Rooftops!

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Forget if this song has made it to Sunday Morning Worship yet...

It is official

I officially gave my notice this week that I am resigning my post at my current company. I have accepted a new position with a small software firm here in CT, and I am thrilled to be coming on board.  This will represent a whole new set of challenges and opportunities.

Thank you to all my friends at Preferred Utilities Manufacturing Corp.  It has truly been a joy to work with the team there.  I wish you all the best in the coming season.

Occupy wall street

I was happily ignoring the recent political banter until I realized the OWS movement had tea-party like resilience.  I went hunting for what these folks actually want, and unfortunately, all I could find was a ridiculous list that I have to imagine do not represent the actual movement's desires.

From what I could find, this nebulous movement essentially claims that the 99% poorest people are frustrated at the 1% richest people, and wants those people to somehow alleviate those frustrations, though no one has said how.  Sub-issues include large CEO salaries for failing companies, "Corporate greed" (whatever that is) and re-unionizing america, etc.

What I do not understand is there is no better avenue for wealth building then a corporation.  I do not mean wealth building for the 1%, which happens to be true, but corporations are the best option for wealth building for the 99%.  A corporation exists to make money for its shareholders.  There is no greater accountability model than a publicly owned company making money for shareholders.  In OWS terms, the 99% work for the company which is run by a 1% person whose entire goal in life is to make the 99% more money.

The problem is, as always, one of education.  Our school system does not teach investing.  It does not teach the masses how to use the system to build wealth.  It says, go to work, pay into a 401k and don't worry about it.  Then, after years of realizing others are getting rich, and they are not, they revolt saying, "You should give up your money to me."  Because no one understands how the system works, corporations are left to run amok.  Everyone wants to blame the housing crisis on greedy bankers, because hundreds of thousands of people believed the bank had their best interest at heart.  You should never expect a corporation to make a decision that benefits you, unless you are a stockholder.  Knowing that is empowering.

Here is an example.  McDonald's goal is not to sell you a healthy meal.  Its goal is to build wealth for its shareholders.  It has determined through market forces what products will sell the most, and it sells it.  There are people who are well paid to determine which fries the people will buy, and how to do so profitably.    If you are invested in McDonald's, you want McDonald's leadership to make the very best decision that will build wealth since that is its goal. As consumers, our goal is (should be) to be healthy. If everyone decided McDonald's hamburgers were terrible for you, and stopped buying them, McDonald's would stop selling them.

So to the OWS folks, I would say stop trying to force others to make good decisions for you.  It is not the corporation's job to keep you healthy, or wealthy. They have done nothing wrong by building wealth. Learn the system so you can benefit from it. Focus on educating the consumer instead of simply placing blame on executives who are doing exactly what they have been asked to do, make money.

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Now that that is said, there should be a question as to whether wealth building should be the primary focus of a company. In a corporation who answers to its investors, this is the goal by definition. In a small business, without the accountability to the shareholders, the owner/operator have the freedom to pursue whatever goal they want. That could be wealth, status, human equality, feeding the poor, whatever. I believe that companies should be driven by a higher purpose then just wealth building, but that is not what the corporation model is for.

Perhaps its time to forget...

I know it is unpopular to think this way, but I cannot help but wonder what real value there is in “never forgetting” a tragic incident. 9/11 is my generation's Pearl Harbor. We were attacked for sure. Our government has the responsibility to pursue justice and combat terrorist forces in the world, but what value do I personally gain by reliving the evil memories of what took place? If you have been personally effected by this event, the loss of a loved one is a terrible memory no matter the circumstances. For those people these events are significantly more potent, and they will truly never forget. For me, however, removed from any personal loss, I look at the events of 9/11 and see a different picture.

If you remove yourself from the emotional responses and look at the facts only, there were 2,800 innocent lives lost and a major economic cost. To put that into perspective, an estimated 6,000+ people die every day in America normally. Even worse, over 3,000 more innocent lives are terminated every day in America's abortion clinics. If you are like me, you are fighting inside yourself right now. “Every life is precious,” you say, “and every life taken by evil is something to grieve over.” But in perspective, we put up with as much evil every single day in this country as we did on 9/11 without the emotional response that you see on a day like today.

