation; laughing, giggling, tugging at one another as they enter the restaurant. Led to a table, they sit and read the menu. The youngest tells mommy what she wants without reading the menu; doesn’t read yet. The oldest boldly reads aloud his choices. Dad and mom peruse a few minutes and then nod to the waitress. The order is taken without fuss and the waitress leaves them to their giggles.

The couple at the counter sits quietly. They have been here before. No menu needed. They tell the waitress their meal selections and sit quietly, waiting for the plates to appear. They say nothing to each other, but look self-contained. They are in their early 70’s. 

Three teens stumble in, take seats at the counter. Cokes and burgers for all three. Betty the waitress knows them and jokes with them easily. The kids gab freely and are at ease in the company of the other diners.

Middle aged man enters solemnly. Stoic, even. The black and white collar tag him as clergy. His brow is furrowed. He acknowledges the server and walks to his usual table in the corner. He is in deep thought.

The 40-ish woman walks in tentatively. She is carrying two shopping bags from local shops. It’s time for lunch and she finds a booth to spread out her bags. With a deep sigh she orders a salad lunch with iced tea. Calories are a thing with her. She dines sparingly.

Five tables of patrons, five of them seated at the counter. But still, 5 gatherings of diners on a mission to eat. It is mid-day and the weather is overly warm. July is like this in central Iowa. A pleasant town home to farm families and two small manufacturing firms. Three banks are at home on three different corners in the business district. Hardware store and auto parts shop are on the edge of town center. Clothing stores, jewelry shops (2), and various specialty boutiques populate the shopping district. This is a small town of 22,000. Been here since the mid-1800’s.

The traveling family are outsiders yet they feel welcome. Everyone else is a long-time resident of the immediate area. They don’t ‘know’ each other, but they are known to one another. They are the townspeople. They are the diversity of the region.

In other parts of town – out by the interstate, on the edge of town by the now empty school buildings – activity drones on in unbroken routine. Fast food outlets are busy at the noon hour; so too, are the gas stations, convenience stores and the truckers’ diner. The feed stores are quite busy. Farm families are shopping for supplies and personal items. Traffic passes by on the rural highway while interstate travelers whoosh by overhead. In the distance tractors and farm vehicles are at work in the glimmering sunshine.

A peaceful scene. Central Iowa. A farming area doing what it does. Passers-through doing what they do. Families doing what they do, too. All kinds of families – alone, singles, old, young, middle-aged and self-selected age groups, too. This is the cross section of society here. Each doing his/her/their thing. Each with life on their minds complete with hopes and dreams.

What binds them together? What separates them? Are they happy, sad, scared or hopeful? What thoughts occupy their minds?

All seems quiet and in proper place. But is it? Can you tell what their lives are like? Or are we placing our life experience on them?

Surfaces do not tell the story. That is beneath the surface, the story. And we cannot know of it unless shared.

July 27, 2018

Walking the Dog

Walking the dog. Waving mosquitoes away from my face, arm, and leg! They are everywhere. Dog sniffs the base of a bush. Noses deep into the bush. Lingering to catch the scent of previous visitors. She moves her head, sniffs rapidly, then retreats to another site. Following a trail of smells only she knows are there, she reads activity and tales of other animals.

A skunk? Possum or raccoon? Probably just a squirrel, but a another life was here, in this spot. Interesting.

On to another target. A stand of grass, high and waving in the breeze, a dog has marked the spot and she takes special note. Withdrawing from this bouquet she studies the ground and squats to relieve herself. Motivated by another’s earlier visit? I do not know.

The trail of smells leads her on until she does duty #2.

Done she turns toward home.

Four times each day this activity is repeated. Differing results but always a trail of tails. I wonder what she has learned? She seems satisfied and willing to return home for a nap. Calmed and at ease.

What is she thinking? What do we think of it?

Ah yes!

July 26, 2018

Making Music

The kid picked the guitar up from the floor. He had eyed it many times, touched its strings. Heard sound from a brushed string, then a pling when ticked by the fingernail. Running his fingers over all the strings as he had seen others do on TV, more sound tumbled out.

He ran his hand over the finger board, up and down the neck, and wondered how to make pleasant sounds. Maybe a stacked number of tones? Like a chord? He began to strum the strings with his right hand while fingering them with his left hand along the finger board.

The sounds were not all good. Adjusting his fingers he found better tones. He lay the guitar down. Other things beckoned his interest.

Days later he repeated his visit with the instrument. This time he began where he left off. The squeaks and sounds were more organized this time, not musical exactly, but more structured. He repeated this from time to time over the next several weeks.

A couple of months later he was playing recognizable chords. From there he picked out single note lines of melody. At first these were copies of what he remembered others doing, but eventually he found a line of notes from within himself.

Chords came next to accompany the note line. He was pleased with the short line of music he had created. It was his. Only he knew of it. It gave him pleasure to have done this and to repeat it often.

Months later he extended his ditty to a longer one. It now had a beginning, middle and end. Like a sentence, there was a subject, and action by the subject and also a conclusion. It was a trip, from beginning to end, and it told a story. He didn’t know the story yet. He needed to find a tale to go with the music.

