Jun 23

The Passing of Rush Limbaugh

The Passing of Rush Limbaugh

I learned of the passing of Rush Limbaugh, conservative talk radio icon. Over the years I was never an addicted listener. But whenever I had the chance, I’d tune in. There were times while driving long distances between my medical sales accounts, Rush would keep me awake so I would not fall asleep driving my car.

Over the years I came to admire his foresight. He had opinions I found were insightful and rarely wrong. It was as if Rush could and often did predict the future so you could be prepared.

My Ph.D. studies focused at my choosing to be in behavioral, educational, and personality psychology. I have found this knowledge helps me understand what motivates people’s emotions and behaviors.

Rush, in my opinion, was a master behaviorist. He could explain what motivated political speech and actions of our leaders in government. I was also raised in the Midwest and exposed to conservative values. My dad was a blue-collar worker who educated himself into a white-collar position. I learned a work ethic in the home. And my mother was the religious leader and stabilizing force in our family.

I was the first in my family and relatives to attend college. I was a late bloomer. My national test scores were so poor my counselor advised I should go to a trade school. And for a time, I thought about being a cabinet maker because I was good building wood projects.

Ultimately, I advanced my education career with post-doctoral graduate courses to become a school superintendent. And I began to give talks to teachers at regional and state conferences on how to use intrinsic motives to improve student performance.

Today as a student of human behavior, I am proud to say I am a behaviorist, a conservative, and a Republican. In early April this year I became an Amazon bestseller when I published, The 3 Secret Skills of Top Performers – Powerful Lessons in Transformational Leadership.

When I think of how both political parties have changed over the years, I use critical thinking skills I learned in high school. In English class we had to learn to write compare-and-contrast themes. So, I’ve used this same approach to compare-and-contrast the platforms of both parties.

A second behavioral approach I’ve taken is to observe what is good policy for all Americans. Because I have a background in sport psychology, I learned what zero-sum means. For me to win, you have to lose, no matter what the cost. And this is how I view political parties and their platforms.

Rush Limbaugh consistently pointed out these major differences in the political platforms. To me, these differences are so obvious. I often wonder how anyone with a limited eighth grade education cannot see the error in following leaders who espouse negative and false ideals that will not help all Americans.

My Indiana University School of Journalism was named after war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Ernie would be appalled to see how reporters are no longer “journalists.” Media moguls shape the narrative and truth be damned so long as ratings go up and advertising dollars keep them in business.

Average news anchors make millions per year so they will say and do anything to keep their gravy train rolling. Now we are brainwashed with repeated propaganda that when repeated often people think that is the truth. This is sort of like “where there is smoke, there must be fire.”

As a behaviorist I believe people must learn to think, act, and do for themselves. We were founded on the ideals of opportunity and not entitlements. But all that has changed. Now the expectation is everyone is entitled to get everything for free and not have to work for anything.

Yet, the basic behavioral notion is no one values anything they get for free. You don’t have to value another man’s good fortune from his/her own labors. You can take from the rich because you are entitled to have what they have. There are no consequences for robbing, pillaging, and plundering others. So where is the incentive to become educated and work hard to improve the quality of your life when others are rewarded for doing nothing and taking from you?

This is happening all over the world in other affluent cultures for the same reasons. And political leaders do nothing because it would be like killing the Golden Goose to line their own pockets.

How else would all our political leaders get so rich on their small salaries? They are not allowed to keep their campaign funds, but somehow do. Or what kind of Quid Pro Quo is rewarded after leaving office? Money laundering?

Hypocrisy abounds in Washington, DC. And the media says and does nothing to call it out because a small group of rich folks control the narrative and keep the ratings alive. And those anchors who work for those media are motivated to keep their high incomes while good hard-working Americans become their political pawns.

If you dare to disagree, you face the onslaught of contrived opinion to ruin your life. It has a name now, “Cancel Culture.” So, people live in fear of speaking out on the issues.

