THERE IS NO HYPHEN IN AMERICAN.
Where are the Candidates who actually get that?
We have to find them in all of our fifty States.
Whoever thinks they can do in 2020 what Ronald Reagan did (in terms of landing 49 out of fifty states in 1984) had darned well better start getting themselves some public attention NOW.
I was looking into the whole thing, trying to figure out what seems to have worked ... and wondering if there are any others among us who are doing the same thing. Said others being people who might actually be able to find a way to do what he did - unify this nation.
In the process of looking at things I was barely aware of at the time I realized that what Reagan did was essentially convince We the People that he believed in us. He believed in us so hard that we started believing in ourselves.
Back in my oh-so-long-ago-now school days I did pick up on a concept or two.
One of my favorites, and one of the most useful ones, was what they called 'The Halo Effect'. It works, truly.
What 'The Halo Effect' says is that people will live up to (or down to) your expectations of them. Works with kids, works with elders, works with friends, works with colleagues ... it flat out works. The key is that you have to mean it.
Example: I work now mainly with elders. I go into it expecting myself to give it my best effort - and so I do. I also go into it expecting said elders to know that their best effort is also just as important as mine. I expect cooperation and respect, the same as I give them, and I get it.
Once they realize that I fully intend to do my best, and they see that I AM, and that I fully expect the same from them, they kind of automatically become more active in the teamwork it takes to make things work the way they're supposed to. Because I believe that they're going to, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, so to speak.
You don't get that by telling them they can't do whatever it is.
You don't get that by telling them they're afraid to try whatever it is.
You don't get that by telling them that you're going to have to do it for them.
No.
You get it by first of all knowing exactly what they realistically can and cannot do.
If you know they CAN do something, you expect it of them. Even if they whine and try to get out of it, you know they can, you tell them you're going to do this thing together, and so you do. Together. Or if it's something they don't need your help with, they do it themselves. You believe in them, they believe in you, and they end up believing in themselves. And whatever it is gets done the way it's supposed to get done. People stare and say, 'How did you get them to do that?' Well gee. I didn't. They did. Or we did. Whichever. It got done.
Halo Effect.
Same coin, flip side. Tell someone they're helpless, can't do this or that or the other thing (so you have to do it for them), often enough and guess what. Even though they can do it, they aren't going to. And pretty soon they aren't going to be able to. Tell someone often enough, verbally or by your actions or facial expressions, that they're scared of trying something (or should be), and guess what.
Halo Effect.
So pretty darned soon here somebody better step up to the plate and start telling We the People something kind of different from what we've been hearing.
Not all of us actually know, any more, that we can do stuff. See, it's been a good while since anybody seems to have believed in us or had much of any kind of positive expectations. We're 'living down to' what's expected of us.
Whole generations are doing that. We are a hyphen-hated nation.
Labels, I tell ya. I've got a few that apply to me.
I'm an American Boomer. I'm an American getting-up-there-in-years white woman. I'm an American INFJ/P personality type. I'm an American O Negative. I have physical limitations that are only going to get worse. I'm an Alpha Chi. I'm a little over halfway intelligent. I'm one of the 'poor folk'. I'm an American college graduate. I'm in one of the numerous Who's Who books. I'm what used to be called a WASP. My folks back in the day were Quaker-Americans. I'm an American author. I'm an American artist. I'm a Daughter of the American Revolution and a Daughter of the Confederacy (or could be if I were the 'joining' type) I'm working a job instead of having a career, what they call under-employed. There's no Future for me, only years of bare survival before I call it a life and ease on into whatever comes next. I can't do this and I can't do that and I can't do the other thing because because because.
I tell you true.
I'm maybe one of the most hyphen-hated Americans you'll ever meet. Everyone has at least one reason to not like me.
Rich folk look down on my because I'm poor.
Other poor folk look down on me because I'm educated.
Lots of folk look down on me because I've got the infamous INFJ/P personality traits.
Prospective employers look down on me because I'm old and under-employed.
My current employers look down on me because I'm at the bottom of their food chain.
Feminist type folk sneered at me because I belonged a sorority; sorority sisters wondered why I would choose to work at the Women's Center.
People of color might automatically lock me into a 'white' file.
Younger Americans might resent me because I'm a Boomer.
Strong people might look down on me because I'm not as strong as they are.
Some folk might look down on me because I'm Christian.
Others look down on me because I don't belong to a church and therefore am not Christian enough.
Yada yada. There's no way in the world I can make people happy. There's always at least one 'issue' lurking.