Several weeks later he chanced upon a poem that attracted him. He took the poem and what it made him feel. He tweaked it with words of his own and soon had written his own message. All during this experience he ‘heard’ his own music playing along with his poem, his message. A week later he connected the two and made them one.

He had composed a song.

He shared his masterpiece with his family after supper one night. Excited to know their reactions, he presented his art for family inspection. They were surprised. He had never shown interest in music before now. But here was a small performance of an original song. Smiles broke out. Teasing, too, from his siblings. But no boos or disparaging comments.

Over the following years he tried other messages and melodies. He developed a style of playing the guitar that became unique to him. He had found a way to speak, to share with the world his thoughts that were mute before, unknown.

We will leave his story here, unfinished, untold. The important part is shared here – a voice created, discovered. A means to communicate more than thoughts and words. Feelings. Emotions. Pleasant sounds linked to words and mood. Art was formed. And we witnessed it. Just now. In these sentences.

Do we hear the music amid the sounds of life? Do we read the thoughts shared with us in forms other than language? Are we witness to feelings shared by those who must share it?

Listen. Look. See.

July 25, 2018

A Boat Sets Off

Sea swells undulated ominously. The boat was small with 102 souls aboard. A few animals were on the manifest, two cows, two goats and a dog or two. Some cats as well. Men, women and children. Plus crew. The boat seemed large at the time, but history tells the truer story of context.

The year was 1620. The harbor was Plymouth, England.

Months later – storms and calms weathered apace – the little boat nudged into calm waters not far from land. Slowly they crept forward until reaching a likely anchorage. A small boat was lowered and a landing group carefully edged toward land. Upon a rock they stepped, small for the historic moment, but a rock of substance nonetheless.

From one Plymouth to the new one, a movement was said to start.

The movement, of course, had already started many years before as other brave souls settled in Florida and Virginia and other points on the south coast of what has become the USA. Many of those stalwarts did not survive ordeals; but some did. A beginning was seeded for history to tell.

To the north, Plymouth became a settlement, and then a larger community as the region took form. The Massachusetts Bay Colony had begun. A culture was forming, from one in England to one in America, made up of different points of view and diversity. As years went by the diversity grew as newcomers joined the region and added to talents, skills and cultures. It grew some more and morphed into a vibrant colony of trade with other regions and the old world. Invention of materials at hand and need for sustenance and well-being demanded such invention.

A society took shape; governance, too; ways and means of living in community proffered the way forward to what has become a national heritage. It came from many, not a few. It came of courage to try, to begin again, and survive the unknown. The new world became an invention of all.

Sometimes I wonder if we truly appreciate those efforts of our ancestors? Do we feel what they must have felt to live out the experiment that became America?

If so, we ought not act as we now do – twitter, facebook or website magnifying the ugly side of our life together. Such energy would better be spent on building up what we yearn for together as a people. Kinda like our ancestors did. Yearn. And build. 

Like all the boatpeople that followed from places like Cuba, Mexico, Vietnam, Laos and so many more?

July 24, 2018

Responsibility

Taking care of yourself is the first rule for having capacity to care for another. Caring for the other is the second responsibility we bear if we accept it. Caring for entire groups is another responsibility; we may do this in context of a job or career. Taking responsibility for one’s community is yet another task we can bear should we care to take it on. A community is a gathering or collection of groups, and is larger than the career assignment. State or regional care is yet a larger commitment, as well as concern and care for the nation-state. Then responsibility leaps across borders to international concerns. Yet larger are global concerns that embrace the planet and its well-being in the solar system.

From that point on the care and nurture of others sweeps to theological dimensions should you so choose. Yet there are those who would say the first paragraph is actually one that begins with God and doesn’t end with it. That may be true, most probably is true, but only if theology is one of your core values.

Surely caring for the self is early in the progression, for only healthy, settled people can care for others. Sometimes jumping ahead to care for others actually heals the caregiver and makes them whole; so progression may be omnidirectional.

Either way, responsibility is up close and personal. It is you and I in the world doing our thing for others that makes the globe a community. It is the human race that matters, not sects, nationalities or other made up differences that brand who is good or bad, rich or poor, or smart or dumb. No, it is the all of us that make the world go around.

Picking responsibilities that matter to you and I remains a personal choice. We cannot do it all. We can care without the doing. That makes us readers and vicarious sharers of news of such matters. It does not make us a player in the doing.

Getting involved is the first step of taking responsibility. Interested in gardening and spreading it to the community? Join the town’s gardening group and watch beautification take root (pun intended!). Like reading news of neighbors and community groups? Write a blog, newsletter or newspaper column and gather the information to share with others. Think the local park district could do more? Join the park board and share your talents, ideas and resources. Same with the town council and other boards and commissions. You are needed. Your understanding of the issues involved will grow and become a broader understanding.

Being interested is one thing. Caring is another. But getting involved takes some time, effort and…courage. When you get involved you become a target. Others will not understand your caring and will read it as motivation for something else. They will attack you as untrustworthy and political. All because they don’t understand. That doesn’t stop them from detracting from your efforts, even though they don’t know the issues, the contexts or the long-term outcomes hoped for by so many.

Americans swear by democracy but make it ugly and treacherous for those brave enough to step forward and serve. Not all caring is motivated by power or money. It is a hard truth they don’t get. So they turn community involvement into a contact sport.

