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Thomas Mann… on democracy

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A work called “The Coming Victory for Democracy” by Thomas Mann was written in 1938.  I’ve found it fascinating.  Some excerpts that seemed very applicable to our times and our challenges are captured here.  Mann’s premise at the time was that for democracy to win over the coming conflict with fascism, it would require democratic peoples to understand, know and properly reflect on the higher values of democratic principles.  I believe we need to re-examine our commitment to democracy and remember always that its future survival is not guaranteed.

Thomas Mann… (parenthetical material is my editorial comment)

Democracy is friendly to intellectual thought, to arts, to literature (and free press).  Distinguishing itself from dictatorship, which because of its belief in force is thereby obliged to be remote, foreign, and hostile to intellectual pursuits. But this assertion only acquires real value as a definition of democracy if the concept of intellectual life is not understood as one-sided, isolated, abstract, superior to life and remote from it, but is characterized as closely related to life, as directed toward life and action — for only that and specifically that is the democratic spirit.  That is the spirit of democracy. “Democracy is not intellectual in an old and outworn sense. Democracy is thought; but it is thought related to life and action.

… In a democracy which does not respect the intellectual life and is not guided by it, demagogy has free play, and the level of national life is depressed to that of the ignorant and uncultivated.  But this cannot happen if the principle of education is allowed to dominate and the tendencies prevail to raise the lower classes (here, in our times we’d refer to the social-economic challenged)  to an appreciation of culture and to accept the leadership of the better elements.

… They consider fascism a protective bulwark which will save them from the real, the Russian, proletarian bolshevism and from socialism in general (today, we need to avoid thinking of authoritarianism as a false choice against progressive policies)

… Now, as life is constituted, truth depends to some extent on the man who speaks it.  From certain sources even the truth becomes a lie.  There is no doubt, among the variations and the emotionally intelligible modifications of the idea — truth, freedom, justice– it is what we call justice that is closest to the conscience and the heart of humanity today.

https://ia601601.us.archive.org/4/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.221831/2015.221831.The-Coming.pdf

 

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Embrace Gray

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I’ve been thinking about the complexity of the world, about business issues I’ve been involved in, about relationships, and about how we experience all of it. Increasingly this is good, that is bad, or more imminently it seems, it is THEY are good and THEY are bad. In business I see decisions being made based on limited analysis. In politics I see decisions made based on abstract ideas with no grounding in life’s realities. Thomas Mann in his encouragement to the defense of democracy, warned against “pure abstraction”, and “the complete isolation of the mind from life itself” … because it allows us to see the world as black and white, right and wrong, and ignore the complexity of life. He also worried about our susceptibility to “the charm of novelty” … Grabbing on to the latest new idea without understanding the implications, and most importantly the unintended consequences. New is not bad, nor is it good, new is just new, something to be understood, and folded into the complexity of the real world.
Some are even proud of seeing the world in stark terms; black/white, good/bad, with-me/ against-me. As if ignoring the complexities of business, politics, of life is something meritorious. I believe that exploring complexity allows us to see in those gray areas as opportunity. Goodness hiding in the margin of sunrise, and sunset, when the colors shine, it is not day or night, it’s that gray-time in between. We are not wholly good or bad, but we are all gray. Business or politics is not win or lose, its compromise for a purpose. Computers can see through the RGB model 256 shades of gray… why can’t we see some ourselves? Complexity exists, and must be seen and embraced in order to be mastered. Education, and principled hope leads to wisdom and understanding, and advancement.
I think mothers know this better than fathers. They know that nurturing is always a case of operating in the gray zone. Finding the potential in a malcontent, in someone that is resisting learning, resisting change, when they are changing the most. Those that claim the high ground of right and wrong and black and white, are only doing so to bludgeon to death the gray and its inherent beauty in their own lives. Embrace complexity, embrace conflicting information, evaluate and then decide and promote, and grow, and learn even more. Then when you understand, it is possible to communicate a position clearly.

The Thomas Mann quotes were from an article by Nadia Schadlow in the WSJ, titled Thomas Mann’s Message for America in the Digital Age.

Thomas Mann won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929.
A quote attributed to him: War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.

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A Network Of Thought

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At the risk of too many ideas all in one place…

To become as one with others, gives our ‘I’ an ‘us”, and lives of many to augment the one we were born into, to expand knowledge, thought and the human experience. This thought was part of a question about language.

Specifically, does language spur thought, or is language an outcome of thought? Can you think without putting words to the thought? Possible, if we keep it simple. You can feel things like hunger, as a child does and express it without words. I think you can even reason in a temporary way, but that doesn’t really build memories, because you need words to replay memories, otherwise it is like muscle memory, something that is repeated but not consciously applied. Your mind can recognize patterns, but how do you communicate such memory, how do you share with others?

