Most of my fellow students in high school were as confused as I was by our sexuality, by the reality of the military draft, by the changing job market, and by the changing fads that we were supposed to get involved with or move beyond depending on some mysterious "authority" who told us what was popular and what was no longer popular. Probably you missed all that confusion, but most kids are so confused as teenagers they don't even know they are confused. In fact, they are sure THEY are the ones who are not confused!
How do adults who have bought into the "social contract" that keeps our world going in a relatively peaceful, productive way, engage people in their teens and help them "buy in" to, and agree to, the social contract? How do we keep angst-ridden teens from shooting their classmates, bullied kids from committing suicide, young drivers from texting and driving or drinking and driving or building bombs in their parent's basement in order to do their part in keeping the world a good place to live?
Many teenagers don't think their world is a good place to live, and because of their limited experience they just cannot see that, imperfect as it is, it's better than it could be. Because of the way they have grown up they look for someone to blame even for the horrors of the middle-East, or northern Nigeria, or the slave trade in Thailand. Usually it works best to blame the United States, or the conservatives, or the liberals, or . . . well, you live with it. Fill in the blanks for yourself.
How do we help people, including ourselves, buy in to the "social contract" voluntarily, without fear of jail time, when people don't feel like it?
What do you think? Leave your comment and let us know.
Al Lustie
Thinking with Al
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Friday, November 28, 2014
More on Getting Buy In
Think with me for a moment about business practices and labor practices. Implied, and even stated, are certain contractual exzpectations.
A business will not cheat, will not lie, and will deliver what it promises on time and for the price set.
A laborer or labor union will do the job competently, on time, and for the wages agreed to.
That creates both a contract of employment and (even more) a social contract.
When businesses cheat, as did so many banking institutions before 2008 in bundling bad mortgages in with good ones and selling them as "good investments" a world wide recession gets created. Trust is broken, people lose their homes, unemployment soars, and . . . well, you lived through it. You get the picture, if you weren't stoned or drunk through the five years that followed.
When men and women are hired to do specific jobs, and spend their time gossiping, wandering around with a coffee cup in their hands, or leaning on shovels instead of working the employer's costs go up and the employer begins losing money, failing to meet realistic deadlines. and either goes out of business or gets the taxpayers to bail it out.
It's all part of the social contract that makes things work. When people, unions, companies, governments all fail to voluntarily "do the right thing" all the time, to buy in to the implicit social contract, society falls apart.
When society falls apart, people are hurt, family are destroyed, commerce comes to a halt and progress in all areas of life grinds to a stop.
How do we get buy in from everyone to the basic social contract terms that will keep us going? Will keep us reasonably safe? Employed? Employable?
Anarchists want to blow it all up. But who wants to live in a world run by anarchists?
Think about it, and leave your thoughts on this topic in the comment field. Thanks.
A business will not cheat, will not lie, and will deliver what it promises on time and for the price set.
A laborer or labor union will do the job competently, on time, and for the wages agreed to.
That creates both a contract of employment and (even more) a social contract.
When businesses cheat, as did so many banking institutions before 2008 in bundling bad mortgages in with good ones and selling them as "good investments" a world wide recession gets created. Trust is broken, people lose their homes, unemployment soars, and . . . well, you lived through it. You get the picture, if you weren't stoned or drunk through the five years that followed.
When men and women are hired to do specific jobs, and spend their time gossiping, wandering around with a coffee cup in their hands, or leaning on shovels instead of working the employer's costs go up and the employer begins losing money, failing to meet realistic deadlines. and either goes out of business or gets the taxpayers to bail it out.
It's all part of the social contract that makes things work. When people, unions, companies, governments all fail to voluntarily "do the right thing" all the time, to buy in to the implicit social contract, society falls apart.
When society falls apart, people are hurt, family are destroyed, commerce comes to a halt and progress in all areas of life grinds to a stop.
How do we get buy in from everyone to the basic social contract terms that will keep us going? Will keep us reasonably safe? Employed? Employable?
Anarchists want to blow it all up. But who wants to live in a world run by anarchists?
Think about it, and leave your thoughts on this topic in the comment field. Thanks.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Getting Buy In
Maybe it is a mistake to read the newspapers, the news feeds and to watch TV newscasts. It seems as if a greater part of the society we live in has failed to agree to the implied social contract that makes our living and working and enjoying possible.
I was thinking recently about the knowledge required to become a U.S. citizen. Then I thought about the probability that most American born folks don't know even five percent of that material. We are exposed in school, but don't really learn it.
That got me thinking about the young man in Marysville, WA, and the two kids a Columbine, and the troubled teenager at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, CO, and a host of others who seemed to never buy in to the social contract that keeps our world functioning. Perhaps parents, teachers and other trusted adults never exposed these kids specifically to the idea of a social contract, and never got any formal agreement that they would buy in to it.
Socrates gave voice to the idea of a "social contract". A former police commissioner for the city of New York expressed it this way (and I paraphrase): If more than 90% of the citizens fail to obey the law voluntarily, no number of police can keep the city safe for it's citizens.
In other words, we all have to buy in to terms of the social contract or we function as savages, in defense mode most of the time, ready to rip out the throat of our adversaries before they rip out ours.
The terms of the social contract are pretty basic: don't murder, don't steal, don't cheat, do learn, behave politely, make way for others. I suppose we can add things like drive between the lines, stop for traffic lights, and so forth. I summarize it simply: live in a trustworthy way.
In some ways I was taught to participate in the social contract by being punished for lying, told to never steal, etc. But I don't remember people helping me learn that my society would stop working if I failed to buy in. My school would not work if it was a jungle. My Scout troop would be of no value if we didn't behave in trustworthy ways. Our larger social setting would become more like that of the Middle East where extremists blow up their own families to make a point. (Talk about failing to buy in to the social contract!)
I want to develop this idea in future blogs, but first: what thought come to your mind as you read this? Leave your comment and let us know.
I was thinking recently about the knowledge required to become a U.S. citizen. Then I thought about the probability that most American born folks don't know even five percent of that material. We are exposed in school, but don't really learn it.
That got me thinking about the young man in Marysville, WA, and the two kids a Columbine, and the troubled teenager at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, CO, and a host of others who seemed to never buy in to the social contract that keeps our world functioning. Perhaps parents, teachers and other trusted adults never exposed these kids specifically to the idea of a social contract, and never got any formal agreement that they would buy in to it.
Socrates gave voice to the idea of a "social contract". A former police commissioner for the city of New York expressed it this way (and I paraphrase): If more than 90% of the citizens fail to obey the law voluntarily, no number of police can keep the city safe for it's citizens.
In other words, we all have to buy in to terms of the social contract or we function as savages, in defense mode most of the time, ready to rip out the throat of our adversaries before they rip out ours.
