Greed versus Public Service

I am not a huge fan of the Oscars; however, the award for Best Documentary gave me hope that American will and are taking back our country from the "Excess Class". This is a new category I have developed to be added to our standard Class System: The Under Class, The Working Poor Class, The Middle Class, and The Upper Class. "The Excess Class" are the very powerful Top-level executives and politicians who have no moral compass other than GREED. The question asked of "The Excess Class" is simply: How much is enough? Followed by: Why? I guess it is always the "why" questions that trap us all.

I highly recommend we as Americans watch the movie "Inside Job", become aware of those stealing our country, and take actions to prosecute the guilty. For those who might not be aware this documentary film is about the financial meltdown caused by "Wall Street Bankers" of which not a single executive has gone to jail for almost destroying our nation.






Maybe history is repeating, I am thinking of the film "Network".

C'ya
Eagle Driver
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Distraction

Distraction is defined according to The World Book Dictionary as: "the act of drawing away the attention, confusion of the mind, disturbance of thought"(emphasis added). In aviation this distraction, this "disturbance of thought" has caused many accidents and an entire field of study on this subject is called Crew Resource Management (CRM). I have researched this field of study and have produced numerous presentations on distractions in the cockpit. Much of it centers around the pilot losing focus on the larger problem by fixating on the relatively minor fault. This fixation on the minor causes the pilot to "forget to fly the jet". As you can imagine, typically a crash follows. A tragic example that I have witnessed was on a practice bombing mission while flying fighters in the Philippines, the crew of a Navy A-6 was so fixated on the target to put "bombs on target" that the pilot flew the fighter into the ground trying to correct for a perfect bomb drop.

Target fixation = Forget to fly the Jet

Jesus Christ speaks to this distraction in Mark 4:19:

"Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless." (Amplified Bible)

Neil Postman, in his book Technopoly - The Surrender of Culture to Technology, writes on page 179 about how our culture is driven by technology to the detriment of society and family cohesiveness:

"Into this void comes the Technopoly story, with its emphasis on progress without limits, rights without responsibilities, and technology without cost. The Technopoly story is without a moral center. it puts in its place efficiency, interest, and economic advance. It promises heaven on earth through the conveniences of technological progress. It cast aside all traditional narratives and symbols that suggest stability and orderliness, and tells, instead, of a life of skills, technical expertise, and the ecstasy of consumption." (Emphasis mine - Vintage Books, New York 1993)

It takes an enormous amount of discipline not to become "target fixated" and thereby crash the jet. People and relationships are what matter, typically you realize this when you are old - not trophies, not stuff, and not technology (and sometimes tragically you are too old to realize this). Caution: target fixation can result in lost relationships.

The following video clip is found on YouTube and is one of the latest commercials promoting the new "Windows App" on a cell phone. I find this commercial interesting because is shows tragically the children left behind (relationships lost) and is about the newest technology to, again, takes us away from relationships. I see this a Pee Wee Football games or Little League Baseball games - watching the parents texting while their child (relationships lost) is playing the sport: "Are You Kidding" and "Come On Man!" Technology will save the day.

Come On Man - a video from YouTube

C'ya
Eagle Driver
check 6

Disclaimer: This blog is not intended to endorse any product nor does its author receive compensation for displaying this commercial. This blog neither endorses nor criticizes the product on the tagged YouTube video.

Ideology

As I continue to read my new find, Ideology and Utopia by Karl Mannheim, I am amazed at his awareness and applicability to today's world. On page 36 he states:

"Political discussion possesses a character fundamentally different from academic discussion. It seeks not only to be in the right but also to demolish the basis of its opponent's social and intellectual existence... Political conflict, since it is from the very beginning a rationalized form of the struggle for social predominance, attacks the social status of the opponent, his public prestige, and his self-confidence" (emphasis mine).

Hmm, demolish existence, sounds like both the Republicans and the Democrats have forgotten the Constitution as well as the Declaration of Independence. And to think this book was written in the 1940's.