Look at the Illinois governor’s race. Two billionaires pitted one against another. One goes dirty and makes outlandish accusations that too many believe are true just because it appears in public media. Bought media. Ads paid for whether the contents are true or not. No facts presented or adjudicated in a court of law. Slander and misrepresentation is the ‘law of the land’ in Illinois politics. That alone is something to care about and get involved to combat.

It is a shame that a good person caring enough to get involved is automatically slandered and abased.

Don’t the individuals realize they abase all of us in this practice? One then wonders if the state or community is worth saving? Especially because the practice is allowed to continue unabated.

If you care about something, own it and support it. Enjoy it and work to support it. Whether volunteer or elected work is involved, live your convictions and work for the rest of us.

All are needed. That means you and I and the rest of us to boot. Responsibility doesn’t pick us; we choose it.

July 23, 2018

Clear and Present Danger

A clear and present danger is lurking over the United States of America. The language is pure Supreme Court reasoning and language. It gives the nation power and authority to take appropriate action should a clear and present danger appear that threatens the safety and well-being of the people of the United States of America. These are limits over free speech, assembly and the press.

Settled law. But what about process to implement it? Once we are certain a clear and present danger exists, what then? Who leads us through the process? What is the process. What is the timeline. What are the short term adjustments we must take to enable unfettered governance to continue, just with different people.

The court case that gave us this doctrine, involved freedom of speech and press. What constituted imminent danger as a direct result of the speech used? The year was 1919. Newspapers were the means by which we communicated via mass media. Today the media selection is huge and ever more present in our lives. Newspapers and magazines not so much. Internet webpages, yes. Twitter and Facebook carry billions of messages each day. Not always well thought out or even true, but the effects are real and most are intended.

Intention of message and the result one can reasonably expect from it. Is it a danger? A discussion? And opinion? Shouting ‘bomb!’ in an airplane causes instantaneous results, chaos, injury and panic. Shouting ‘fire!’ in a crowded theater causes the same panic and injury. Maybe even death. Of many.

Having a gun in public and waving it about is not speech, but has the same effect. Even if he who brandishes the weapon is a mute.

A danger of imminent impact from someone’s action. Is it intended to upset and move others to action?

We have a president who tweets constantly seven days each week. He speaks off script daily. He ad libs comments and claims. Very few of these messages are true, just influential, propaganda and intended to misinform some while salving his fan base. He does this overseas, too.

On foreign soil the rules of communication of a president are different. He is restricted from treasonous acts that meet a lower threshold than if he were communicating on home soil.

The actions, tweets, public statements at home and abroad by the current president seriously  creates the image, if not actual act, of treason. He has undercut American policy, both foreign and domestic, he has injured treaties and relationships with allies, and he has dissed federal agencies, and employees.

What constitutes treason? Who in the judiciary and legislative branches have both the knowledge and power to define this with respect to our current circumstances? And if they agree treason has been committed, then what do we do?

While this process is going on, what do we do with the president’s power and authority? Is it suspended? If so, to whom do the reins of the job transfer?  Is it the vice president, a person involved at the very base of policies and communication under dispute? If treasonous, the position of president and vice president are packaged as one; both positions are suspended. If that happens, who then takes their place until the facts are adjudicated and settled?

One stark truth stares me in the face: there are few elected officials in Washington DC who have the trust of the nation in these matters. The state of chaos among elected leaders appears universal. They are all without power in such times.

Who then guides the ship of state back to safe harbor?

I think we are at this stage of crisis. Who among us knows the answers to these pressing questions?

July 20, 2018

Soliloquy of the Soul

Or maybe this is about ‘souliloquy’? You know, the inner voice we use to talk with ourselves about all sorts of ideas and topics. These are the items needing some sort of settlement. For our own equanimity, balance.

Hamlet’s lament haunts at times. “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”

A soul-searching query. A plea for help – self or otherwise. His answer is long. It is a classic of Shakespearean dialogue – or unilogue!

The self, yours, mine or another’s, questions itself throughout all of life. I’m sure my mother wondered why she lived so long for what she saw as little purpose. I wonder what my father wondered before dying in hospice. These are seminal moments for each of us. Not shared. Not meant to be. Only for us to think and ponder upon.

The souliloquy – the self talking with the self. Lonely? Not really. Perhaps comforting to sense we all have these conversations. Inner. Alone. Unwitnessed.

Well, maybe God takes a peek? Now and again? Another thought to ponder silently.

We each have much to ponder these days. Not the past. The future. The pull of what is yet to be. Does it have a place for me? Is use a part of that? If so what? And what of others in my life? Am I to be of use to them? How?

What does this planet need right now? Sanity. Peace. Balance. People reaching out to one another. Across borders. Across cultures. To see the same that is in us all?

My soul’s tongue will play with this awhile. And I will not fret. Instead I will delight in the freedom to think, be and ponder reason, truth and use.

And you?

July 19, 2018

Learning, Knowing, Discipline, Doing

The title says a lot. Maybe all?

We learn things in life. Often we do not know we are doing so. Little by little we gather bits and pieces of things that make sense, and then build on one another. Accumulating data, facts, relations among those same bits and pieces. Cause and effect relations emerge. We test those thoughts to see if they work. One plus one does equal two. Eight plus 4 minus 2 does equal 10.