The terms of the social contract are pretty basic: don't murder, don't steal, don't cheat, do learn, behave politely, make way for others. I suppose we can add things like drive between the lines, stop for traffic lights, and so forth. I summarize it simply: live in a trustworthy way.
In some ways I was taught to participate in the social contract by being punished for lying, told to never steal, etc. But I don't remember people helping me learn that my society would stop working if I failed to buy in. My school would not work if it was a jungle. My Scout troop would be of no value if we didn't behave in trustworthy ways. Our larger social setting would become more like that of the Middle East where extremists blow up their own families to make a point. (Talk about failing to buy in to the social contract!)
I want to develop this idea in future blogs, but first: what thought come to your mind as you read this? Leave your comment and let us know.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Dumb Definitions Don't Help
On the ride to church yesterday we passed and then were passed by a vehicle with a bumper sticker on the back window that read something like: "Liberals are really socialists." As I reflected on it I wondered if the truck owner or driver would like a similar sticker saying, "Conservatives are really facists" or "Conservatives are actually Nazis) (some are, of course). Then I began to reflect.
These sweeping "definitions" don't help much, do they? Let me explain my thinking.
First, labeling someone "Liberal" or "Conservative" has very little meaning. We don't know the person any better, we don't know her thoughts, his history, their pains and joys, their upbringing, their fears or ambitions. The label doesn't help us understand or know them, but it does help us avoid getting to know that person or group.
Second, even if the label helped (it doesn't) the 'definition' doesn't define. Using another label causes the same problems. We don't know the person or the group any better. If there is a problem, we aren't any closer to a solution to the problem. Where there is inequity, we don't know better ways to resolve the issue and create more equity. Where there is poverty we aren't any closer to helping someone find economic health.
Some bumper stickers are humorous. Some advance thinking. But these kind of pseudo-definitions don't help.
What are your experiences in this area? Leave a comment and let us know.
These sweeping "definitions" don't help much, do they? Let me explain my thinking.
First, labeling someone "Liberal" or "Conservative" has very little meaning. We don't know the person any better, we don't know her thoughts, his history, their pains and joys, their upbringing, their fears or ambitions. The label doesn't help us understand or know them, but it does help us avoid getting to know that person or group.
Second, even if the label helped (it doesn't) the 'definition' doesn't define. Using another label causes the same problems. We don't know the person or the group any better. If there is a problem, we aren't any closer to a solution to the problem. Where there is inequity, we don't know better ways to resolve the issue and create more equity. Where there is poverty we aren't any closer to helping someone find economic health.
Some bumper stickers are humorous. Some advance thinking. But these kind of pseudo-definitions don't help.
What are your experiences in this area? Leave a comment and let us know.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Sometimes
Sometimes. . .
The turn of the 1800's to the 1900's was one of those times. Optimism was rampant. Hope was in the air.
The turn of the 1900's to the 2000's was not so hopeful (except maybe for the Apple corporations which had just bet their future on a better computer and a better operating system). Looking backwards to pre-Roe vs. Wade, to pre-civil rights, to pre-women's power and to some mythical culture where men ruled supreme (well, some men ruled supreme) somehow became the norm in many parts of our diverse culture.
But sometimes. . .
sometimes we can reach for better goals, more equality, access for more people to opportunity.
Could today be your "sometime"? What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
- people have preferred to look forward, at least in the United States of America
- people have hoped for a better future
- people have hoped their children would do better than they have done
- people have hoped for peace, not war
- people have hoped fora more orderly life rather than one filled with chaos
- people have hoped their faith would serve them well in an unknown tomorrow
- people have chosen positive changes rather than 'going back' to the negative
- people have noted that the best thing about the good old days was that they are gone.
The turn of the 1800's to the 1900's was one of those times. Optimism was rampant. Hope was in the air.
The turn of the 1900's to the 2000's was not so hopeful (except maybe for the Apple corporations which had just bet their future on a better computer and a better operating system). Looking backwards to pre-Roe vs. Wade, to pre-civil rights, to pre-women's power and to some mythical culture where men ruled supreme (well, some men ruled supreme) somehow became the norm in many parts of our diverse culture.
But sometimes. . .
sometimes we can reach for better goals, more equality, access for more people to opportunity.
Could today be your "sometime"? What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Monday, October 27, 2014
The New Dark Ages
Are we entering, or have we entered, the New Dark Ages?
I wonder because of the rise of ultra-conservatism around the world. Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Jews, politician, business-people, Internet users, men, some women, school boards, and editors of newspapers seem to include growing numbers who want a conservative agenda to succeed. In my state (Colorado) the Republican candidate for governor is adamant - he wants to turn back the clock. He wants to advance the conservative agenda by stopping and reversing the trend toward liberty, freedoms, acceptance of others, and inclusion. Nearby two school boards want to reverse the trends towards accuracy in history, and helping students become skilled in critical thinking.
Many law enforcement people are extra quick to shoot first and decide whether their target(s) warrant death. On the other side, gang members are quick to shoot both police and bystanders. Kids going through their internal teen-age struggles think an adequate response is to shoot others and then shoot themselves.
What might happen if our first response to tough issues was, "How can we work this out?"
Oh, that sounds like a liberal thought. How unpatriotic, or unChristian, or anti-Muslim or whatever! (sarcasm)
My point is not to be appalled at the trend I see, but to ask myself, "What can I do to head it off in my part of the world?" and "How can I be different in order to make an inclusive, thoughtful move in the directions of freedom and respect of others and hope?"
Think with me on this topic, and think about these questions for yourself.
I wonder because of the rise of ultra-conservatism around the world. Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Jews, politician, business-people, Internet users, men, some women, school boards, and editors of newspapers seem to include growing numbers who want a conservative agenda to succeed. In my state (Colorado) the Republican candidate for governor is adamant - he wants to turn back the clock. He wants to advance the conservative agenda by stopping and reversing the trend toward liberty, freedoms, acceptance of others, and inclusion. Nearby two school boards want to reverse the trends towards accuracy in history, and helping students become skilled in critical thinking.
Many law enforcement people are extra quick to shoot first and decide whether their target(s) warrant death. On the other side, gang members are quick to shoot both police and bystanders. Kids going through their internal teen-age struggles think an adequate response is to shoot others and then shoot themselves.
What might happen if our first response to tough issues was, "How can we work this out?"
Oh, that sounds like a liberal thought. How unpatriotic, or unChristian, or anti-Muslim or whatever! (sarcasm)
My point is not to be appalled at the trend I see, but to ask myself, "What can I do to head it off in my part of the world?" and "How can I be different in order to make an inclusive, thoughtful move in the directions of freedom and respect of others and hope?"
Think with me on this topic, and think about these questions for yourself.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Can You Handle Glib Profanity?