Me, I agree with the movie's Rhett Butler: Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. And even that quote is politically incorrect these days.
I repeat: Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.
Who says education has to be an issue, or income level?
And who says race has to be an issue?
Who says religion has to be an issue?
Who says personal preferences have to be an issue?
Who says age has to be an issue?
Who says we all have to be wanting the exact same things?
Who says it's not 'good enough' to save up for what you want, even if it takes longer to get it?
Pfffft.
The 'who' people that say those things are ... um ... I try really hard to not use that kind language out loud. You'll have to read my mind about what I think of the 'who' people that say such things.
If you're physically and mentally able, are good at something, and like it - why aren't you doing it?
Call me old-fashioned. I happen to think that everyone is good at something, enjoys something, and ought to be doing it. It doesn't necessarily have to be your bread-and-butter only-thing-you-do ... mine isn't, not by a long shot. I happen to not hate my bread-and-butter job (which is nice) but the primary reason I do what I do on that front is to allow me to do the books and the art.
Ha.
If I had someone else to pay my bills and provide me with room and board so I could spend all my time writing and doing artwork ...
*sigh*
Ain't gonna happen.
I have to do it myself.
And so I do.
Back to topic:
Where is the Candidate who will believe in us?
Where is the one (or the many) who will pay attention to what actually works?
I'm biased but you know what? Business-wise, Sir Richard Branson has some pretty good ideas that work pretty well. So does Jim Bradshaw of Strata Corporation out of Grand Forks. So does Johnny Nolon's of Cripple Creek. Why does it seem to be such a minority view, when it's obviously effective?
I've never worked for Branson, but the other two I can speak about first-hand. The guiding principles are mighty close in practice.
In both instances it had a definite 'family' tone, from the top down. And it was 'family first' - from the emphasis on the caring for the families of individuals straight through that sensation of belonging to a big family in the workplace. 'Take care of your people and they will take care of your business' - something like that - it's a quote from Branson.
The diversity within our 'families' was enormous - but our unity was universal. To this day when I see the Strata logo I think, 'Mine!' And I still feel as though I could walk into Johnny Nolon's as comfortably as I walk into my own home. 'Mine!'
Is there anybody out there who can even see the logic of instilling that kind of feeling in the same across-the-board way that those businesses have? Not even instilling it - more like acknowledging it, nurturing it, and celebrating it?
Diversity notwithstanding, we are all Americans.
When did it become politically incorrect to be patriotic?
When did it become a shameful thing to be educated? Or talented? Or rich? Or ambitious? Or satisfied as long as the ends are meeting? Or helpful? Or poor? Or 'creative'? Or kind? Or hard-working? Or proud of your heritage (even if it's colonial)?
I am not Scottish-American. I am not English-American. I am not French-American. I am not German-American. I'm quite very proud of the heritage(s) that the elder generations bring to the table, don't get me wrong here - but I myself am not those generations and nor would they want for me to claim to be. That's NOT what caused them to help found a nation here. They wanted me to claim the legacy they lived and fought and died for.
And so I do.
I say to you:
I am American.
If you're an American citizen, so are you. That makes us kin.
So tell me: who is going to de-hyphen-hate America?
Who will say to our diversity, instead of using it against us to divide us: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"
Who will say to us: What are you good at, what do you like to do, and are you physically and mentally able to do it? Good. Here's a list of available options. Go train for it. Do it. Do yourself proud and this great big family will take pride in what you do, no matter what it is (so long as it is useful and not harmful).
*BIG SIGH*
I'm beginning to think there is no such person or people. It would take a lot more than one, you know.
It would take all of us.
And it's going to take all of us, not just one person, or the handful who fill the seats of our Houses and our Senates, or the even smaller handful who sit on our judicial benches.
Of course, if you're happy with things the way they are, good for you. I'm kind of happy with mine own little life, truth be told. But I'm all too aware that there are a lot of us who aren't as lucky as I am. I'm happy with what very little I have, probably because being miserable is the only alternative - and too many people would like to see me miserable for me to think that's any kind of a good idea.
At any rate, I'm not blind, deaf, or dumb (yet). With any luck at all, we'll see a bunch of our folk taking some initiative and maybe coming right out and saying to us: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!" What divides us is not nearly as important as what unites us. You're an American citizen? Pleased to meet you, cousin - or Grandpa - or niece - or whoever ...
THERE IS NO HYPHEN IN AMERICAN.
Where are the Candidates who actually get that?
We have to find them in all of our fifty States.
No comments:
Post a Comment