There is no targeting foul in politics

I am taking off my pastor hat for just a moment and putting on my training and consulting hat.  Yes, I know they overlap sometimes.

Why am I doing this?

I want to talk about this not standing for the flag business.  Peaceful protest in a free society is the hallmark of many of our advances.  Many I know well have fought to preserve that freedom.  Many gave the full measure of devotion.

Freedom is fantastic.  Enjoying freedom in our nation even more so!

I want to share something that the Apostle Paul said about freedom.  OK, I never really take my pastor’s hat all the way off… 

Paul said that he may do anything, but not everything is profitable.

I am free to do all things, but not everything is beneficial.

Which brings us to one of my favorite words:  Efficacy.

Efficacy is the power to effect desired change.  Self-efficacy is about making change in ourselves.

Efficacy is what enables you to lose weight, stop smoking, study more, correct performance errors.  Efficacy is what is required to raise your batting average from .225 to .275.

Efficacy is why some companies succeed and others fade away.  Efficacy is why some sports teams adapt and overcome and others wish they made the play-offs.

Efficacy is why some national and international issues get resolved and others linger.

Efficacy was a word that I used over and over again with inmate clients.  What is your goal.  To never come back to this place again.

I agreed that one belonged at or near the top of every list.

Then, something would happen.  A piece of property was confiscated.  Someone cut in the chow line (yes, I’m still talking prison not 1^st grade), or some other thing that in the context of getting and staying out of prison made little difference.

But inmates went to extremes to call attention to the injustice of having an unauthorized item of electronics confiscated often at the extent of internal sanctions.  When the inmate came back for counseling, I asked, “Did that outburst get you any closer to your goal?”

Words were not necessary.

So let’s jump to the NFL and players taking a knee.  Does it get them any closer to their goal?

Unless their goal is to alienate about 95% of the people in this country—most of whom love the peaceful protest as a right few around the world enjoy like we do, the answer is no.  I am not really sure what the goal was, if there was one when all of this knee-taking started.  I’ve heard race relations, police relations, and even cop hating. 

If all you do is upset most of the people who love America, how can you get anything accomplished other than making whatever problem you think you are bringing to light move farther and farther into the background while the focus narrows to the act of protest itself.

Prostests and protestors seldom are logical when they get going, but this one has been going on for a while and none of the protestors are doing the wise thing.

What’s that?

Clarifying their message.  What is their message.

Here’s something they might want to try.  It is within the domain of efficacy—the power to effect desire change.

Take something that most of us don’t have—a lot of money, and put some of it towards a coherent message.  Take some of it to start programs to help fix the problems.

I know some of the knee takers have made token investments.  If these causes were important enough to tick off most of the nation, support them with real investment.

While you are at it, stand for the National Anthem.  You are going to need those people that you anger every week if you really want something fixed in this country.

So you are angry that President Trump called you out on this.  Here’s the deal:  When you step onto the playing field of politics—and that’s what you did when you took a knee during the National Anthem—there are no refs to protect you. 

You think that you hit hard in the NFL.  You guys are wimps compared to playing on the field of politics.  That stuff is for real.

You can’t run with the ball and then call for a fair catch in politics. 

You wouldn’t let junior high kids play against an NFL team.  The kids would get hurt.  So why think that you can play politics with the big boys and not get laid out on occasion.  There is no targeting foul in politics.

You played with the big boys.  It hurt.  Stop crying foul where there is none.

Do I think that many of these players taking a knee have something to say about real problems in our nation?  Yes, I think that they do.

I also think that practicing efficacy will get them closer to what they want to accomplish, much more so than seeking to draw attention to themselves.

Which is more important:  Calling attention to me or garnering support for solutions to things that need fixed.  Is it all about me or is it really about those things that matter to me?

Many of these players went to college.  Some graduated.  By academic standards they should be considered well educated, but they choose to practice ignorance.  They chose to evoke negative emotions where unity is needed.

