Light & Salt!

I wrote this eighteen months ago and came across it a few minutes ago. As I read it slowly I realized just how pertinent the message is today so I thought today I would share with you. I hope you enjoy!

LIGHT AND SALT: DIMENSIONS OF REALITY

By Jim Williams

March 24, 2009

As I listened to my pastor’s sermon Sunday on the topic of light and salt in a world that has lost both, I listened with heavy heart but with open mind as I weighed the implications of that loss on the scales of our future as a People in a global village.  As the pondering of the weight has only grown heavier as the hours have made their way to the key board this morning, as the eternal optimist, this sense of confliction permeates my mind as I think of the minds in my classrooms and the emptiness of hope that pervades the prison cells of the countless thousands I have spoken to and ministered to in word and song.

Seemingly with each passing day, CNN reports on a new low in human history be it debt, scandal, morality gone awry, families torn asunder and this thing called “global leadership” being redefined in new colors and hues we have not seen before in this lifetime.  We hear the names like Bear, Lehman, AIG, the Fed, Treasury, Geithner, Obama, Bernanke; all strange sounding, distant and rings in every corner of our lives today thinking simply; where does this all end up? How does this story end? It is America so I know it will be okay, tomorrow, right?

The Bible speaks of a city on a hilltop cannot be hidden from view. Reagan used that descriptor to rally America, to make us proud to be Americans so where are the Reagan’s’ of the world that can lift us, make us believe the boogie man really is akin to the tooth fairy and not the wolf at the door that is huffing and puffing to blow our house down?  In the sermon, I was reminded that light engages and chases the dark away and salt, once it has lost its saltiness, is, well, worthless. It cannot be regenerated but must be replaced with freshly mined salt from Earth’s pits of regeneration. So the question simply is, have we, America, lost our light and thus our way and has our saltiness been now rendered to road grit on a snowy day?

“Me thinks not! “ Mr. Shakespeare would have uttered and in that utterance rest the cymbals of change clanging loudly and proudly to the call.  I am so sick of the sickly, powerless pagans of doom and gloom we are allowing to pervade our lives in far too many ways daily.  Yes, our national prestige is blighted and frankly, needed to be blighted I believe, now.  We have become a nation spoiled with a GDP per capita easily $10,000 too high for that is about the spread of debt hold us above our true sustainable standard of living.  We are witnessing the engorging tendency of entitlement programs and mentality forge a generation or two of people that do not see the real need to learn, to actually have to work to survive and enjoy the fruits of that work.  All great empires have imploded internally and not exploded from external and the pressure of government paid cradle-to-grave mindset is exactly what we are living through so where is the clamor, the outrage, and the absolute mandate to stop this craziness before it is too late?  I tell you where it is for it rests in the hunkered down hulks of our elected leaders that we place our dependence to vote the conscience of the nation; our desires as a People.  But what we have allowed to be birthed are very intelligent man and women we send to Washington to be prostituted by lobbyists, political meandering toward the pork barrels of stronger, more tenured politicians  with the caveat that if you support this one, I will support one for you one day!

We are America! We are the light on the hill! We are the place the peoples of the world still yearn to come to learn, to live, to raise families. We are the salt but we are acting truly like sheep with no hooves slipping and sliding on the rocks of fear and doubt fueled by blind belief and allegiance to men assuming they are smarter than we are but in fact, become sucked too often into the jet engines that become “bird hits” instead of people of stature and courage.  In some of my daily missives, I speak about Paul Volcker. Here is a man of proven courage and backbone and supposedly in the Administration’s Economic Advisory Committee but for all intents and purposes he has surely died and we have just misplaced the obituary.

The very term of “bail out” has now become a term of “well, okay I understand ...” instead of a term that brings the vomit sensation to an American must like the term “bankruptcy” used to.  We now view bankruptcy as not the person’s faulty but the fault of a System. Hogwash for let us not forget that the sin of personal greed rests at the core of how now whole global disaster. I watched “60 minutes” last night in a great program of breaking down the debacle into its pieces. What I saw and listened to were three Americans that made very poor decisions about mortgages and with all sincerity feel like it is not their fault but the fault of the System, the lenders, the boogie man.  So it is “not my fault” is the new slogan instead of “Made in America,” it seems to me.

