June 24th, 2014

Trust

[truhst] 

noun

1. Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.

2.

Confident expectation of something; hope.

3.

Confidence in the certainty of future payment for property or goods received; credit: to sell merchandise on trust.

4.

A person on whom or thing on which one relies: God is my trust.

5.

The condition of one to whom something has been entrusted.

The first thing I’d like to do is to define how an average person would begin to develop trust in someone or something?  Is it through actions, words, behavior over a period of time?  If that is the case than certainly anyone should be able to see how the administration in Washington has lost the trust of the very people they are elected to represent.  You must first understand that OUR representatives have been first campaigning to gain our trust through their words and certain behaviors.  But what happens next is where the issues lie.  The above mentioned politician (regardless of party) then begins to believe his own words.  He becomes a victim of himself.

 I believe it would be a correct assumption on my part to believe the average American citizen does more research when buying a refrigerator or car than they do in selecting a politician to support i.e. vote for.  The politician now so ingrained in himself continues to speak out about anything that will hit the headlines, many times or most times on subjects that Congress can or won’t do anything about.  What happens next you ask?  The person gets elected, enjoys extremely lavish tax payer amenities in Washington and has begun the process of looking out for his reelection.  Now anything they say is recorded, taped, copied somewhere and they must still repeat their campaign lines about changing the world and righting all of those wrongs.  Now he knows for sure he cannot fulfill any of his campaign promises because all of the other politicians are in the same boat.  From day one in office make no mistake they are only interested in getting elected once again.

Now what happens to the “trust” that “we the people” have instilled in that person?  It begins to become irrelevant and pushed aside for personal gain and aspirations.  Such is the case now with all 535 members of Congress and the President of OUR United States.  The trust in their actions, words, and behaviors has deteriorated to such point as we now have 2 sides against each other. 

Like I said earlier this is regardless of political affiliation.  They are at the point where what they say are lies and the longer and louder they say it they are sure the American people will believe it.  Both sides are guilty.  So what is the answer?  The answer is for all Americans to hold their respective elected officials accountable for their actions, words and behaviors.  The amount of resources available to us has grown tenfold from the old encyclopedia days in the library.  Take a stand, do your research, but above all, make sure the person name you are selecting on the ballot is worthy of YOUR trust!

That’s all I have to say about that.

June 11, 2014

Truth

[trooth] 

noun, plural truths  [troothz, trooths]  Show IPA .

1.

The true or actual state of a matter: He tried to find out the truth.

2.

Conformity with fact or reality; verity: the truth of a statement.

3.

A verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like: mathematical truths.

4.

The state or character of being true.

5.

Actuality or actual existence.

The very mention of this word is enough to make little kids squirm in front of their parents, defendants squirm in the courtroom, and people in general a little squeamish when faced with the reality of what is about to happen next.

We live in a society which closely monitors it when dealing with lending, marketing, prison sentences, heck even car dealers have been told they must adhere to truth in advertising.  Yet in this day and age the word has no meaning when it comes to politics.  Everyday single day of every single year we hear politicians make such an effort in avoiding the truth that it has achieved almost punch line status.  They are able to continuously preach what they don’t practice because we as a society hold no one accountable to actually tell the truth. 

There is currently (unfortunately) a two party system in this country in which both sides have dedicated members that spend an enormous amount of time either hiding it, twisting it, burying it, or denying it.  They also happen to be the same people that we have elected to represent us and create laws and policies for America.  While we have watchdog groups and agencies in place whose only concern is to make sure the car dealers have on hand what they advertise on television, the average American has no such resource when it comes to their elected officials.  Frankly, I find that incredibly disturbing.  These folks who are paid an awfully high salary are accountable to no one.  And you want to know why?  We as a nation are either too busy, too lazy, too confused to even care.  We allow this to go on every day of every year, because while we certainly and rightly so expect our elected representatives to speak the truth, we have no way of knowing if indeed they are.  They put forth so much effort in trying to get reelected that most times the truth must be sacrificed for their own agenda to take hold.

The situation in this world is extremely fragile and in order for American citizens to make informed decisions and choices they must have (and quite frankly deserve) to know the truth.  We are in another election cycle and it seems every time a politician opens their mouth they have one thought and one thought only, what can I say to help me get re-elected?  We are way past due as a nation to begin holding these people to what they say.

I would submit to you that it is long past time to start holding our politicians accountable for every single thing that comes out of their collective mouths.  Their party affiliation is irrelevant at this point.  Whatever happened to the George Washington statement “I cannot tell a lie”?  Well America, the majority of politicians seem to be willing as a group to tell this country that they cannot tell the truth.

That’s all I have to say about that.

June 4th, 2014

lead·er·ship

[lee-der-ship]  

noun

1.

The position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group: administration, management, directorship, control, governorship, stewardship, hegemony.

2.

Ability to lead: As early as sixth grade she displayed remarkable leadership potential Synonyms: authoritativeness, influence, command, effectiveness; sway, clout.

3.

An act or instance of leading; guidance; direction: 

When a group of people seek out a leader there tends to be many different qualities that are necessary to fill that role.  Amongst them is the ability to speak in clear concise tones which coincides with the “believability” factor in what that speaker i.e. leader has to say.  In the minds of many when asked who among our former presidents were great leaders there tends to be a great percentage who would offer up the notion that charisma equates to great leadership.  I argue that the two are not related.  When we were in grade school we would see the kids running for student council all make such outlandish promises such as root beer in all of the drinking fountains.  What the winners of these elections all had was a gift for speaking and getting a crowd energized.  Such is the case with our current president.  While he does possess a knack for energizing an audience, much of what he says is not entirely true and he knows it.  That quality some people have does not a leader make.  That is the point of this post.  While some past leaders have the ability to speak and speak well they then are able to make good on their claims.  We have had many high quality people who were and are great leaders not have the ability to speak well in public.  Even some of the great ones are still nervous when public speaking.  The quantity and tone of words has nothing to do with the quality of what has been spoken. Our current president used his speaking abilities to his advantage combined with understanding an audience twice to get himself elected.  Knowing the audience you are addressing often leads to your words having a greater impact.  One of the traits of a good speaker is understanding that.  The American people and I believe most groups have such an appetite for an opportunity to cheer that they often don’t pay attention to the after effects of what has been said.  Leaders are truly humbled by their followers so much they meticulously pay close attention to their message.  They understand that in order to continue to be successful they must constantly make their words count.  Not in a way that makes everyone cheer but in a way to garner respect for what has been spoken.  Unfortunately politicians have forgotten this little bit of truth.  In order to be followed thereby making you a leader you must deliver on those promises.  That notion seems to have become lost on many groups but most notably politicians.  The times have changed dramatically and this country wants and deserves a true leader.  Someone we can rally around and get America moving forward again.  Stewardship of this great country cannot and should not be based on ones ability to rally a group of individuals so starved for answers….they forget the question.

That’s all I have to say about that.