Every Monday morning we awake to a new world. Most people get dressed, hurry the kids to school, drive to work and try to rearrange their minds from normalcy to face another hectic week of getting things done at the office, the factory, or on the farm.
With each project, there is a measurement of success. Usually this measure is based upon profit, consumption, return on investment, customer satisfaction or simply time.
Usually, it’s really about the old adage of doing things better, cheaper and faster, isn’t it?
This New Year’s Day, we begin another year within the old calendar and to some of us, the future begins to look shorter than the path behind us. Once again, we sit and make resolutions; give it some thought and again place priorities on our lives, what they mean, where we are going and what’s important to us.
And once again, we are in the midst of a great political debate, which often seems much ado about nothing.
I’m not rare when I observe that each cycle it seems that the politicians and parties seem to get sleazier, more slick, arrogant, aloof, and unwilling to listen. Oh, and they talk a lot, but their radar is never on, they can’t hear a damned thing when the voters or average American try to make a point about what’s important to them and their neighborhood. The response is the same from Guiliani, Hillary, Huckleberry or Obama. I sense that John Edwards hears, yet may have already formed most of his opinion, but his 'hearing' often takes on the tone of only confirming what he already believes. Joe Biden listens intently and hears, but seems as frustrated as all of us that he hasn’t been able nor can do much about it.
This brings this old consultant’s mind back to measuring success.
Measuring success is the bottom line in determining the value or progress of any organization, and yes, I’d give the President AND the Congress an F-grade if it were possible.
We started a War in Afghanistan, how many years ago? How is it going, when will it end, what will it cost us in blood, treasure and integrity?
We invaded a sovereign nation for seven different reasons. The reasons were only shared with the public as the last one failed to yield any result or demonstrate any validity. On the subject of Weapons of Mass Destruction, for example, as one popular comedian states it, “We’ve never even found a (G.D.) firecracker!”
In 2001, we had a complete and whole Constitution including a justice system that protected the small guy and guaranteed his personal freedoms and rights under that Constitution. In 2001, we had a strong dollar that was the basis of trade throughout the World, and just seven years after the development of the Euro, it and every other currency in the World are preferred to the dollar.
In 2001, there was no way that someone would be arrested, detained and not allowed to see an attorney or know why they were charged and by whom. Now we wait for months and years, if the Justice Department wants to hold someone as long as it is blessed by a court that meets in secrecy and without peers or superiors to determine WHETHER one will be charged or just rot away in captivity – totally lost in anonymity.
Just seven years ago there was no way anyone would have thought it possible that the United States of America would establish – openly, I might add – a concentration camp for prisoners on foreign soil, a camp in which water boarding – not a sport – and other forms of torture were debated only after an assembly line of such occurrences was created and committed for years.
Yes, at first there was timid denial, until the crafty old truth somehow revealed that not only Gonzo, but many more higher-ups were directly implicated.
Just seven years ago we were not only paying our nation’s bills, but paying down the debt. We were rebuilding America one brick at a time, through small business start-ups, not corporate takeovers. Middle America felt it possible to dream again after two decades of debt and high interest caused by government deficits.
Today, in contrast, we face stacked deficits that have increased the national debt by $7 trillion dollars – an amount that it would take a person making the minimum wage 14 years to pay their per capita share even if they didn’t have to pay taxes, rent or eat.
I take your comments as an expression of the frustration we all feel. Each of us has our own ideas about how we correct this terrible situation our nation has fallen into.
But I think we have to begin treating 'causes' rather than 'symptoms' as a first step.
In my opinion, of the candidates we see and hear, the Republicans are just fairly well satisfied and therefore don't agree that we have a problem at all. Ron Paul does say that we have serious economic problems underwritten by poor policy and giving him credit, he is the only candidate of either party who understands that the cheap dollar only multiplies our World economic woes, as the price of oil, for example is multiplied to us using dollars (oil in up three fold when measured in dollars; two-fold when measured in Euros; and not even doubled when measured in other currency). Why can't we do anything beyond simple math in public policy?
Among the Democrats, I see three primary candidates each immulating the previous President they feel is needed now. John Edwards is emulating Teddy Roosevelt who said NO to the monopolies and trusts and broke the anti-trust hold on America at the turn of the last century. Barack Obama is emulating John Kennedy as the great orator and healer and the one president able to mobilize the youth in a campaign. Hillary Clinton is emulating Bill CLinton and asking for four more years of the Clinton policy.
As of this moment, the leadership word is "Change".
Of course we have to remember that change has been used in every campaign when a new President was elected. Nixon used it in moving into the White House after Johnson and the Democrats. Carter used it to defeat Ford. Reagan used it to defeat Carter. Clinton used it to defeat Bush. And GW Bush used it to defeat Gore.
Change didn't work at other times as well.
The work and spirit is an expression of the key point within an election. But whether it resonates is the key. And don't forget that the Democrats almost always seem invincible in the winter and early spring and the Republicans seem totally out of it. But once the fal sets in the Republicans can always manufacture enough fear and arrogance - and cash to engineer swift-boaters, and other pure fiction into a competitive race.
Between now and election day, we'll actually see a 50+ million dollar manufactured issue of fear of invasion by some unknonw group - the bogey man campaign. We'll witness a 50+ million dollar campaign of good versus evil by the evangelicals and non-evangelicals.
And the networks will literally use each of the candidates own dollars and their own choke hold on reporting, editing, positioning and commentary to shape and redirect public opinion into a close contest where one does not exist. Why? Because it makes them money and exalts their influence.
So other than staying true to your heart and disciplined in your own approach and thoughts, the only thing you can do is pick a candidate that suits you and work like hell to get them elected. And share your thoughts openly knowing you will be attacked and derided. You have as much right to speak as that arrogant individual that will attack you, and don't wither under the storm. Fight back.
This is Standing up to a bully 101. And that's what we first have to do, is break the back of the bullies and take our country back. I agree with John Edwards populism, honestly, that we must stand up to those that have a chokehold and take our country back.
by
Bill Burkett (16 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 22 comments)
on Sunday, January 6, 2008 at 6:50:05 AM
2 comments
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