Nobody is to blame for everybody is to blame. Nobody is accountable for everybody is accountable. Having grown up in a world of tire manufacturing meaning by definition to drive cost down EVERYDAY you made a tire, it was all founded upon the principle of accountability.  I cannot recall through this whole fiasco having a sense that anybody really is a fault nor accountable. Accountability carries a price to be paid like public humiliation, hangings, you know, “Godfather-type” accountability. But there is none.  I am amazed at the snake charmer sensation I am witnessing with the words, the charmer’s instrument, of our new President. I am flabbergasted at the slithering nature of the key monetary leaders in the new Administration. Where are the leaders? A Leader is the one that when the world is crashing makes you want to get a shovel and go assist with the clearing up of the damage waiting that that sure sunrise in a few hours. So, where are the leaders!

I think the leaders, the transformational kind we need so badly, are in a death camp somewhere for they must be for I see none.  Perhaps the leaders are Putin or Chavez or Ahmadinejad or the right tackle on the New York Giants, or, wait, I know, it has to be LeBron James; yes, that’s it. I now have it!  How silly that sentence is I know but it captures the apparent mindset of a great nation seemingly castrated by the greed and the debt load that is mountainous to the point we have lost sensitivity to the implication of it enormity.

For the record, I am ready for some fresh salt and a new candle to light the way as we learn from the Bible. We, as a nation, have been in dire straits before but I cannot recall in my lifetime the sense of helplessness and impotency I am witnessing. I am sick of the Pelosi’s and the Reid’s of the world.  I am totally not enthralled with what I see of the new national leadership even though I realize it to be less that the magical one hundred days.  My career has shown me that unions add cost to goods and services so when I see the tsunami of organized labor billions going to the politicos to rush through the Employee Freedom of Choice Act, a moniker for the unions to have free reigns in organizing efforts in a time when that is exactly what this country does not need; I simply want to shudder with the implications.

Understand me well for I am not angry but I am extremely burdened by so many massive forces at confluence.   I know great leaders can manage a portfolio of forces but my concern is that I see none of the forces being truly grasped, decision made, energy forward exerted but rather I hear sound bytes, talk shows, the bully pulpits of the Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh’s of the world.  The problem I have with all the hoopla of Limbaugh’s telecast on CNN is that I realized I did not have a problem with anything he was putting on the table for the buffet. Big government never has been and never will be the answer or the fix for a troubled economy.  Big government is “pendulated” meaning they overkill in one direction of the swing or the other never hitting the sweet spot; that is what Free Markets do is to provide the sweet spot.

My confidence in the Free Market is unchanged for I have seen much of this world not blessed to be part of such an economic. When, in 2009, I hear so much rhetoric about “socialism” and the fix for all the ills it to pushing the rich for they are the real enemy; hum, I simply cringe.  America is the world’s city on the hill and it is incumbent on us to find the right pathway to the salt mine to replenish our tarnished saltiness. I do believe America is our own worst enemy. I also believe America has put herself into a period of pain of lack of accountability for many ethical, moral and economic wrongdoings. I believe America has desensitized from that which has made us a great nation. Yes, I believe we are living through what America deserves for we have lost our moral footing on the slopes of greed and corruption that is the down side of capitalism.

Like the three in 60 Minutes last night said about the millions of dollars of mortgage they secure with all three combined having an annual income of less than $200,000, “well, it is simply not my fault!” YES, IT IS YOUR FAULT and it is our fault for not doing, being and living to the standards we know to be right, fair and equitable.  Our economic system is founding on risk for that is the centerpiece of entrepreneurship.  The government is now bent on making the system risk-averse so with that averseness you will see no willingness to try new ideas, stay hunkered down waiting on the “State” to make the boogie man go away.  I watched Poles in Poland struggle with the realities of two generations of the State making all the decision but then faced with having to take risks of livelihoods and capital decisions shiver in fear for the State was no more. But once that warm sun shines upon new ideas, pay backs, growth and prosperity, the desire to take on additional risks with even new ideas is ushered in. America needs the usher to lead us and I am not seeing any of those currently.

Seek the light and yearn for the savor of the salt for people will always follow the light. People only fear that which they do not understanding so light, as it permeates darkness to nothingness so is the challenge for America.  We must stop being fearful and show strength as David did with Goliath when the world is shivering in the cold dampness of fear.  Dictators of the world love this side of Americanism; that you can know and that knowledge irks me beyond measure.

