People really are good

I am not sure when it happened, but lately I have kind of become a cynical jerk.  Haha I know it is hard to believe but I have.  I don’t know if it is the building I work in(I think politics can have such a negative effect on people) or the people I work with(some who are quite negative and are a real drag).  I try to stay positive and happy, but it seems harder and harder these days.  It is not that I am unhappy, but instead of just rolling with things, I seem to be lashing out a bit.  Not in a violent or destructive way, but in a smart alleck kind of way.  I am the kind of guy who will work 37 hours straight without any sleep go home crash out for a few hours and come back to work and work for another 30 some odd hours straight without any sleep again.  I will come to work with a fever and work through a migraine.  I expect the people I work with to put out the same kind of effort without complaining.  Work needs to get done, we are paid to do it, and that is that.  I am not sensitive to the fact that some of those people have other health issues, family issues, or a different mind set, so when they don’t hold up or complain, I tend to become a smart alleck.  Well some of my coworkers have told me this and apparently I am the office meanie and jerk because of this.  I try not to be that person but it is becoming increasingly difficult.

Today, while walking out to lunch,  I was strolling along.  It was raining and I was getting soaked.  I was at a corner waiting for the traffic signal to change, when this beautiful lady turned to me and asked if I would like to stand under her umbrella with her.  It was a very nice offer, which I declined, and thanked her for.  We had a brief conversation while crossing the street until she had to turn off to her building.  It was so nice though to see that people can be kind without any intentions or alterior motives.  It reminded me that there are good people in this world and that a few rotten folks shouldn’t spoil the lot.  It reminded me that even in quote unquote bad circumstances people can still be nice.  It definately has motivated me to be nicer to people and try to be sensitive to their feelings.  If we all could be a little nicer, what an impact we could have on the world.

11th Commandment

Republicans try to live by the now famous Reagan 11th commandment, “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” It was a saying proposed by the State Republican Chairman Gaylord Parkinson, during Ronald Reagan’s first gubernatorial run. He was trying to prevent a repeat of the attacks on Barry Goldwater, during the 1964 presidential election, by liberal Republicans. The Republicans took to this mantra and elected Ronald Reagan as Governor, and would soon back him to be one of our greatest presidents to ever win the White House.

What does this mean to the modern Republican? Does it mean we shouldn’t speak out against a fellow Republican? If we do speak ill of a fellow Republican, should we then be made to suffer consequences? In my opinion, this hallowed saying should not mean we can not speak ill of fellow members of our party, but instead we should be mindful of the media and arena we choose to air these grievances. There is a time and a place where we can air our grievances and the public arena is not the place.

Now I know there are many out there who are saying well people have the right to know the dirty laundry of these people, who place themselves in the public eye. But let the other side put out that information, why shoot ourselves in the foot by highlighting our faults, and we all have them, to everyone. Instead we should be focusing on our strengths, the good things we do for our communities, our positive attributes, and what makes us different. Any of our faults or arguments should be kept behind closed doors, where we can deal with them appropriately.

A great example of this, was something I observed occurring in law schools across the country. Many students have disagreements with the administration or professors. Modern technology has allowed them to post these grievances to potential students, potential employers, and anyone else who may wander on to their little spot on the internet. Look how easy it is to start to disseminate information, little ol me is posting a blog that could be read by hundreds, thousands, even millions of people(not that even three people read this, but still you never know). All that this does is harm the reputation of the school or highlight what may be just a rare occurance and not a serious problem, an aberration. Potential students who are looking at these blogs may choose not to attend this particular school. Potential employees may not want to hire students who come from this university because they may not have gotten the best education. Potential alumni may not want to donate because they are being misled about their alma mater’s reputation. Who wins with this bad mouthing? No one, the schools lose, the alumnus lose, potential students lose, everyone loses, and what for? Because they were mad, that is lame. This is like burning down your house to get warm, it just doesn’t make sense.

I believe in the first amendment and that we should be able to say what is on our mind, but we must be mindful that our words can have consequences. And in the world of politics this could mean that the citizens of our State lose out because we wanted to air our dirty laundry out in the public instead of dealing with them like civilized adults and in a manner that would be helpful. The person who is airing out this dirty laundry loses because someone with similar beliefs and would fight for some if not all of what they believe has been put out because of this airing of dirty laundry. So take these words to heart “Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican,” and remember that our words whether spoken, blogged, written, or spread through some other media does have consequences.