Focus

One of the challenges social reformers face is keeping the attention of a distracted public. Stimuli come from so many directions that getting folks to focus on anything for longer than a minute or two is a minor miracle!

Maybe we need to start a new movement that declares a weekly Sabbath from all media except classic books and real human conversation.

No, I am not becoming the leader of a new cult!

Why did all the recent California Initiatives lose? Opponents will argue that they won on the merits (and $80,000,000+ in spending). Proponents will re-examine the "messaging" and try again.

The real issue is focus. No one is taking the time to think deeply and examine thoroughly all the ramnifications of various policies. When too much is happening too fast, everything gets lost. To expect voters to reform teacher tenure, correct a century of gerrymandering, understand prescription drug markets, and do anything on abortion rights at the same time is unrealistic.

Just as humans beings can not change more than one or two personal habits at a time, why would we expect the entire public to focus and follow-through on multiple issues?

My advice to political leaders: do not try to fight on a dozen fronts at once and stop treating the public like imbeciles.

But my most important advice is for all of us known as "the public".

We can choose to slow down and focus on the important issues that confront us. We must choose to look beyond our personal circumstances and think of the "commonweal" that binds us all together.

Back to my Sabbath idea. Regardless of religious affiliation, I challenge all of us to find a 24 hour period free of email, web, TV, radio, cell phones and any other media. Use the waking hours to think deeply, converse intelligently, and see what emerges from an uncluttered mind!

We might even discover new solutions to apparently intractable problems.

Almost Wise

In January I will turn 47. My kids have made sure I know that this means that I am in my "late" forties and therefore entering the "middle age" zone.

Why does this matter? I am not in a mid-life crisis of direction, faith or identity. I am enjoying good health, a great marriage and the maturing of my children into outstanding adults.

My wife Kathy pointed out that 47 is a prime number. I am still pondering the meaning of this; however, I will enjoy mild self-delusion and consider myself in the prime of life.

47 matters because it is a moment to reflect upon the wisdom I have gained in the first half of my life and the insights I have yet to discover in the seconf half.

In my present "Almost Wise" state of mind, here are some things I have learned:

• A happy marriage and healthy kids are the greatest assets of all.
• Lifelong friendships provide good soil to plant the seeds of new ones; there is always room for another good friend.
• Regretting past mistakes and dwelling on how others have disappointed us paralyzes our progress. It is vital to get help where needed, work through real issues, and keep moving forward.
• When we build our lives as a service to God and others, personal fulfillment comes naturally. Conversely, when we dwell too long on our own selves, happiness escapes like the morning mist.
• Significant social progress only comes when ideology takes a back seat to deeply-held convictions of love and sacrifice.
• The Left wants to redistribute others' unprotected assets. The Right wants to hold on to as much of their own as possible. Both sides need to ask, "How am I personally improving the lives of others outside my comfort zone?"
• Misdirected religious zeal yields great sorrow. In contrast, people with no moral or spiritual convictions can be manipulated toward totalitarian self-destruction.
• Faith and Science are not incompatable. We do not need to live in the dichotomy of two spheres of knowledge. A believer in Genesis needs to synthesize the theological goal of the narratives with good science. Scientists without faith need to welcome colleagues who posit an Intelligent Designer behind the processes they are postulating.
• There are real moral issues that can not be avoided. It is impossible to propose any law or regulation without considering the deeper values underpinning them. If it is wrong to lower taxes, why is it wrong to let parents know about their children's medical care or sex education?
• Americans are spoiled. We need to appreciate the hard-won gains of our soldiers on the battlefield and the saints who brought civil rights and equality. We have forgotten that the majority of those we esteem for their sacrifices were people of faith and profound moral convictions - notions considered "out-of-date" by too many today.

This is a sampling of some of what I have collected during my 46+ years on terra firma.

As I write, I realize that this is an early Thansgiving column.

I like what a friend mentioned to me yesterday, "Instead of one day set aside for giving thanks, how about one day set aside for all our complaining? Then we can live thankfully during the other 364 days a year."

My friend is among the Almost Wise!

Enough!

Hello again and please forgive my delay in posting a new blog. It has been a busy fall for the Self family.

Our oldest son Michael has a new job, our daughter Charlotte a new University back East and our son Christopher a new schedule with Drivers' Ed at the crack of dawn.

Today I can think of only one word to describe how I fell about the current public debates on the issues of our day: ENOUGH!

Enough blaming about the Katrina responses - how about more energy and thought into how to rebuild without bankrupting our economy?

Enough bluster about "Bush Lied, People Died" - how about some real solutions for a peaceful tranfer to just rule in Iraq?

Enough racial posturing and overheated rhetoric - who is going to call on all Americans, rich and poor, to show some moral responsibility and restraint?

Enough nonsense about security - until we enforce the rule of law and secure our borders.

Enough blathering about waste in government - a mere 11% cut across the board in State spending in California would create a surplus in two years.

Enough foolishness about dialogue with the downtrodden who want to kill the infidel - what is our plan to find and destroy terrorists who threaten every nation's security, not just our own?