As for me, I am an American, a man, a Christian and a leader; on those four you can stamp MADE IN AMERICA proudly. Who will join me?

Is today the signal that the finanical apocalypse has begun?

Equity markets from Beijing to Berlin and Paris to New York are screaming a very powerful message for, again, the equity markets are not the problem but rather the scorecard or indicator board of a far deeper, systemic reality. I keep thinking of the story of Rome burning while Nero played his instrument as the tour buses course a farm state, commentary flows, a lush week for the Obama's in Martha's Vineyard or our taxpayer credit card meaning we will just owe China more; hey, no problem, man!

Fear is not consuming global investors and before you go to bed tonight take a quick look at the DJ Future and VIX in Asia to give you a pre-night glimpse into the abyss that lies ahead for tomorrow.  Those of you that know me well know that a prophet of doom and gloom is certainly not my nature.  However, the indicators are simply too strong to just ignore and believe this is just simply going away.  Just as the market closed, our friends in the global banking industry are now say we need another MAJOR stimulus to which I wanted to scream. 

If you do what you have always done you will be get what you have always  gotten. By the way, the markets today are perfect example of that reality.  The nation needs jobs ... corporations are flush with cash ... so where is the disconnect?  Corporations, like investors and like me, have lost all faith in political stability and policy development.  But there comes a point where everybody loses. Perhaps we are nearing that spearhead in the global economy?

By the way, this is great opportunity season also if you have good advice and research when stocks are as cheap as they are and will  probably continue down in the near term.  Oh well, thought I would just throw this one out to you before taking my grandson to a baseball game tonight!

By the way, God is in charge of all of this for therefore is all has a purpose!

Denial - Anger -- Bargaining -- Depression -- Acceptance

In yesterday's NY Times, a paper known for its strong Democratic bent, the writer did an analysis of the Presidency up to and including what I will call the "Corn Belt Tour" in Iowa.  In today's WSJ, Mr. Taranto has embraced the NYT piece, interestingly, and expounded a bit. I found both reads very interesting and yet another dose of "what in the world is going on" head scratching. I share with you the five steps from today's WSJ:

Stage 1, Denial: "Mr. Obama has proposed a series of small-bore measures to reduce the jobless rate, chosen in the hopes that they are so obvious that even House Republicans would consider going along with them. That was a mirage, of course."

 Stage 2, Anger: "Now, on a bus tour in the Midwest, he is bitterly pointing the finger at his opponents for their refusal to consider any new revenues to tackle the deficit and their insistence on deep near-term spending cuts that will only cause more economic pain. His anger is long overdue."

Stage 3, Bargaining: "Faced with a divided Congress and an economy in desperate straits, President Obama tried bargaining with Republicans, he tried adopting some of their ideas and he pleaded with them for reasonable policies to help stave off disaster."

Stage 4, Depression: "For his efforts, he got nothing but a cold shoulder and the country got a credit downgrade. . . . Fearing the real possibility of a default (something that never seemed to concern the Republicans), the president stayed largely mild-mannered through the whole debt-ceiling hostage ordeal."

The Times advises Obama to move to Stage 5, Acceptance

Having watched this "listening tour" which is truly blatant campaigning in reality, I have watched Mr Obama in the Q&A Town Halls, the CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer and much commentary from those on the trail with him.  As I listen against the context of what we the People are seeing and sensing.  What I see is another chapter in how to kick the can down the street and oh, well, "I walk ed into this mess" instead of here is the scope of the mess, here is THE PLAN, this is who will manage this part of THE PLAN and this will be accomplished by this date as indicated IN THE PLAN.  So with all the finger pointing, politicizing, rhetoric and millions more taxpayer dollars for this tour and all this in preparation for a luxurious week's vacation at Martha's Vineyard next week for the Obama family and accompanying army of servants and security, where is THE PLAN. Well, if there is NO PLAN then there cannot be A PLAN my brain says, right?