They thrive on being divisive, when divisiveness will not bring about solutions. 

I want to know what has these players think we need to fix.  I won’t find that out by watching them take a knee.  I am not going to try to figure it out by searching news clips and web posts.

Come out and tell me in a public service announcement but don’t ask me to choose between loving my country and the flag which so proudly most of us hail and your antics.  The best that you can hope for there is that I just ignore you.

My freedom permits me to do all things, but not all things are profitable.

Hey!  Players!  You guys who for years most people thought were pretty good guys.  This take a knee play that you are running isn’t working.  You are losing yardage.

You make the sports reel every week but it’s in the bloopers section.

Try something else.  Try something that gets people on your side.  Believe or not, most of us want a better America for everyone.

We are the people that you want on your team.  Stop alienating us.

Here is the thing that I hope these college educated football player can grasp.  This is the country where we the people have the best chance of fixing things.

We have the best chance—of all the nations in the world—of making things better, but a house divided cannot stand.

If you want division, then you are succeeding.

If you want to work together on real problems and issues and explore new opportunities for all Americans, It’s time to run a different play.

Run a different play.

God bless America.

There is no targeting foul in politics

I am taking off my pastor hat for just a moment and putting on my training and consulting hat.  Yes, I know they overlap sometimes.

Why am I doing this?

I want to talk about this not standing for the flag business.  Peaceful protest in a free society is the hallmark of many of our advances.  Many I know well have fought to preserve that freedom.  Many gave the full measure of devotion.

Freedom is fantastic.  Enjoying freedom in our nation even more so!

I want to share something that the Apostle Paul said about freedom.  OK, I never really take my pastor’s hat all the way off… 

Paul said that he may do anything, but not everything is profitable.

I am free to do all things, but not everything is beneficial.

Which brings us to one of my favorite words:  Efficacy.

Efficacy is the power to effect desired change.  Self-efficacy is about making change in ourselves.

Efficacy is what enables you to lose weight, stop smoking, study more, correct performance errors.  Efficacy is what is required to raise your batting average from .225 to .275.

Efficacy is why some companies succeed and others fade away.  Efficacy is why some sports teams adapt and overcome and others wish they made the play-offs.

Efficacy is why some national and international issues get resolved and others linger.

Efficacy was a word that I used over and over again with inmate clients.  What is your goal.  To never come back to this place again.

I agreed that one belonged at or near the top of every list.

Then, something would happen.  A piece of property was confiscated.  Someone cut in the chow line (yes, I’m still talking prison not 1^st grade), or some other thing that in the context of getting and staying out of prison made little difference.

But inmates went to extremes to call attention to the injustice of having an unauthorized item of electronics confiscated often at the extent of internal sanctions.  When the inmate came back for counseling, I asked, “Did that outburst get you any closer to your goal?”

Words were not necessary.

So let’s jump to the NFL and players taking a knee.  Does it get them any closer to their goal?

Unless their goal is to alienate about 95% of the people in this country—most of whom love the peaceful protest as a right few around the world enjoy like we do, the answer is no.  I am not really sure what the goal was, if there was one when all of this knee-taking started.  I’ve heard race relations, police relations, and even cop hating. 

If all you do is upset most of the people who love America, how can you get anything accomplished other than making whatever problem you think you are bringing to light move farther and farther into the background while the focus narrows to the act of protest itself.

Prostests and protestors seldom are logical when they get going, but this one has been going on for a while and none of the protestors are doing the wise thing.

What’s that?

Clarifying their message.  What is their message.

Here’s something they might want to try.  It is within the domain of efficacy—the power to effect desire change.

Take something that most of us don’t have—a lot of money, and put some of it towards a coherent message.  Take some of it to start programs to help fix the problems.

I know some of the knee takers have made token investments.  If these causes were important enough to tick off most of the nation, support them with real investment.

While you are at it, stand for the National Anthem.  You are going to need those people that you anger every week if you really want something fixed in this country.

