It’s amazing to me, but looking back over more than a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written.
Golden Oldies is a collection of what I consider some of the best posts during that time. It’s been four years since I wrote this, but it could have been anytime in the last several decades. The time difference wouldn’t have been that noticeable, except that what I described just keeps getting worse. I find it both sad and disgusting that we humans seem incapable of growing and, instead of moving forward, we move backwards. Read other Golden Oldies here
Anyone reading the news—local, national or global—knows that hate and intolerance are increasing at an alarming rate everywhere.
Also, because there have been/will be so many elections around the world this year ‘leadership’ is in the news even more so than usual.
What responsibility do leaders—business, political, religious, community—bear in fostering hate and intolerance?
A lot.
Not just the age old race and gender intolerance, but the I’m/we’re-RIGHT-so-you-should-do/think-our-way-or-else.
The ‘we’re right/you’re wrong’ attitude is as old as humanity and probably won’t ever change, but it’s the ‘do-it-our-way-or-else’ that shows the intolerance for what it really is.
And leaders aren’t helping; in fact, they are making it worse.
During my adult life (I missed being a Boomer by a hair) I’ve watched as hate and intolerance spread across the country masked by religion, a façade of political correctness or a mea culpa that is supposed to make everything OK, but doesn’t.
Various business, political, religious and community leaders give passionate, fiery talks to their followers and then express surprise and dismay when some of those same followers steal trade secrets, plant bombs, and kill individuals—whose only error was following their own beliefs.
We are no longer entitled to the pursuit of happiness if our happiness offends someone next door, the other end of the country, or the far side of the globe.
I remember Ann Rand saying in an interview that she believed that she had the right to be totally selfish, where upon the interviewer said that would give her freedom to kill.
Rand said absolutely not, in fact the reverse was true, since her selfishness couldn’t impinge anyone else’s right to be selfish.
Leaders aren’t responsible; we are, because we go along with it—as did the Germans when Hitler led them down the hate and intolerance path.
It’s amazing to me, but looking back over nearly a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written. Golden Oldies is a collection of what I consider some of the best posts during that time.
I chose today’s Oldie for two reasons. First, it’s a new year and taking it to heart at the start assures you of a better more productive year, and second, it’s an election year, which makes it ultra-divisive, and there’s enough stress in the normal workplace without adding another element — especially such a vicious one. Read other Golden Oldies here
Sometimes good things arrive in my inbox amidst the silly videos and spam.
And so it was yesterday; I was thinking about what to write when this arrived and it seemed the perfect answer—assuming, that is, that you are as tired as I am of the rising tide of hit pieces so prevalent this election.
Fable of the Porcupine It was the coldest winter ever and many animals were dying because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions, even though they gave heat to each other. After awhile they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationships with their companions, but the most important part of it was the heat that came from the others. In this way they were able to survive. Moral of the story: The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people.
The best relationship is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others as opposed to dying alone in the cold.
What do you think? Will humans live up to the example of porcupines or die alone in the cold?
Anyone reading the news—local, national or global—knows that hate and intolerance are increasing at an alarming rate everywhere.
Also, because there have been/will be so many elections around the world this year ‘leadership’ is in the news even more so than usual.
What responsibility do leaders—business, political, religious, community—bear in fostering hate and intolerance?
A lot.
Not just the age old race and gender intolerance, but the I’m/we’re-RIGHT-so-you-should-do/think-our-way-or-else.
The ‘we’re right/you’re wrong’ attitude is as old as humanity and probably won’t ever change, but it’s the ‘do-it-our-way-or-else’ that shows the intolerance for what it really is.
And leaders aren’t helping; in fact, they are making it worse.
During my adult life (I missed being a Boomer by a hair) I’ve watched as hate and intolerance spread across the country masked by religion, a façade of political correctness or a mea culpa that is supposed to make everything OK, but doesn’t.
Various business, political, religious and community leaders give passionate, fiery talks to their followers and then express surprise and dismay when some of those same followers steal trade secrets, plant bombs, and kill individuals—whose only error was following their own beliefs.
We are no longer entitled to the pursuit of happiness if our happiness offends someone next door, the other end of the country, or the far side of the globe.
I remember Ann Rand saying in an interview that she believed that she had the right to be totally selfish, where upon the interviewer said that would give her freedom to kill.
Rand said absolutely not, in fact the reverse was true, since her selfishness couldn’t impinge anyone else’s right to be selfish.
Leaders aren’t responsible; we are because we go along with it—as did the Germans when Hitler led them down the hate and intolerance path.
Sometimes good things arrive in my inbox amidst the silly videos and spam.
And so it was yesterday; I was thinking about what to write when this arrived and it seemed the perfect answer—assuming, that is, that you are as tired as I am of the rising tide of hit pieces so prevalent this election.
Fable of the Porcupine It was the coldest winter ever and many animals were dying because of the cold.
The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together.
This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions, even though they gave heat to each other.
After awhile they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen.
So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth.
Wisely, they decided to go back to being together.
This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationships with their companions, but the most important part of it was the heat that came from the others.
In this way they were able to survive.
Moral of the story:
The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people.
The best relationship is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others as opposed to dying alone in the cold.
What do you think? Will humans live up to the example of porcupines or die alone in the cold?
What responsibility does leadership—business, political, religious, community—bear in fostering hate and intolerance?
I’ve asked and been asked this question many times in recent years, since intolerance seems to be on the upswing and thought I’d throw it open to a wider and more diverse audience then normally present.
In fairness to the conversation I’ll start by laying out some of my own MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy)™ since it will color what I say—it’s almost impossible to write totally objectively. My hope is that this will become a far ranging discussion.
Please remember that this is my MAP I’m describing and not an effort to convince you of anything.
I detest fanatics. They have a one-dimension view of the world and tend to think that any words or actions are acceptable because they are Right, with a capital R. Some are obvious terrorists—Al Queada, Army of God, Earth Liberation Front, Black Liberation Army—while others “merely” churn out, in often polished prose and from well respected platforms, their messages of hate and intolerance.
I wholeheartedly support S.G. Tallentyre’s comment, “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I’ll fight to the death for your right to say it,” even when I’m violently opposed to the thoughts expressed.
I do not support having those thoughts crammed down my throat or being forced to be like “them,” instead of like me.
I doubt that my ideal is your ideal, so who chooses? What I consider close-minded or bigoted is very likely another person’s passionate belief—to me there is no “Right.”
have enormous respect for faith, less for organized religion and none for rampant ideology.
I believe that there is one race, human, on Earth that comes in many flavors. Preferring one flavor to another is fine, but trying to abolish any flavor is not.
I think that ethics and morality are situational and subject to the interpretation of the historical time, society, and the various ideologies in ascendance.
If you have a response that you feel is too long for a comment please email it to me (miki@RampUpSolutions.com); I’m open to using it as a post just as I expect to draw post ideas from your comments. The only rule is that there are no personal attacks and the language stays fairly polite.
I’ll post some of my thoughts on the question tomorrow.
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Anyone reading the news—local, national or global—knows that hate and intolerance are increasing at an alarming rate everywhere.