I just simply continue to be amazed with each passing day that in the midst of the greatest crisis since the British Army landed in America to straighten us out, I see no real backbone, no energy and NO PLAN to fix anything. This "Jobs" Bill is coming we have been assured. NOW we are going to have a whole new governmental officer and department as a Job Czar.  So the lesson for young students trying to view the role of a president is apparently, when in trouble, make a speech and appoint a commission, select a non-elected person to czar the problem and ready for the next vacation.  Seriously, wait, I am serious for that is exactly the nearly three years of this Presidency has displayed to the historians.

Not being one to long for the good old days, I really would wish to see in some way a Reagan, a Kennedy, a Truman, a Roosevelt; you know, those leaders that were faced with national catastrophic consequence, be at the current helm just to watch the process.  I am quite sure it would be handled much differently.  Having said that, I have about decided, as an analogy, that we have a young, articulate president that was a pretty good high school basketball player. He could run, shoot, dribble, pass; you know, the basics.  He performed well with other pretty good high schoolers.  But for whatever reason he finds himself on a losing NBA team and is realizing, I hope, he lacks the level of skills required to stem the tide of defeat at this level, has burned bridges to those that can help him but, oh, still enjoys the extravagant fruits of being in the NBA even while losing.

There comes that point in any situation where one stands up to the headwinds, embraces the reality and makes a clear choice to stand to and stand up to the Goliath's of the world, and they are always there taunting us, making us quake in fear but then you go to the stream, oil your slingshot, carefully select your stones and calmly, quietly and deliberately go out and slay the giant. Mr Obama, PLEASE oil your slingshot, stop whining, get your stones and step out on the field of battle all alone, no Secret Service, no bus tours, no vacations, no commissions nor czars and KILL THE GIANT. WHERE IS THE PLAN, Sir?  Show us "the money" we learned from Mr. Jerry McGuire. Mr. President, we are not feeling the love!

Do As I Say Do, Not As I Do, Please?

In today's NY Times is an editorial by Maureen Doud about the Tour going on in Iowa with big buses, manicured town hall landscapes, the global media, etc, etc.  The terrain is serene and "farmy" and lots of restaurant stops and hand shakes, baby holds, photo ops; you get my point?  It is called CAMPAIGNING!  Which is fine I suppose when time avails, the GDP is growing, we have just a couple of skirmishes underway in Afghanistan and Iraq,  the Makers of the Mess, Congress, are home CAMPAIGNING while Rome and Washington and Berlin and Paris and Madrid and other world capitals burn if you get my illustration and analogy.  In fact I will give you the link so you can read her work:

Field of Dashed Dreams     www.nytimes.com

 

I really glean no pleasure nor satisfaction "beating" up on politicians for I have some good friends that have chosen that path and they are good people.  But at the Presidential and Congressional level I must, today, make exception.  I watched the Prez field the questions in his smooth, easy style which is quite impressive for he is a very articulate, intelligent man.  But in the midst of the hoopla yesterday while I watched the coverage on CNN I heard one comment by a commentator about Mr. Obama out working hard "on the stump" but still with his "hand on the throttle" of the global issues then tell the world that, oh, by the way, he and Michelle will be at Martha's Vineyard next for at $50,000 rental for that week and I found myself transformed to ANGRY.

 

Much has been made about the extravagant lifestyle of the First Family.  There is a certain lifestyle due the POTUS but ... unemployment still at 9%, NOTHING yet done except appointing another commission called the Debt Busters while Congress still resides in their plush home states CAMPAIGNING; it just all feels false, insincere and aloof to we the people at least to this "people" this morning.  A great friend has taught me one principle of life ... people will only do what the leader inspects and said another way, you can only expect what you, the leader, are willing to inspect.  Assess the validity and implication of that principle against he context of the Tour!

 

Charging Bernanke with treason is actually humorous and made funnier by an accented Governor that seems to have taken voice / accent lessons from "W" and swagger lessons from that same Dr Bush; remember when asked about his, W's, swagger, he retorted "they call it walking in Texas."  I know nothing of Mr. Perry nor do I care to at this point. What I do care about is that this nation is in meltdown mode it appears to me from all the indicators I view and the Japanese, who know a think or two about meltdowns, seem to be doing more about our problem than we are .. but the Tour continues right up to another extravagant week's vacation transported on Marine One and whatever else the "Beast" and its regalia and security will be transported as well.  It just all seems so wrong and artificial to me this morning.

