Witch Hunts and Other Empty Efforts

Halloween is past but witches still cram our airwaves. Must be an election near. More claims of skullduggery on the part of an opponent. The milk of human kindness soured yet again for our perusal. When will this crap end?

All voters know enough and have for some time now to make an informed decision as to who will get their vote. Experience or ad lib governance? Reasoned research or glib stabs at a generality? A lifetime of dedication and accomplishment to public service or a self centered, self serving man dedicated to the art of the profit making deal?

Good questions all but the topical nature of the wording made a decision easy for me. What about you?

And of course the votes have been cast and counted and we now know what America thinks of itself. Interesting. Historians will have a field day with this chapter of American history for generations to come.

Now that the new President has been chosen, let’s tidy up the federal government a bit:

• Appoint a supreme court justice to fill Scalia’s vacancy
• Pass a budget that will fund government services in the main
• Repair the intentional problems of Obamacare so it performs as it was originally intended and serves the under insured or the non-insured
• Make all routine Senate votes pass with a simple majority vote, not the super majority requirement unless so specified in the Constitution
• Restart reforms of the nation’s education programs
• Restart reforms of the nations criminal justice programs
• Restart reforms of election finance regulations
• Develop a new infrastructure replacement and improvement program funded for the next decade
• Strengthen regulations in all segments of the financial services industry
• Begin the process of clearly identifying what America stands for and is willing to work toward. A good old fashioned planning process?

The list above is a good start for us to turn our attention to rather than waste time on witch hunts. The time has come to begin the hard work again. Campaigns are over. The work beckons us once again to get to work.

Oh thank God the election is over! And please God! Don’t let the next campaign season begin immediately!!

November 10, 2016

Awakening

The concession by Hillary Clinton has been made. The acceptance of President Elect Donald Trump has been declared. With a mourning of this happening, I write the following:

I am a white, male, 73 years old, and of mostly English ancestry. I am a student of America and her role in global history. I am an ardent observer of American politics. I so wish for world peace and comity.

I am a Democrat because of social issues plaguing America. I voted for Hillary and all Democrats up and down the ballot. My sentiments evidently were mostly lost on my fellow American voters.

So I awaken on November 9^th, 2016 with a feeling of dread and wonder if this will spread like wildfire to the rest of the nation on this day? Or will the outcome of this election – this horrible, disfigured and decidedly un-American election – yield to something more positive than what I fear at this very moment?

You see, I believe that each of us is capable of accomplishing great things. Together, our combined talents and minds contain genius. What this genius can accomplish will be amazing if – and only if – it is focused on doing the right thing for the most people without taking freedom and dignity from anyone else.

I believe in women and their intelligence – alone and in concert. I believe in African American citizens and their solidarity of spirit, intellect and industry. I believe in immigrants from all over the world who have chosen America in which to live, thrive and be a citizen of equality of mind, spirit and purpose as our Constitution makes possible.

In truth each and every one of us is an immigrant; that is the unique history of our land. The only native American is the twelve millennia long native born Indians of our continent. And look what we – latter day immigrants all – did to them and their culture?

I am proud of my ancestry and its immigrant role in America. I welcome newcomer immigrants to play a similar role in our nation’s history of building promise for others. And it is why I stand firm on welcoming all immigrants to our shores. I do not see them as enemies. I do not fear them.

They, like all of us before them, will learn how the culture of this land operates and embraces them. Not always a pleasant experience or loving. But in the end it is a lasting welcome built on respect and equality.

Awakening to a Trump presidency is fearful for me. I have written much that outlines exactly what I feel about Mr. Trump and his personality, his inexperience to govern, and his spotty business career riddled with indecency, dishonesty, greed and failure. I do not see his background as a promising starting point for a leader of the Free World or an influence within the World Community striving to build a future of peace and tranquility.

No, awakening this morning was not pleasant or hopeful.

But then again, America is all about hope and possibility.

Let us turn to that culture and history of hope and possibility as we learn to deal with the unknown yet again.

This is not a celebration of Donald Trump. It is a prayer for the success and peace of America – the land of the free and the home of the brave. May this spirit fuel our combined intelligence for a peaceable kingdom of all the earth.

November 9, 2016

Election Over?

What now? Are the results accepted by the losers? The candidates are one thing in considering this answer, but the other thing is the voters who supported those losing candidates. Do THEY support the results? At this early hour following the close of polling places, the results are not fully known. It will take several more hours to determine the final results, and even then court action may extend knowledge of the final results for some days yet.

