Why Societies Sometimes Fail to Do the Right Thing.....Where Values and "Business as Usual" Collide!

 I've thought a lot about people and how and why they can do certain things without remorse and how society makes lots of wiggle room for such people. I begin to wonder whether our laws are capable of reflecting what is happening in the world and whether or not they are designed to search out truths or just manage people (Maybe more the later but perhaps some of the former.). Throughout the years I have seen people do wonderful things (The best human nature has to offer.) and I have seen people act worse than savage animals (Animals are not cruel because they are either hungry or protective. It is us humans that can move beyond natural constraints of need and into sadistic pleasures.). What we find is that there is an indifference in the world to certain behaviors and it shields us from a higher planes of personal and societal existence.

While I cannot explain how or why the values we have learned in childhood are so easy to discarded, I can say that its dangerous to think about how quickly and easily we are fooled into believing things that in hindsight were obviously inappropriate. We get jealous spread a lie, want some money steal it, have a mental health issue attack others, feeling bad about yourself put someone down, someone overshadows you make a false police report (I couldn't find much on biology and lying but I suspect their is a connection. You can read something about liars.) Its seems so easy!

(By the way I'm not talking about those white lies that are meant not to hurt others feelings or to maintain privacy to an inappropriate question. We are talking intentional lies of self gain.)

I'm surprised we made it this far as a civilization. If we were all of the mindset "anything goes" we couldn't possibly have long-term peace and stability. There would be no universally accepted rules and that would reduce truth, law, and order. Imagine a world where anything and everything is acceptable and the systems in place decides things on power, race/religion, financial interest, social/political connections and convenience. Such a people would be doomed to failure because few societies could survive when rules don't reflect truth and are not universal by nature (Why I advocate for universal truths that apply to all people. Think about it, if the rules aren't reflective of truth then they have no real value to the masses. Crime will rise and institutional trust will decline). 

If I ever go into politics, which I'm thinking at the moment its not the place for me (I'm a little sensitive to injustice and intentionally cruel falsehood.  Truth may be somewhat subjective but it should be genuinely believed. I can't just say blah blah blah to get people to vote for me without feeling bad about myself for providing intentionally false information. I debate it over and over and how I feel about politics is depending on the day. Likewise parties often support people who are willing to say only specific things even when those things don't accurately reflect "truth". i.e. like politicians from either attacking each other without any sense of civility. Conscience is curse sometimes! 🤷), I wouldn't care what the political interests think (I say that but maybe I would. I don't know...I haven't been in exactly that type of situation. Similar but not exact. ). Established interests often donate and support anyone as long as its faction based and gets them the things they want. Its not how systems should run and its inherently dangerous and leads to societal-governmental decline (In fantasy land we might find supporting people for their values and characteristics might lead to better end results and lots of positive social prompting/learning.). I think I would just say what I believe to be true and if that ends in a guillotine of some metaphorical end...it would be better than bending a knee to falsehood (Maybe? Lots of different ways to look at it. Put me in a guillotine and I will probably change my mind. Its kind of what history does to its thinkers anyway. 😬). 

The good news is that even when things seem sort of distorted, over the long run we begin to realize our falsehoods and make unconscious (sometimes conscious) corrections. Maybe we can't admit it to ourselves, or within our history books, but we start to slowly do the right things because deep down we know its better for everyone. I think we know intuitively there are certain time honored values that must be passed from generation to generation despite institutional weakness at any particular time and space in history. At least we can hope this to be true....I suspect it is.....but slow and clunky change by wading through self interest and lack of insight. People have so many day-to-day things to worry about and yet...these are the things I ponder (Kind of sad I know.😢)

February 2022 Job Postings Positive: Time to Innovate Our Economy?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released their Feb 2022 job report numbers and they are very positive at 678K. With the unemployment rate at 3.8% we might want to consider innovating our economy into more advance manufacturing (I'm also keeping my eye on the trends of the year to see if my economic projects are still on track.). You can read the Feb. 2022 Job Numbers and perhaps gain some insight into changes.

When there begins to be shortages companies start to innovate and that will be important for the U.S. While I often don't like some things like self-check out lanes I think they may become a necessity. In high demand industries we may want to rethink our educational approaches to align skills to industry, innovate manufacturing, and develop human capital as much as we can to improve our total values. If we want to be the center of the world supply chain we will have to generate productive power. See Global Talent Shortage

"Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 678,000 in February, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, health care, and construction."

You will also want to pay attention to where these increased are occurring to see what industries might be forming a trend. These are some of the one's I'm most interested in at the moment....

