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DECENCY
I sat down to prepare a draft of this month’s newsletter before the recent election. While I am optimistic in the short term about our democratic institutions, the margins of defeat for this historic slate of anti-democratic candidates were not nearly large enough. Yes, some of the most extreme candidates were defeated, but we cannot sit passively by as candidate after candidate speaks of election fraud (even in races they wind up winning) with increasing regularity. Our future as a nation is not guaranteed, and democracy from an historical perspective remains an experiment. Now, more than ever, it is up to each of us to take responsibility to preserve and protect our country.
While our country has made great positive strides in several significant areas over the course of this young millennium, we are presently failing in others. During this, and seemingly every, election season, politicians rely on fear to drive voter participation. Our media cycle skews towards sensationalism, and as the recent election approached, we were each constantly reminded of the ills plaguing our country: inflation, extremism, crime, cancel culture, addiction, poverty, racism, illegal immigration, and the outsize influence of money in politics, to name a few. While it is in the nature of the Conservative to resist change, or advocate for change in moderation, in recent years, more often than not, they have gone into overdrive, stoking fear of “the other” in order to drum up election support. Progressives, in turn, have mischaracterized GOP legislation to drum up voter enthusiasm.
While in previous decades such tactics often existed in the shadows and were considered “in poor taste,” what has much more recently become far too acceptable is the mainstreaming of the underpinning ideas inherent to these indecent tactics. And today, it’s not even really a campaign issue. It is simply the way we feel, talk about, and treat one another.
To me, the biggest ill in our country is the loss of “decency” and the accompanying “shame” that goes with it. To me, “decency” means a way of relating to others in a respectful, kind and charitable manner. “A sense of shame” used to be a check on relating to one another with a lack of decency. Somewhere along the line, we stopped feeling ashamed, and began to almost encourage a lack of decency in our behavior. Now this lack of decency runs rampant, threatening to tear our society apart. For it’s a willingness and commitment to be decent in our communication with others that greases the wheels of common discourse. This decency paves the way for understanding and necessary compromise, and deters the kind of extreme characterizations of others, polarizing methodologies, and the extreme fractiousness that has characterized much of our society in recent years.
What happened to our being a decent people, a kind people, a people striving to improve our society - a society formed to create a more perfect union? Does the preamble to our constitution matter? In order to form a more perfect union, we must ask, “What is required of us? “I believe being decent people includes such things as patience, openness, respect, generosity, courage, faithfulness, and, above all, honesty and gratitude.
When will we recognize that, although none of us is perfect, we have to believe that aspiring to be better is rewarded, or at a minimum respected. Do we feel guilty when we lie to get a raise, or do we feel like a fool if we don’t lie and are taken advantage of? Do we pay our taxes fairly or do we cheat? Do we signal when changing lanes, welcome a new neighbor, or teach our children to be honest and generous?
If we don’t believe in the system, then we feel self-righteous when we cheat. If we recognize that our system is the worst system in the world until you look to the alternatives, we can arrive at gratitude. We need to fight to preserve our union and it starts with our individual character. We have accepted for too long dishonesty in politics, dishonesty on social media and dishonesty amongst each other. We all need to redouble our efforts to be honest, and when we mess up, we apologize, say we are sorry and take corrective action.
How does one teach others how to be decent while standing on one foot? The answer: Don’t do to others that which you would find hateful to yourself. The rest is commentary. All else, be it civic duty, religious study and involvement, or interpersonal relationships, should stem from what I call the wisdom literature. If we constantly worked to build a more perfect union, while knowing that a utopian existence is but an aspiration, then we can strive for perfection, while being compassionate when we don’t succeed.
CATCH UP ON RECENT PUCK EPISODES
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-51-dr-tracy-dennis-tiwary/id1338978270?i=1000582515694
Jim sits down with Mike Green, financial strategist and portfolio manager at Simplify Asset Management and lifelong student of the market and market structure. In addition to his traditional finance background, Mike is a public speaker and financial media voice who looks at societal factors and their potential to impact our collective economic futures. They touch on the current state of the US economy, population growth (or lack thereof), and intergenerational attitudes towards politics. A fascinating conversation that you don’t want to miss.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-50-courtney-mccrea-of-recast-capital/id1338978270?i=1000580411790