Another author I enjoy is Devon Monk. His Allie Beckstrom series are entertaining, thought provoking, annoying and pretty much done. Nine books, planned that way from the beginning, and all in print.
So, what thought do I think when I reflect on them?
One of my first thoughts it that there is more nastiness going on around us than most of us suspect. My daughter worked for a police department typing up reports while in college, and mentioned that the crimes against women, the crimes against minorities, and the crimes that don't make it to the papers were maybe a hundred times what she ever thought could happen in that small college town. My guess is that it's much more intense in a larger city like Denver, Minneapolis, New York or Seattle. Monk's series only seems to be about magic. I think it depicts basic human lust for power, greed, insecurity and willingness to do harm to others, something we sort of know already.
One of my next thoughts is that there are a few people who are willing to stand up to nastiness. They may "talk bad", look different, be in high or low positions, and they may or may not be religious, but they have an innate sense of right and wrong, of respect of other humans as opposed to disregard or indifference, and many of them put their lives and reputations on the line to "be there" stopping the flood of filthy behavior when they can.
What do you think? Have you read Monk? What thoughts are sparked for you?
So, what thought do I think when I reflect on them?
One of my first thoughts it that there is more nastiness going on around us than most of us suspect. My daughter worked for a police department typing up reports while in college, and mentioned that the crimes against women, the crimes against minorities, and the crimes that don't make it to the papers were maybe a hundred times what she ever thought could happen in that small college town. My guess is that it's much more intense in a larger city like Denver, Minneapolis, New York or Seattle. Monk's series only seems to be about magic. I think it depicts basic human lust for power, greed, insecurity and willingness to do harm to others, something we sort of know already.
One of my next thoughts is that there are a few people who are willing to stand up to nastiness. They may "talk bad", look different, be in high or low positions, and they may or may not be religious, but they have an innate sense of right and wrong, of respect of other humans as opposed to disregard or indifference, and many of them put their lives and reputations on the line to "be there" stopping the flood of filthy behavior when they can.
What do you think? Have you read Monk? What thoughts are sparked for you?
Thursday, September 4, 2014
What I Think About What I Read
With this article I begin reflecting about what I am reading, or have read.
I read four to seven books a week. Mostly, but exclusively, I read fiction. Junk fiction. Popular fiction. Detective stories, fantasy stories, sci-fi stories, magical stories, and espionage stories are the sorts of stuff I read. I stay away from romance, really dark stories, and zombie/vampire series. On the other hand I have read a bit of history, including a book on the equations that changed or created our history. Maybe I am a bit eclectic.
I have my standards. If a story or history or essay is not well written I do not finish it. If it has too many typos I drop it. If the story is choppy in a convoluted or way useless to telling the story I quit reading it. I have lots to choose from that meets my standards of quality. "Why waste time," I ask myself, "forcing myself to read poorly written [from my point of view] stuff when there is so much well written material I have not yet read?"
I started to create another blog for this series, then decided it fits in this one reasonably well. Fall is here, I have a backlog of books and stories I have read, and it's time to write in a more disciplined way. I took three months "off" and only wrote haphazardly. This should be fun.
I hope you enjoy the series.
Here are a few authors I have enjoyed this summer. I'll be writing about some of their stories.
These are in no particular order. My next article will select a work and mull it over with you.
Al
I read four to seven books a week. Mostly, but exclusively, I read fiction. Junk fiction. Popular fiction. Detective stories, fantasy stories, sci-fi stories, magical stories, and espionage stories are the sorts of stuff I read. I stay away from romance, really dark stories, and zombie/vampire series. On the other hand I have read a bit of history, including a book on the equations that changed or created our history. Maybe I am a bit eclectic.
I have my standards. If a story or history or essay is not well written I do not finish it. If it has too many typos I drop it. If the story is choppy in a convoluted or way useless to telling the story I quit reading it. I have lots to choose from that meets my standards of quality. "Why waste time," I ask myself, "forcing myself to read poorly written [from my point of view] stuff when there is so much well written material I have not yet read?"
I started to create another blog for this series, then decided it fits in this one reasonably well. Fall is here, I have a backlog of books and stories I have read, and it's time to write in a more disciplined way. I took three months "off" and only wrote haphazardly. This should be fun.
I hope you enjoy the series.
Here are a few authors I have enjoyed this summer. I'll be writing about some of their stories.
- Robin Hobb.
- Lois McMasters Bujold
- Trudi Canavan
- Robert Parker
- Kristen Britain
- Terry Pratchett
- Mercedes Lackey
- L.E. Modesitt Jr.
- Elizabeth Moon
- Robert K. Tanebaum
- David Weber
- Stuart Firestein
- Ian Stewart
- Alex Berenson
- David Baldacci
These are in no particular order. My next article will select a work and mull it over with you.
Al
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Where Have All the Flowers Gone and Where Has All the Anger Come From?
I screen the comments that people leave for my blogs. Not many comment, actually, and few comments have anything to do with what I wrote. But in several years of blogging I have only had two or three really nasty comments.
Sad to say, my experience is strange.
The anger, the venom, the hatred, the nastiness and the bullying that go on in our world seems to increase every week. Many people have quit blogging rather than deal with the vituperation they get in response. Facebook has become a jungle of poisonous comments, rants and absurdities. And it is not only on the Web.
Students bully and are bullied. The bully in my grade school was not stopped by the staff. I learned as he got older that his dad bullied him and his mother. I did not know them well enough to know if the dad had been bullied when he was growing up. But no one shot anyone in that family. In a strange sense, they kept the venom and anger within limits.
Where have all the flowers gone? asks the folk singer. I have to ask, "Where has all the anger come from?" If I lived in Iraq or Afghanistan or the Gaza Strip or Israel I could probably find answers. But I live in the United States with adequate resources, opportunities for those who are willing to work and live simply, free libraries and inexpensive community colleges, and even free or cheap birth control. What causes all the anger in people?
What jabs the anger button on Denver sheriff's doing jailer duty to the extent they kill or let die the folks they lock up? What causes a middle-class young lady to drink angrily, drive the wrong way on a one way lane and kill one or more folks? I was driving home a couple of years ago and heard the guys in the car to my right arguing with the guys in the care to their right. One pulled a gun and demanded the other driver pull into a parking lot and fight. Over what?
People use the phrase "road rage". Why do we get road rage? Isn't being able to drive somewhere better than having to walk a dusty, muddy path?
What do you think? Can we "fix" it? Leave a comment and let us know.
Sad to say, my experience is strange.
The anger, the venom, the hatred, the nastiness and the bullying that go on in our world seems to increase every week. Many people have quit blogging rather than deal with the vituperation they get in response. Facebook has become a jungle of poisonous comments, rants and absurdities. And it is not only on the Web.