"Professional and business services added 95,000 jobs in February. Job gains occurred in temporary help services (+36,000), management of companies and enterprises (+12,000), management and technical consulting services (+10,000), and scientific research and development services (+8,000). Employment in professional and business services is 596,000 higher than in February 2020, largely in temporary help services (+240,000), computer systems design and related services (+154,000), and management and technical consulting services (+152,000)."

Employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 48,000 in February and is 584,000 higher than in February 2020. Over the month, job gains continued in warehousing and storage (+11,000), couriers and messengers (+9,000), support activities for transportation (+9,000), and air transportation (+7,000). All four of these component industries have surpassed their February 2020 employment levels, with particularly strong job growth in warehousing and storage (+420,000) and couriers and messengers (+240,000).

Manufacturing added 36,000 jobs in February. Employment in durable goods industries rose by 20,000, with job gains in fabricated metal products (+11,000), machinery (+8,000), electrical equipment and appliances (+4,000), nonmetallic mineral products (+3,000), furniture and related products (+3,000), and primary metals (+3,000). These gains were partially offset by a job loss in motor vehicles and parts (-18,000). Nondurable goods manufacturing also added jobs over the month (+16,000). Since February 2020, manufacturing employment is down by 178,000, or 1.4 percent.

Mining employment rose by 9,000 in February, with gains in support activities for mining (+6,000) and in oil and gas extraction (+2,000). Mining employment has grown by 62,000 since a recent low in February 2021

Pence Starts to Mount The Elephant: One boot in the stirrups and one hand on the saddle

Diego Velázquez

The Surrender of Breda, 1634-35

The GOP is in the process transformation and you can see the dial moving back toward the middle. Pence made an important comment and I think it stands for his integrity and is a hint at GOP direction. With the comments, "“there is no room in this party for apologists for Putin” he puts one foot on the stirrup and one on the saddle in order to mount the great GOP Elephant. Whether he can hold a lance, run barrels and jump the powerful boar is a whole other issue.

What I'm saying is that based on what happened during the Capital Riots (i.e. crowds changing "Kill Pence") and this recent comment I can say that he shows signs of integrity. That isn't against any other candidate (or those that that are still are not running) but it is a positive statement on his deep commitment to democracy and his ideals.

There should also be a clear distinction between not liking the actions of Putin and the general nature of the Russian people. I have met a few Russians in my life and I can say I like some people and I don't like others but it has very little to do with where they come from. Its a quality of character thing. When we have conflict we often overgeneralize (You may want to read a little something on overgeneralization) 

Republican Party has no room for ‘apologists for Putin’

(Side Note: Before you get upset I can say I also like President Biden and believe him to be a genuine soul. That doesn't mean I agree with everything Pence or Biden say or all of their policies but that I can recognize the good in people. That may be too much to handle for those who's complexity is still stuck in simple categorization. I am an "old guard" light right Republican that can recognize displays of good character and the benefits of different parties working together to solve national problems. If I change my opinion I will let it be known, but I think we all owe it to each other and our country to be honest about people and life....even if its somewhat subjective.)

A Few Pictures of Jeffersontown Veterans Memorial Park in Pictures

I had the pleasure of walking through Jeffersontown Veterans Memorial Park a few days and thought you might enjoy some of the pictures. Our freedoms today were built on the sacrifices of the past. This is why we should respect the past and put ourselves in the best place for the future.  Walking path, kids play yard, jungle gym, clean facilities, baseball diamond, basketball court and generally well managed.

Business Leaders for Michigan Release Survey with Good News for Michigan Prospects

We hear some bad news about inflation, social strife, international conflict and much more (Yikes...its all depressing! 😟) Sometimes good news makes it into the headlines. Some of us might skip right over it but before we do let me say....there are some positive things happening in Michigan (Yes our R and D politicians have shown that working together can pay dividends. I know! I know! Its impossible! Yet, when state decisions are made through collaborative problem solving the state/nation can find fertile investment ground. ) The good news is that based on a recent survey the vast majority of executives believe business employment and capital investment will improve even if we are reaching high levels of employment (i.e. difficulty finding employees is a chance to innovate. Perhaps lemons to lemonade. 🍋)

The survey was conducted by Business Leaders for Michigan, an organization that wants to make Michigan a Top Ten state for jobs, education, and economy

Highlights:

-85% of survey respondents expecting to have trouble filling positions over the next 6-to-12 months.
-49% of survey respondents expect inflation to continue, 34% expect it to increase and 16% down over the next 6-to-12 months.
- 70% of executives say their business is doing better than before the pandemic.
-55% of executives say the Michigan economy will stay the same, 22% say it will improve, and 24% say it will get worse over the next 6-to-12 months.
- 94% of executives expect their company’s employment and capital investment to stay same or grow 6-12 months.
-75% expect their company’s real estate footprint to remain the same, while 4% expect it to increase and 21% expect it to decline over the next 6-to-12 months