As a behaviorist I’ve noted one key fact. Whenever a liberal cannot defend the logic of their position as for instance what is good policy for all Americans, have you noticed how they start to yell, use foul language, and name calling? Anyone who disagrees with their opinion is automatically a racist.

On the other hand, I view most conservatives as church going true believers in God and do their hard-working patriotic duty to support law and order and our Constitution. Liberals want you to believe the Constitution is what they believe, and not stand for our Flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance or support free speech unless it comes from them.

I wonder how many people voted who are not a citizen or were registered to vote? I believe there are many who have come to America and paid taxes in stores for years and never learned what is required to become a legal citizen. To learn government laws and our pass our Constitution. But somehow when renewing their given state drivers license, just check the box they are a citizen and get mailed a voter registration card and then a ballot. And no one is checking the validity. Heck, dead people are still voting. I see nothing wrong with proving your identity to vote in person, or verify you to get an absentee ballot.

Jun 23

Mitigate Your Risk

Mitigate Your Risk

Human behavior is what it has become. God gave us a brain, but for some I think they check their brain at the door. News media portray the news as truth and factual, but it’s really what they want you to hear. Journalism is dead.

News anchors make millions and so many never vet their stories and only borrow from each other. That’s easy. And when all the narrative is the same messaging, patrons of the news start to believe what is reported.

This is like where there’s smoke there is fire. Whatever is reported must be true because all the news reports the same narrative. How naïve we are to believe that.

As a behaviorist I keep one idea in my head all the time. I learned the purpose of a good philosophy and applied that as a teacher and school superintendent. And now I apply that same philosophy to my 15 grandchildren.

You must learn how to think, act, and do for yourself, and eventually help others learn what you know to make a difference.

As a former school superintendent, educating pupils learned helplessness, and dumbing down curricula so the poorest student with no work ethic can pass is a huge mistake.  In my view, point #1 is you choose pleasure over pain.  Pain is avoided. That is natural behavior.

If you fail often enough the pain mounts and you choose to avoid that. You acquire a work ethic and educate yourself. No culture in the world values anything given for free.

You strike your finger with a hammer once and you quickly learn to hold the nail correctly. You stub your toes or step on glass and get cut, and you quickly learn the value of wearing shoes. You must have enough smarts to learn projection to see the future. This is to mitigate your own risk.

In these severe Covid pandemic times if you are at risk, then you must decide how and when to avoid contacts and mitigate your own risk. But instead, a government feels compelled to issue mandates and enforce laws because they assume people are incapable of making those kinds of tough decisions.

So, in the process everyone must pay the same price. Perhaps because a small minority never learned to behave and have been directed all their lives. I hate to see the ultimate price of death be the solution. But the news can educate, and let the listener decide. This is to mitigate your own risk. It only requires a little foresight to project end results.

But when you violate one or more of the 4 points, you never get a good short or long-term solution. It is always your job to take personal accountability for your behaviors or suffer painful consequences.

Jun 23

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

Liar Liar Pants on Fire!

 

If you’ve ever been a parent raising your children, you immediately know when your child is lying.  So why do people learn to lie?

What puzzles me the most is when intelligent adults lie believing others they are around or speaking to are not smart enough to know the truth or reasons.  Why would anyone cling to a lie knowing it is not the truth, and could be harmful to others?

Why would a leader put a company, organization, or a nation at risk?  The answer lies, to make a pun, in the four points of this blog column.

Point #1.  You go for pleasure and avoid the pain.  Whenever a parent or friend does not confront the liar, they are reinforced to repeat the narrative because the pain does not exceed the pleasure.  To simply overlook the lie to keep peace is never the answer.

Point #2.  Anyone can rationalize anything to get what they want.  Your child breaks a window hitting balls in the backyard, but then blames another for doing it.  People don’t often weigh the consequences of their actions before they commit errors in their decision.  If this were understood, criminals would not take a handgun to rob anyone.

The death penalty is a severe punishment, but less of a deterrent to murder because the criminal has never experienced that consequence.  Seeing what happens to others doesn’t matter.

