Service Stripes

If someone is considering offering public service, it is certainly fair to consider why it is that one would want to serve. And, in fact, those are the kinds of topics the would-be civic leaders most want to discuss. Generally, they have some frustration (or occasionally even anger) regarding this topic or another. “Teachers are under appreciated!” says one. “Schools are bloated with tax dollars!” says another. And, others still are simply responding to a desire to give back referring to a family member or mentor that inspired them to commit. “Mom worked tirelessly for the PTA and now that I have kids, it seems like the right thing to do.” All the answers are right from the perspective of the giver; and, we should be eager to support the instinct to service.

But to me, there is a more important question. Does one have the temperament to sustain peer criticism (or even to be a part of the minority caucus)? In my experience, the critique is most harsh closest to home. Indeed, familiarity breeds contempt. Neighborhood association officers have folks showing up on their doorsteps demanding intervention in the on-going feud over the trashcan placement. Next in line, School Board members feel the heat of tight budgets and are ascribed all sort of aspersions often based in frustration not fact. Next in line are local government officials. We see these fine people at softball games and the town parade and are willing to “remind” them of our street care need and tax burden. Finally, in order are State and National representatives – they have staff to shield but must come back from DC at least to run for reelection.

Accountability may not be as important as ideology; but if one wants to serve, isn’t it a big part of the equation.

This column was published on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 in the Current in Carmel, Current in Westfield, Current in Fishers , and Current in Noblesville - http: //youarecurrent.com/

In Short Supply

The Greeks have decided to stay in the Eurozone and have agreed to continuing negotiations with their creditors to remain fiscally afloat. In elections last week, voters on the historic and blue-watered nation elected, albeit by a narrow margin, political figures who have asserted, albeit in the most tentative of ways, that they are committed to keeping Greece on the path to greater financial responsibility and reducing spending. Good news. The world’s economy has become so intertwined that the failure of one errant nation affects all the rest. Whether these newest office-holders are more successful at keeping spending in line with revenue remains to be seen. But for now, Europe, along with the US markets, is resting a little easier.

Ghosts in the Music

Since even the early tuning concerts of central Indiana’s own version of famed 15th Century Venetian architect Andrea Palladio’s Palladium, many have been struck by its formidable countenance and looming presence. But it was during a recent symphonic performance, that I took a new look at the reflective nature of the suspended acoustic glass ceiling. As each and every stroke of the bow was drawn across an instrument below it was reflected in broken pieces across the panels soaring above us many stories.

It reminds us that music is the sole of the hall. Like the muse called to the artist, the reflections in the panes take on an ethereal, almost surreal, quality. Much has been written about cost and design, leadership and scandal, and venue and role. But now, is it really about the edifice or is it art?

Travel Plans

It always seems easier to be the one gone traveling than to be the one home worrying about an errant wondering family member.  Even as we are tucked-in safe and sound within the confine of our abodes, the place seems somewhat incomplete when a bed, usually filled by a child, spouse or partner, goes unoccupied. While our loved ones are traveling or otherwise out of our line-of-sight, we imagine all sort of calamity that might befall them.  Yet when we are the ones boarding endless airplanes and crossing miles of uncharted territory, we seem more occupied with thoughts of logistics and connecting flights that of separation from the household.  Is it true that absence makes the heart grow fonder?  

Whatever the reason, it feels good to have the family all together and secure under one roof.  Maybe it is a vestige of our cave dwelling ancestry.  Perhaps it is just the way that God made us.  Given the anxiety created when the family, sans me, is out for an overnight visit to relatives, I wonder how I will manage the coming months that will include unfettered driving licenses, far-flung travel and eventual college. 

Takers

Shakespeare may have been wrong.  Perhaps the question is not “to be or not to be.”  It seems more common that we ask “to take or to give – who does which.”  History is littered with the bodies of those caught in the inevitable ebb and flow of power and money.  Capitalism wanes even as communism rises.  Freedom flees as socialism sets up shop.  And most assuredly, the inverse is equally true.  While my own intellectual journey seems to be leading to a greater faith in the individual and free markets, others find that a well-managed collective state would better serve this planet’s ever-expanding population.  Like many, I will enter the fray with pen and toil to share whatever meager insight I’ve garnered from years of reading, working, thinking and living.  And, I most earnestly encourage others to do the same.  

Misplaced Loyalty.

Why does it seem that most elected officials don’t retire naturally? They run until they are forced resentfully from office. Some voters accuse the politicians of an egomaniacal power-grab while others believe these mature statesmen have the most to offer and must continue to serve. Whatever the perspective, most of us count ourselves as loyal. We love our friends, our team mascot and our national flag. In fact, studies show that once we settle on a beer brand we almost never change it. Even dogs are lauded for their faithfulness. Could politicians continue to campaign out of some sense of misplaced loyalty to those in their employ?

Fairness Doctrine

What kids say directly to their parents is often far less interesting that what they say to friends when the children don’t know that Mom & Dad are listening. It is how one finds out what is really going on inside of these developing human brains. Their thoughts are often unguarded and raw. They are not tempered by social pressure or maturity. They are not bound by a sense of the long-term value of patience and prudence.

In the cavalcade of “buddies” that come to spend time with our boys at home, I have been privy to loads of off-handed remarks, pithy comments and just-plain-simple laugh-out-loud remarks from the youngsters. But there are common themes – feats of physical prowess, retelling of all manner of gross indiscretion and assertions of

Shift into Neutral

The Indiana Humanities statewide organization’s mantra is Think. Read. Talk. It sets out to provide Hoosiers with opportunities to do just that – and in my view, it succeeds hands down. Recently, in collaboration with the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in Indianapolis’ downtown, Indiana Humanities brought celebrated and award-winning journalist Jim Lehrer to speak to an assembled crowd on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Not only did the sponsoring entities provide a pleasant and encouraging setting for participants to commune with other inquiring minds, Lehrer delivered an open and, at times, poignant dialogue about his years in the public eye and the changing morays of the American media-consuming public.