I think that language acts as an accelerator. With language we become something more than just an I, something more than the imperative of bodily needs and feelings. We have the ability to express and more importantly to learn in the abstract. Meaning we don’t need to experience it to find a way to communicate and internalize knowledge. Written language and oral histories in poetry, song, and art capture ideas, events, and make them part of a collective, tribal, clan, nation, and humankind experience.

Art is a form of language. A picture is worth ten thousand words. We even equate art with the words it would require to communicate it, as if there is an equation of sorts that could be discovered. Math is another means to communicate, and create a memory of something learned, but to apply it properly, we need words.

We experience a vast network made possible because of language. Something that is universally human. In every corner of the world humans developed language. An evolutionary means of survival for sure, but also a means of social expansion. Knowledge, learning, wisdom ensures not just the survival of our species but the advancement to something greater as a whole.

As a contrast to our admiration of rugged individualism, I contend that our social connection to the human network through language, empathy, curiosity and search for knowledge is and should be our priority. Our network of language allows our individual intellect to become part of a community that takes us beyond ourselves. It makes us part of a social and intellectual community with a legacy. Vibrations in this network, some louder, some higher pitched, connecting with thought, and sharing, adding meaning, emphasis, amplification or dampening.

I believe there is possible an even higher-level of connection, we still give words to it, but a telepathic experience will be something of humankind’s future, born out of something even deeper in our souls, deeper in understanding and empathy. Thoughts, feeling, that transcends words that we can hear or see. Something to look forward to the evolution of the network of us. In the present, we will relish the simple joys of a conversation over dinner, or a coffee, as well as the beauty of song and poetry, and stories and writings that moves us.

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A Prescription of Poetry… Thoughts on an essay from the Wall Street Journal

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Poetry in Healthcare
There is a study that is questioning if poetry would be an aide to patients that are in long-term care and having serious illnesses, including some in palliative care (meaning their pain is being managed, as there is no cure option). The evaluation is considering if the strength, hope, memories enhanced by the connection and intended ambiguity of poetry has value in providing means for greater connection and communication. They are evaluating the prospect of overall improvement in patient/doctor relationship. The study is evaluating the time-cost versus the benefits for the patients as well as opportunity to reduce physician burn-out.
My personal belief is that poetry can create a level of personal reflection and introspection that removes a person, at least for a time, out of the trials of the moment, distancing themselves some from pain, enabling a journey inward in a way that few things can. Similar to formal prayers, which is a form of poetry that seeks to find a spiritual link between our inner-self (soul) and God, poetry could improve the understanding, and insight into our inner-self. Exploring the human experience in poetry brings us closer to inner-self that is the inextricable connection of our physical, emotional, phycological-self, as well as our spiritual-selves. Prior to the majority of the population being able to read, poetry in the form of lyrical prayer or hymns were a means to enable spiritual soul introspection whenever and wherever it was needed. The lyrical nature of prayer makes it easier to take it with you. Today, maybe poetry too will provide both some healing value, as well as improved human connection between physician and patient. Or more broadly between patient and caregivers.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-prescription-of-poetry-to-help-patients-speak-their-minds-11575196200?mod=hp_lead_pos13

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Baseball in October…

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Baseball in October

Congratulations to the Houston Astro’s and Washington National’s … League champions that will face each other in the World Series this coming week!

Some of you will watch baseball maybe for the first time this year, as this fall classic competition plays out. As you do, here are a couple of thoughts for you to consider… baseball has been played professionally since the mid-1800’s and up until the 1892 there was much variation in the position of the pitcher’s box as it was originally called until it became a mound. The original box was an area from which the pitcher had to throw. The release points were 40 feet, then moved to 50 feet. As pitcher’s improved, especially with adding the overhand throw, instead of former underhand toss, the box was moved back five feet. The pitcher had to start his throw at that time from the back of the box which was 55.5 feet, moving it back 5 feet made it 60.5 feet away. This was not as huge of a change as it sounds as the measurement was moved from the push off point instead of the release point. But consider this distance was established in 1892, and has stood the test of time. The distance is perfect for ensuring relative fairness between pitching and hitting, keeping scoring in line with expectations. Exceptional pitching can shut down hitters, exceptional hitting can boot pitchers from the game.

