It is amazing that with all the hyperbole about the crisis we are in economically, the vast majority of people are continuing to act as usual. We want everyone else to make changes, but are unwilling to do so ourselves. Latent in the American soul is a commitment to self-sacrifice for the common good, but it is very latent, in fact so latent that it is hard to find. It seems as though everyone wants to be different, but no one wants to change. As of today, both the United States Senate and the House have decided to keep on doing business as usual by each giving the American people its own style of pork. It’s not even cooked very well.
In his inaugural address President Obama said, “Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility…, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.” Later in the address he said, “But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions—that time has surely passed….Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account—to spend wisely, reform bad habits, in the light of day—because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.” Well, Mr. and Ms. Congress Person, my “vital trust” isn’t being restored by your initial salvo into this time of crisis. It looks to me, and to most of the American people, like we are still living in our “collective failure to make hard choices,” and that you are using this “problem” to your own advantage.
Jesus Christ had a lot of interesting things to say, but the one that comes to mind at this moment is, “The one who seeks to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life for my sake will find it.” Whether you are a devotee of Him or not, this is simply true. Have you ever known someone who was seeking happiness who was happy? Or someone whose whole life was about money who ever felt like they had enough?
Now comes the real challenge. We can rail against the Congress all we want, but they are going to do whatever they are going to do. What am I willing to do to be a part of the change? It’s got to start somewhere. All true cultural change starts at the grass roots, and you and I are the roots. Have you considered altering your spending, not so that you can protect yourself, but so that you can find a way to help others? How about buying a few extra groceries for the retiree on a fixed income? Maybe “they” won’t, but you and I can start making some hard choices and prepare ourselves for a new age of investing in the common good. Who knows, we just might find that latent commitment to the common good.
Principle Based Evaluation: The principle is that anyone who advocated change must be living the transformation they seek within their own lives. In other words, all the change you want begins with you! What changes are you making for the common good?
Larry Elks
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... This whole election process and the new administration only prove that rhetoric gets one elected. Rhetoric, that is, if you are telling the people exactly what they want to hear! If you can discern what the majority of voters want to hear and you can deliver it with the passion of a Shakespearian actor, anyone can win, even if they are reading it from a teleprompter. Don't worry about truth, don't worry about your past record (or lack of one), don't worry about circumstances or realities or current crisis.....give them what they want to hear. Once you get elected, crank up the volume and magnitude of deception (and believe it or not, the more incredible the deception, the more effective it becomes especially when applied in great volume). Is this not what is happening right now? If a sane person with no distractions and a willingness to sit down and logically address all the misinformation, all the issues, all the proposed and implemented solutions, all the rhetoric, all the actions and by all the politicians ON BOTH SIDES..........divide these issues, examine each with a clear, logical mind and a basic understanding of the constitution....the only response .......the only response possible is, "How can this be, what is happening, have we gone mad, what about our consititution, what about our courts, what about our values and morales, what about America. WHAT HAPPENED!!!!! I once heard an explanation of how a man can enter a cage with a lion and completely dominate and keep a several hundred pound man-eater at bay with only a chair and a whip. WHY? If you watch a lion, a leopard, a cheetah or any other major cat hunting and running its prey down for the kill, you'll see its head totally fixed on the prey. The prey darts back and forth frantically trying to elude the kill to no avail. The Big Cat, it's legs churning and body cutting, sliding, spinning back and forth, but the head....the head is steady, the eyes fixed, never breaking contact with the prey. Finally with great precision and focus it either closes for the kill or waits for the prey to stumble. In the cage, against a much slower foe, man, the big cat is helpless. Helpless because the whip is cracking, distracting, the chair is moving but the biggest problem, .....the biggest problem: the chair has four legs. The big cat is constantly losing its focus, unable to decide which is the primary target, unable to close for the kill.....and ultimately out of frustration, GIVES UP, moves, and follows the directions of the trainer. How many of you feel as I do, helpless, overwhelmed, unable to put your arms around the issues, unable to evaluate, object, correct or even act before, ........"BREAKING NEWS" .........we are in the middle of another crisis, another incredible, ............."BREAKING NEWS".......unsolvable, unbelievable issue! ........"BREAKING NEWS"....................Am I hitting a nerve? One of the most difficult issues to address in preparing our military members for battle, real battle, is a circumstance called the "fog of war". Lives and battles are lost, wars are lost, military practitioners spend terrifying sleepless nights because of the "fog of war". Imagine if you will, rocket propelled grenades slamming into vehicles, exploding, machines guns on both sides rattling, your buddies screaming from gapping wounds, you're in the middle of a crossfire. You don't know where or who the enemy is, you don't know where their gun emplacements are, you don't know if more are coming, and worse yet, you may be alone with no help coming before you are overrun. What do you do, which way do you go, where do you fire, the noise is deafening, do you have covering support, are there more enemy to your right or to your left, should you stay by the vehicles which are being picked off one by one, do you take the time to call for help, run for cover, help your buddy, fire at the enemy, reload, re-arm.......................................................................Welcome to the "fog of war". Sound overwhelming? It is, and it can be just as overwhelming in a command center with too many distraction, too many reports, decisions have to be made, too little intell, or too much intell with too little validation, too many dying, too many decision to be made.......... Again, sound overwhelming? Do you feel overwhelmed right now? Too much input, too little validation, or too little input from trusted leaders,.....trusted leaders? What's that? Sound all too familiar? I submit to you, the "fog of war" is nothing .........nothing ...............compared to "the fog of politics". Welcome to our political world. Welcome to the Great Deception. GOD HELP US! |