The government has a perjury statute.  If you lie under oath and are found guilty, the consequences are severe.  There must be or how would you get witnesses to tell the truth?  Take the current President Impeachment inquiry to build legal articles of impeachment.

Then factor in witness bias.  In their minds, the truth is what they believe it to be.  But the facts must be in the written words for legal processes and judges to find the truth.  Courts don’t allow hearsay testimony, and it’s rare to convict or severely punish anyone on circumstantial evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.  Those courts who do lose appeals!

Is the Chairman of the Impeachment Inquiry, Adam Schiff, perjuring himself when he repeatedly states publicly that he doesn’t know who the “whistleblower” is?  Much of the testimony suggests that he lying, but why?  Because he has a greater belief in his bias and disdain for the figure who is president so his party can regain the office to lead the nation.

He knows there are no consequences for his actions.  If found later, he would not be put in prison or fined monetary sums to be painful.  He has harmed the nation, overruled the Constitution he swears to protect, and undermined the most basic rule of law – due process and the right to confront your accuser.

Point #3.  The more you do for people, the less they learn to do for themselves.  Ask anyone if they value anything given to them for free more than what they must work for to earn?  Giving away free stuff at the expense of hardworking taxpayers who must pay for it just to get elected and get in power is the greatest Quid Pro Quo.

Those idealistic promises to offer free healthcare if they are elected are NEVER delivered.  How people with even an eighth-grade education buy into that is a tragedy.  What have our schools and parents done to our youth?  Everything is free; you don’t have to work for anything, and the rich people owe it to you.

Point #4.  You cannot build accountability in a micromanagement system.  The bigger government gets with a bureaucracy to manage free social programs, you put a few decision makers in charge to make high salaries without regard for the people they are serving.  That is what I define as an “elitist.”

Instead, why not offer retraining and work-study programs so the people who have need can make choices to help themselves?  They will value what they learn and earn and share with others to raise children with a work ethic that can be repeated for future generations – much like the immigrants of the past generations who came to America without free entitlements other than opportunity to find work.

That my friends are The Behaviorist View.

Jun 23

Root Causes

Root Causes

Every problem has a solution. But lately those solutions are band aids that offer only a temporary fix. And yes, that solution may have to be implemented to curb the systemic problem.

I’ve lived longer than most people who offer solutions to know there is a difference in each proposal. I am a behaviorist and have observed changes in cultures and societies in general.

What I believe is the root cause for all problems that are surfacing now and will continue to worsen is a lack of discipline in the home. I attribute this to affluence. All over the world as cultures and societies become more affluent you are seeing a rise in similar systemic problems of violence and lack of respect for fellow mankind.

All motivation is centered about satisfaction of needs and values. When values go down and needs go up you will always have violence as people believe they are entitled to have what you have earned. This alludes to one of my key points that anyone can rationalize anything to get what they want.

With affluence, parents want their child to have what they were not able to have at the same early age. I go back to Dr. Spock who wrote, The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care after World War II that became the trusted parenting source for women. It’s now in it’s tenth edition and has been criticized for advocating permissiveness and an expectation of instant gratification to meet a young child’s instinctual needs.

The popularized attitude was to “spare the rod and spoil the child.” If you spank your child, you reinforce the child to be violent to get what they want. So, children put on tantrums and got most everything they want. But do they need those things only to satisfy their immediate gratification?

The idea of a work ethic was lost on future generations not only in America but all over the world as cultures and societies emerged more affluent after being depressed from The Great Depression era and World War conflicts added to by The Korean War and Viet Nam in attempts to stem Communist aggression.

Values can only be enhanced through a work ethic attitude to learn to provide for one’s own needs. But with so many single parent families struggling to survive and affluent families who shower their children with gifts without doing one chore, those values have steadily gone down hill. So, now we have generations of younger people who have never been disciplined or learned how to provide for themselves. But, instead, expect everyone else to provide whatever they want. And stupidly parents and society has given that to them.