So you are angry that President Trump called you out on this.  Here’s the deal:  When you step onto the playing field of politics—and that’s what you did when you took a knee during the National Anthem—there are not refs to protect you. 

You think that you hit hard in the NFL.  You guys are wimps compared to playing on the field of politics.  That stuff is for real.

You can’t run with the ball and then call for a fair catch in politics. 

You wouldn’t let junior high kids play against an NFL team.  The kids would get hurt.  So why think that you can play politics with the big boys and not get laid out on occasion.  There is no targeting foul in politics.

You played with the big boys.  It hurt.  Stop crying foul where there is none.

Do I think that many of these players taking a knee have something to say about real problems in our nation?  Yes, I think that they do.

I also think that practicing efficacy will get them closer to what they want to accomplish, much more so than seeking to draw attention to themselves.

Which is more important:  Calling attention to me or garnering support for solutions to things that need fixed.  Is it all about me or is it really about those things that matter to me?

Many of these players went to college.  Some graduated.  By academic standards they should be considered well educated, but they choose to practice ignorance.  They chose to evoke negative emotions where unity is needed.

They thrive on being divisive, when divisiveness will not bring about solutions. 

I want to know what has these players think we need to fix.  I won’t find that out by watching them take a knee.  I am not going to try to figure it out by searching news clips and web posts.

Come out and tell me in a public service announcement but don’t ask me to choose between loving my country and the flag which so proudly most of us hail and your antics.  The best that you can hope for there is that I just ignore you.

My freedom permits me to do all things, but not all things are profitable.

Hey!  Players!  You guys who for years most people thought were pretty good guys.  This take a knee play that you are running isn’t working.  You are losing yardage.

You make the sports reel every week but it’s in the bloopers section.

Try something else.  Try something that gets people on your side.  Believe or not, most of us want a better America for everyone.

We are the people that you want on your team.  Stop alienating us.

Here is the thing that I hope these college educated football player can grasp.  This is the country where we the people have the best chance of fixing things.

We have the best chance—of all the nations in the world—of making things better, but a house divided cannot stand.

If you want division, then you are succeeding.

If you want to work together on real problems and issues and explore new opportunities for all Americans, It’s time to run a different play.

Run a different play.

God bless America.

Address to Veterans at Burns Flat - Dill City High School Program

I was privileged to be the keynote speaker at the Veterans Day program hosted by the Government Club in the Burns Flat - Dill City School System.  These were my remarks.

Who likes music?  Think of a song that starts and ends with questions.  I will get back to that.

For now, let us will move on to another question:  Why do we celebrate  Veteran’s Day?

It’s on the calendar.  It is what you do on November 11^th.  You didn’t invent this day but you are making a special effort to observe it and to recognize these men and women that collectively we call veterans.

You might come up with reasons such as:

They served their country.

They sacrificed.

They are the less than one-half of one percent of the population of this country that put their hands in the air and said:

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. The oath continues with words about committing to following orders.

Officers of the armed forces continue with that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office I am about to enter, SO HELP ME GOD!

This is a little bigger commitment than when you sign on to work with Halliburton, McDonald’s, or Walmart.

This is just to get you in.  You still have to get through boot camp.  Some may be tougher than others, but you still have to finish this period of initial screening and orientation.

Then comes the real commitment.  Consider the words of the original Code of Conduct.  It has been updated to be more gender neutral now, but this is the one that I learned long ago.

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE U. S. FIGHTING MAN

1. I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

2. I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender my men while they still have the means to resist.

3. If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.

4. If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information, or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.

5. When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am bound to give only name, rank, service number and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.

6. I will never forget that I am an American fighting man, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.

These men and women seated to my right and left know this level of commitment.

It is a little more than being asked to work a couple hours overtime or work outside on a rainy day.

You can bet that your boss will yell at you more than once and you and you learn to take the correction and make yourself a little better for it.

These men and women know that it is not just about them.  Leaving a buddy behind on the battlefield is unthinkable.