C'ya
Eagle Driver
check 6

Virtue or Celebrity-hood

I am almost through the 1st volume of Winston Churchill’s “A History of the English Speaking Peoples.” It seems to be an endless cycle of one good King followed by 4-5 bad kings, finally a good King, then bad, etc. (amazingly similar to the historical books on the kings of Judah and Israel in the Old Testament). What is up with this 1 good and multiple bad? On page 399 of Churchill’s volume 1 says:

“Thus the life and reign of King Henry IV exhibit to us another instance of the vanities of ambition and the harsh guerdon [old English word for "repayment"] which rewards its success.”

I like the “another instance of the vanities of ambition” part. In order to run for office one must be Narcissistic and yet the subtitle to Christopher Lasch’s late 1970s work “The Culture of Narcissism” succinctly describes the consequence of such "necessary" narcissism:

“American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations”

Do we elect “non-leaders”, “non-statesmen” because we have diminishing expectations? Or is it because we as a collective people (oh there is a new concept: collective people) have eliminated the value of “work ethic”, “individual initiative”, “discipline”, “moderation”, etc. from our standard in search of prosperity? Virtue has been replaced with Celebrity-hood.

What is, or better yet - what should our standard be? Mr. Lasch accurately describes the current standard written back in the late 1970s on page 53:

"In an age of diminishing expectations, the Protestant virtues no longer excite enthusiasm. Inflation erodes investments and savings. Advertising undermines the horror of indebtedness, exhorting the consumer to buy now and pay later. As the future becomes menacing and uncertain, only fools put off until tomorrow the fun they can have today. A profound shift in our sense of time has transformed work habits, values, and the definition of success. Self-preservation has replaced self-improvement as the goal of earthly existence."

What is the goal of our earthly existence? Are we as a people becoming the valley of Dry Bones found in Ezekiel chapter 37? Have we lost our eternal perspective in worshiping the Golden Calf of Celebrity-hood?

Again the realization must come to us now, not later (better to have learned this at 52 instead of 62) of we OUGHT to do regardless of the current, popular cultural norm. Where is the idea of maturity (virtue) over selfishness (Celebrity-hood)?

C'ya

Eagle Driver

Legacy - what will we leave?

Continuing with my previous post on leadership and Winston Churchill's History of the English Speaking Peoples (Vol. 1, "The Birth of Britain", Dodd, Mead & Company, New York 1956, pg. 242-243), Sir Churchill writes a chapter on the birth of the famous Magna Carta. He begins this chapter with King Richard the Lionheart and the next heir King John of England.

"Richard had embodied the virtues which men admire in the lion, but there is no animal in nature that combines the contradictory qualities of John... Moreover, when the long tally is added it will be seen that the British nation and the English-speaking world owe far more to the vices of John than to the labours of virtuous sovereigns; for it was through the union of many forces against him that the most famous milestone of our rights and freedom [the Magna Carta] was in fact set up."

As I read this chapter I began to reflect back on my 50+ years. What will be my legacy, my "long tally is added it will be seen that..."? Will I be remembered as King Richard who "embodied the virtues which men admire" or as King John who is remembered for the vices of his reign? These are terribly difficult questions that one asks of oneself demanding an answer! If only I knew this when I was in my 20s.

I have learned to ask myself these profound questions and whether I have the ability to change. Change is a good thing, but one must change for the better. So the obvious next daunting question is, "What is the better?"

A life lived in selfishness is not "the better" as evidenced by King John of England and the remembrance of his life. Selfishness is characterized by such synonyms as egotistic, greedy, piggish, covetous, hording, mean, uncharitable, etc. Throughout history and numerous books written on selfish people, the recurring theme is a life ending in misery.

If misery and being remembered for one's vice is the result of selfishness, then the opposite must be "the better". What lifestyle, what worldview, what standard for one's life has been recorded time-and-time again as honorable? Well the word "honorable" says it all. The only lifestyle, worldview, standard that is consistently honorable and recorded over time is one based on the New Testament (notice I did not name a specific religion). Only the teachings of the New Testament decry the excesses of selfishness and extol the virtue of self-less-ness.

A life based on honor "is the better". Now I must change and do the right thing regardless of the situation. I am learning to become more honorable by spending time in the Word of God and attempting to live it out in my remaining years.

"All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify." - 1 Corinthians 10:23

What will be your Legacy?

Better to have learned this at 52 instead of 62.
C'ya
Eagle Driver
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