Honorable andTrue

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

Honorable and True

Who knows how we develop our ideas, our principles and make our commitments. 

Nature?

Nurture?

We are born into families, groups of people with strong beliefs and prejudices. Who among us can deny we pick up on what we see as we grow? Then we are off school where we are influenced by a larger group that includes contemporaries, teachers, and administrators.

Some of us go on and gather more education, others go into the workforce, but in every instance we are exposed to larger groups who influence our views. Sometimes we adopt the views of those we admire most. Other times we actually begin to form our own view of things.

I am never more reminded of these truths than during our presidential elections when tempers and opinions run high. Friends often find their friendship tested in the fiery ways as the interpret the difference they see in the candidates, the party, or the platforms.

I worked with an administrator at an educational institution who was also a psychologist, and I remember her saying if you haven’t resolved your personal issues by midlife, they would likely ever be resolved.

I have thought of that often because I know she did not mean it in the sense that we can not change or alter our beliefs when confronted with evidence that we are wrong. I choose to believe she meant that we should know ourselves as adults, be true to ourselves, and be able to ably defend how we think about the issues at hand, while still being open to discussion that would take us in a different direction.

If we put being honorable and true to ourselves and our beliefs in a sacred place in our  lives, if are willing to entertain new thoughts but not so readily give up the thoughts formed in our lives through so many experiences, and if we can keep from being cynical, argumentative, even hateful, then we can live with our decisions and appreciate that they are not subject to blowing in the wind with every new rumor or attack of slander.

Also I know that the personality of a candidate can outweigh the programs he or she promises. How often in your lifetime have you seen the winning candidate hold to the platform on which he ran. When does he/she gets the grade card that says essentially “You promised this, but you failed to deliver.”

Well that “report card should be delivered at the ballot box. Did the party in power do what they said they would or did they fail? Do you accept their excuses for their failure? Or do you think it is time to congratulate them on their performance. Perhaps you think it is time for new leadership.

Be honorable and true to what you know to be your core beliefs, and the Ship of State will remain strong. Vote not on what you are being told in the next few months but vote on what you know to be true about actual performance and results for the last four years.