Over time this process teaches us about the world, daily existence, getting along with others, or not; and a host of other sensical things that hold together logically. This is knowledge. Not single bits but related universes of bits and pieces. They hold together and mean things of larger weight and substance.

Again, over time, this knowledge is tested and used in expanded ways that yield more knowledge. A lot of discipline. A lot of knowledge. Even more awareness of the enormity of all that surrounds us. But it doesn’t frighten us; rather it enlightens and expands our knowledge of the universe.

We learn. We come to know. With discipline we learn more and know more. Now, what to do with all of this?

Well, that is a good question! What to do with it? Well, do something!  What are the needs we see that need to be addressed?  What solutions are possible to fill those needs? Let us use our knowledge and discipline to do something worthwhile about the needs we have noticed.

This is doing. This is finding purpose. This is what learning and knowing and discipline amount to: the ability to do. To be of use.

So, now we have a purpose. Let’s get busy doing.

Many will respond and get involved. Organizations will spring up and work the projects and meet the needs. Others will find more needs and engineer solutions for those as well. Even government agencies may get involved, preparing the way forward for a lot of volunteer hands. This is a community need, and it is solved by the community – large or small, town or city, or state or nation.

There will always be those who say, “Why me? Why must we fix things for other people? Can’t they do this themselves?”

Well, evidently not. Else why does the need exist in the first place? Poverty, ill health and disability are like that; they exist for little reason but cause much suffering for all, even the wealthy, the healthy and the full-bodied. The needs are a cancer in some manner; but they are also the reminder of our need to be of use, to be of purpose, and to share so others may live fuller lives. That is achieved by sharing the love.

Some will shirk the duty. The reasons are many, of course: too busy, doing good elsewhere, don’t agree with the purpose (it’s against my value structure), and so forth. I wonder at times if some of these people are just too lazy to understand where they acquired what they have. Did they earn it? Did they create it? Or did someone provide for them a helping hand, a talent, a good education, an upbringing that made getting along in life easier?

Are they afraid of losing this? Why? Because they know they didn’t fully earn it? Maybe that’s it. Maybe these folks aren’t lazy, just guilty? Hmmm. Hadn’t thought of that before. Sounds way too simple an answer. But maybe, just maybe, we should continue to think on that.

meanwhile, get to the doing.

July 18, 2018

Expectations

We could tell stories forever about expectations. What we wanted yet what we ended up with. Stories of people who insisted they were living the good life when in actuality they were living in a dream world. Others who yearned for certain things in life only to find emptiness once they were achieved.

My own mother admitted to aching to have something yet instantly wanting something else after getting the first item.

Never satisfied? Always or frequently disappointed?  What is it with expectations?

Before tossing them out entirely, it is good to know expectations play a role in life. These are the tools with which we dream. How can we reach higher goals if we don’t envision what it is we are reaching for?

Good question. Maybe there are companion tools that can help?

Let’s see – maybe we notice an injustice or stark lack of a basic necessity in the life of others. Like, maybe clean water, ready accessibility to clean water supplies? We wonder what it would be like if this problem were solved or erased. What would that circumstance look like? What are the barriers to making this happen?

Supplies of clean drinking water in many parts of the world are lacking. Parts of South America, Africa, Asia. Vast territories where inhabitants spend vast amounts of time just trekking to wellheads or pools, then lugging heavy vessels back to home. Those treks solve the water problem for only a few hours. Then someone else repeats the trek to fetch the family’s water.

Drilling fresh-water wells in key locations is one solution. Capping the well with pipes and valves that preserve the water yet allow access 24/7/365 to those who need it. More wells in more places shorten the arduous trips to the well.

In time, a distribution network of water pipes can be built to villages and towns. Soon abundant water supplies are available to a larger region and its people. Later, indoor plumbing will come to those who can afford it.

Someone needs to drill the wells. Someone needs to build the wellheads. Someone else needs to teach local residents how to expand on this system. There are companies and charitable institutions that do this. The Clinton Foundation is one such organization. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is another. Many international church organizations do this. But the need is great and more help would be a blessing to millions of people. Now.

Of course this story focuses on cultures less fortunate than ours. But we have the same need here in America, too. Many backwater towns and villages in poverty areas have this need. And then there are the stories of failed infrastructures and government, like Flint, Michigan. A tragedy to its victims; a travesty of malfeasance of government to all in the region. Criminal malfeasance.

To the rescue is Elon Musk. It is not particularly his problem to solve yet he has chosen to do so. He has pledged to brink fresh, safe water to each Flint household in need. That means replacing dangerously toxic water supply pipes leading to homes, and replacing lead pipes in homes that taint good water entering the home.

Elon Musk sees a need and fills it. It is his expectation that all should have good water at their home in America. It is not a pipe dream (pardon the pun), but a realistic expectation of needs filled with doable actions. Each of us can do this.

But first we must dream what can be, then make it happen.

Want to lead a sober life? Look to others who have won this battle, then follow their route. Want to avoid drugs or get them out of your life? Look to others who have won this battle, then follow them on the path to sobriety.

