 When my children were younger and would get in a squabble their uncle, my brother, use to have a sort of humorous response to their blaming each other and would say “deny, deny, and counter-accuse”. He is retired military and at the time was active in the military and I am sure had experienced his fair share of this kind of reaction to the blame game. While the response of deny, deny, and counter-accuse may not be as popular the one it probably came from is, “admit nothing, deny everything, and make counter-accusations”.
If there was ever a time to evaluate society as buying into the is quote, it is now. Though I could make the argument it has always been a part of society when you read the headlines now, you cannot get through a publication or social media site that does not have this sentiment flowing through its veins. In light of the recent violence in schools, the cry for the government to control guns, the debate to arm teachers, and the overall cry for the government to do something, one can see this sentiment play out. Have we really become the society that is not willing to admit our part in this horrendous situation? Is it really the government's job to protect the people from themselves? These are important questions and ones that should be really considered before we consider solutions to the current societal violence. We cannot really determine the right courses of action until we understand our personal responsibility in all of these societal issues. It isn’t just in the events of school violence but economic issues and many of the other issues we clamor for the government to fix. While the government may need to a part in fixing the issues, we first must look at ourselves to see if maybe we need to be the starting point. Evil exists and our denial that it is real has come at a great price. In the battle to remove religion from schools and the public sector, we have given evil the ability to grow and divide and conquer. Most people can recognize evil but refuse to call it what it is and refuse to get in there and be part of the front line in conquering it. We will call the security officer in the school in Florida a coward and I agree he should have done all he could to save lives even at the sacrifice of his as his position required, but there is a more foundational level that he should have been willing to give his life for another because they are another person. It is this foundational level many have lost. We aren’t willing to sacrifice to get into the battle and fight evil either. We think removing guns rids the evil – it does not. Evil does not play with the rules we establish or think are right or just. Evil ignores boundaries and plays by its own rules. We are often too busy squabbling about racial, economic, morality legislation, and what the government needs to do about fixing the problem to get in there and make a difference. We are cowering on the edge, afraid to jump in, and be willing to sacrifice our time, resources, perceived image, and what it takes to bring society back from the edges. We don’t want to acknowledge that people pull triggers. And while this is not an article to support gun rights it is an article to consider the source. As a society, we have the responsibility to treat others with respect and look for ways to help others. This help should come from us and not through the government. We should not abdicate the responsibility and power we have to the government when it comes to making society better and pushing evil back from the lands it has conquered and the ones it is encroaching on. We have to quit thinking everyone has to think the way we do or being over emotional about things that don’t go our way. We need to quit acting like spoiled children who have been blessed with so much without understanding the cost of the life we lead. With this being said we need to understand our success as a society or nation is on each individual. If we are not happy with racial tension then quit adding to it. Every person can make a difference. We need to realize that society we desire is not one that just happens or that government creates. It is one we create by accepting responsibility, admitting our faults, and being willing to fix our problems, definitely not the “admit nothing, deny everything, and make counter-accusations” way of thinking. If we are to reconquer the land and emotional space evil has conquered it will be by loving our neighbor as ourselves and knowing that our neighbor is all those around us. Reach out by reaching into you and determining what you can do to help. The government needs to protect our country from forces outside of our borders that seek to do us harm but heaven help us if we now ask them to protect us from ourselves.
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 5 Things a Leader Should Always Remember
 When I was a little girl I used to love blowing dandelions when they had turned white and fluffy. It was fun to watch the little seeds be propelled by me blowing on them and then watching them be caught by the wind in carried off. I remember one time I was enjoying this activity when and an adult told me to "Stop doing that, don't you know you will just spread them even more!" I was kind of stunned at their reaction. I thought more of these would be quite nice but after that time, I was more cautious about when and where I enjoyed this activity. I made sure I was in a field where it would not matter if there were more of them. I made sure I wasn't standing on someone's lawn. The fascination of watching the effect I had on the dandelion puff and knowing it would aid in creating other dandelions was a memorable summertime activity. Following the seeds, as they took flight on the breeze and traveled in different directions was the highlight. Through a simple act of blowing on this tenacious little flower other dandelions are created. A good leader's actions should be similar. A goal of leadership should be to create other leaders. Many times those in leadership feel it is their goal to keep good employees under their watchful eye and not encouraged them to go forward and become leaders as well. A good leader should not fear other leaders growing among their group. They should encourage it! In today's world, leadership is a much-used term. There is a need for strong, good, and able leaders throughout the business world, politics, and other aspects of life. The shortage in these kinds of leaders is more due to fear and selfishness from some leaders in their pursuit to build their own kingdom instead of developing other kingdoms. The word develop means to, "grow or cause to grow and become mature, advanced, or elaborate." The world needs leaders that develop other leaders. The world needs leaders that will blow encouragement, training, and experience across others so they can become leaders as well. Leadership is about giving to others and their community and creating other leaders. These new leaders are not clones of the original leader, but leaders with their own special talents that are able to carry their skills to new places, bloom where they are planted, and then breathe the breath of leadership across others. Sometimes the simple activities of blowing across a flower puff can help create life in a new location, the breath of great leadership should do the same. |
AuthorNatalie Dyess is the Founder and Lead Trainer of Intrinsic Echo. She believes all students need to learn and practice communication skills. Archives
August 2017
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