 

I believe We the People deserve better, frankly.  As I have stated before from much experience, it is one thing to talk about and around a problem but it is quite another to target the problem and unleash multiple salvos of weaponry upon that problem.  I see the lips moving. I see the Tour.  I see Congress away. I DO NOT SEE anyone attacking the debt issue. By the way, this is far greater than simply a debt issue. This is a Constitutional-level disaster we are watching while the Tour goes forward. 

 

So I really do not care what Bachmann, Romney, Perry, Dr. Seuss, nor Santa has to say right now for it is all rhetoric and great media but it is unfocusing those we have elected and pay well to right this Great Ship. But where are the sailors ... CAMPAIGNING!  Just makes me want to throw up, there, I feel better now! Simply astounding to me.  Not a person reading this would operate, could operate, their homes and lives like this governmental leadership is displaying; at least for very long!

 

Yes, Dem, Rep, Ind, Tea ... really, you make me not proud as I used to be to be an American and that, frankly, is criminal I believe.! I deserve better as do the other 305,000,000 Americans not only watching the circus but then we get to pay for the clean up when the elephants and monkeys of this circus move on to the next stump or vacation villa. "Get your broom and mop, Bubba, because you gonna need it for a very long time." Wait, is that what my President means about being shovel ready? Oh, now I understand! 

 

I do not apologize for the cynicism for it really sad to think of the Trumans, the FDRs, the Reagans of our storied history that rose to the challenges they face.  I simply keep looking but do not see ANYONE out there rising to this ocassion which is framing a much differnt world in the 21st century.  It appears America has truly flittered away our greatness as sickening as that sounds if what I have watched closely in the last several months is indicative ... and it is very indicative!

The Super Committee, The Debt Busters, The whatever!

With great interest I have watched this whole debt ceiling debacle unfold. Were it not so sad it would actually be funny or at least satirical. All the hype around each of the four Congressional leaders and who they would select, then the naming and all the hype again and now reality begins to set in; yes, the lobbyist hold on these twelve people!

One thing Obama has done, which also has quieted, is circumvent the electoral process with the naming of the Czars; heard of any czardom success stories lately? But then, I go to bed early so perhaps I missed some of them. If you know of any please email me! 

I would love to go down the pathway of jabbing at the Debt Busters and the farce this will be as they come back to session with at Thanksgiving deadline and all the triggers and, and, and but I am choosing to go down a different and, for me a much more troubling and concerning reality in this nation.  There will be some that will read this that will not agree due to close connections to this pathway but the cash process of electing Constitutional officers in the Executive and Legislative branches is simply wrong!  When I see year after year that the real metric of how well the campaigns are going, or not, is in the amount of money being committed, I literally feel my skin crawling and you should also.

Then, for me, the real lice in the pudding is the lobbying industry that spread their tentacles in all directions with monies from an array of sources to beholden the politician to their causes and ends. Now, this is nothing new for Lincoln wrote much about this prostitutional process for how can you call it anything else as I view it!  The "Debt Busters" are not the target, and rightly so, of the national media as they exam the lobbyist stranglehold on these twelve people charged with reducing our Fed spending by$1,500,000,000 with the first thrust before Turkey Day. What does that mean?  It means these twelve, whose recommendations cannot be overturned nor amended by either House of Congress, has to decide which pig to push from the trough; you know, those same big pigs that put these people in the offices to begin with and pay to keep them there IF they do their beckoning!  Feeling better yet?

There is at the very core of our democratic system a cancer that eats away a little more each day our Constitutionally assured freedoms.  Read that Preamble again! Read the whole Constitution again assuming you have read either at all!  I am so serious about this that as my new semester readies for launch at Kent State, I am seriously thinking about making my students read the US Constitution as a mandatory Block of Work in a a Principles of Management class for I think it that important for leaders of tomorrow to understand the very foundations upon which this nation resides.

It is my strong belief that until the lobbyist process is killed completely there will never be a clean, undiminished electoral process.  So while I wish the Debt Busters well, you can KNOW, BILLIONS of dollars are working through the system to "help" these twelve make the "right" decisions for billions more are working at the state levels as well.  I think the dichotomy for me is that we have millions of poor people on food stamps, entitlement programs, budgets being cut, layoffs the norm.  Then you realize the mountain of money going in strange, below the radar paths to get and keep politicians in office; am I crazy doesn't it seem ludicrous when you view it at the macro level?