America was founded on the idea of entrepreneurship and NOT entitlement. This is irrespective of race, color, religion, or nationality. This idea drastically changed when President Roosevelt put forth his New Deal after The Great Depression worldwide economic collapse. Our Constitution has been the beacon for all societies is under constant attack – personal freedoms, State’s Rights, voting (I thought you had to be citizen to even register to vote and prove that identity to be mailed a ballot).

Fast forward to today emerging from a great worldwide pandemic and job loss. Needs are high and values are low. This is the root cause of the violence we are seeing especially in major cities with a congestion of people vying to have more by hook or by crook.

Progressivism is more like permissivism. But here is the bottom line. In all worldwide cultures and civilizations, the behavior of all human beings is “you do not value anything you get for free.”

So, why do leaders believe in the notion that giving away more will provide anything less? To be liked and stay in power so they can enjoy a much higher quality of life while the masses struggle in poverty? That my readers, is socialism. And the root cause is lack of early discipline that started with The New Deal and Dr. Spock for the last five generations.

What is the answer to solve this systemic problem? Necessity is the mother of invention. To satisfy personal needs takes discipline and a work ethic that needs to be taught in schools. Instead, a movement is in place to teach CRT – Critical Race Theory and a 1619 Project that simply divides American values of entrepreneurship and work ethic to value what you earn.

Stop self-esteem psychology that any second grader can see through is false. Stop rewarding participation trophies. Stop free handouts without repayment from those who are able. Consider all four points in https://TheBehavioristView.com format.  Without experiencing pain of failure, you never increase the motivation to avoid pain to gain pleasure from working harder to succeed.

At children’s baseball games I hear parents screaming to soothe the pain of their child’s errors on the field, “It’s OK Johnny,” and then doing nothing to teach how to do better to gain success and feel pleasure in their own efforts.

How often do you hear progressives rationalizing a lame argument to get what they want from you? And if you disagree the conversation gets louder and resorts to name calling to deflect from the argument.  One last point for parents and leaders. You cannot build personal accountability in a micro-management system. Actions must have consequences. But if you remove them, you must accept the lawlessness and lack of respect for authority and values you reinforce.

Dec 22

BIAS

The dictionary defines bias as prejudice meaning a strong inclination of the mind or a preconceived opinion about something or someone.

I recall a drawing in Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  Two people can look directly at this picture.  And one person will see an old lady with a shawl around her.  The other person will see a young lady with a black choke collar around her neck.

Both observed and studied the same picture but came up with opposite views.  The human mind makes associations and the longer you live and experience life in general you’ll acquire predispositions or bias toward someone or something.

A mother’s love for her child will always be biased to defend their behaviors.  When you wish for an event to be true as you see it, when that happens you feel gratified.

But if you lose all objectivity for the truth your bias will remove you from making better decisions.  So you must separate the truth from your pre conceived belief system.

Evaluate in depth before you are persuaded to follow your bias.  Or worse, believe everything others including the media and the press tell you because they have bias also.

Compare and contrast history and records.  Whether for a person or government agency there is an historical record over time.  What are the true results?

My parents grew up in “The Great Depression.”  Neither had a college education.  They could not teach me how to make investments because they did not trust the stock market!  They knew nothing about diversity of a portfolio or stock averaging for the long term.

As children growing up we are micromanaged by our parent’s advice and unfortunately buy in to their bias’s. We accept those truths because we trust our parent’s advice.  Why not?  They have lived longer to know more history and results.

You cannot survive in the adult world with a 3rd grade education.

One function of school systems is to teach critical thinking skills, but that doesn’t seem to be happening.  High school students are required to take a civics, government or political science class and pass their state and federal constitution test.  To become a citizen of the United States you have to pass similar tests to understand how government works.  The fact anyone who immigrated here and has lived in the U.S. for several years does not automatically entitle citizenship and voting privileges.

But as we know now, many students think this is a waste of their time because the teachers don’t place enough emphasis on the importance of this knowledge to help make better decisions with regard to those who govern them.  They take our freedoms for granted because they have nothing to compare what loss of freedom or safety is like.