Time will tell. Will Clinton’s supporters accept the results if they lose? Will the Trump people accept the reality of the voter’s will? Or will they continue to insist the elections were rigged. If they think this is true, by the way, what exactly was rigged? The votes miscounted? Ballots tossed out in the dark of night? Voting computer systems tinkered with so it would purposely report results opposite of actual tallies?

Or do they think the media is against them? Or entire agencies of the government – both state and federal, I guess – are stacked against their point of view?

I doubt any of these preposterous possibilities are true. I believe that mainly because I think too many politicians and many government operators are too uninventive to manage such outcomes. They can barely balance the budget, right? They flub wars! They can’t spell or pass math tests. They have trouble remembering calendar dates and history lessons, let alone complex computer systems that sign up citizens for Obamacare.

Remember these flubs? Many are current or very recent. And yet the doubters among us feel certain that their election was stolen?

Give me a break. And the rest of us while you are at it. No, the election was not stolen. It was not rigged. What you wanted was simply not supported with enough votes.

That’s it. That’s the extent of the complaint.

Now let’s attempt to get at something else. What really went wrong with this election is entirely different from what has been reported in print or on TV. And it is simply this:

No one truly discussed issues in enough detail to educate anyone on alternate views; thus no persuasion was possible. The only thing discussed was candidate personalities. And that isn’t objective at all. Pure subjectivity and mostly crap. And I know this to be true as much as you do.

It is time we reformed political campaigns with actual issue discussions. What does the candidate support and what does he/she not support? Then let’s have a discussion between the two candidates, live in person or via written submissions so they have a chance to develop proper themes and research complete with facts. We can judge whether their arguments are good or not. Or hold water, even!

Such a campaign would be refreshing and educational. It might even help us all understand our form of government better.

Here’s another thing about American elections: they are far too costly and thus fall prey to major donors. Major donors have something to protect. They aren’t very much into facts or theories or educational issues. They are donating money to protect what they own and that is very sad. The rest of us don’t have the money to do this. And thus the major donors ought not be allowed to do it either, just to keep the playing field level and on the up and up.

So the bottom line is this: accept the results of the election and get on with living your life. Let the losers plot their follow up work to change history at the next election. And let the winners get on with the work we elected them to do in the first place. Just check the constitution from time to time to be certain you are doing what you are supposed to be doing.

How refreshing is that?!  Meanwhile, let’s hold our tongues and await results of the American voters. That would be factual results!

Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Relax and take another deep breath. Wait for clarity. We all need this. And then, let’s deal with whatever reality the election results are telling us.

November 9, 2016

I Weep for Thee America!

This is Election Day. Long before you read this I wrote this piece and then published early this morning before setting out for my assigned polling place. I am an election judge and will work throughout the morning and night to administer the election laws of our nation fairly and properly. This activity will, for this small gathering of precincts, provide the legal voting activity for the citizens willing to step forward and cast their votes. And they will be dutifully and accurately counted to produce the final results of this horrible election season.

It has been demoralizing to those of us who take this seriously. So many people with vapid personalities and no understanding of issues voting ‘their conscience’ on issues they decide on a whim or misguided rhetoric. For them they are certain they have done their duty. For others they are certain that a travesty has been foisted on the public yet again. And given the tenor of this campaign, who can blame either side for their feelings of despair?

The victorious will be branded crooked no matter what is done, said or counted as victory. The defeated will snarl and spit their way into yet another season of dismay followed by a campaign that goes awry as well.

Must we continue this sham? Must we allow nonsense and distortions to set the stage as fact for our elections? I think not. I think we are capable of doing this better. But it doesn’t matter what I think. It matters more what we all think and feel, and then act to change the system. Period. The system is broken and needs replacement.

First, get big money out of campaigns.

Second, let public funds budget and fund each campaign

Third, let issues themselves drive the interest and vote-getting. Let discussion of the issues demonstrate the intelligence of the candidates and their forward approach to managing our republic.

If this doesn’t remove the personalities from the campaign I don’t know what will. But I think we must try.

I wrote ‘it takes a village’ to save a town or community. The same holds true for me regarding our nation. It takes all of us working together – not believing the same things – but at least working together to make our nation work well, achieve the great things it is capable of, and to support quality of life for all of us. It is a big task. But it is doable.

