“A winner in life is someone who wants everyone to win, not just oneself. If the only way you can win is by holding someone else down, you are a loser.”
Beryl Barclay
My dad used to say that views concerning politics and religion should be kept close to the chest unless you intend to start an argument. He wasn’t above mentioning the occasional opinion in response to something he heard on the news or read in the paper but, once stated, he let it go and moved on. I try to follow his advice, offering opinions only when asked, and refusing to take the bait when someone wants to engage in heated discussion. But I have to say this. According to the above quote, at least on the national scene, we have elected a bunch of losers. Not naming any names; it’s a pretty wide field to choose from. If there isn’t enough blame to go around, a plethora of journalists will make some up, or dig for some dirt to smear.
On the school playground, when a playmate called us a bad name, we responded with one just a little nastier. It must be written somewhere that the same rule applies to campaign speeches and debates. Which makes it sort of difficult to choose between mean and meaner at the ballot box. Anyone who believes the rants will end after election would be wrong. It only gets worse. What we really need is to elect a teacher who will come out at recess and knock some heads together, drag the combatants back to class and make them stay after, until their assignments are turned in properly. And parents (I guess that would be us taxpayers) who withhold allowances when the juveniles are just goofing off instead of doing their chores.
Remember playing “Follow the Leader?” It was a silly game, but we still play it. When leaders resort to inappropriate behavior, the followers tend to adopt the same techniques.
Are you a follower? Most likely we all are, at least some of the time. It starts early. An older sibling or someone we admire, uses naughty words, so we copy them. After all, the older, and supposedly smarter, and cooler, one does that, so it must be ok. Kids want nothing more than to be part of the gang. A lot of people in leadership positions never outgrew that. Of course, there has to be more than one gang, and they have to fight. And the few who stand apart from the fray are going to get hurt anyhow.
Did you notice that the thread in all these situations is words? That’s how it starts, and that’s why we need to be very careful to say what we mean and mean what we say. The trick is to say it in a manner that causes the listener to perk up their ears and ask questions, rather than raising their defenses.
My soapbox just collapsed so I’m out of here, but I leave you with one last thought.
Winners watch their mouths, and losers run off at the mouth. Pick one. At least the rest of the world will know which category you chose.