Lowering standards is unconscionable.

A half hearted effort in training deserves the wrath of the sergeant or captain running the exercise.

The men and women that you see before you have lived the mantra that the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.

There is good reason to set aside a day to recognize these men and women.

But a question remains:  Why is this day important to you.  What does Veterans Day mean to you.  How is it relevant to you?

The answer is tougher than you might think for you must ask yourself, “What do you value?”

Do you value liberty?

How can you know for it is all that you have ever known?  You can study your history but all you have ever known is liberty.  All that you have ever known is freedom.  You have never tasted tyranny or feared dictatorship.  Most of you have never been to another country, especially one where freedom is not a given commodity.

How can you know that liberty is something worth valuing.

I suggest that you get a few moments with one of these men or women sometime and just listen to what they know.

What do you value?

Do you value opportunity?  Education, work, military service, are all options available to almost everyone one here.  But most of you have never known anything else.

Talk with these men and women who have seen the world and know just how blessed we are.

There is a lot of talk among candidates for president of the United States about illegal immigration, even building a wall across our southern border.  Do you know what I hear when I hear all of this political babble?

More people still want to get into this country than want out of it.  

Nobody to speak of is trying to leave and unless you broke the law and are being pursued by the law, nobody is trying to stop you if you want to go.

But so many still see our country as a land full of opportunity.  If we could only have the eyes of those desperately trying to get into our country, we might value what we have a little more.

Finally, do we value efficacy?

Efficacy is the power to make desired change.  Self efficacy is the power to make changes that we desire in ourselves.

Some examples:

·       To develop better study habits

·       To bench press 30 more pounds

·       To learn a second language

·       To quit a bad habit

·       To give up profane language

The list is what you want it to be.

Efficacy as a nation is to set our own course as a free people in a modern world.  Can we still do this?  Do we have the commitment to do this?

About 240 years ago, 13 colonies started forming an army, navy, and Marine Corps because they wanted a nation that could be self directed.  Brave men served and died forming this country.

Do we still value what we have here enough to serve in the armed forces of the United States of America?

Are we ready to fight for what we have?  Is it worth it?  Or will we watch it slowly slip away?

There is the long standing analogy of the frog place in a pot of boiling water.  It will jump out.  It doesn’t have to think about it.  There is no deliberation.  It jumps out.

But if you put a different  frog—you are never going to catch that first frog again—in a pot of room temperature water and slowly turn up the temperature 1 degree at a time, it doesn’t take too long until you have boiled frog.

It never knew what hit it.

Most people go through life never knowing what they have and what they might be losing day to day and year to year.  A small segment of our society—our service men and women—remain vigilant, watchful, and ready to preserve what most people don’t even realize they have.

Fewer than one half of one percent stand ready to preserve what our founding fathers thought was precious enough to offer their lives just to give it a chance of success.

A very few people have stepped forward to preserve for us this grand experiment that we call the United States of America.

See if these words don’t sound familiar:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Secure the blessings of liberty for this generation and those to come.

Secure the blessings of Liberty—what a charge.  Who can live up to this?  Who will stand and fight against those who would take this from us?

You are looking at many of them seated before you.

The challenge set forth in the Preamble to the Constitution is for everyone in this country, but only a small percentage will set aside their lives and livelihood to ensure the blessings of liberty for us all.

We are still talking about efficacy—the power to effect desired change, the power to preserve those things that we value.

As I look at you, I wonder who among you has the determination to step out of a culture that promotes selfishness and take on the yoke of service.  Who among you will pick up the torch of liberty for the generations to come?

These are some noble thoughts.  These are serious decisions to make.  Some of you may yet be a few years from making these decisions, or at least you think that you are.

For what you do today impacts whether or not you might be able to serve.  One of the best indicators of whether or not an individual can successfully negotiate basic training in the armed forces is high school graduation.

Do you finish what you start?