Life – Liberty – And the pursuit of happiness. That is what America stands for. But it stands with all of our legs and feet firmly involved in the tasks of making the society work as well and seamlessly as we can make it. It is not automatic. It does not require any of us to be selfish or self centered. If we watch out for ourselves and each other at the same time the larger good will be served.

Towns and cities experiencing bone crushing recessions and depressions failed themselves. They had all the elements present for past success, current well-being, and a continuation of same well into the future. But that well-being ceased, didn’t it. Why? Why didn’t they search for the answers then, and prepare the way for repair and rejuvenation? They had all the smarts they needed. They had the money. They had the institutions. They had the assets from the past to use for investing in the future.

The fact they didn’t is the largest part of why they failed. Absent leadership is another component of this failure. It doesn’t take an Einstein to observe what is happening, or a guru to determine what to do to fix it. It just takes us to remain plugged into our communities and see for ourselves. And then step forward to help, speak, offer ideas.

Too many communities have not done this in the past. The landscape of our nation is littered with towns, ghost towns and underdeveloped regions that have failed themselves. As one industry peters out, replace it with another that is in demand by the nation. Look for the big picture. Seek other nuances of the future. It is calling us. It calls each of us personally, too.

Have you heard it? Have you tingled to its message? Are you reacting yet? Do you have an interest in what happens next?

Then what will you do about it? And why are you just sitting there reading this?

Act. Now. Before it is too late.

November 8, 2016

Decline of a City

The other day I visited a northern Illinois city that was once a proud manufacturer of goods sold and traded the world over. They were high technology in their day going back into the first and second world war years. And then peace time in the late 1940’s and all of the 1950’s. These were halcyon years for this city.

In the 1960’s, however, something happened to derail this city and its leadership. They focused on ‘today’ and not tomorrow, I suspect. Their industries continued to hum and the status quo was maintained. They were happy and went out to dinner at nice restaurants and gathering spots with their fat paychecks. Even some entertainment venues happened their way with live music and theater.

But by the 1970’s the happy ride seemed over. Industries were being eclipsed with newer manufacturing plants and techniques in other cities. European competition grew as well but the death knell most likely was the enormous expansion of Asian manufacturing and scientific breakthroughs that revolutionized not only manufacturing methods but also products.

Old products were replaced with new ones that didn’t look at all like the old. Yes, new science and new products swamped the old items and literally replaced them.  You know, like buggy whips no longer have a viable market when everyone is driving a car?

Well, the same thing happened to this town – city, really. The core of its downtown began to go to seed. Building maintenance decreased and vacancy signs sprang up. Fringe areas of manufacturing activity also became less maintained and finally vacant.

Because the area had a core manufacturing base in part with US defense and aerospace industries, these remained long after many other industries bolted their plant doors shut. The residents of the city kept thinking that renewal of their past expertise would one day come but it did not.

Today, the city of 150,000 souls has a downtown of seedy, rundown hotels and specialized housing units. Homeless people walk the street and push their carts and over burdened bicycles down the street. These people populate the coffee shops and fast food outlets looking for bits and pieces of food and beverage so they can face another day and find another resting spot in order to cycle toward yet another day. With or without hope this process continues. On and on. And on.

A church takes their teachings to heart and finds a way to purchase abandoned buildings and force the city government to finance renewal of downtown blocks. State and Federal government programs help but do not solve the underlying problems. A new exterior to a run down building does not inhabit the building with new, hopeful enterprises. No. Something larger will be needed to do that.

So the church takes another step and provides a food pantry to feed the hungry and the homeless. Next they strive to find homes for those in need. Eventually they hope to find better homes for all the temporary settlers! But this is a big job to do and will take time.

And many hands. Think of it. Hands to help. People in need. An army of needy in need. Right now. What to do about that? What to do, indeed!

If we care about our city, our neighborhood, our neighbors, and our family, shouldn’t we be doing something to shore up our community?  It is our community, right? This is home to us; we should pitch in and serve it, save it, build it up for a new day yet to be born on the horizon. Right?

Evidently wrong! This city has nearly disappeared. The residents have built up new strip malls on the fringes of the old city and pretend all is OK. They commute farther and farther from their homes to other cities where economic development provides them a career or living wage. But not in their hometown. And they cannot sell their homes now undervalued below the mortgage outstanding. Or too far below what they paid so that the down payment for a new home elsewhere is now inadequate, unaffordable.

The downward spiral has sucked the life and the money from this city. And they wander about doing little to stop the spiral.

