Maslow’s Higherarchy in Modern America

Great little piece in the WSJ today on Representative Dingell’s change in view on Global Warming. While I am happy to see that our leadership is gradually converting to see the light of An Inconvenient Truth, I was equally interested in the graphic that accompanied the article. In it, it showed the growth of emissions over the past decade and a half as well as the relative priorities of Americans. In it, we rank Iraq, Health Care, Terrorism, The Economy, and Immigration all above the environment.

Now this makes me wonder; Do we view the environment as a nice to have? Or, do we have so many issues that it will take some time to get to the environment? While I am certain there are any number of environmentalists that can give us detailed insights into why we should be more concerned about it, I have a simple view. With the exception of immigration, all of the other concerns are completely linked to a healthy environment. The eco-system is mutually dependent. If the environment is dying, so is the economy, our mis-guided acts of foreign policy and so on.

So, while I am happy that the our leadership is waking up to the responsibilities that come with the job, we still have to take responsibility for our own actions. Change a light bulb, take public transportation, buy carbon credits to offset your actions.

Do something!

Saturday at the Post Office

This past weekend I went to the post office to mail a few packages for my wife. I live in the Oakland – Berkeley CA area. I went to one of the smaller post offices to avoid some of the crowds that typically build up on Saturdays. When I arrived, I dutifully got my number (number 75, currently serving number 66). I thought going to the post office on Saturday would take a little more time than usual, so I had planned for a wait. What I had not planned on was the glacial pace that the staff of the USPS was working. There were at least 12 people waiting for assistance, yet only one customer window open. There appeared to be 4 or 5 USPS employees wandering the back office.

After waiting 10 minutes for the USPS person to service one customer (The employee could not find $.84 airmail stamps), I decided to do a little experiment. There was a UPS store 1/2 mile down the road from the post office. I decided to see if I could walk down to the UPS store, mail my packages, buy a soda at the convenience store, and walk back to the Post Office before my number was called. I did not attempt to move any faster than my normal gait.

Needless to say, I made it back with three numbers to spare (they were servicing number 72, I was number 75). Now I know Saturday is a busy day at the Post Office. If fact, I am pretty sure EVERYBODY knows Saturday is a pretty busy day at the Post Office.

So my questions are simple. If everybody knows that Saturday is a busy day at the Post Office, why do they only staff one window? Why are the other employees not opening another window when there is a backup? The most infuriating part of this experience was the absolute absence of ANY customer orientation. While the employees are the symptom, the management needs to be accountable for not promoting a more customer centric philosophy throughout the organization.

The Post Office, which once was a critical piece of our country’s infrastructure, is continuing to marginalize themselves into oblivion.

Sports and Sportmanship

It is that time of year again. March madness. It is a funny time for me, as I am a big sports fan (big as in passionate), but I never really follow basketball the same way I do football, baseball and cycling. I do enjoy watching March madness. This past weekend, the Ohio State v Xavier game was exceptional. A whole season coming down to one free throw (for Xavier) and one play (for Ohio State). It is a shame someone has to lose a game like that.

The point of my post is the aftermath. Ohio State took control of the game in overtime and won. After the game, the players and the coaches of the opposing teams took the time to congratulate each other for a game well played. This ritual of respect is played out in most sports. Football, Basketball, soccer, golf, and so on. Why is it that professional baseball players refuse to acknowledge the other team and just congratulate themselves? I find this completely baffling. I think it is a horrible example to set for our youth. Frankly, I just don’t get it.

Football is a terrifically violent sport. These men inflict physical pain on each other that is truly incomprehensible to the average human. But after the game, they congratulate each other out of respect. Some even pray together. Why is it so hard for baseball players to so some respect to each other?

Does anybody know how or why this rather weak tradition exists?

Coming Back to the Blog World

While it is obvious that my frequency of postings has been anemic, I am making an effort to jump back into the fray. Hopefully, it will be interesting reading.

Messages of Click

While watching Adam Sandler’s recent movie “Click” last weekend, I was torn between the quality of the movie vs the quality of the message. By way of background information, I am happy to enjoy sophomoric humor in reasonable doses. So, Adam Sandler and his wit are very much up my Alley. Click does not disappoint in that regard. Adam is good at interspersing his trademark humor in this movie. If you are strictly looking for Adam’s sense of humor, you will be disappointed. The movie gets a little weak with some of the heavy handedness that the message takes on at different points. But this post is not about writing a movie review. It is about the message Click attempts to deliver.

