As I read a number of tweets and articles this weekend about the government shut down, I began to think about the question: Who and what do you work for?
I enjoy working for betterment, betterment in my own life and betterment in the lives of others. That has always been my focus. As a very young child, I was faced with a situation that was not positive--a situation that challenged me daily. That's where my thirst for betterment was born. I began looking in multiple directions to find betterment, and I was sometimes successful and sometimes not successful, but my quest demonstrated to me that when betterment is done right, people's happiness and lives improve, and this is positive because when people are happy and living well, our communities and society are welcoming, successful, and good. We don't have to stay mired in mediocrity or less-than-positive situations--we can do better.
As I look around the world today, I see limitless opportunities for betterment. I also see tremendous obstruction to the betterment path, obstruction such as a lack of investment, fear, little creativity, and prejudice that block the many paths to betterment.
Betterment is an ever evolving, endless path. As the world changes there will always be new problems to solve and multiple ideas about how to solve those problems, and that's why on this evolving betterment path, we have to continuously elevate the collaborative, problem solving processes we use so that our solutions are equitable, inclusive, humane, and modern--we can't utilize old time prejudices, processes, and parameters to solve new-age problems.
At the root of good problem solving and good work, is the essential question: Who and what do you work for? If you're working for good cause with good people, your work will usually be well-directed, but if you let ambition trump mission and work mainly for your own gain and ego, you will find that your work will ultimately result in less strength, positivity, and success. Particularly as we move into a time of quickly increasing international interdependence, it's essential that we work together towards win-win solutions for greater international harmony and prosperity--essentially good lives for all.
We have to choose leaders whose work objectives are greater than their personal wealth, power, or popularity. We have to choose honest, hard working, collaborative leaders who intelligently work with others to solve complex problems that affect all of us. These good leaders are leaders who prioritize well and work with discipline and respect to make a positive difference in the lives of all--they are well informed and respectful of what they know and what they don't know. These good leaders are likely the products of lots of love, worthy friends, family members, leaders, and mentors, and righted in the direction of doing their best with others towards betterment. They are not cynical, self-serving individuals, but instead people who feel the call to serve in ways that matter.
Who and what do you work for? How do you spend your time, energy, and dollars with that question in mind? What do you do to inspire your children in this regard? What matters?
As I criticize President Trump's seemingly lawless, exaggerated, untruthful self-serving egotistical leadership, I think about my own work too. Am I in a place to criticize the President of the United States?
I, like all, am not a perfect individual. Like all, I struggle with my personal challenges, yet I am proud of my quest which is to work for betterment with my colleagues, friends, and family members. I know that good process, good decisions, and good work can result in better lives, and I know that better lives are lives filled with joyful experiences and positive results. In my own life, I have profited from the hard and generous work of my parents, religious leaders, teachers, friends' families, community members, and more. I have been surrounded by so many good people who have enabled me to have a good profession, positive growth, and opportunities for the best life offers which to me are good times in beautiful, warm, welcoming places with the people I love. I want that for all the world's people. I don't want to see people stuck in situations where they are in fear, hungry, without a home, and belittled continuously--I want to see people empowered, happy, prosperous, and contributing to strong communities. I don't believe some people are better than others, but instead that we are all on unique paths of life, paths that prompt us to make decisions all the time, and when we are surrounded by good leadership, love, and warmth, we generally make good decision and if we don't, there are people around us that right us, pick us up, and help us get back on track. That's good living to me.
Trump's doctrine, beliefs, actions, and world stand in stark contrast to all that I believe in and work for, and that's why he angers me so. He makes fun of people continuously. He doesn't take the time or work with care about serious, life-threatening issues. Instead he grandstands with slick marketing phrases and false statements to gain popularity rather than to truly solve serious issues. He mocks the American people with his theater, and he seems to skirt the laws in dangerous ways that stand against our core rights, freedoms, and beliefs as Americans--he challenges who we are as a people each and every day. Those inactive, silent, and supportive cronies of Trump are just as evil and repressive. Rather than confronting Trump's disrespectful and damaging demeanor, they stand silently by content to fatten their personal financial accounts and privileged ways. It's easy to see this statistically because in states with greater trumpian leadership, the standard of living for average people is generally lower whereas in states where there is greater respect for people and equity, the standard of living is generally higher for all. This is also true for countries around the world--in countries where there is greater respect for all people, there is a better standard of living for all too.
Who and what do you work for? How do you do your work well? Does your work matter?
These are essential questions for the very short lives we live. As I always remind myself each of us is tiny in the sea of time, each of us is but a glint of light, a drop of rain, a grain of sand in the expanse of time. We can choose to face this with Trump's me-first attitude of quick-fix, short-term, self-serving solutions or we can see our time as that of a contribution to betterment for those that come after us. I choose to see my time as significant and to spend my days living as best I can for self and others since I want to contribute to a better life for the people today and people tomorrow. I am so grateful that I live in a free country where slavery is outlawed, woman can vote, you can marry who you love, and there are supports for you when you lose your job or are without money or shelter. My good life is the result of hard work of multiple people that came before me, people who spent their days living not only for their own gain, but for the gain of those that came after them--these are the good leaders that history favors, the leaders that bring us ahead today and into the future.
We are wasting our time with quick-fix, manipulative, slick-marketing me-first leaders who discount the good work of so many today and in the past, and who care about much more than their own popularity, pocketbooks, and power. We can do better to lay a rich path towards betterment for our posterity, a path that does not abuse personal power, but instead a path that protect the general welfare, insures domestic tranquility and promotes life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all the world's people. We can choose to work for a clean environment, international peace, and opportunity for all rather than a fractured world of prejudice and strife.
Don't be fooled America, be smart, and look for the bright, intelligent, good leaders amongst us, people who will bring us and our future ahead. We can do better. Our children and grandchildren are depending on us.