The churches respond. The city leadership is moribund and weak, overcome with the losses and the downtrodden nature of their community. What to do? Yes, what to do?

I’m an outsider asked to help a church build a stronger and larger program to help the downtrodden. They have an idea to also educate the out of work people to outfit them with new skills so they can get jobs somewhere and improve their quality of life. We will try to do this. For this church, this congregation, this hopeful mass of people living out their theology and dreams to make the world a better place.

It takes this spirit to accomplish the horrendously large task. But it will take many more people to chip in and make it possible, too.

It takes a village to sustain itself. People helping people. People celebrating their accomplishments. People finding the joy of life among them and running with that spirit to forge ahead. Yes, it takes a village and it is long past time that this village awakens to the challenge.

This city is America in many ways. So many generations who had a wonderful run at life and now a city in poverty wondering what happened to it all? Well, this is what happens when people focus on their own self and family and not their community. The community rots and fails over time when greed and selfishness are allowed free reign.

It takes incredible courage for a citizen to stand up to these forces of time and say he or she will fight for a better day. But then they realize they cannot do it alone. They ask for help and hopefully they will get it. Hopefully others among us will stand up and lend a hand. And leadership will be tickled into being and action? And for all the right reasons not for power or self aggrandizement?

One can only hope. Without this transformation the village will die. The people of the village will die. And a ghost town will have been born.

Later generations will stumble upon this ghost village and wonder why, like the Aztecs and Incan civilizations that prospered for centuries yet died for even more centuries. What happened and why? That is the question. But the answer is easier than all of that.

Yes, the answer is – What have I done for my village recently?

November 7, 2016

Unsettled Feeling

I know, things are going right, I’m busy doing the things I want to do, but something keeps niggling the back of my mind that something is not right. What could it possibly be?

Unsettled. A little distracted. Needing to think or feel something different than what I am right now feeling. What is it? Did I leave a task undone? Is the burner on the stove turned off? The oven? Or maybe the tap in the kitchen sink? No. Checked all of those things.

A quick scan of my desk top – both real and virtual! – and still nothing pops out.

What am I fretting about? And why today when the day’s routine is different and challenging and very interesting? Why this day? Does it have anything to do with this particular day?

I doubt it. No. Unless…unless I wonder/worry that today’s meeting filled with promise will actually disappoint in the end? Will the people truly be committed to accomplish their goal in creating a community center in a low-income area of a run down city? Will they be able to raise energy levels to match the challenges they are certain to meet?

So much is needed to be done in so many communities. So many broken lives and families in need of attention and tender loving care. Will they be up to this work? They say they are but will they be?

Only time will tell. And yes, this may be part of my unsettledness today, but what else lingers in the back of my mind?

I did have a thought yesterday about the narrowing futures some of our fellow citizens have. These are the futures of most aging elders among us. What they had hoped for in years past did not develop in their life stories. Instead they are facing fewer and fewer dreams to fulfill as their days narrow down to very few indeed.

For example, we used to love to take drives into the country where it is under-populated and traffic is sparse. Life is simple there to those of us from urban areas. Have you ever pined for a rural setting when you are currently trapped in a traffic jam in your morning commute? Where did all these people come from, you mumble. Why are they such meek lambs and following the leader into the morass of stopped traffic? Don’t they see they are only making it worse? Peel off on a side street, people! Lessen the jam-up and find an alternate route home or to work.

Yes, I’ve had many of these conversations with myself. Many of them have been shouted at the top of my lungs in a sealed car to vent my frustration! (My family knows this personality trait of mine!)

So rides in the country surrounding a large swath of Chicagoland were frequent for us. Each held a promise to spot an idyllic place within reach of our dreams. Perhaps one day we could live in such a place? Our special Brigadoon?

But as the years pass such Brigadoons are more and more impossible. There isn’t time to build a life that would accommodate them. The interests there are not what we have now in our current neighborhood. Oh yes, the scenery may be more pleasant, the noisy surroundings more quiet, and such as that. But here we have connection with people of all types, projects of deep interest, and work yet to be done. Here our lives and dreams of making a difference live on. Would they ‘there’ in the other spaces we once explored?

Ah yes, the unsettled nature of life when what we once hoped for no longer is the allure. What we want now is more quiet, more order, less confusion, but still meaningful tasks that reward the personhood we still own.

Is it that simple? Narrowing futures make for more focus and meaning?