The message is quite simple really. It is a reminder that the journey, and more importantly, the immediate presence of the journey, really is more important than the destination. Ironically, I was in a doctor’s office recently and read an interview of Willie Nelson in O magazine (Yes, I read O). He had a very similar point. As he put it; ” If I had the ability to plan my whole life out, and then live that plan, my life would have been very limited relative to what actually happened.” He went on to say that most of the “happy” people he has met in his life have learned to enjoy the NOW as much (if not more) than the promise of the future. I think this is the truly great point of Click. If you hate your daily existence, how is working at it for 20 years going to improve anything? Can you disengage from all of the conflicting messages our society creates for brief moments of time to enjoy your existence? I guess that is the core objective. Living your life in a manner that you can live for NOW, at the same time enjoying the promise of the future. While not rocket science, it is good to stop and think about it every now and again.

Abortion & The Supreme Court

David Kirkpatrick had a very interesting article in the New York Times today (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/16/politics/politicsspecial1/16alito.html) regarding the recent supreme Court justice hearings. He was pointing out what we all have been witnessing; the flash point issue of abortionSand Roe v Wade is no longer an absolute taboo to discuss. Sam has been the most upfront of recent nominees regarding his position relative to the case and the concepts of precedent. This is amazing at so many levels, but I feel the most telling is the quote from Kate Michelman, the former president of Naral Pro-Choice America, which says that since the last election there is less willingness to be forthright supporting a woman’s right to choose…..WOW! I immediately start wondering if I have totally lost touch with the rest of the country. How can that be? I mean, this is really a core issue on personal freedoms in our country and we have “less willingness” to support “a woman’s right to choice”? Did I miss the memo regarding the a comprehensive move of our country (and the representative leadership) to evangelical values? Did I miss the directive that our government should involve itself in our bedroom and our choices around pro-creation? I guess I need to get out more.

To be clear, I completely understand that this is a highly charged moral issue. I also understand that because of that fact, we have little to no ability to work out an optimal solution (Abortion is legal in the first trimester, illegal in the last, and some definition of circumstances to allow for abortion in the middle trimester). But here is the rub, in a society that has been built on personal freedoms, further validated by any number of Supreme Court rulings, why would we not stand in support of a woman’s right to choice.

The only bright spot in the article came from Senator Diane Feinstein. She was able to make her position clear as to her perspective on the issue as opposed to the qualifications of the man. She was quoted, “I mean, this is a man I might disagree with. That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be on the court.” While still voting in a partisan manner, she can at least acknowledge the difference between the issue and the man.

Wouldn’t it be nice…

Wouldn’t it be nice if I didn’t have to read about the Congressional hearings for the nominated Supreme Court Justice and think how disingenuous ALL of the players are? I mean really, are we living in a society driven by frat-boy rules? Since you are a member FiCapaBigOne (Republican), you need to do as we say. Not that the other side is putting a better foot forward; Teddy really is kicking a dead horse.

But the biggest crime is that I know from Sam (do you think he minds if I call him Sam?) Alito’s past what he stands for (Strong Presidency, Strong Business, etc ) and what he doesn’t (abortion to name one) but he is unable to have that conversation. The only ones getting screwed here are the general public as we will have to live with Sam for life, whether we want to or not.

Not that Sam is a bad man, in fact, I believe he is quite intelligent. The problem is balance, something that we are seeing little of over the past 6 years. Only time will be the judge (pun intended) is Sam is both a good person and a balanced one as well. Due to the definition of process when reviewing and approving a Supreme Court nominee, we get nothing from the candidates mouth. Can you imagine going for a job interview and saying so little and still get the offer? I know it has never really happened to me, maybe I am just not going for the right jobs.
This leads me to the core point. The agenda (as in national) is being driven by the fringes. We have to have a Conservative judge (clearly demonstrable via past writings and decisions) as he is more likely to against abortion and pro business and church, in order to determine our most important legislative interpretations because the hard right demands it. And because the hard right demands it, the hard left must make equally aggressive positions in order to offset the hard right position. It is a lot like tetherball, you keep hitting the ball as hard as you can at your opponent in the hope he/she will miss one time and you will get an advantage. The problem is, we are not playing tetherball, we are trying to get the best people to assume leadership position in representing the rights of the people of the United States. It should not be about getting an advantage or hoping your opponent misses. It is about working for what is best for your country and the people that brought you to office. Sorry to say, with all of the lobbying and fundraising, I see elected officials more concerned with maintaining power than leading their country.

So wouldn’t it be nice if our elected officials, in a representation based system, would represent us in some why so there can be honest dialog around really important issues? Yeah, I think so…….

Hello world!

Hello world.  I have been a long time consumer of blogs and felt it was time to start speaking.  So here I go, many thanks to any and all who spend a few minutes reading.  I don’t know if it will be worth your time, but I hope so……