Students bully and are bullied. The bully in my grade school was not stopped by the staff. I learned as he got older that his dad bullied him and his mother. I did not know them well enough to know if the dad had been bullied when he was growing up. But no one shot anyone in that family. In a strange sense, they kept the venom and anger within limits.
Where have all the flowers gone? asks the folk singer. I have to ask, "Where has all the anger come from?" If I lived in Iraq or Afghanistan or the Gaza Strip or Israel I could probably find answers. But I live in the United States with adequate resources, opportunities for those who are willing to work and live simply, free libraries and inexpensive community colleges, and even free or cheap birth control. What causes all the anger in people?
What jabs the anger button on Denver sheriff's doing jailer duty to the extent they kill or let die the folks they lock up? What causes a middle-class young lady to drink angrily, drive the wrong way on a one way lane and kill one or more folks? I was driving home a couple of years ago and heard the guys in the car to my right arguing with the guys in the care to their right. One pulled a gun and demanded the other driver pull into a parking lot and fight. Over what?
People use the phrase "road rage". Why do we get road rage? Isn't being able to drive somewhere better than having to walk a dusty, muddy path?
What do you think? Can we "fix" it? Leave a comment and let us know.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
You Are How You Are
It's a variation of, "It is what it is," one of the most useful phrases or cliche's of 2014. "You are how you are."
You might wish to be different.
You might want to be taller, shorter, fatter, thinner, less prone to anxiety, more worried about the future, happier, sadder, closer to death, farther from death or . . .
But you are how you are right now. How will you be next year?
It largely depends on lots of things.
Did you expect me to say that it largely depends on you? I won't write that, because I work at honest reflection, and there are lots of factors in how you will be in a year.
You probably won't be taller, but if you are aging you might be shorter. Just the facts, Ma'am.
You might be fatter or you might be thinner. A lot of factors go in to going either way. Exercise and whether you are recovering from something that prevents exercise. Eating habits and whether this is the time to make changes. You think that one through. . .
You might be more prone to anxiety, about the same, or able to relax into life better. Whether you seek counseling from a counselor competent for your needs or not, whether you can afford a counselor or two, how motivated you are right now. . . there are many factors involved in the possibility of change.
I think you get it.
If you are inclined to blame yourself for everything, or blame others for everything, or be comfortable in being locked in to "the way I am", "the way my parents made me" or some other external reason, you won't change much. Not really.
Self-help books and lectures and preachers tend to over-simplify the processes of living. Don't just scoff at them. Think and then think more and after that -- keep thinking. It's worth it.
You might wish to be different.
You might want to be taller, shorter, fatter, thinner, less prone to anxiety, more worried about the future, happier, sadder, closer to death, farther from death or . . .
But you are how you are right now. How will you be next year?
It largely depends on lots of things.
Did you expect me to say that it largely depends on you? I won't write that, because I work at honest reflection, and there are lots of factors in how you will be in a year.
You probably won't be taller, but if you are aging you might be shorter. Just the facts, Ma'am.
You might be fatter or you might be thinner. A lot of factors go in to going either way. Exercise and whether you are recovering from something that prevents exercise. Eating habits and whether this is the time to make changes. You think that one through. . .
You might be more prone to anxiety, about the same, or able to relax into life better. Whether you seek counseling from a counselor competent for your needs or not, whether you can afford a counselor or two, how motivated you are right now. . . there are many factors involved in the possibility of change.
I think you get it.
If you are inclined to blame yourself for everything, or blame others for everything, or be comfortable in being locked in to "the way I am", "the way my parents made me" or some other external reason, you won't change much. Not really.
Self-help books and lectures and preachers tend to over-simplify the processes of living. Don't just scoff at them. Think and then think more and after that -- keep thinking. It's worth it.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Life, Death
"Life is what happens while we wait for our appointment with the mortician.
Although it is demonstrably true, you are no more likely to see that sentiment on a Starbucks cup that you are the words COFFEE KILLS." [Dean Koontz, "Odd Apocalypse" p. 11]
I received an email recently from someone who has not been getting my emails. She raised the possibility, ever so carefully, that I might be deceased and some family member might be reading the email and not know who she is in my life. That causes me to think again about Living and Dying and Being Dead.
BTW - this link is useful: http://getyourshittogether.org
If you clicked on the link, you get the connection with my thinking about thinking about what life is and the inherent FACT that we are all going to die. Whether from cancer or car wrecks, from disease or dissipation, whether at age two or twenty or ninety-six, what we consider "living" is bookended by not existing and then being dead. How do we make ourselves useful during the "living" phase?
To me, that is a perennial question. How might I go about paying rent for the air I breathe, the attention I ask people to pay to me, and the calories I partake of?
If there is no eternal context in which we live, then how am I different from the dandelion in my lawn that I earnestly try to remove?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Although it is demonstrably true, you are no more likely to see that sentiment on a Starbucks cup that you are the words COFFEE KILLS." [Dean Koontz, "Odd Apocalypse" p. 11]
I received an email recently from someone who has not been getting my emails. She raised the possibility, ever so carefully, that I might be deceased and some family member might be reading the email and not know who she is in my life. That causes me to think again about Living and Dying and Being Dead.
BTW - this link is useful: http://getyourshittogether.org
If you clicked on the link, you get the connection with my thinking about thinking about what life is and the inherent FACT that we are all going to die. Whether from cancer or car wrecks, from disease or dissipation, whether at age two or twenty or ninety-six, what we consider "living" is bookended by not existing and then being dead. How do we make ourselves useful during the "living" phase?
To me, that is a perennial question. How might I go about paying rent for the air I breathe, the attention I ask people to pay to me, and the calories I partake of?
If there is no eternal context in which we live, then how am I different from the dandelion in my lawn that I earnestly try to remove?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Permission
Do I have "permission" to grow? Do you have permission to grow?
On the other hand, are there "oughts" channeling your life and my life that deny us permission to grow?
I think these are important questions, at least for me. Let me explore this a bit.
I ought to work hard. I learned from my parents, and from life, that working hard is "right to do". What I didn't learn was the catch: work has value because. . .
- because it lets you earn to buy shelter, food, and clothing. (A library card gets you books!)
- because it lets you save a bit for old age, and times of unemployment
- because it feels good to work at something worthwhile, especially when you accomplish something of value
- because we are made for effort, for expending energy, for a sense of well-being when we produce something
The "because" seems important, as I think about it. Work is part of growing. It must not become, in my life, a substitute for growing. So many of us feel obligated to put work on the highest pedestal rather than one of the steps leading up to the pedestal. Work becomes the blockade, the road block, the barrier denying us permission to grow when we consciously or unconsciously make it a barrier.