Want to be rich to pamper yourself? Follow the path of others…wait! That usually doesn’t work. Doing something to reward the self rarely does work. No, the best model is to do something for someone else. Make the community stronger. Help a family through a tough time. help someone live through a difficult illness. Imagine the world filled with people willing to step forward and help. That is a realistic expectation. It relies on you and your commitment. Not someone else’s.

Expectations are realistic when focused on others. Think about that. Then choose the compelling interest to you. And get to work.

These are dreams and hopes. And do-ables if enough of us care and set to work it through. It’s not rocket science. It’s care, love, and…love.

Washington DC is in need of this love. Well, maybe that’s too big an expectation!

July 17, 2018

Law and Order

The party of the white house says it is the party of law and order. The GOP has always claimed that. But now? How does this square with the American people?

The 2016 Presidential Election Campaign was hacked. The data was shared far and wide. It was propagandized by Russia, republicans and trump. So many claims were made by them in a flurry of tweets, Facebook campaigns and news interviews, there was no time to respond. It became the mantra.

“Lock her up!” remember the chants? Investigation after investigation was waged against Hillary Clinton’s campaign and team, the Benghazi attack, and ‘missing emails’ that the public became certain that no other possibility was in the cards.

But it was. The possibility?  Massive hacking by Russian agents, fraternizing among trump staffers and Russian persons of interest, and a constant barrage of propaganda that was never proven true.

The mosh pit theory of modern politics became real. And the target? America’s voters. The American election system. American democracy.

Because of this attack, America’s reputation and value structure has been mocked, demeaned.

The persons who did this were in Russia. The person continuing to use these attacks to his advantage is trump. No let up in reckless attacks without facts. Just bullying. Unceasing bullying. By the bully-in-chief.

It seems weird to write these words. It is surreal to think a nation like ours, with its long history of citizen involvement and trust in its political system, has been made the subject of a badly written morality play starring the bully himself.

Also attacked relentlessly, is the Special Prosecutor Mueller and his investigation. Repeatedly called a witch hunt, the Mueller investigation so far has proven measured, honest, straightforward, and disciplined. It has followed protocol, procedure and the law. And it has indicted many perpetrators of felonies, and registered guilty pleas in many cases. This is not hot air. This is not a smoke screen. This is the real thing.

The response from bully trump and his thugs is the familiar complaint sounding more faint and empty by the day. Yes, indictments, arrests and prison come nearer the white house gang. Who would have thought this possible after the travesty of the Nixon white house? Who would have thought the honor of a nation would slip so low as to come to the present state of affairs?

Well, folks, it has. The fireworks you see lighting on the horizon are but a mere glint of what is to come. And the full weight and horror of what has been perpetuated by so-called political professionals against the American System of governance and law, will become clearer.

History is being written as we speak.

Meanwhile, the bully is abroad doing his nasty best to upend the foundations of western civilization. Will he succeed? Will the global community witness the end of a brave experiment in the ‘new world’?

Stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen. Stay tuned. There is much to be uncovered and shared. And then it all has to go through the fine machine of the jurisprudence system. But that protects all of us, even the accused. Except, of course, the Russians. They will never be processed through the American justice system. But then, we have a lot of control over economic matters that will hurt Russia’s tottering economy. Perhaps we should just capture and hold hostage all of Mr. Putin’s off-shore accounts filled with over $200 billion of the Russian people’s wealth. That just might hurt the old KGB bear.

That’s what’s called experiencing the bite of the snake on the rebound.

July 16, 2018

Thinking of Good

Awoke to pleasant thoughts of good people doing good things all over the world. Instinctively know this is the baseline of most people’s lives. That’s a good thing. A very good thing.

We hear much about bad people doing bad things. We read of horrible conditions others live in throughout the world and here at home, too. The yin and yang of life is constant. Much of it we have no control over. That is frustrating at times, sobering, too.

More reason to be grateful for the good in our lives.

I see good in many places. My entire life and career has centered on nonprofit organizations. I operated a few. I have served on boards of several. I have worked for others. Ultimately, I dedicated over 20 years consulting with them to improve their operations and success rate. These agencies focused on helping others, enriching their lives, and the communities in which they worked. Much positive to do and think about.

When I’m down in mood, I remember the people in my life who do good for others. So many examples of fruitful efforts for the benefit of others. Charity. Good works. Often ignored by many but the heart and soul of so many others.

The human race has much going for it. A lot not pleasant, to be sure. We are toughened by the bad but motivated, too; we are capable of much better. Odd to think that good comes from that. But it does.

The rescue of the 12 kids and their coach in the Thailand cave in recent weeks. A drama that attracted worldwide attention - because it was horror awaiting but safety inched forward; finally, success and all saved. A wonderful outcome. An outcome because others cared and did the right things.

Poverty is bad. Recognizing the suffering and helping relieve that is good. Same with crushing illness and helplessness. Others help relieve pain, suffering, and loss.

Life lived well is life shared and experienced together. With others. Not alone. A reminder that we are not islands, of despair or anything else. Triumphs are best lived with others. Loss as well. Scenic views beg to be shared with those around you. Even alone in such travels you look for someone near to share an ‘ahhh’.

In these times of disappointment and negative news, remember the good. Be grateful for it. And your ability to feel.