So what truly drives the “Never Forget” ideology? What is the emotional response to a tragedy that sends people to facebook and twitter with moments of silence, and proclamations of unending response?

Is it Patriotism?

There is certainly a lot of patriotism surrounding 9/11 and the subsequent war on terror. I have to assume that this emotion is definitely a part of the “Never Forget” response. There is a healthy amount of patriotism to have. Remembering our citizen's generosity to charities is an example.

Is it fear?

In the early response, fear ruled. This, of course, was the terrorist's goal. People are paralyzed by fear. The entire countries air industry was destroyed by the fear that was caused. I remember watching Dick Clarks' Rockin New Years Eve 2002 worried the whole night that an explosions was imminent. Fear is powerful. And it is healthy to a degree. Fear motivates us to be safe. If our goal in never forgetting is to stay vigilant against evil through awareness, then perhaps that can be of value.

Is it Hate?

My greatest concern is that hate drives our desire to “Never Forget.” Make no mistake: Muslims did this. It was a religious act in their “holy” war. Acknowledging that fact is not hateful it is fact. Harboring resentment and bitterness toward those responsible is. Being inflammatory in your conversations is hate-mongering. Unfortunately many comments made today were made in this manner. It takes “Never Forget” from a position of positive reflection on the response to evil to negative reflection toward evil.

Is it prejudice?

Does the hate we have drive us to be suspicious of ever Muslim we come in contact with? When we see women in the stores wearing a hijab do we second guess them as potential terrorists?  Are we going to be treating Muslims like two generations ago treated the Japanese?  Are we going to think about Muslims the way Vietnam vets think of the Vietnamese?  In those cases, there was a specific race.  In this case it is a religious group, but the response is the same.  Prejudice.  

For most people, I'm sure there is a mixture of the above. For me it was. I have found over the last ten years that my responses are changing.  Please read this in all humility, but I would rather be filled with love and care for others then for justice. I would rather see the good in a situation, then the bad. I am not always this way, but I am coming around, and I believe it to be the 'better' response. I understand the “Never Forget” sentiment as a whole, but there are aspects in my own response to this tragedy that I would rather forget.   

Sunday Morning Worship

A beautiful simple prayer!

Gloating - A test of character

"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles." 

Proverbs 24:17

This week's loss of Military life from the same group of soldiers that caught and killed Usama Bin Laden has seen some interesting responses around facebook and twitter. There seems to be a deeper appreciation for these folks than other military who have passed on before.  My theory is that the same vitriol and celebratory nature we saw when Usama Bin Laden was killed has now extended into the recent deaths and because they came from the same group that killed UBL, there is intrinsic value to their lives not otherwise given by the masses.  I do not blame folks for this.  We connected with that group of soldiers in May, and we still feel a sense of connection with them.

Thinking back, it was so easy to look at the loss of life and denounce the celebration.  I remember saying how each life is valuable, and that while justice is required, and God has given authority to the governments of men,  we should never celebrate a loss of life.  It seemed so easy to follow Proverbs 24:17 in that moment, and I felt rather good of myself.

Such feelings are rarely safe.  God has, in recent days, directed a series of events that have lead to a small measure of my justification and my "enemy's" fall.  It is a fairly minor thing, yet I find myself fighting the man inside of me who would love to celebrate and rejoice.

No matter what stage the situation is set, or how large or small its relevance to the world, God cares what happens in your heart's response (significantly more than your outward actions).  It shows the real position of your heart toward Him.

Books I've read so far

2011 has seen a specific uptick in my reading regiment.  I try to spend my free time reading as opposed to watching since reading helps me fall asleep better.  Here is the list of completed books:

1984
Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire
4 hour work week
Net Force
Hidden Agenda
PHP and MySQL Web development for dummies (yes I read a reference book - I'm a nerd at heart)
Alas, Babylon (my favorite book of all time)
The Bourne Identity
In fifty Years we will all be chicks (didn't actually finish this, but went far enough to say i read it)
Decision Points
The Zombie Survival guide
Freakonomics
Superfreakonomics

While I mostly read for entertainment and to "wind down" at night and these books have been enjoyable and interesting, the actual value of most of these books boarders right around superfluous.  For the last 1/3 of this year, I think I need to find some books that will challenge my "inner man" a little more.