Please notice that expending effort to learn, to produce, to carry my part of the load, to earn a wage is all good, and even necessary. But I see this as a stepping stone leading to personal and social growth. Do I have permission to grow? Or has work become such an obsession that my growth is blocked? The permission is internal. So maybe the question could be: do I permit myself to grow?
I'll continue these questions in future blogs. Meanwhile, what do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Thinking About Blogging
My friend is thinking about blogging. I am not sure why, exactly. But it has me thinking. What might the value of blogging be?
I have four blogs going on a now and then basis. If you check the links on this page you can send your browser to any of them. I invite you to do so. But. . . what do I get out of blogging? What would my friend get out of blogging? What might you get out of blogging?
I have a relation who blogs for two reasons, apparently. She wants to make money (monetize, in the jargon of the day) and she wants to have followers who adore her. (She doesn't do as well in person with the "others who adore me" bit. Too judgmental.)
So, let's make a list of possible payoffs from blogging.
All the above depend on others. What payoffs might my friend get from blogging that do not depend on people unknown to him? Some of these payoffs are mine, but not all.
What do you think? If you blog, what payoffs are you seeking? Let us know by leaving a comment.
I have four blogs going on a now and then basis. If you check the links on this page you can send your browser to any of them. I invite you to do so. But. . . what do I get out of blogging? What would my friend get out of blogging? What might you get out of blogging?
I have a relation who blogs for two reasons, apparently. She wants to make money (monetize, in the jargon of the day) and she wants to have followers who adore her. (She doesn't do as well in person with the "others who adore me" bit. Too judgmental.)
So, let's make a list of possible payoffs from blogging.
- Get an income stream
- Be adored
- Be popular
- Influence others
- Become well known.
All the above depend on others. What payoffs might my friend get from blogging that do not depend on people unknown to him? Some of these payoffs are mine, but not all.
- Clarify one's thoughts
- Explore topics I don't have people to talk with who are interested
- Learn to write more clearly, and do it
- Hope to generate some discussion with someone I haven't met yet whose thoughts and feelings would challenge and grow the blogger
- Keep one on her/his toes, mentally
- Write out the joy, or the pain, in one's life
What do you think? If you blog, what payoffs are you seeking? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Feelings are Facts -- But. . .
Years ago I learned that "feelings are facts". Yeah, I am quoting my teacher/coach/facilitator. He was correct, of course. Too many of us were ignoring the feelings we had/have and pretending they weren't influencing us or others. Feelings exist, they have tremendous power, and they are addictive.
Feelings give life zest, make imagination soar, help us rise above circumstances that might inhibit our acting in useful ways. On the other hand, feelings crush us with despair, cause us to inject stuff into our bodies that destroy us, motivate us to eat poorly, or to fail to eat at all. Feelings can move us to decide we are hopeless, we cannot succeed, or life is better when we are "out of control".
Feelings are facts. Even putting it that way tells me something important. Facts are important to . . . thinking. I am convinced that thinking should dominate our being while not excluding feeling and feelings.
A teenager feels and feels and feels. She feels she is right about nearly everything so she dresses slightly even though the weather is awful and she will be playing baseball outside. She confesses a year or so later that she has never been so cold in her life. The next day she dresses just as lightly. Thinking has been fueled by feeling, dominated by feelings of "I dress like this and I want to" and thinking strategically has been shelved. She gets payoffs.
A thinking human person would balance the payoff of "dressing how I want to" with "OMG -- I am so cold" and "I can't move fast enough to be a good player because I a so cold." The thinking human person would balance probable payoffs and choose the behavior that gets the most desired payoffs.
Oh. That's thinking ahead, something a person dominated by feelings generally hates to do. (Notice the feeling verb in the previous sentence.)
My musing, my thinking, my concluding is that feelings are facts, but we humans need to harness them to the brain and think our way to desired payoffs. Think ahead. Develop habits that give priority to thinking without dissing feelings.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Feelings give life zest, make imagination soar, help us rise above circumstances that might inhibit our acting in useful ways. On the other hand, feelings crush us with despair, cause us to inject stuff into our bodies that destroy us, motivate us to eat poorly, or to fail to eat at all. Feelings can move us to decide we are hopeless, we cannot succeed, or life is better when we are "out of control".
Feelings are facts. Even putting it that way tells me something important. Facts are important to . . . thinking. I am convinced that thinking should dominate our being while not excluding feeling and feelings.
A teenager feels and feels and feels. She feels she is right about nearly everything so she dresses slightly even though the weather is awful and she will be playing baseball outside. She confesses a year or so later that she has never been so cold in her life. The next day she dresses just as lightly. Thinking has been fueled by feeling, dominated by feelings of "I dress like this and I want to" and thinking strategically has been shelved. She gets payoffs.
A thinking human person would balance the payoff of "dressing how I want to" with "OMG -- I am so cold" and "I can't move fast enough to be a good player because I a so cold." The thinking human person would balance probable payoffs and choose the behavior that gets the most desired payoffs.
Oh. That's thinking ahead, something a person dominated by feelings generally hates to do. (Notice the feeling verb in the previous sentence.)
My musing, my thinking, my concluding is that feelings are facts, but we humans need to harness them to the brain and think our way to desired payoffs. Think ahead. Develop habits that give priority to thinking without dissing feelings.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Deciding, Decisive, Decided
When in doubt, decide. I learned that many years ago, and generally these are words to live by. Decide. Brian Tracy wrote, “Decisiveness is a characteristic of high-performing men and women. Almost any decision is better than no decision at all.”
Having agreed with this sentiment, I want to add some [decisive] thoughts.
One. Don't be afraid to modify or change your decision when new information demonstrates a change would be useful. If you have decided, for instance, to purchase the "on sale" computer at your local store, and they that store puts a newer, more powerful model on sale for about the same price -- modify your decision after appropriate data gathering. Having decided does not mean decided forever.
That raises the issue of deciding. If, on the one hand, you wait until you have all the information possible you will never decide. If, on the other hand, you decide without any information gathering, too many of your decisions will be stupid. You will look stupid. You will seem stubbornly stupid.
Avoid stupid.
Talk with people. Do your research, think, compare and contrast. Project possible outcomes and talk them out with one or two knowledgable people you trust.
Then decide.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Having agreed with this sentiment, I want to add some [decisive] thoughts.
One. Don't be afraid to modify or change your decision when new information demonstrates a change would be useful. If you have decided, for instance, to purchase the "on sale" computer at your local store, and they that store puts a newer, more powerful model on sale for about the same price -- modify your decision after appropriate data gathering. Having decided does not mean decided forever.
That raises the issue of deciding. If, on the one hand, you wait until you have all the information possible you will never decide. If, on the other hand, you decide without any information gathering, too many of your decisions will be stupid. You will look stupid. You will seem stubbornly stupid.
