Tag Archives: tea party
On a New Dawn: Essay for December 10, 2011
I met some interesting people in Washington this week. Some were Democrats and some Republicans. Different in philosophy, to be sure, but each cut from the same cloth. They were all veterans, older and younger, who share one common goal: to continue in service to a nation they love. Their common goal was to put into office people of good character who view obstacles a little bit differently than the average politician. After all, these are not average people. They are warriors all. Many have served in combat and know the terrible price that lack of teamwork or focus can exact from the uncommitted. In short, they are leaders all who are itching to lead again.
Before they can get a chance to lead they must pass through the unforgiving crucible of the electoral process. That is where the Veterans National Security Foundation and Veterans Campaign come in. They are non-profit organizations who have just one goal: to increase the number of veterans in Congress. Period. They are non-partisan. I found a collection of veterans and seasoned political operatives who provide coaching and campaign training to aspiring candidates or campaign enablers without regard for party affiliation. Their allegiance was to a higher common denominator: The United States of America. It always has been.
Before there is breakthrough in Congress with these fine potential candidates, there is much blocking and tackling. There is the development of the message; the selection of key campaign positions such as treasurer, finance chairman, and campaign manager. Of course, there is “dialing for dollars.” These are the phone calls to donors who provide the essential element that begins the incessant drive to collect enough money to provide the grease to lubricate the gears of the early campaign. This is the stark reality of a modern campaign. It costs a lot to get the message out. A single postcard mailing in a Congressional District can cost a quarter of a million dollars or more. You do the math. A million dollar campaign for Congress is merely “jacks or better.”
But why promote the veteran as candidate at all? Surveys show that there is nobody who you trust more. Veterans rank at the top of all trustworthy professions with an approval rating of over 80%. Compare that with Congress today at less than 10%. Disturbingly, the percentage of Congressmen with veteran credentials has diminished from 75% in 1969 to merely 22% in 2010. Interestingly, Congressional approval had diminished along a similar slope. Could there be a connection?
There is at least one common link between a Congressman and a veteran. Each has taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It is how each approaches duty to country over the course of a career that makes all the difference.
That civil discourse is lacking in Washington is obvious to the most casual observer. The question is how we turn the page and begin to engage in the real dialogue that actually can move the ball in Washington. Many of the veterans I was with this week have been tested in combat. They engaged the enemy with the resources they had on hand. Often, it was short of what they really needed. Engagements are too often a “come as you are” affair.
Maybe that is the way it is on Capitol Hill today. Could it be that too many people are seeking the “perfect storm” of political alignment before engaging in the real business of getting down to the business of altering the course of this ship of state? We haven’t got time for that. Too many people are content to ride the mystery ship right into November and beyond.
What we need in Congress are more people of integrity. We need people who put service above self. What better recruiting ground for such legislative heroes than our nation’s military? They know how to get tough jobs done under extremely difficult circumstances. They know how to achieve unit cohesion amid the fog of war. They instinctively know how to take care of the least among them for each of them is part of their special band of brothers.
When November comes around again in 2012, I will be looking to cast a ballot for someone whom I trust with my life; someone of proven integrity; someone who, through word and deed, demonstrates that they are leaders in good times and in bad. Don’t forget, in 2012, hire a vet.
Press on.
Filed under Essay
On Ordinary People: Essay for November 19, 2011
With almost 40 years of travel experience under my belt I have become something of a subject matter expert in the field. Name the mode and I have experience in it. By sea, by rail, by motor coach and automobile, I’ve done it. And in each class of service, too. Two years ago I received my updated frequent flyer card from American Airlines. It designates me as a million-miler. Now I get to check my bags for free.
There once was a certain romance about travel. I started my career on ocean going ships that plied the seven seas. The British coined the term posh in the days of the Raj to describe first class travel to India before the days of air conditioning. Port Outbound, Starboard Home accommodations would keep you on the shady side of the ship during the long hot voyage. My wife’s grandfather was a frequent flyer back in the 1940’s. Allegheny Airlines even featured him in a print ad. Then there is travel by rail. People would spend days and nights traveling by train. Arlo Guthrie’s depiction of rail travel was an endless card game punctuated with cigarettes in the parlor car.
When I wrote this, I was sitting in South Station waiting for my son to arrive by bus. Hollywood was never very kind to busses. They were depicted as dank and cold on the inside, stopping along some dusty road deep in the south to pick up a drifter, bus travel was the domain of common folk. It still is. Today’s busses are comfortable and feature movies, the internet and power outlets in every seat. And by common I mean ordinary people: those who have places to go and people to see without crazy amounts of money to spend on planes or time to waste in an airport with the ramp delays and weather.
As I looked around the terminal I saw a reflection of America that appealed to me. There were a thousand people with a thousand different stories. I saw their industry in quickened steps; I saw determination on their faces. They were of many races and colors and backgrounds yet they shared the common purpose of moving onward towards their next endeavor.
Bus terminals are not the domain of the elite but they ought to be. When those of the corporate jet set are without their planes, they are unlikely to be on the Megabus from New York but they should try it now and again. We can learn a lot from the denizens who partake of this most egalitarian of transit modes. In fact, we can all take a lesson from those ordinary people with extraordinary talents who make our world run. They make courageous calls every day on how to make ends meet and how to balance the demands of raising a family under expectations that continue to diminish.
Our elected officials ought to join us in the bus terminal, as well. Limousines and NetJets are no way to commune with the common man. You won’t find the ordinary man at Occupy Wall Street, either. When our elected officials hob-nob with the elite to exchange access for money on one end, then pause for the photo op at Dewey Square at the other end, one thing is clear: there is no ordinary man in sight.
The ordinary people of our country are caught in a vice. The political elite are rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic while our ship of state founders. These elite are fat, dumb and happy engaging in turf wars while our futures are at stake. The ultimate example of abrogation of responsibility is the Super Committee in Congress who is charged with making unpleasant decisions that neither chamber of Congress would make last summer when raising the debt ceiling became a crisis. In Washington, a crisis postponed is as good as a crisis solved. With their backs against the wall the big question is whether they can come to a courageous compromise just like ordinary people do every day. The problem is that they have not yet demonstrated that they have the courage that ordinary people display every day to solve that problem. Funny thing is the last word they would use to describe themselves is ordinary.
In that I concur. Maybe they need to take a Greyhound.
Press on.
Filed under Essay
the american century 