July 13, 2018

Employment Opportunities

Are you out of a job? Are you underemployed, working a slug job because you can but it doesn’t use your talents and potential? Are you working 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet in your household?

If so, what can you do to improve the situation? Here are some ideas:

·        Find others in a similar situation and form a discussion group; meet weekly and discuss your frustrations, hopes and dreams. Share your ideas with others to help them and listen for ideas that might help you. Invention is often discovered in plain sight; all it needs is a connection to our fertile minds. Let this happen!

·        Talk with small business owners and employers. Ask them if they have a labor shortage. If they do, find out what they are looking for in a new employee. Do those people exist? Is the employer looking to find good candidates and willing to train them for the job requirements? How is he coping with a labor shortage? How is he getting by?

·        Speak with local Chamber of Commerce leaders. Listen to what they think are labor issues in their market area and what can be done about them. Listen carefully for clues on what you and your friends could do to help fill labor needs being discussed

·        Consider forming a service among a few of your underemployed friends and help them adapt to new labor requirements. Help them find better jobs and share their good fortune with others in similar circumstances

·        Visit some business colleges and discuss how they are handling these same issues in research projects, course curricula for students, and support services for the area business community. Are they searching for solutions? Are they doing something concrete about the problem?

·        Speak with business and commerce journalists at the local or regional newspapers. Discuss with them the labor shortage problem and what they are finding. Share your information with them, too

·        Talk with the leaders of your local community college; ask what they are doing to re-train out of work or underemployed workers in the area. What more could they be doing?

I have a hunch that you will learn from the above a combination of the following:

1.      The labor shortage is real, or it is not; just a passing issue to discuss and make news

2.      If it is real, you should find people with credentials to do something constructive about it.

3.      You may find these credentialed people aren’t doing much but talking about the problem

4.      Your talking about the problem may get some new programs working; you may loosen up the log jam

5.      There is much that should be working on this problem. Employers are not owed trained, educated workers. They have a responsibility to train people for the jobs they want to fill.

6.      Community colleges have been missing the boat on career re-development for decades. This is a natural market for them to address, and they should be doing so!  It is part of their mission

At the end of this odyssey, you may even find a job for yourself! It won’t be one you planned for, but your curiosity and path of discovery will be appreciated and get people thinking creatively about the problem in the first place. Who knows what will come of your efforts?

A closing thought: life is all about change. Employment undergoes a constant process of change. Careers morph continually. Both the employee and employer have a self-preservation motive to see these changes coming and prepare for them. Educational institutions can do much to help in these situations. And they should.

Your need for a fulfilling job/career is a poke for creativity. Jump into it with all your heart and soul to find your next calling.  Good luck and good fortune.

July 12, 2018

Topsy Turvy

And away she goes! Nobody knows where! What’s up is down and down is up; in is out and out is in. the new and the old have swapped places. And so has the truth. Those in charge of Washington DC are bent and the rest of us need to focus our attention elsewhere.

Let’s face some facts:

We the People have control of the ballot box on election day; we don’t have control on any of the other days. Only at the ballot box. So everyone needs to be certain that their vote counts for something.

During the remainder of the year we only have control on any election that happens along. We need to pay attention to the issues and vote accordingly.

That is the only way we have control in a democracy – the power of the vote.

At other times we have influence. We can pester the daylights out of our elected officials and ask them to support our points of view and enact appropriate legislation. But we don’t vote on those matters. We can only tally what this elected official did over the period of his/her term; and then vote to retain or replace at the next election. That’s it. No other power exists.

We also have the power over the time and efforts we exert on the issues that matter the most to us. If it is education, donate time and support for your education programs, classrooms and tutoring however you can. Support the same things with donated dollars if you don’t have talents or time to share.

Other interests you can spend time to support: Meals on Wheels. Church. Various and sundry charities. Counseling teens. Mentoring in others in your area of specialty. Helping a younger co-worker develop his or her career strengths for a stronger future. So many things each of us can do. And we should do these things because they are power in the face of political power. If the government doesn’t do enough in areas of your concern, you do the extra work. Get others to do the same. Make a difference.

It is not all up to the government to do these things. We do all have power to exercise; it is just on a smaller scale.

Now, back to power and control at the federal level. Please keep these thoughts in mind:

1.      During the primary election season, get to know your favored candidate and vote for him/her. If she or he does not win, throw your vote behind the choice of the primary winners. Do not dilute your vote by throwing it away: not voting; voting for someone who certainly will not win (history lesson: Bernie Sanders had a lot of support; when he did not win his primary, many of his supporters didn’t vote, or voted for a clear loser (3^rd or 4^th party candidate) or voted for Trump. The result was a Trump win.) Don’t let this happen again.

2.      Know who supports your point of view and encourage them to follow suit in voting only for those candidates you can mostly agree with.

Only by doing this will we get rid of these two scourges:

a.      Trump and his minions

b.      Any and all republicans who have supported trump in the senate and house; they are working for their own power base and purse without regard to the nation’s best interest. They have proven this time and again in the first two years of trump’s term. Don’t let them get away with this.