Avoid stupid.
Talk with people. Do your research, think, compare and contrast. Project possible outcomes and talk them out with one or two knowledgable people you trust.
Then decide.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
The Saga of Service That Sucks
My bills kept getting higher and higher and higher with Xfinity. If that wasn't bad enough, they kept charging me late payment fees even though I had auto-pay, and their charges showed up on my credit card bill. I went in to the local office and "got the problems fixed" except they were not fixed. The last time I tried the guy behind the counter said, "I don't have to talk to a guy who doesn't pay his bills."
My credit rating, which has been nearly perfect, was impacted.
I tried the phone. One lady was sympathetic. But, she said, large corporations are like this. She says she has the same problems.
Another lady in Chat said, "Oh, I see that the system has dropped the expiration date of your credit card. That's been the problem." She said she fixed it. Meanwhile I was paying penalty fees.
I reduced the plans I had with Xfinity and switched to Home Connect from Verizon. Comcast dropped my number FAST, although nothing else was fast. That made it seem like someone was out to get me. Maybe so, Maybe not. Nasty, nonetheless.
Comcast services have been great. Comcast service sucks.
When I read Seth Godin's blog this morning, I saw how Comcast/Xfinity can do better. Here it is, with a link to his page:
"Sometimes you don't need a budget
Most of the time, people don't want a refund or a bonus. What they really want is for you to hear them and to do the right thing. What if every manager and every customer contact in your organization bought into that?
Here are some things you can do that don't cost any money (but they certainly require effort):
Treat your employees with care and respect
Be consistent in your actions
Keep your promises
Grant others their dignity
Give credit
Take responsibility
When wrong, offer a heartfelt apology
Don't be a jerk
Take the time to actually listen to people
Volunteer to handle the issue
Care "
Link to his blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/03/sometimes-you-dont-need-a-budget.html
My credit rating, which has been nearly perfect, was impacted.
I tried the phone. One lady was sympathetic. But, she said, large corporations are like this. She says she has the same problems.
Another lady in Chat said, "Oh, I see that the system has dropped the expiration date of your credit card. That's been the problem." She said she fixed it. Meanwhile I was paying penalty fees.
I reduced the plans I had with Xfinity and switched to Home Connect from Verizon. Comcast dropped my number FAST, although nothing else was fast. That made it seem like someone was out to get me. Maybe so, Maybe not. Nasty, nonetheless.
Comcast services have been great. Comcast service sucks.
When I read Seth Godin's blog this morning, I saw how Comcast/Xfinity can do better. Here it is, with a link to his page:
"Sometimes you don't need a budget
Most of the time, people don't want a refund or a bonus. What they really want is for you to hear them and to do the right thing. What if every manager and every customer contact in your organization bought into that?
Here are some things you can do that don't cost any money (but they certainly require effort):
Treat your employees with care and respect
Be consistent in your actions
Keep your promises
Grant others their dignity
Give credit
Take responsibility
When wrong, offer a heartfelt apology
Don't be a jerk
Take the time to actually listen to people
Volunteer to handle the issue
Care "
Link to his blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/03/sometimes-you-dont-need-a-budget.html
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Broken, Mended, Valued
At least one speaker believes that all we adults are broken. Broken people often hurt, are often angry, hurt, or sad, or helpless. Broken people resist bullies and invite bullying. Broken people invent medicines that heal people and foster illness in themselves and in others. Broken people lead others to wholeness and hope. Broken people lead others into slavery and early deaths. (Recent examples of the latter include Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush.)
In parts of the Japanese culture, pottery is broken, mended and valued. Wikipedia describes it thus: "Kintsugi (金継ぎ?) (Japanese: golden joinery) or Kintsukuroi (金繕い?) (Japanese: golden repair) is the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a lacquer resin sprinkled with powdered gold.[1][2] Kintsugi may have originated when shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a damaged Chinese tea bowl back to China for repairs in the late 15th century.
As humans how much more must we learn to value broken and mended people, including ourselves. You are broken, and have embarked on the journey to "being mended". Maybe you have been mended. Christians in particular believe in people-mending. Other faiths do as well.
Hope is not gone because we have been broken. Hope is not missing because we admit to brokenness. Relationships, growth, healing (with scars), and insight do not have to be missing, distorted or ignored just because we are broken. Apply the concept of Kintsugi to your own life and to the lives of those around you.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
In parts of the Japanese culture, pottery is broken, mended and valued. Wikipedia describes it thus: "Kintsugi (金継ぎ?) (Japanese: golden joinery) or Kintsukuroi (金繕い?) (Japanese: golden repair) is the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a lacquer resin sprinkled with powdered gold.[1][2] Kintsugi may have originated when shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a damaged Chinese tea bowl back to China for repairs in the late 15th century.
As humans how much more must we learn to value broken and mended people, including ourselves. You are broken, and have embarked on the journey to "being mended". Maybe you have been mended. Christians in particular believe in people-mending. Other faiths do as well.
Hope is not gone because we have been broken. Hope is not missing because we admit to brokenness. Relationships, growth, healing (with scars), and insight do not have to be missing, distorted or ignored just because we are broken. Apply the concept of Kintsugi to your own life and to the lives of those around you.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
What I Would Like To Say To My Granddaughters
I don't get to see my granddaughters these days. But if I could have a serious conversation with them, there are a few things I would want to say to them. Here they are:
I love you. I have loved you since your were born and I will not quit loving you.
Remember the reality of the times we have had together.
Remember that "opinions" are not the same thing as data, as facts.
Then I would like to expound on the last statement a bit.
Reality: when you visited us you were in our house.
Opinion: it was a good house. it was a bad house.
Distinguish between the FACT: we lived in a house and the OPINION: it was a good or bad or something else house.
Reality: We drove you around in a minivan, and then in a small car.
Opinion: The minivan was a good minivan, or an evil minivan, or an ugly minivan.
Opinion: You liked the minivan, or you hated the minivan, or you thought the minivan was the wrong color or the right color.
I want all my relatives, all my friends, and even all my enemies to learn to think critically. To distinguish between fact (objective, you-can-measure-it, take-a-picture-t-it, confirm-it data) and opinion and perception. I would especially like that for people who make a difference.
Perhaps the most astute, competent boss I every had used to say: "Perception is all."
That's about the only thing I disagreed with her about. Perception may be "all" when it comes to people making decisions that affect the rest of us, but perception may perceive incorrectly. If a person sees a bull elk and says, "That's a nice cow," and then tries to milk the bull elk, surprising events are coming. The bull elk will be a real bull elk, and not a gentle milk cow. Perception may be real, but the bull elk is even more real.
