In this Blog I have emphasized personal responsibility and a certain
point of view that might suggest that we, you or I, can make it on our
own, that we are the masters of our own destinies. It may seem that I am
advocating an ego-centric, Ayn Rand/Rand Paul libertarian philisophy.
If you, dear reader, have this opinion, let me make it clear that that
is not the point. The current political discussions have made this very
clear for me.
The political "debate" over the economy and jobs has degenerated into a form of class and philosophical warfare that is distorting the nature of economic success and the role and reason for government.
Mitt Romney and his surrogates claim that all successful entrepreneurs have achieved their success by their own "hard" labor. He argues that they deserve the fruits of their success by being allowed to keep the wealth they extract from their efforts, ship it overseas, hoard it, or squander it - free of taxation or government. They argue that as long as this done "legally" there should be no moral or ethical question of their motives nor their responsibilities to the common wealth of the community, state, or nation. This is a right because it is Legal.
President Obama and his surrogates claim that if you are a successful entrepreneur, business owner, your success in shared with the many people and institutions that made your business possible and came to your aid when it was critical. He argues that you owe a debt of gratitude to those individuals and institutions that helped make your success possible. That debt should be paid back in a number of ways including paying your fair share of the taxes that have gone into making your successful possible, participating in supporting and furthering the basic principles of democracy and human rights that are the corner stone of the nation, and paying forward to insure that this is "a nation of the people, for the people and by the people", NOT Plutocrats or Corporations.
The difference I see between the points of view discussed above between the Republican and the Democrat candidates point to very different attidutes and beliefs about what constitutes humanity and person responsibility going into the 21st Century both here in the Unites States and by extension into the post-cold war world order. It is my belief that personal freedom is only possible when you choose between two life strategies based on what one assumes is the nature of being a Homo sapien.
Strategy 1: Accept your animal origins, separate yourself from the herd, and take your chances. This is the survivalist's strategy. It is a deadend strategy since it doesn't matter to you or anyone else what you have achieved in this life. It is based on the false assumption that "He who dies with the most toys wins" philosophy. The reality is that once you die, they aren't your toys anymore.
Strategy 2: Accept your humanity, your frailties and your strengths, engage with the herd and contribute to the herd's success. This is the humanist and spiritual strategy. It recognizes that we are interdependent and that our legacy is in how we contribute to the continuity of the herd. It calls upon us to take responsibility for our actions as they serve both our personal and the herd's needs.
A recent article in Forbers magazine by Jessica Hagy makes the point that in order to be a success we each need at least 6 people in our corner if we are to be a success. These "people" are really roles that one must play in order to be successful. Individually we may find ourselves playing some or all these in our lives. But what is critical here is that no one can effectively play all of them at once.
To put it succinctly, "Lawyer who defends herself, has a fool for a client." We might admire the "player-coach" but rarely does he lead his team to a championship.
Hagy identifies these roles as:
1. The Instigator
2. The Cheerleader
3. The Doubter
4. The Taskmaster
5. The Connector
6. The Example (Mentor)
I find that in the present discussions Mr. Romney and his surrogates (the people who will make or break his campaign) don't understand that success is a group effort. Who are the Instigators, the Koch Brothers? Who is the Doubter, Carl Rove? Who is their Example? Richard Nixon? Certainly not Ronald Reagan! Who is their Connector, the Tea Party? Who is their Taskmaster, Grover Norquist, the unelected Budget Czar? We know that Fox "News" and Rush Limbaugh are the Cheerleaders.
And because they can't see this, they can't see that the Republican Congress and Party have as much responsibility for the declining fortunes of America and the American Middle Class as their allege culprit, the President of the United States.
Don't make the mistake to think you can do it all alone and take all the credit for your success. The measure of your success is how you staff and handle these 6 critical roles as you build your life, and create your legacy. Its not the toys that you will remembered for, it will be legacy you leave for future generations. That legacy can lead to greatness or it can lead to disaster. Your choice -- who is on your team?
The political "debate" over the economy and jobs has degenerated into a form of class and philosophical warfare that is distorting the nature of economic success and the role and reason for government.
Mitt Romney and his surrogates claim that all successful entrepreneurs have achieved their success by their own "hard" labor. He argues that they deserve the fruits of their success by being allowed to keep the wealth they extract from their efforts, ship it overseas, hoard it, or squander it - free of taxation or government. They argue that as long as this done "legally" there should be no moral or ethical question of their motives nor their responsibilities to the common wealth of the community, state, or nation. This is a right because it is Legal.
President Obama and his surrogates claim that if you are a successful entrepreneur, business owner, your success in shared with the many people and institutions that made your business possible and came to your aid when it was critical. He argues that you owe a debt of gratitude to those individuals and institutions that helped make your success possible. That debt should be paid back in a number of ways including paying your fair share of the taxes that have gone into making your successful possible, participating in supporting and furthering the basic principles of democracy and human rights that are the corner stone of the nation, and paying forward to insure that this is "a nation of the people, for the people and by the people", NOT Plutocrats or Corporations.
The difference I see between the points of view discussed above between the Republican and the Democrat candidates point to very different attidutes and beliefs about what constitutes humanity and person responsibility going into the 21st Century both here in the Unites States and by extension into the post-cold war world order. It is my belief that personal freedom is only possible when you choose between two life strategies based on what one assumes is the nature of being a Homo sapien.
Strategy 1: Accept your animal origins, separate yourself from the herd, and take your chances. This is the survivalist's strategy. It is a deadend strategy since it doesn't matter to you or anyone else what you have achieved in this life. It is based on the false assumption that "He who dies with the most toys wins" philosophy. The reality is that once you die, they aren't your toys anymore.
Strategy 2: Accept your humanity, your frailties and your strengths, engage with the herd and contribute to the herd's success. This is the humanist and spiritual strategy. It recognizes that we are interdependent and that our legacy is in how we contribute to the continuity of the herd. It calls upon us to take responsibility for our actions as they serve both our personal and the herd's needs.
A recent article in Forbers magazine by Jessica Hagy makes the point that in order to be a success we each need at least 6 people in our corner if we are to be a success. These "people" are really roles that one must play in order to be successful. Individually we may find ourselves playing some or all these in our lives. But what is critical here is that no one can effectively play all of them at once.
To put it succinctly, "Lawyer who defends herself, has a fool for a client." We might admire the "player-coach" but rarely does he lead his team to a championship.
Hagy identifies these roles as:
1. The Instigator
2. The Cheerleader
3. The Doubter
4. The Taskmaster
5. The Connector
6. The Example (Mentor)
I find that in the present discussions Mr. Romney and his surrogates (the people who will make or break his campaign) don't understand that success is a group effort. Who are the Instigators, the Koch Brothers? Who is the Doubter, Carl Rove? Who is their Example? Richard Nixon? Certainly not Ronald Reagan! Who is their Connector, the Tea Party? Who is their Taskmaster, Grover Norquist, the unelected Budget Czar? We know that Fox "News" and Rush Limbaugh are the Cheerleaders.
And because they can't see this, they can't see that the Republican Congress and Party have as much responsibility for the declining fortunes of America and the American Middle Class as their allege culprit, the President of the United States.
Don't make the mistake to think you can do it all alone and take all the credit for your success. The measure of your success is how you staff and handle these 6 critical roles as you build your life, and create your legacy. Its not the toys that you will remembered for, it will be legacy you leave for future generations. That legacy can lead to greatness or it can lead to disaster. Your choice -- who is on your team?
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