Certainly parents don’t discipline their children as they used to with spankings a generation or two ago because now that is not politically correct.  But without personal discipline to study – letting information and knowledge in one ear and out the other and not be retained – is it any wonder why millennials think the way they do?

We are in the midst of another heated Presidential race.  The platforms of both major parties are very different.  But instead of focusing on the real issues that affect all Americans, the media grabs the mud-slinging insults for their story to sell more newspapers or get more ratings.

That effect means more viewers and advertisements to pay for the salaries of the reporters.  Without critical thinking skills and a recall of history and records of results to find the truth and make a better decision as to who will best lead America, the race becomes a crap shoot.  Which candidate looks nicest or promises the most without any regard to how it can be provided or funded.  Just tell people what they want to hear.

The more you do for others the less they learn to do for themselves. Necessity is still the mother of invention.  But listen to the promises of both candidates and choose which one you think will realistically deliver the most.

With bias you can color the world the way you want to see it.  But unfortunately promises are never kept or measured up.  Idealism may be hopeful, but pragmatically there is reality.  History does repeat itself and frankly the direction we are going reminds me of a Biblical verse: “And the meek shall inherit the earth.”

The middle class and all the “have not meek” need more than hope and false promises.  They need jobs, retraining, and a work ethic to take advantage of opportunities there are in abundance.  People have to make better decisions about their future instead of focusing on only one part of the big picture that offends or affects them most.

But why work for anything when a government will give you means for nothing on your part?  That prostitutes the American culture.  No one owes you anything.  A free and public education stops at age 16.  What you choose to do after that will affect you for the rest of your life.  Hold yourself accountable and stop blaming others, and as a responsible parent teach your children a work ethic so they will value their efforts.

Learn how your hard work leads to personal achievements and pleasurable experiences and stop rationalizing all your failures to get what you want.

Nov 04

We The People

We The People

            I decided to write this blog to help you understand how to apply four points that affect the kinds of decisions you make.  Decisions often have unintended consequences because you don’t foresee the “big picture.”

Yet you will still rationalize your decisions to get what you want.  (Pt.#2) You want to control your life and that may require the micromanagement of others.  (Pt.#4) Or worse you think you are helping people by giving them what they want like free or reduced healthcare or college tuition, but you haven’t taught them how to obtain anything through their own efforts. (Pt.#3)

What others will quickly see in your decisions is your preference for pleasure over pain often at their expense. (Pt.#1) You get richer while they get poorer because you are using them.

Zero sum decisions are like contests.  For every winner you have to have a loser.  Politically, the truth no longer matters.  It is all about winning at all costs.  Countries become more divisive and downplay the real truth and issues in order to win.  Winning is not about what is good for “We The People.”

In this current political contest for President of the United States, there are two main parties.  Neither resembles what their party has stood for over the years.  Hardcore believers are willing to forget mounting evidence against either candidate.  The truth no longer matters because winning is all that matters. (Pt.#2)

America’s founding fathers were mostly rich landowners and businessmen.  They wanted to serve all the people’s interests by ensuring equal opportunity.  They never hinted anything to be an entitlement that the government owed you anything simply because you were a citizen, and certainly nothing if you entered the country illegally.

Their interests were not in being a career politician to micromanage you the people.  They wanted equal protection for all and created the Constitution to ensure that.  But I seriously doubt they thought that the masses of people or you were stupid and unable to manage your affairs or have wisdom to see the truth.  Yet that has been the trend with career politicians.

We are currently locked in a brutal clash of political parties on ideology and pragmatic issues.  Ethics have been thrown out the window.  Real truth has taken a back door exit that will have future unintended consequences when you lose faith and trust in your government.

Ideologically you have been indoctrinated to be helpless without government help.  And those dwindling numbers of you that have figured out to help yourself, you are taxed more and more to punish you.  You lose your motivation to succeed and help others locally whom you know really need your help.

History has shown that most political promises are never delivered, but you as a voter are swayed none-the-less because of Pt.#3.  You will not see or care who pays for what you want.  You have been conditioned to get others like parents to give you what you want instead of learning how to get a work ethic to achieve your rewards.  In that kind of culture, you will not be motivated to work hard to help pay more taxes.