I have a friend who aged in her home until she needed a serious operation to prolong life. The operation was a success but the aftercare required her to move out of her home and into assisted living. She did. She gave up her beloved dog. She bid farewell to 95% of her personal belongings. She moved into assisted living – a spare room barely larger than her old bedroom at home. But now she has discovered a vibrant social life among fellow residents. They gather in the dining room, one of several lounges scattered about the site, and in the social activity rooms where TV binge watching is well underway, or a Bears game, or the World Series with the Cubs of all things!

Outside of her home of many years she is now finding a social connection she never dreamed of. Who would have thought that?

For the rest of us who remain in our homes the lesson is to frequently leave the home to engage the world. When we return to our homes later we find respite and rejuvenation for the next day’s discovery operation. Fettered vision or narrowing interests? No; just different ones.

Thank God!

November 4, 2016

Keeping Busy & Finding Peace

Yes, I am a busy person. Sometimes I yearn for a quiet time so I can just sit and read until sleepy. Then fall into a deep nap for an hour or so. No interruptions. No diversions. Just quiet and rest.

Sometimes the book being read is a mystery thriller, or maybe a romantic tale by Maeve Binchy. Or a non-fiction read on social issues. Usually the topics are recreational, not instructive. Something to break away from daily routines.

The phone does not ring as often these days; good thing because I hate it! And being a cell phone it is always with me and almost always on. It connects to Blue Tooth in the car so I can make calls and receive them, too. All hands free, but always distracting!

I have programmed my life more and more toward email traffic. I ask people to contact me by email, mainly because the written word still holds sway over my life. And besides, a documentary trail of communication results from emails and I can always reference past ‘conversations’ for clarity. Bit by bit my work with an email partner is assembled and our work together is completed with clear understanding.

I do organization work – mentoring, clarifying mission, identifying tasks and operations, developing visions of the future and policies that will help them come into being. Some of this work is basic and simple. Some is very complex and conceptual. People have differing abilities to work in this arena, so email documentary trails are worthwhile. You see my interest in email?

Besides, I can turn to the email inbox at any time of day or night and work with what is there at my convenience. If I need to sit back and think on the work for a fresher idea or approach, I can. And then I write my thoughts and send them back to the client via email. They are then free to read and process the material at their convenience, same as for me.

Yes, email traffic and protocols fit better with a 24-hour approach to life. If I’m bored, I turn to my projects and clients. So much more rewarding and flexible. In turn, this approach is also much more creative and leads to inventive thinking. Perspective, too.

I do this work for the mental exercise and the sense of achievement through the efforts of others. They are driven by their personal missions and dreams; I help them work through those toward their objectives. What they achieve is in some small part mine as well. And that is a satisfying thing for me. The reward in place of a paycheck. Nice.

So, when the TV programming is dull (most of the time!), or the news is unsavory (nearly all the time!) I have a book, a nap or an email file to turn to. It has been my saving grace in retirement. Believe me, I feel purposeful and alive living my life this way.

A couple of other things. In personal connections with my church or local organizations, if they have a problem or need of a project, I can usually help them quickly and effectively. After all, I do this sort of thing for my clients and it has taught me how to focus on what matters and how to change things around to solve problems. Some of the local organizations wonder how I do it but really, it is easy. I do it all the time for others so it comes naturally for the local groups.

And of course, I have the greatest outlet for letting off steam and inventing fresh thoughts on other interesting topics: writing this blog. I did this at first so I could ‘clear out my brain’ and then focus more socially on current events in the community for a local newspaper. When I wrote a column or editorial, I could do so without invective or sour grapes. I dumped all of that bile in the blog! So my local writings were kinder and gentler.

As a result local readership was much more loyal and we ran the paper this way for 7 years. Then old age and deficit spending took its toll and we shuttered the newspaper.

The blog has been useful. It has helped me gain perspective on my thinking process and in turn learned what really is important to me and what isn’t. That alone is a generous reward. So here I am still busy and productive at 73 and enjoying every day.

We are poorly fixed for revenue so we have few extras and certainly no travel. But we remain upbeat and engaged in life. And that’s really where the action has been all along anyway. Always has been.

For you too? Or are you too involved in fighting for career footing, child raising, and planning for the long term (retirement, college educations, world travel, etc.)? If this is the case you need to find some free time regularly and turn off the noisy TV. Find silence. Find personal space. At least one hour each day.

And maybe a nap! Work on this. It is well worth your effort.

November 3, 2016