All of this takes patience. The nonsense will continue until these people are voted out of office, OR until the Mueller Report and indictments are handed down. Be certain of this: indictments will follow. That is what Mueller is finding and managing and not leaking. The public relations campaign by trump and guilliani are clear marks of guilty people. If they are innocent, they will smile, say nothing, and get back to business. Instead they manage the news cycle day in and day out, just like they want to.

Be an informed voter. Know the issues and the candidates. Vote intelligently. Prove the American system of democracy works. When we have a solid core of reasonable people in office, then we can clean up the damage done during these past 18 months.

July 11, 2018

Trust

In God We Trust. That statement is plastered over our nation’s currency and many other symbols touting our identity. And although America has freedom of religion, not all people believe in or trust God. That’s a fact. There are believers and non-believers among us. And that’s OK. You do not have to believe in God to be an American. 

Trust is part of the statement dealing with God. Trust is a central element of any relationship or agreement. It’s pretty difficult – if not impossible – to agree on anything unless you trust the other party, and they you. Trust. I believe a party will act or perform in a manner expected, relied upon and agreed to beforehand.

Trust is one of those things you get when you give at the same time. I give my trust to you in exchange for your trust in me. If one of us is holding back, then the trusting relationship is a sham.

Saying you trust someone is not the same thing as actually trusting the party. The reverse is also true.

Trust is two-way. It can be three-way if a third party is involved, or four-way, five-way, etc. The parties to an agreement must trust that all parties will act as stipulated. Otherwise there is no trust and thus no workable agreement.

Treaties are like this. Compacts, constitutions, contracts and other agreements constitute trust-based transactions. We deal with those we trust. If we break new ground and make agreements with parties we earlier did not trust, then the agreements are the sort that must have stipulations verified from time to time. If the elements of the agreement are found to be underperformed as agreed upon, then a fault exists in the trust. A promised act was not performed. Trust is therefore shaky  and the agreement’s viability is in question. Follow-up with the partners will determine how serious the breach is and whether the agreement will survive. If the breach is intentional and no repair is forthcoming, the contract is broken. Trust has been dashed and with it the agreement.

Such is the status of the North Korea agreement which touted de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. There is no factual basis proving North Korea is de-nuclearizing its nation. The opposite appears to be true: nuclear facilities are being expanded and apparently for military reasons. That is counter to the agreement made between the nation heads of America and North Korea.

A show of hands being shaken amid pomp and circumstances does not make a contract. Words make a contract. Words with consequence and expectations. Trust that these words and expectations will mean something proves the contract. Without the trust or factual verification, trust disappears.

Pretty basic. Showmanship misleads in this instance.

Shame on both parties for openly fooling the world. One party retained the power of intentional nonperformance; the other party assumed compliance because of the pompous display of ritual. An empty ritual it was as many suspected beforehand.

Pretense is not governance. Trust is not to be misused. Do it once and you may be forgiven. Do it twice and likely you will lose trust of the people entirely. Forever.

Such is the case today. America is not to be trusted. It is a failed partner in treaties, negotiations and contracts. It has become a sham.

And that’s a shame. America is my country. I am an American. And the America of 2018 as it is represented by government no longer conforms to what my nation is and has been for centuries. That must mean that either I am not an American, or America’s government is no longer in existence.

If the latter is true, then we citizens must re-establish the America of treaty and Constitution. The experts in these matters are needed to stand and organize our response to this state of affairs.

Lincoln stated: “A nation divided cannot stand.” We are divided. We cannot stand. That becomes more evident with the passing of each day. The only thing left to do is retake the nation or lose it entirely.

Is this to be a replay of the American Revolution of 1776? I don’t know; I truly hope not. With 330 million people and the same number of guns in their hands, I shudder to think of the mayhem of a hot war revolution. Perhaps the newest revolution will be of a high-tech nature? Perhaps.

But a revolution has been begged and it awaits our response.

July 10, 2018

Creativity Abounds

Walk into a waiting room. What do you see? Heads bowed over cell phones. Eyes glued to images on tiny screens. Fingers roving and flicking. Most do this. Almost all young people do, from 5 to 35.

And silence. The room is quiet with bodies hunched over phones.

Waiting rooms used to contain 10 to 20 people waiting their names to be called. Next! The room had small children gabbing, rustling around with crayons or pencils on paper hurriedly given by moms to keep them quiet, engaged. The adults scrambled for reading material, anything that would save them from staring vacantly into space, or idly scanning the faces of others in the room. Don’t get caught looking! It was considered rude. A quick smile could cover only a small bit of the embarrassment.

Aging in place I scan my phone, too. I look first at phone calls I missed, then messages left for my return. Then to email. Flip through these, deleting the ads and junk items. Saving the messages that I know will require detailed responses. The other contents I open and read, adjust the calendar as requested, or send brief responses.

Still more time to kill? On to Facebook and see who responded or commented on my posts. Then a  scroll of new material left on FB.

Soon 20 minutes has been consumed and my name is called; I go in to see the doctor, therapist or phlebotomist.

Classrooms are the same. The early bird students have arrived and consumed with their phones. Soon the room is filled with phone divers and the professor arrives and we begin. Eerily silent the room has been. Phones had the attention of their owners.

Idle conversation with these same people is rare these days. But if, for some odd reason, a chat begins, watch where it goes. Dig a little for more information on what they are thinking. Engage them in their view of whatever. You might be surprised to learn they are engaged with life, career, school or other interests that produce a full view of their busy lives.