You might be thinking, I’m not going to college, why should I be serious about my schooling.  High school graduation—not a drop out and a GED—but graduation is a strong indicator that you can complete boot camp, and by the way, many other endeavors that will come along in life.

Do you finish what you start?

Now you must know that there is a price to be paid for serving.  It is called sacrifice.

Some sacrifice being close to family.  Some sacrifice personal liberty, even those liberties that they fight to preserve.  And some will be called to sacrifice their lives.

Thomas Jefferson once said:

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

Serving your country in the armed forces sometimes exacts that last full measure of devotion.  Should you serve, you may not return to enjoy the liberties for which you fought.

War is an ugly thing.  Understand that war is an ugly business.

But also under this about war—I read from the British philosopher John Stuart Mill.

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is much worse. When a people are used as mere human instruments for firing cannon or thrusting bayonets, in the service and for the selfish purposes of a master, such war degrades a people. A war to protect other human beings against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and good, and which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their free choice, — is often the means of their regeneration. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must be willing, when need is, to do battle for the one against the other.”

I began by asking a question about a song that started and ended with a question—at least the first verse of the song, that’s the one most of us know.  Maybe you thought of one.  Here is the one that I thought of.  It begins:

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?

Does this idea, this grand experiment, this noble idea of a country still have a chance?  Did we survive the night?

Are we going to have a chance at this bizarre concept of self government?  Can we just survive the night?  Can we just last one more day at having a chance at our dream of self government, self-determination, freedom, and the prospect of liberty and justice for all.

The question at the end of the verse is just as dramatic:

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Does today’s generation still value freedom enough that brave men and women still step forward out of the ranks of the self centered into the ranks of selfless service.

The men and women seated before have said yes.

What will you say?

Are you willing to preserve the blessings of liberty for your children and grandchildren?

What will you say? 

Top quality needed in a job candidate

A short list appeared in the context of an article on Christian colleges and several college ads in the  March 2015 issue of Christianity Today.  It was titled the Top 10 Qualities Employers Seek in a Candidate.

The list was purported to be the output of a 2013 employer survey and included many of the usual suspects:  communication, teamwork, decision making, organization and prioritization of work, information skills, proficiency with computer software, writing skills, as well as the ability to influence others.

I doubt that lists from other sources would vary much.  I doubt that such lists have varied much in the past two decades.

Is there a problem with consistency?

Perhaps.  What if employers have been blind to one of the most defining qualities in a candidate?  What if this blindness has become institutionalized?

What was missing?

Honesty?

Integrity?

Faith?

Hope?

Love?

What?  What could have the bulk of employers in this nation have missed for so long that could be brought to light now?

How about efficacy!

Efficacy?  Most employers and job candidates don’t even know what the word means.

Efficacy is the power to effect desired change.  When working with others, we might call it leadership; however, for new hires the power to effect desired change in one’s self is of utmost importance.

Job applicants that come out of college or the military or other sources come with a specific set of knowledge, skills, and abilities.  In most cases, they have one thing in common.

They won’t be enough.

Education, experience, and work history can only take you so far.  You must be able to make desired changes as you take on greater responsibilities and positions.    You must be able to make desired changes in yourself.

Sometimes that is more education.  Sometimes it is becoming more assertive.  Often it involves becoming a better listener or a better delegator of tasks and responsibilities.  Sometimes the task master must learn to be the trainer or inspector.

Some folks find difficulty in adapting and hold on to their initial skill set as if it were sacred.  Others understand that degrees and certificates form the starting blocks and not the finish line.

The power to effect desired change in one’s self—self efficacy—might just be the most needed quality in a candidate for a job and it did not even make the list.

The casual observer might just chalk this up to the casualties of the modern job market.  The candidate looking to separate from the crowd might just highlight this quality of self-efficacy on his or her resume and have sufficient examples to back it up during interviews.

The candidate with the power of self-efficacy seldom remains a candidate for long.    These are the take charge men and women who find the best jobs and are always contending for promotion.