Today nearly every American believes the government has taken much from them in taxes, regulations, and freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution.  You believe the government owes you free stuff to compensate for your losses.  You learn to play the “blame game.”

It’s everyone else’s fault why you cannot succeed.  You forget personal accountability. (Pt.#4) You have succumbed to “learned helplessness.”  If you pay more in taxes taking away some of your reward for hard work you are upset with those who are unwilling to work hard to help themselves. You get upset with politicians who promise and give away your hard-earned tax dollars to those who are capable of working at something.

You prefer to be independent when have a job that pays a decent wage to pay for your needs.  But if you are unemployed, you have no idea how or are unwilling to retrain yourself for what employers need with changes in technology.

College students continue to take courses in career paths that have little chance of employment after graduation.  They are also unwilling to work as interns for free to gain valuable experience, but will find a party instead. (Pt.1)

My mother had a phrase for all this.  She said to me, “Don’t walk by a water fountain, and then complain of your thirst.”  My coach used to tell us that if the other guy is more talented you outwork them to win.

Using these four points, what are you willing to think about to make a better decision choosing the next President of the United States?  Will you neglect the truth put forth by Wiki Leaks that shows over time a consistent socio pathological liar?

Or, will you believe the labels and unproven accusations and innuendo to deny the intent of the candidate to try to put the country back on the right track to world leadership and help bring back jobs to all Americans?

Nov 03

Choices

Choices

          We the American people are about to choose a new leader.  As typical of any close contest with a lot at stake for the future there are false accusations and mudslinging labels applied to portray either candidate as good or bad for the country.

Using the four points from my banner above, I want you to take a closer look at two labels that surfaced early in the campaign process.  A sociopath can be defined in two ways:  extremely antisocial and/or no conscience.  Tanya Peterson in HealthyPlace.com listed these seven descriptive points:

  1. Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors, as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest.
  2. Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure.
  3. Impulsivity or failure to plan-ahead.
  4. Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults.
  5. Reckless disregard for safety of self or others.
  6. Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations.
  7. Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.”

A misogynist is a personal behavior reflecting or exhibiting hatred, dislike, mistrust, or mistreatment of women as defined by most dictionaries.

Whom do you want to choose to lead America the next four years?  Consider the indiscretions of the prior presidents of both parties?  There are patterns of behavior.  Who has been and is currently consistent with either definition?

Sex relates to pleasure over pain. (Pt.#1) Is it just boastful talk or proven fact?  Anyone can accuse another, but a court system is the only way to get to the truth.  Was it consentual?  How recent were the offense(s) and do they show a continued pattern of behavior?

When I was a child my parents instilled in me the values for telling the truth.  If you make a mistake admit to it and move on and don’t repeat that behavior.  They added, “because when you lie you’ll for forget what you lied about and then create a bigger lie to cover what you lied about.”  Do you see this pattern of behavior in either candidate?

Never in our history has a political candidate been under so much scrutiny for improprieties that could lead to indictment and criminal prosecution!  If a political party in power manipulates the “system” of justice, they can encourage the president appointed DOJ or Department of Justice to not allow critical subpoenas an FBI probe can use to investigate their case.

In an earlier blog “Quid Pro Quo”, I wrote, “does anyone really believe someone with a political position of power can charge $600,000 for a one-hour talk and the group or persons who hired them do not expect something in return?”

As the Secretary of State was the illegal server set up by design to cover up overt communications between donors to the Clinton Foundation in preparation for a presidential run?  How could the Clinton’s leave office heavily in debt perhaps caused by overspending on a failed 2008 presidential campaign?  And in a short eight years be worth millions holding the office of United States Secretary of State traveling extensively without good foreign policy results at the tax payers expense during Obama’s first term?

Currently both the illegal emails and The Clinton Foundation are under investigation by the FBI.  Reports are being leaked daily by Wiki Leaks and perhaps FBI personnel that they feel they are getting no cooperation from the DOJ.  The corruption of government is very deep and all with the design to maintain political power!

