2007
Topic F - ARROGANCE
November 11, 2007

If I were to name the top five enemies of the people, one would be arrogance in high places. Arrogance shuts down listening and common sense -- needed in high places!

An old joke comes to mind. A friend describes a man as humble. Then adds, “He has much to be humble about.” Leaders have much to be arrogant about, whether they are the top in politics, or in the public eye as media or commentator, or trusted as a leader in the community and sought out for advice. Anyone who runs for governor or president has to be a bit nuts. Without a big ego they will not make it, and if elected they would be useless. Ego, yes. However, arrogance is a detriment to public well-being.

I am impressed with presidents who choose cabinet members who do not agree with them, or with each other. Lincoln and Roosevelt come to mind. Lincoln wanted a full, real, debate. He had no trouble saying that went the dust settled, his was the vote that counted. Roosevelt evidently took that a bit too far, enjoying the verbal fisticuffs so much that he let it go into some bitter infighting. But he knew what other, valid opinions were and could make far better decisions.

I have a small role in the new Omaha initiative for the education of children and youth, “Building Bright Futures.” The room this month was filled with people who have much to be arrogant about. There was none of that. The shakers and movers of the city are determined to tackle the problems of low income in schools, spotty attendance, lack of hope among some youth and employment for those who meet educational goals. Since we are the only city in the nation that has put together an initiative with this kind of muscle, we are competitive enough to enjoy the thought of showing the way. That is not arrogance.

One day I was restless with the car radio and heard Rush Limbaugh's voice. He is predictable and shallow, but fun, so I listened for a few minutes. Not fun. Dangerous.

To an older caller who in a quiet and humble way asked that he consider other points of view in order to find the truth, Rush said, “I am the truth. Why would I be taking this time if I did not have the truth?” At no time did he add a qualifier like “what I consider to be the truth.” In answer to the man's question (before he cut him off as way out of line), Rush defined liberals as interested only (!) in controlling you and conservatives as the ones who want you to grow.

I thought about those 200 and more people working on Bright Futures. They are liberals and conservatives without any thought of a divide and would have walked away from such a stupid statement. None of us on that project are seeking control. All of us are longing for growth that includes a high degree of self-motivation.

Any fair definition of ‘liberal’ would include generous, supportive of being open, looking for options. Any fair definition of ‘conservative’ would include maintaining tradition, building on a base, cautious on a new proposal. Looking at translation to parties, which he quickly does, the record of Democrats shows they ended child labor, fought for clean air and water and brought us Social Security and Medicare in a highly efficient manner -- but also bog us down with bureaucracy in government programs and often give us studies with no results. The record for Republicans shows they broke the Cold War, support entrepreneurs and are getting into conserving the environment -- but also put barriers on personal choice and development, and on scientific research. Again, it is not that simple. Both parties add greatly to bureaucracy and both support entrepreneurs in major ways.

Many decades ago, when I was a boy, one political party wanted frugal government with a lot of individual freedom and initiative, and the other party wanted to rescue families in Depression crisis through more government programs. Now it has nearly flipped, but is mostly confused. The frugal party spends our grandchildren's money for subsidies to rich corporations and the other party calls for more individual initiative from stabilized families. But both have a mix of all that and all of us are dependent on growth of every child for our economic future. We have a mix of politics and interests on the legislative floor, but 90% of us know that every child must have an excellent education and be safe with health care. There is no compassion or do-gooder thought to this. It is economic necessity, investment.

A president or governor who arrogantly listens only to the party is useless. Both parties are driven more by money than ideals. Their (important!) job is to nominate. We need leaders with informed common sense. To be clear, I have high respect and great appreciation for elected leaders who listen to all the voices and give us plain messages about what we must do now to deal with the future. There are many who do well.

A retired pastor friend found a remarkable statement by the Amish, directed toward those who admire them. Time to evangelize, right? Not. Come join us? Be like us? Not. None of the abominable arrogance of: “Believe like me,” “We have the truth about the Bible,” “God hates who we hate,” “We are the way, the truth and the life,” etc.

“The Amish culture is greatly admired, but its members would not want you to forget that they are not who they are because of the way they live, but rather they live as they do because of who they are and what they believe. They do not live as they do to be a guidepost to others (though it may also be that).

“Many of you would like to live more like the Amish. ..... So if you admire their faith -- strengthen yours. If you admire their family life -- spend more time with your family. If you admire their sense of commitment -- deepen yours. If you admire their sense of community spirit -- build one. If you admire their quality merchandise -- make quality. If you admire their humility -- be humble. If you admire their unselfishness -- put others first. If you admire their honesty -- be honest. If you admire their willingness to help those in need -- help the needy. If you admire their land stewardship -- take care of yours. If you admire their deep character and enduring values -- live them.”

O Yes!

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