The same thing is true when we label another human person. We can take one dimension of a person, and say "She is beautiful" and not capture the essence of that person at all. We simply have a perception. We don't know the fact: she is human. We don't know the fact: she is five feet, three inches in height. We don't know the fact: she manages to pay her bills on time every month. Truly, we don't know any facts if all we know is your perception, "She is beautiful." Someone from a different background might say, "She is too skinny. She is ugly."
It is important to learn to think using data, speaking to data, and accurately labeling our opinions just that: opinions.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and let us know.
I love you. I have loved you since your were born and I will not quit loving you.
Remember the reality of the times we have had together.
Remember that "opinions" are not the same thing as data, as facts.
Then I would like to expound on the last statement a bit.
Reality: when you visited us you were in our house.
Opinion: it was a good house. it was a bad house.
Distinguish between the FACT: we lived in a house and the OPINION: it was a good or bad or something else house.
Reality: We drove you around in a minivan, and then in a small car.
Opinion: The minivan was a good minivan, or an evil minivan, or an ugly minivan.
Opinion: You liked the minivan, or you hated the minivan, or you thought the minivan was the wrong color or the right color.
I want all my relatives, all my friends, and even all my enemies to learn to think critically. To distinguish between fact (objective, you-can-measure-it, take-a-picture-t-it, confirm-it data) and opinion and perception. I would especially like that for people who make a difference.
Perhaps the most astute, competent boss I every had used to say: "Perception is all."
That's about the only thing I disagreed with her about. Perception may be "all" when it comes to people making decisions that affect the rest of us, but perception may perceive incorrectly. If a person sees a bull elk and says, "That's a nice cow," and then tries to milk the bull elk, surprising events are coming. The bull elk will be a real bull elk, and not a gentle milk cow. Perception may be real, but the bull elk is even more real.
The same thing is true when we label another human person. We can take one dimension of a person, and say "She is beautiful" and not capture the essence of that person at all. We simply have a perception. We don't know the fact: she is human. We don't know the fact: she is five feet, three inches in height. We don't know the fact: she manages to pay her bills on time every month. Truly, we don't know any facts if all we know is your perception, "She is beautiful." Someone from a different background might say, "She is too skinny. She is ugly."
It is important to learn to think using data, speaking to data, and accurately labeling our opinions just that: opinions.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
The Death Penalty
What is my opinion on the death penalty?
I was asked that a day or two ago. Here is my answer:
Well, in theory I am against it.
In reality, the way our justice system works, it is much too expensive.
I do think there is a "sort of" place for it.
However, if a system could be devised to sort out the totally sociopathic people who prey on the weak like children, women sleeping in their beds at home, etc, to try them, convict them, give them one appeal -- and then euthanize them quickly and humanely, I would be for it.
Why, I wonder, does society foot the bill for 99 year sentences, or 164 year sentences, when there is zero hope of a reversal of the finding of guilt, and zero hope that the person will change for the better?
So, I guess I have a mixed answer to that, as to many things.
In an imperfect world, however, with imperfect people serving on juries and imperfect, even bigoted people, serving at the discretion of the wealthy, I am against the death penalty.
I was asked that a day or two ago. Here is my answer:
Well, in theory I am against it.
In reality, the way our justice system works, it is much too expensive.
I do think there is a "sort of" place for it.
- Not as revenge
- Not as punishment
- Not as a sop to please the hating masses
However, if a system could be devised to sort out the totally sociopathic people who prey on the weak like children, women sleeping in their beds at home, etc, to try them, convict them, give them one appeal -- and then euthanize them quickly and humanely, I would be for it.
Why, I wonder, does society foot the bill for 99 year sentences, or 164 year sentences, when there is zero hope of a reversal of the finding of guilt, and zero hope that the person will change for the better?
So, I guess I have a mixed answer to that, as to many things.
In an imperfect world, however, with imperfect people serving on juries and imperfect, even bigoted people, serving at the discretion of the wealthy, I am against the death penalty.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
The Short and the Long of It
Given the rapid change in the past century or two, it's hard to take the long view of anything. In my father's lifetime he shifted from sailing ships to steam ships powered by coal to steam ships powered by oil. He saw the invention of the airplane and rode on noisy airplanes during World War II. He may even have learned to fly. Earning money as a boy guidng eight horse and sixteen horse threshing teams, he saw the rise of relatively inexpensive farm tractors, bulldozers, and rototillers.
In my lifetime we left a depression, moved from a 42 party phone line to private lines and later to cell phones and smart phones. As a boy I could get radio reception (AM only) part of the time, and sometimes I had to put my hand on the radio to assist the antenna to draw in the signals. Today we take satellite radio for granted as well as HDTV.
Trade unions were essential to prevent the country from civil war in the years just before I was born, and then trade unions became as monopolistic as the greedy corporations they served to correct. I heard today of a union complaint to a manager who didn't respond to an email of an employee in a timely fashion, although the employee himself seldom answered his email.
As I wonder about it, how does one "think long" in such a fast changing lifetime?
So far I think this way:
Long range values matter. Honesty, trustworthiness, a good work ethic, respecting others, sharing, and practicing the so-called Golden Rule have counted throughout all the changes in my father's life and in mine. Cheating employees and cheating employers are still nasty, and being either of them is worth avoiding. Looking past the color of skin, the sexual orientation of another are the economic status of anyone to see the actual person brings positive dividends. [Side note: a sexual predator, whether poor or rich, dirty or clean, is still scum worth scrubbing off the surface of the tub we all bathe in -- earth.]
Any other kind of predator as well, actually.
The Long View involves positive values. The short view is merely about adapting to surface changes.
What can we do to help the young, the middle aged and even the elderly take the long view?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
In my lifetime we left a depression, moved from a 42 party phone line to private lines and later to cell phones and smart phones. As a boy I could get radio reception (AM only) part of the time, and sometimes I had to put my hand on the radio to assist the antenna to draw in the signals. Today we take satellite radio for granted as well as HDTV.
Trade unions were essential to prevent the country from civil war in the years just before I was born, and then trade unions became as monopolistic as the greedy corporations they served to correct. I heard today of a union complaint to a manager who didn't respond to an email of an employee in a timely fashion, although the employee himself seldom answered his email.
As I wonder about it, how does one "think long" in such a fast changing lifetime?
So far I think this way:
Long range values matter. Honesty, trustworthiness, a good work ethic, respecting others, sharing, and practicing the so-called Golden Rule have counted throughout all the changes in my father's life and in mine. Cheating employees and cheating employers are still nasty, and being either of them is worth avoiding. Looking past the color of skin, the sexual orientation of another are the economic status of anyone to see the actual person brings positive dividends. [Side note: a sexual predator, whether poor or rich, dirty or clean, is still scum worth scrubbing off the surface of the tub we all bathe in -- earth.]
Any other kind of predator as well, actually.