Going back to mudslinging.  Instead of talking about the issues that show clear past results like the Affordable Care Act, safety and security and immigration, bringing jobs back to employ more people who can pay taxes instead of taking handouts, or trade imbalances caused by poor negotiations that have long-term consequences for all Americans, the personal attacks keep on coming.

Now it’s time to separate fact from fiction.  Who do you want to lead America?  Use the four points I use in The Behaviorist View banner to make your decision.  Who will continue with their behavioral history to the most future detriment to the American people?  I can’t imagine how adding more trillions of dollars to the National Debt will help anyone’s bank account and quality of life – rich or poor.

Oct 07

RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM

Religious Extremism

All throughout history there have been religious extremists who have committed heinous and inhuman acts intent on controlling humanity.  Their purpose is to create terror in the hearts and minds of those who would oppose their idealistic views.

As a behaviorist I am often in conflict with religion and its ideals.  What is the intent of religious extremism?  Is it to earn a ticket into eternal life?  Is it to make others idealize their way of life?  What is the quality of life?  What is the value of freedom?

One can’t simply look at cause and effect because this narrows one’s view to get the bigger picture.  But I can interpret events based on my four points – 2 psychological principles and 2 behavioral rules.

When you look up into the clear night sky what do you see, heavens or a bunch of stars?  Do you see galaxies with billions of stars in each of them?  Do you realize that our little solar system powered by our sun is only a small star?

First we live, and then we die.  Does your life and how you have lived make a difference to those left behind?  Do you enhance the quality of life or hurt others keeping them from their quality of life?

If you are a religious extremist, why do you care if I go to heaven or hell?  Hell, we’re all dead in give or take a hundred years.  Poof there ends your concern.  I’m going to be dead anyway.

Do you muffled and silence other’s voices and opinions trying to kill the value of freedom; freedom of the press, and human rights?

Besides the value of freedom what about human rights?  Would you stand idly by watching a terrorist kill your neighbor or brother?  What about women getting the right to their freedom, to vote, and make decisions in all cultures and societies?

I get that no one country can be the policeman to enforce these kinds of values on anyone or any culture.  That is for those who subscribe to that culture to make choices for their own welfare or live by the consequences.

These behaviors violate my two psychological principles: #1 “Anyone will go for pleasure and avoid pain,” and #2 “Anyone can rationalize their behavior to get what they want.”

No action will be taken until enough pain is inflicted and the motives to achieve pleasure in basic quality of life needs are peacefully restored.  And it’s easy to understand how radicals rationalize their message (in the name of their God) to get what they want.  But how many God’s are there?

In human behavior what we cannot understand like the spirit or the afterlife that a God must be created that has ultimate control over us.  It’s as if what happens to us is manifest destiny and we have no control over our own behaviors.  People will always rationalize their behaviors to suit their personal needs at the time with no concern for the long or short term effects of their decisions.

You are who you are because you choose to be who you are.  When bad things happen to you or others don’t subscribe to your ideology you can’t blame them for your bad behaviors, or lack or response.

These practices violate my behavioral rules #1 – “The more you do for people the less then learn to do for themselves,” and #2 – “You cannot build accountability in a micromanagement system.”

Live and Let Die.  If you screw up be prepared to suffer the consequences or forever hold your peace. You cannot be your brother’s keeper any more than you can get the humanity of the world to forego their culture and have one standard of human rights, freedom, religion, language, or even currency.

That kind of change must come from within the embodiment of the people and for the people who subscribe to that ideology and culture and cannot and should not be forced upon anyone any more than letting a terrorist or a political party dictate their values and ideology upon us (you).

So stand up for what you believe, but please don’t kill anybody if they disagree with your opinion or views.  Focus more on improving the quality of your own life and those around you instead.

Oct 07

Quid-Pro-Quo

Quid Pro Quo

            At first you wouldn’t think that this phrase would have anything to do with making a better decision.  Then read Webster’s dictionary definition:   something that is given to you or done for you in return for something you have given to or done for someone else.

