Today, I was ready to troll for a blog post; I really had nothing brewing, not even an inkling (to reference my good friend Ken Mueller). Then, I read the second headline in this morning’s Wall Street Journal (the paper version, mind you), and the post came rolling in. (I purposely missed last night’s news as I’m trying not to get all discombobulated with the sickness plaguing U.S. leaders).
But, there it was…a slap in the face…the President of the U.S. asked to address Congress on Sept. 7, 2011; the Speaker of the House said no, you ought to do it a day later (in direct conflict with the NFL game).
That’s it. There’s my blog post concept, and the negative emotions came flooding in to wreak havoc on my morning coffee and dry bran muffin I made this weekend.
Because I’ve been letting the world’s state of affairs bug me, and I’ve been ranting a bit (see my Monday Meanderings), I’m going to turn this latest stupidity (the likes that haven’t been seen, I’m told, since Woodrow Wilson was president in the 1910s) into how not to run your business.
Imagine Company X has a president with successors interested in taking over that top-dog position. There are employees across the U.S. and they manufacture widgets. The employees are restless because the leadership of Company X is constantly bickering and doing it publicly as well as behind closed doors (if that can ever happen).
Employees are Facebooking their malcontent, and water-cooler gossip among the white-collar shirts is heated. The president of Company X requests an all-staff meeting, and the management team suggests all staff should not attend; they can watch streaming video of the presentation instead.
Should this difference of timing, medium and attendance be publicized for all the world to see, or should this be discussed and negotiated behind closed doors until everyone can comfortably agree?
You know the answer; I don’t need to tell you how we play in business. But, I do, apparently, need to tell the leaders of the United States, and here’s what I’d like to say:
** We The People in order to form a more perfect union, would like the president of the U.S and his Congress to get the flip along.
** When there are differences so ridiculously inane, like timing of a speech, keep it to yourselves and work it out so We The People don’t need to participate in your bickering.
** Hire a team of therapists to sit with each of you to curb your hostility for one another so We The People can begin to raise our heads proudly that we’re all working toward one goal — to shore up the foundation this country has worked so hard to attain.
** Put on your mud clothes and hit the streets of Brattleboro, Vermont, where my friends live, and get your hands dirty — TOGETHER — so We The People can begin to see some unity of action on our behalf.
** Read all the blog posts and comments from We The People about how embarrassed and absolutely, positively fed up your constituents are about your behavior. Begin to mend relationships that benefit the jobless, the homeless, those with medical needs, those under water with mortgages, those paying all their taxes, the children without milk, and others who are heading into a downward spiral due to price increases everywhere in this country.
Perhaps, Mr. President and Mr. Boehner, if you heed one item on this list, that would be a start. Maybe if you just read it and noodle on the sentiment at the grassroots level, you’ll know that both of you are heading out the door because We The People are just plain old fed up.
Aren’t we?