Consider that it takes about 425 milliseconds for a 95-mph fastball to get to home plate. A batter’s swing takes roughly 150 milliseconds, so that means the decision to swing is made in 275 milliseconds, or roughly a quarter of a second. They best not blink. But watch the catcher as you can now with the close ups of HD TV. Every one of them will blink before they catch the ball, it is impossible not to do so, they see it with their minds into the glove, because their eyes are closed. The mind puts the ball where it thinks it is supposed to be. Sometimes when they talk about a live fastball, that is one that jumps, it’s because there is an optical illusion that occurs as the mind tries to process the ball speed and direction and it makes up for the gaps by inferring the position of the ball different than the actual trajectory.

Also, for the last roughly 150 years the bases were at 90 feet apart. Because at 80 feet it was too big of an advantage for offense, at 100 feet it was too great of an advantage for defense. Consider the distance from home to second-base for a catcher to throw out a runner trying to steal from first to second is the square root of 90 squared plus 90 squared… this is 127 feet 3 inches… really a challenging distance for catchers, but yet they have a great chance to throw out all but fastest runners getting a good jump from their leadoff of first base.

The beauty of baseball is in the numbers… or maybe it’s in the competition and display of hand-eye coordination and athleticism on a greenfield in October that is all that matters… I Hope you enjoy the World Series!

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What Can U.S. Leaders Do…

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I was reading an article in the WSJ:

Jim Mattis: Duty, Democracy and the Threat of Tribalism

Lessons in leadership from a lifetime of service, from fighting in the Marines Corps to working for President Donald Trump

 

At the end they ask the following question:

What can U.S. leaders do to overcome today’s internal divisions?

Here is the answer I submitted:

Decisions come from discussion and consideration of options
Discussion of options comes from honest analysis of viewpoints
Viewpoints are only understood if we are open to listen to others
Others means those that see the world problems different than  us
Opening to others means we have the strength of character to consider their perspective
The strength of character comes from a deep understanding that the common goals of our peoples, and great nation matter more than ourselves and our tribe
Deep understanding of common goals requires putting humankind and nation ahead of self-interest
Putting the greater good first requires seeking always what is right and good over power and glory
Seeking what is right and good requires knowing right from wrong
Knowing right from wrong means being empathetic and compassionate humans
Which requires understanding there’s a higher purpose in this world.

It is possible.

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Good Leaders, Need Good Followers…

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I had a chat with a friend a few weeks ago. He asked me what I thought made good leaders, I told him good followers.   Seems simple, even trite, but it’s true.

Leaders find themselves selected to lead because others look to them to provide leadership.  They develop or they have an innate ability to pull themselves out of their own self-consciousness for the needed moment and provide insight, direction, or example that inspires and encourages others.  In most simplistic situations, it could be because of physical or athletic prowess that followers gravitate to one individual, that becomes their leader.    Maybe people gravitate to someone that has beauty, or a kind face, or appears wise, in a way that is instinctual. They then become leaders because of how they react to the sudden attention.  Again, with insight, direction, or example that inspires and encourages followers.

Good leaders, need good followers.  What I mean by good here is to question the purpose of the leader,  as well as the purpose of the followers?   Leaders that realize they are being followed, may use their influence to consolidate more power, to achieve a greater wealth, influence, or control.  But this power can corrupt, especially if it’s used to gain more power and control for an evil purpose.  Narcissism is born out of an unrelenting desire for power and the recognition and false adulation that goes with it .  Bad leaders seek to carve out their flock from all others and create an elitist and privileged group.  Bad followers feed bad leaders, and support the purpose and intent of the leader.  Good leaders may also create an illusion of elitism,  but they do so with a sense of community, of involvement.  Think about the purpose of company shirts.  They create a sense of belonging, but also are a way of advertising to those outside the group, who we are.  Doing so with the intent of attracting more followers and advancing a purpose.  What is the intent of the leader, and the followers?  Followers have great influence on who the leader is and whether the group’s intent is for positive and good purpose.

Good has another meaning here as well, that is effectivity.  How good is the leader at communicating, or providing that inspiration and example for followers?  So much more than branding is needed.  Truly good leaders learn the tools of communication, coaching, encouragement, and discipline.  They learn to know what will work and will not and with purpose how to apply the right tools and the right dosage of each.  Today many call this emotional IQ.

Followers have an obligation to be good.  They have an obligation to be clear in their own minds about what they are looking for, and to see beyond the immediate appeal and to look past the leaders lead, to see where the leader is taking followers. Evaluating the mandate that has been given, and the purpose, the value, in the context of successes, failures, and historical context.   All leaders are flawed, all followers are flawed.  Good leaders, and good followers make each other better because they support an objective and purpose that goes beyond the collection of power, of influence and control of others, and they learn from their own mistakes.  They are seeking collectively the betterment of all, even those that are outside of the group and not currently a follower.