Any half-wit low intelligent fool must believe that when a person – perhaps a political person – gives a speech and is paid $400,000-600,000 that the buyer is expecting something more than the words in the speech in return for their investment.

I know several highly paid and very effective speakers who are paid very well because of their celebrity, knowledge, and skills as experts.  People in the audience want to identify with and maybe get their picture taken with them to use in their publicity.

But highly paid speakers are very few and those very best ones are not paid nearly as much as Hillary or Bill Clinton for their hour talk.  Tony Robbins is highly paid and he delivers a positive message to huge audiences.

Les Brown has spoken to full stadiums packed with 75,000 people of all kinds.

Do you believe the small audiences of wall street businesses are getting more pleasure than pain listening to and identifying with Hillary or Bill Clinton?  What have they promised in return for their presence?  We may never know until much later.

Yes, there are people who support and rationalize this behavior to get what they want, but there is no accountability or transparency to what is promised in return for such a hefty fee.  There is no oversight or micromanagement to attest to the assumed favor.

As an American I’m tired of the false promises and lies without transparency.  How much are we being sold out to whom?  As taxpayers we get stuck with the bill – always – while those making the promises using our dime seem to get richer.

Perhaps we all should try to form our own tax exempt foundation and pocket the proceeds if people are dumb enough to believe all their funds are being used for charity support.  If in doubt, check the reported payroll of the top executives of any charitable foundation, and learn what actual percentage of your contribution goes to help.

I just learned that Chelsea Clinton, Hillary and Bill’s daughter gets a $950,000 annual salary? Surprise!!  What does she do for that?  Maybe we’re in the wrong business and need to find a way to advantage ourselves beyond what is reality in the U.S. for all the rest of us hard working folk.

Oct 07

Commander-In-Chief

Commander-In-Chief

 

If you live in the United States, the President is the Commander-In-Chief over all the military.  During President O’bama’s term more top brass have either been fired or resigned than any other previous President.

To be a strong leader requires followers.  So many have not been willing to follow the policies set forth by this President.  Great leaders consult with their subordinates to gather their opinion on matters they are more closely aligned and familiar with by their training and experience.

This notion would apply to any leader whether over military personnel or a sales team for a corporation.  Leaders must produce successful responses or they no longer have the respect of their subordinates.  This appears to be the case with so many firings and resignations that have weakened our overall military leadership.

Leadership is about winning.  War is war and collateral damage is unavoidable.  President Truman ordered atomic bombs be dropped on Japan.  The result saved several hundred thousand lives.  But the collateral damage was severe and more than that.

President Kennedy risked war with Russia to remove missiles they were setting up in Cuba that were an immediate threat to our security in the early 1960’s.  He was a former military officer who understood the risks for making that decision.

This blog is all about how to make better decisions based on four points seen at the top of every post.

Without first hand military experience it’s hard to understand how a Commander-In-Chief can lead without regard to his commanders with the knowledge and expertise in the field of battle.  They lead and command men and women who risk their lives to defend our freedoms which apparently now so many young millennials take for granted.

My strong suggestion to the media who may read this is to do a poll of the top brass military commanders who have been fired or resigned and ask them who they think should be the Commander-In-Chief since it comes up periodically as a topic.

Who of the two choices for our next President, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, would these leaders feel most comfortable being the Commander-In-Chief?  I’d like to know the percentages.  Good leaders are hard to come by.  It takes years of training and experience to make the best decisions under duress when at war to preserve our freedoms.

Who would consult with them and have their back so they could get the materials and support to do their jobs quickly and save more lives?

You cannot improve accountability in a micromanagement system as O’bama has tried to do.  He cannot do their job for them.  And he cannot rationalize his decisions not to act.

So I ask the media to create a simple poll to ask the military leaders anonymously who they would want to be their Commander-In-Chief?  And for all Americans and visitors to the United States, what do you see as most important?  Your loss of freedoms?  Your loss of security to live without fear of being attacked on the streets?  Or your loss of economic prosperity?