Enough hypocrisy about the separation of Church and State - do we want the Salvation Army to go away or keep delivering the goods to those in need?

Enough about both global warming and "environmental wackos" - let's grow past the cliches and realize that good ecology is good economics!

Well, that is enough for now.

OK, one more thing: we need to tell ourselves, "Enough of talking, I am going to DO something to make my world better."

If we all did this, it would be enough.

A Principled Future

For half a century, our public square has been a cultural battlefield.

We have seen much progress. Millions of African American and other non-white groups can vote without fear because of the labor of Martin Luther King and thousands of hard-working folks.

Many farm workers now have living wages and reasonable conditions because of the efforts of Caesar Chavez.

Young adults can now vote as well as go to war for their country.

Our environment is cleaner today (in some regions) that 50 years ago thanks to public and private efforts.

We need to pause and be thankful for a land of freedom and opportunity that is always "in the making," always seeking to improve and live up to her highest ideals.

But there are ominous signs as well.

Religious and secular communities are engaged in a titanic struggle to define the values that will govern our future. In the early 60s, many of these folks (or at least their parents) cooperated to see the aforementioned changes. Now they are in a legal and verbal war that threatens to unravel the tapestry woven for 200+ years.

For the sake of this discussion, I am not going to refer to either extreme - theocratic cultists and communist/fascist enemies of all religion are not the focus here.

Most Americans want an environment of mutual respect and tolerance. What we are observing all too often is a kind of weird "McCarthyism" coming from both sides. The secularists lump together all "fundamentalists" and see bigotry and control behind every attempt to say grace in a public forum. The religiously observant are stunned by the callous attacks on their faiths and the militancy of those who want to change the public moral universe of America.

Is there a way forward?

Yes! But it is a "road less traveled", a principled thoroughfare that is not for the faint of heart and mind. We must return to the rich veins of moral gold mined by our Founders, who created the world's first major polis with complete freedom of conscience.

The beauty of our land is that we can be people of many faiths or none because of a common commitment to First Principles of personal virtue and civic responsibility. Not all our Founders were religious. But they all affirmed the necessity of moral rectitude that flows from adherence to Judeo-Christian values.

OK, great nostalgia, Dr. C, but this is the 21st century. We have gone beyond traditionalism and even modernity. No one has the right to impose any standards on anyone...

Here is nexus of our dilemma. Without First Principles, we can not have a cohesive society. Two centuries of civil religion and fifty years of defacto secularism leave us in vacuum.

What is the way forward? A fresh reffirmation of lasting values that move us toward a non-coercive future.

Here is my challenge: What are these principles? Can we build stability without Deity? What will define personal virtue, family cohesion and social responsibility for the next century?

For now, it is enough to know that we must find common ground before the center no longer holds.

Where Do We Go for "Facts"?

One of the challenges of our Instant Information Age is discerning the sources of relatively unbiased information. In my last blog I spoke of the "edutainment" problem and the ideological twist that seem to pervade so many sources. Even traditionally objective sources (New York Times or even National Geographic) can be fraught with bias.

Lest this appear to be another conservative rant against the "mainstream media", I hasten to add that the conservative movement is in a real crisis itself. The crisis is not necessarity one of basic values, but of facing the harsh facts about its icons and views of events and developing a more critical approach to substantiating its bold assertions.

OK, back to sources. Where do we go? My answer is everywhere - with a critical eye! The NYT remains an important source...but watch out for the loaded terms that can permeate any factual article. WorldNet Daily on the Rght and Truth Out on the Left both offer information that can help round out one's perspective. As we peruse sources, Let's ask these questions:

• Who is doing the polling and what kinds of methods and samples are used?
• Watch out for "wide-ranging" statistics; i.e., "It is estimated that between 2,000 and 20,000 have experienced..." what does this actually mean?
• Take note of words like, "alleged' and "unconfirmed" and "off the record". This does not mean the facts are wrong, just tentative.
• It is possible for two facts to be both right yet incompatible with different ideologies. For example, the 1980s Reaganomics were a boon for some and a total bust for many others, leaving a legacy of debt that has serious consequences. The Left blames the greedy Republicans; the Right the spendthrift Congress. The truth? A plague on both your houses! Until the pork is reigned in, the greed confronted, and social infrastructure honestly examined, we will stay in the wilderness of rhetoric.
• As we look at sources, we can discover the values behind the citations and assertions. For example, the book Freakonomics assets that Roe v. Wade may have had a salutary effect upon certain rates of crime because of a declining birthrate among the poor. For me, an ardent pro-life advocate, such a fact is not going to change my mind on abortion, but it will challenge me to find better ways to confront poverty and unwanted pregnancies.

These are a few first steps toward real research in todays insight-starved world.

We must be unafraid to face reality even while affirming our enduring values. My sadness with the hypocricy of so many conservative icons does not force me to abandon good ideas - it challenges me toward greater integrity personally.

In my next blog, I will confrom the issue of what the Left and Right mean by "freedom" and how we can move toward a principled, non-coercive future.