You can read more in, March 3rd, 2022 press release' MICHIGAN BUSINESS LEADERS CONFIDENT ON MICHIGAN ECONOMY, BUT FEEL THE IMPACTS OF LABOR SHORTAGES AND INFLATION'

The Future of America is Finding Unity: Why Leaders Should Stop Exploiting Racial, Religious and Political Differences

National unity rests on our ability to find similarities that tie all of the American people's together into a single national identity. However, we are often bombarded with short-sightedness across the many institutions based on racial, religious and political differences. While many of these people are good natured they don't always understand that something which is in their benefit isn't in the benefit of the vast majority of people. Building a great nation requires building shared sense of purpose and unity and destroying one rests on exploitation of racial, religious and political differences.

Racial Divisions: This occurs when leaders both within particular races and outside of those races use racial division as a means to power. For the vast majority of people it sets up invented barriers where people act and react to each other in harmful ways (i.e. police and protests). Some leaders have a difficult time thinking about long term outcomes that serve none of the races or their causes well.

(I have two mixed race children with friends from just about every background. The young generations don't seem care much about racial/ethnic differences unless someone that has something to gain comes in and tries to hype up differences. I'm also concerned about the mixed race children, the fastest growing demographic, the ones that represent equality, are pressured to choose sides based on the ignorance of some of our "leaders". If that upsets you...then you have some soul searching to do! )

Religious Divisions: Religious divisions occur when "holier than thou" personalities try to feel better by deeming themselves "saved" and everyone else as "damned" (Their own behavior and beliefs don't seem to factor into their heavenly equation.). Its not about any specific religion but about the personalities that seem to enjoy exploiting good people for financial and personal gain (Yes, not 100% of religious leaders care about doing good. For some its an avenue of power.). I have met very good, genuine, faith leaders from many different religious backgrounds that truly desire to help people live a meaningful-genuine God centric life. They share a characteristic of focusing on the prosocial aspects of their faith (i.e. helping others without strings) while others focus on proving someone else (and their religion) wrong and condemnable (One pulls together through understanding and the other pulls apart through religiously justified hate.).

Political Divisions: There are few issues in my mind of people believing in the general philosophies of Republican and/or Democrat. Both are a means to an end and we can debate which is best all day long. They both carry philosophical validity. There is nothing wrong with discussing particular topics (i.e. in Michigan they are debating budgeting issues. That's ok!). Where it breaks down is when it gets personal and instead of debating the issue we are attacking each other. We would generally consider people who intentionally inflame passions. dishonest, uncompromising, and flip flop on values not qualified for leadership. However, in our current political environment, we seem to praise and raise up as high as we can those that do not have the qualities, intelligence, or foresight to lead us to a better place. Ignorance seems to be an encouraged asset in some of our political circles. I support bi-partisanship on central national development issues and general open dialogue and discussion on those things we disagree on. Unfortunately, truth and wisdom are difficult to sell to political MMA style audience (and their self interested promoters).

Our future rests on good leaders that inspire people to be better, to do more, and to create a shared sense of purpose. Every great nation collapsed when political, racial, and religious differences are used as tools to divide and conquer. The problem is that our risks don't come as much from outside our borders as they do from our own leadership. Think about it before you judge what I'm saying. No seriously, take a minute and think about the different futures that lay before us and how our choices today "lead" to certain paths and outcomes. Our collection of choices will our future.

Now let us be very honest with ourselves. Do you feel that most of our leaders today care? My answer is I suspect most do but there are so many bad apples mixed with good apples they are increasingly pressured and confused about their responsibilities. They pressure each other to conform and fail to think about how deeper values should be central to their choices.

Ukraine Nuclear Reactors Should Be Out of Harm's Way

 War is so destructive and when people have weapons and are working with a larger military they feel a sense of power. Lives are often discounted and good judgement is sometimes thrown to the side. Whether this reactor fire was started by an accidental shelling, a rogue soldier/unit, or intentional targeting, a war does not justify it as a legitimate target. Conflict should stay far way from this area and staff should be allowed to run the reactor without any interference.  Regardless of who eventually wins, we can say that the reactor will be of benefit. If intentional shelling has occurred, and it was ordered as a target, we should be frightened with the thought process (I suspect it was a mistake but one doesn't really know.)

How to resolve that issue?

-Commitment to keep the reactor, its power source, and the area free from conflict and interference.

-A commitment from both sides to keep the reactors running.