As an American citizen, I have always detested the lobbying system. When you realize the number of politician that finally get unelected or "retire" and find their way into these same K Street Lobby Houses of Disrepute, you have to wonder, hummm, must be a pretty good gig, right?  Clean up the lobbyist you clean up the election system. You clean up the election system you get better, cleaner Constitution-enforcing Executives and Legislators.  To me, realizing I am from Alabama and thus have to understand things at a more simple level I suppose, it is really pretty simple.  But NOBODY in Washington nor the state capitols nor counties nor cities will for it takes guts!  You have heard me ask many times, Where are the leaders?  Well the real question is where are the leaders with the guts to take this system head on?

A New Week ....

As darkness comes quickly here in Canton, the sun shines brightly in Asia and thus a new day dawns on the global glacier of economics.  What will this new week bring in the way of equity markets, bonds, gold, commodity prices and futures ... who knows?  Inside that "who knows" is the weekend here in Canton with the two funerals on Saturday, a young girl killed in a tragic auto accident, a motorcyclist hit head on and killed not too far from here, and the beat of reality drums ever onward!

This is a great world that God has given us and we should take more time to stop and reflect on that greatness and I am the first to plead guilty to not doing that.  I get so focused and wrapped up in events throughout the world that I believe are and will impact my future and my grand children's lives and they are only eight years old down to two years old. Yes, it gets very real to me but I realize, too real.

So as the commercial engines and turbines are already purring for a new week of challenges and events, it is my intention to be more deliberate in remembering the gift God has given us of life when you see how quickly it goes away.  A precious breath, a good report from a doctor, a muscle that works and does not hurt when used, a decision on a procedure that turns out to be the right decision ... all vital and important to each of us. 

I love my life for I love life.  I love my family. I love my friends. I love running into former students and seeing their faces light up. I love hearing from my students about events in your lives, good and bad, or my opinion being sought. I love my next breath when I realize that by this time tomorrow, another one thousand World War II veterans will leave this earth. 

So let's take this week and really seek to glean from it the essence of life itself; that gift we have been given. Sure, bad things can happen but it is in how we deal with the adversity that prepares us for the next mountain to climb. I did not intend to wax philosophic but I guess that is where the river has cut its path as darkness in Canton takes over.

Life is a gift so unwrap it, take it out slowly, assess it and use it as the directions spell out.  Do not abuse it, over use it or not use it.  Life is a gift! I am blessed with so many gifts in so many packages! And so are you!!!

Today is a somber day in Canton ...

I have awakened this morning with this sense of somberness.  Two funerals, that I know of, will be conducted this day in our city.  One for the young Marine Sergeant killed just one week ago in Afghanistan and the other a man I never met but have been asked to sing as part of his funeral service.  Somber is not a mood I usually reside in but that describes me this morning. Perhaps it was a bad night of dreams or perhaps it is all part of God's way of preparing me for this day!

Late yesterday afternoon when I realized I would be unable to attend the funeral processional of the Marine I had planned to attend due to the other funeral, I had this overwhelming need to drive through the cemetery where, coincidentally, both men would be buried this day.  Seeing the hundreds of American flags lining the drive through the grounds gave me this sense of duty, worth and value and I was choking back tears in just being in such a hallowed place.  Arlington affects me the same way as does Gettysburg and Antietam and Normandy; it is a sense of connectivity with the past and it courses my circulatory system and tears just begin to flow.

Today I ask for your prayers of comfort for these two hurting families. Funerals are not for the departed but for those left behind.  Funerals, for a person that have given their heart and soul to our Lord, are celebrations of a home going.  It is hard to celebrate at times but that is the place we should strive to be in a very spiritual matter.  I am honored to be part of a man's home going this morning and it has been my prayer that in that service that something that is said or sung will touch a heart in such a way to change a direction of a life going in the wrong direction.  This is ministry and I am so humbled to get to do this sort of ministry!

So for today, somber will have to trump world events, market swings, insurgent attacks, political partisanism. Today it is my hope and my prayer for every reader that we take this precious gift called life and enjoy every moment, every breath it gives for life is a gift from a Loving God.  I feel the tears welling up again!

Be blessed this day!