Do you counsel teenagers? Do you teach them? Do you spend any time with this age group? If you do, what’s on their minds? Do you delve into their interests and wonderings? What are they thinking? What are their yearnings for the future? Are they thinking of such things? or is their attention more immediate?

I think you will find – if you give them but a chance – they have much on their minds. Fertile ideas leap from them and give me pause to think on them. These kids are alive with points of view, some of which are startling to us older people. Did we think about such things when we were their age? Minds flash back 30, 40 or 50 years to ponder that question. Some of us were serious minded. Some of us played with ideas and history and conclusions of the day. Each a jumping-off point for more thinking or study, to determine what ‘ought to be’.

So, here we are in the today of 2018. Many of us worry about the future of our nation, our culture and our families. Will succeeding generations be up to the job of survival and success? Will they rise to challenges – both good and bad? Will they need to fight wars over and over to prove power or ideology? Will they invent new technology, products and services clamoring markets need? Will they reinvent our culture and spread it throughout the land? Will their quiet now burst forth with expanding, explosive new jobs, and economies?

Reinvention. Of self and culture. Not a face lift but a full-on remake and creation of perspectives, world views, et.al. Are their glimpses today of such pending developments?

Yes. It is in the minds of current phone-divers, the budding entrepreneurs yearning to build their own business, working in a basement or garage or attic. They are thinking and piecing together new understandings of the evolving contexts of life. They are the inventor geniuses at work today. Very much under the radar. But present just the same.

I have a positive outlook for the future. I have grand kids who think and express themselves. They play music, invent music, perform arted expressions. I work with teenagers overwhelmed by cultures they do not yet understand but are searching for an anchor; we steer them away from drugs and alcohol.

And I work with entrepreneurs dreaming of their own activities that will support livelihoods of value – both financial and intrinsic.

Those of you who expose yourself to these buds of culture see what I see. Our culture is alive and well, reproducing itself in new ways and directions. What will be is yet unknown but the misty architecture of greatness takes shape. I sense it and see it imperfectly. I know it is there.

So I am positive about the future. Among us are souls working to break free. Creative minds inventing new futures for all of us to benefit from.

Come look from my perch at the world. It is exciting. It is expansive. It is hope.

The horrors and worries of this day will pass and be replaced by the new realities of hope. I wish you to witness this. I hope you are part of this.

July 9, 2018

Getting Along

Holiday week. 4^th of July. One of my favorites. Thanksgiving is first, then the 4^th.

The day we set aside each year to celebrate our nation’s founding, is very special to me. It speaks of history, sacrifice, death and life. The huddled masses of our ancestors seeking a better place to live. They traveled perilous seas from their homelands to reach us from the east. They trekked over a 1000 miles of dessert and mountains to reach us from the southlands. And many were captured, abducted and enslaved, crossing the Atlantic in the holds of prison slave ships from Africa. They survived with illness and disabilities. Over 35% of them perished en route.

From most continents they came to our land, a land we assumed from the Native Americans already here. We took their land and gathered them into compact spaces, later moving them en masse to reservations in the southwest deserts. Captured, abducted, enslaved – sound familiar to another huddled mass that came this way?

History is a story that must be told. It is told in many forms. Some happy; some sad; some true; some false. This becomes our mythology, a reality not fully earned. It is escapist on the one hand, and wishful thinking on the other.

True history is blunt. It is honest. It must be so because that teaches us things about our roots we need to know. Settling America was not all sweetness and light, or rosy sunsets with the girl riding snuggly behind the cowboy atop the mighty steed. No sir. Our story is much more raw than that.

Facing it is humbling. Humility is empowering. It is our chance to be honest with the inner self so the outer self is more capable of handling the twists and turns of life. Such reality needs honesty if we are to live life fully.

Fully. We see the world clearly when humble. We feel the world keenly as well. This allows deep insights to form. The role of others in our lives becomes a bold model. And we learn to talk, hear, reason together. We find common ground on so much. Differences lessen. Compromise and agreements to move forward occur.

We learn to get along.

That is a far cry from what America is experiencing today.

But we must get along. If not today, then tomorrow. And that happens only when we give each other enough respect and space to reason together. Quiet the bitter tongue. Pull forth the manners. Engage one another in the common things we hold special.

Congress needs this. So do our churches. So do the neighborhoods and towns and villages across America. So too, the White House; choosing a Supreme Court Justice nominee should be easy. Choose the best legal mind. Choose someone who can listen to one another and discern fine points of logic and legal precedent. Perhaps not an ideologue? Perhaps a middle of the road person who sees the value of both ideologies and the blending of the two, or three, or perhaps four?

A middle of the road person? What a great idea. Someone to balance the forces of Right and Left.  Someone to give pause to the sass and sarcasm. A justice with justice coursing through hiss/her mind and veins. Someone worthy of the greatness of the position and the need of the nation.

Might we see this happen? We will if we learn to get along with one another. This is not a fight to win, but to lose.

We are better than this petty stand-off. So let us rise to what our forefathers demanded of themselves and us. Fairness. Justice. Forgiveness.

May the spirit of past 4^th’s rule our lives long into the future.

July 6, 2018