A Failure to Compromise

When our boys started the inevitable drive to procure a cellular telephone of their own, we laid out for them the acceptable path that might lead to the successful satisfaction of their desires. They had to achieve a certain chronological age; they had to maintain a certain GPA; they had to be involved in some community serving organization; and, they had to achieve a definite maturity (with we parents as the sole arbiters). Both of our kids have attempted to negotiate these realities – regularly employing a tactic of claiming a desire for compromise. If, the logic goes, we expect them to be a specific number to be eligible for a phone and they are now a lower digit, the “correct” age falls somewhere in between. Failure to compromise would be “unfair!”

It’s Greek to Me

In traveling with a group speaking in various cities in the Middle East and Eastern Europe on the Austrian School of Economics, we found ourselves in Greece at the very time that its government is up-for-grabs and its economy is on the verge of collapse. The 350 or more folks that packed an auditorium in Thessaloniki (the second largest city after Athens) were notably concerned about the future of the country and its participation in the European Union. That night at a late dinner, I found myself sitting next to an affable Greek man whose spouse had served on the local organizing committee for the day’s events. After discovering that his sister had attended IU, our conversation ultimately turned to economics.

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Haste Makes Waste

Haste makes waste. Measure twice and cut once. Both expressions, common enough to be cliché, remind us of the perils of under-thinking and over-acting. But, where is the balance? In the modern age of instant communication and irretractability of comment, many of us have been the victim of our own hasty “Reply to ALL.” Some off-handed remark intended only for one, is distributed to the entire office. The passing irritation becomes a point of contention. The snide quip exchanged between friends becomes a careless and unnecessary misunderstanding lacking both the context of the relationship the sender had with the intended recipient and their shared perspective.

Facebook Birthdays

Every conference and planning session at our places of work, worship and otherwise include some discussion and consideration of how to make use of (and avoid being used by) the various social media mechanisms handily available on our computers and cell phones. Facebook, Twitter and blogging have all become established in our collective lexicon even as new concepts like Pinterest are emerging. Yet, in spite of our noted technologic sophistication and emerging bourgeois attachment for the electronic lifestyle, we remain, at our cores, interested in the simple connection with our fellow travelers.

Working on It

No one likes to feel undervalued. No one wants to believe that they are not competitive with their peers. Yet even as unemployment lines grow, job creators around this fine nation report refusal of work offers because folks simply take the posture that they’d rather stay home than work for “so little.” When crushing debt makes it impossible for a person or a family to make ends meet, a job that would otherwise have fed the family is no longer a solution. College students, once taking entry level roles, now are wrestling with giant student loan debt and credit card payments racked-up with spring break revelry. And we adults, once coasting on the accumulation of our toil, have no time for retraining or sharpening when a career transition occurs – loss of home equity and, in many cases, old fashioned over-spending have positioned us ill-prepared when things do not progress according to plan.

Women in Office

Presidential hopeful Herman Cain’s purported dalliances have been well publicized and lines of political contention have been drawn. It is the nature of the process of vetting our would-be leaders. But is there any other benefit that we can extract from this painful and often gory method? The obvious message to many (if it is not abundantly apparent, I strongly encourage another look) is to conduct one’s personal life with some degree of restraint. Playing duck-duck-goose around the office with someone else’s spouse is not going to remain a secret – ever. And, no matter how strict the confidentiality agreement, someone, given the right incentive, will talk. But is there more here? Does this case speak to the subtle work-place politics that continue to keep women under the glass ceiling and out of the White House?

Uncommon Request

Why is it so often those who give the most require the least, even as those who rarely offer anything are abundant with needs? At a buddy’s birthday party, I caught up with a longtime friend that I’d not seen for ages. He’s the kind of human that falls into the selfless camp. He served us all in the first Gulf War and has continued upon his return always working to make the world a better place. So, I was a little surprised when he asked me if I could take a meeting with him the coming week because of a favor he need to solicit of me. Asked if all was well, he naturally demurred positing that life had never been better.

Beating a Point

Recently I found myself at the table when a particularly vociferous disagreement erupted between two thinking and engaged folks, each with their own particularly impassioned views on life and the body politic. As personal insults were exchanged, it reminded me of the only physical beating ever to take place on the floor of the US Senate. In May of 1856, a member of that august body, Charles Sumner, had laid out a blistering attack on supporters of the US system of chattel slavery including remarks directed in personal offence at Senator Andrew Butler. Some supported Sumner’s then-considered uninformed and radical point of view while others did not. Regardless to the value of the discourse, Mr. Butler’s nephew, a member of the House of Representatives, believed that a line had been crossed and took it upon himself to enter the Senate chamber and promptly beat Mr. Sumner.

Stop Enoying Us

Most of us know that something nefarious can lurk in the unsolicited email from a purported lost relative in central Africa who needs a cash wire so that “they can get transportation home.” These messages and the dozens of others like glutting our email inboxes are outright scams. Unlike the trusty mailbox at the end of the lane, the one on our desk (inside of our locked and secure personal domiciles) is far more dangerous. Certainly, folk have used USPS to cheat and steal since the early days of post. But the Internet has accelerated crime right along with its many blessings. How do we tell the difference between a legitimate offer and one that is cleverly concealing a computer virus ready to steal our personal information and hijack our friends list?

Let’s Get Physical

In a world controlled by the boundaries of physics, why do we still push the axiom dictating that we cannot be in two places at once? We book and stretch to make the commute from one city to another, optimistically clinging to the belief that we can shuttle amongst the final meeting of the day, attending an away track meet for kid number one and still patiently reviewing homework with the second offspring. While we humans are blessed with a depth of ability, capacity and fortitude seldom fully taxed; can we manage to attend to our obligations when they are simultaneously dislocated?