The Long View involves positive values. The short view is merely about adapting to surface changes.
What can we do to help the young, the middle aged and even the elderly take the long view?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Waiting
When I was about ten years old I read the book, "Cheaper By the Dozen". The father of the family was an efficiency expert, and I worked at learning to live more efficiently (and thus, I thought, more effectively). I still try to combine things in order to "save time".
I have dipped into the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz in the past few months, and always find things to think about. In contrast to the efficiency expert, Odd comes up with this musing:
“Waiting is one of the things that human beings cannot do well, though it is one of the essential things we must do successfully if we are to know happiness. We are impatient for the future and try to craft if with our own powers, but the future will come as it comes and will not be hurried. If we are good at waiting, we discover that what we wanted of the future, in our impatience, is no longer what we want, that waiting has brought wisdom.
Dean Koontz, “Odd Interlude”, page 53 in paperback edition.
I confess -- I don't much like waiting. I take a book (or Kindle) to places where I might have to wait. I organize my life to live, not to wait. But Koontz, through the character of Odd Thomas, has me thinking that waiting is OK. Necessary. Being in too much of a hurry could really screw things up.
What do you think about the value of waiting? Leave a comment and let us know.
I have dipped into the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz in the past few months, and always find things to think about. In contrast to the efficiency expert, Odd comes up with this musing:
“Waiting is one of the things that human beings cannot do well, though it is one of the essential things we must do successfully if we are to know happiness. We are impatient for the future and try to craft if with our own powers, but the future will come as it comes and will not be hurried. If we are good at waiting, we discover that what we wanted of the future, in our impatience, is no longer what we want, that waiting has brought wisdom.
Dean Koontz, “Odd Interlude”, page 53 in paperback edition.
I confess -- I don't much like waiting. I take a book (or Kindle) to places where I might have to wait. I organize my life to live, not to wait. But Koontz, through the character of Odd Thomas, has me thinking that waiting is OK. Necessary. Being in too much of a hurry could really screw things up.
What do you think about the value of waiting? Leave a comment and let us know.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
More From the Book
As I reflect on the book, "Team of Rivals", mentioned in an earlier post, I am amazed that even with the War between the States consuming vast resources, President Lincoln, his cabinet and the Congress managed to do so many other things.
They funded land-grant colleges, bringing the possibility of higher education to more and more people. The introduced the income tax, a far more equitable method of raising funds for the governemnt "of the people", and not just "of the property owners". They partied. Wow! The social whirl of Washington, D.C., almost never let up.
They restored and added to the capital building. They managed waterways and railways and extended the telegraph lines of communication. In other words, they kept growing the nation!
Lincoln was largely able to do this because he chose to work with others, to think, to embrace compassion and to listen to the real nation-builders. The real nation-builders were the workers, the businessmen, but farmers, and generally what we know to be "the ordinary folks".
Fast forward to 2014. We have a Congress who contains members who delight when they thwart nation building, and rejoice when nothing gets done. It makes me want to elect doers and not whiners, but then that's just me.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
They funded land-grant colleges, bringing the possibility of higher education to more and more people. The introduced the income tax, a far more equitable method of raising funds for the governemnt "of the people", and not just "of the property owners". They partied. Wow! The social whirl of Washington, D.C., almost never let up.
They restored and added to the capital building. They managed waterways and railways and extended the telegraph lines of communication. In other words, they kept growing the nation!
Lincoln was largely able to do this because he chose to work with others, to think, to embrace compassion and to listen to the real nation-builders. The real nation-builders were the workers, the businessmen, but farmers, and generally what we know to be "the ordinary folks".
Fast forward to 2014. We have a Congress who contains members who delight when they thwart nation building, and rejoice when nothing gets done. It makes me want to elect doers and not whiners, but then that's just me.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
I Just Want It To Work
One of the things I enjoy the most is helping people become more effective with their technology. I am called "The PC Guy" in my area, and part of what I do is help people remember what they used to know, or add to their mental toolbox so they can enjoy their PC, Mac, iPad or iPhone better. Even Android phones although I don't own one.
I am naive. I assume that because I love to learn new things other people enjoy learning as much. They don't, in many cases.
"I just want it to work," is a wail I often hear.
"OK", I say, "but if you do this it will work. If you don't, it won't work."
As I think about thinking I am learning to know that most people "just want it to work". They don't want to know how to fix a flat tire, or create a screen shot to copy into an email, or turn their iPad to airplane mode. And I wonder . . .
I know I have to change my expectations. I also know people who don't want to learn are missing a lot. Not just what they might have learned, but they are missing the joys of growth.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
I am naive. I assume that because I love to learn new things other people enjoy learning as much. They don't, in many cases.
"I just want it to work," is a wail I often hear.
"OK", I say, "but if you do this it will work. If you don't, it won't work."
As I think about thinking I am learning to know that most people "just want it to work". They don't want to know how to fix a flat tire, or create a screen shot to copy into an email, or turn their iPad to airplane mode. And I wonder . . .
I know I have to change my expectations. I also know people who don't want to learn are missing a lot. Not just what they might have learned, but they are missing the joys of growth.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
A Recent Read
We were gone for awhile, but did not leave books behind. My wife used her Kindle app, and I used the Kindle Paperwhile my daughter gave me for my birthday. What a nice, light way to travel with lots of books!
But I didn't read lots of book. I read most of one, and it is a book I heartily recumbent. "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin approaches the life of Lincoln, especially leading up to and during his Presidency by looking not only at him and his family, but the men and their families he appointed to be his Cabinet. They held widely different views on slavery, several wanted to be president (and therefore did not want Lincoln to be president, and at least one worked actively to subvert Lincoln before, during and after his term of office. All were fundamentally, however, determined to hold the Union together, and all were able to work for the good of the American possibility.
Well. I am not going to provide a book report. I do recommend this book for a useful read that will keep you wanting "just one more chapter".
"Team of Rivals" can be purchased many place. I am linking to Amazon.com for your convenience. A Nook or a Kindle (I have both) are also wonderful.
Have you read it? What were your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
But I didn't read lots of book. I read most of one, and it is a book I heartily recumbent. "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin approaches the life of Lincoln, especially leading up to and during his Presidency by looking not only at him and his family, but the men and their families he appointed to be his Cabinet. They held widely different views on slavery, several wanted to be president (and therefore did not want Lincoln to be president, and at least one worked actively to subvert Lincoln before, during and after his term of office. All were fundamentally, however, determined to hold the Union together, and all were able to work for the good of the American possibility.
Well. I am not going to provide a book report. I do recommend this book for a useful read that will keep you wanting "just one more chapter".
"Team of Rivals" can be purchased many place. I am linking to Amazon.com for your convenience. A Nook or a Kindle (I have both) are also wonderful.
Have you read it? What were your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
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