Straight Talk

During the republican primary of 2000 Sen John McCain from Arizona ran as a challenger to then Gov Bush. Senator McCain's campaign theme was "The Straight Talk Express." While it's expected for a politicians claims of straight talk to be as assinine as Bill Clinton's claim to virtuosity, the often twisted communication practices of politics are not an enigma to the "common man."
Our daily communication often mimics our public officials. How often do you find yourself in a situation where you manipulate the facts to fit your plan or schedule? For example...FACT: I did not recieve a raise. TWISTED VIEW WE TELL EVERYONE: I did not receive a raise because my boss is afraid that if he rewards me to much I'll become a threat to his position. Let's also consider an academic example. FACT: I received a not so hot grade on a paper. TWISTED VIEW: The teacher never even gave me a chance to get a good grade because he/she does not like me... The hidden reality in both these situations,and many others like it that occur everyday, is that we twist the facts so that the outcome is still the same, but we still look good in front of our spouse, peers, or friends even though the outcome demonstrates a shortcoming.
Perhaps a more devastating and common way in which we mirror politicians is in how we deal with problems. Instead of taking action and going to the root of the problem, we try to eliminate the symptoms or , more often then not, we don't do anything. Instead of acting we take the much more highly effective and succesful method--sit around baffled as gossip flys around the synapses in our brains like insults in George Steinbrenner's office. And like our politicians and Steinbrenner, we hem and haw about problems to everyone, but who they deal with, and the end is the same in every situation... NOTHING HAPPENS. And even worse yet we alienate those people that care about us. (Note: Steinbrenner may not actually do this, not because he doesn't chase away his personnel, but rather because they don't actually care about him.)
When we finally get to talking to people that can actually affect the outcome of the problem it often amazes us how well things work out. Why? I'm not sure, other than that facing problems is more foreign to us than the prospect of the Pope at a rock concert. If we'd buck up, accept the risk that someone might not like us, or might get mad, and confront the situations in our lives the result would undoubtedly be a lot less stress and relationships that are greater in number and quality. And afterall, if the only thing that lives on after we die is influence it might me something we should work at. As Nov 2 approaches and its time for us to elect the next head of the world's body politic let's learn from their bad examples. The backstabbing and ferocious world of politics often leads to the destruction of the lives of innocent people, because while politicians fight for position and honor among themselves issues like healthcare, nat'l defense, and the economy get tossed aside. Don't let our smoke screen of complaints allow us to destroy ourselves and our relationships. Follow Captain MacWhirr from Conrad's Typhoon, face the storm, charge in hard, hold on for dear life, and rely on a POWER greater than yourself to land you safe on the farther shore.