It’s interesting sometimes to see what inspires people- pithy words of wisdom, comeback stories, people overcoming the odds. Most of it does nothing for me. I find, in most instances, that the old wisdom quotes serve the purpose as effectively as anything else. Some of the more contemporary stuff is tinged with narcissistic overtones, a shallow, self-important vibe that turns me off.

I don’t respond to a tug at the heartstrings. And don’t get me started on these TV shows featuring overweight people or spoiled six-year olds or families with nineteen children whose parents smell a pay day and don’t mind exposing their lives for the benefit of a voyeuristic public.

Anything to make a buck and fill air time, I guess.

My memory is growing a bit hazy, but I think it was my third grade teacher who hung a poster treating, of all things, the topic of maturity. Maturity, according to this nugget of wisdom, is foregoing the immediate pleasure in favor of the long-term gain. Kind of a heavy message for a third grader, and there are other ways of thinking and talking about maturity. But this is a good place to start.

I’m trying to set the tone for a treatment of taxes and taxation, and I can’t help but think that not only is this about how we feel about money and who gets to keep and use it, but how we view our role in society. I argue that a mature, rational way of thinking about the responsibilities of citizenship includes making peace with the fact that taxation, as odious and unpleasant as it might be, is also a necessity. An obligation.

The latest November election cycle included a statewide ballot question regarding property taxation, and whether or not to leave it up to individual municipalities to levy or not levy these taxes. Predictably, the results leaned toward leaving the decision to the municipalities, assumingly in hopes of local officials deciding against collection of these taxes.

In some ways, it’s a no-brainer. Homeowners would save money, and who doesn’t like saving money? But isn’t there a thornier issue, a looming question regarding what would take the place of the tax which was used to fund school budgets?  It’s too easy just to say, “Don’t tax me for that.” But where and what are the viable alternatives for funding our schools? Bake sales? Donations from concerned citizens?

I would prefer to keep every penny I earn, but beyond just being selfish, this is an unrealistic way of looking at things.

Most everybody should pay taxes, including the one percenters with offshore tax shelters, and the corporations who levy undue influence by holding out for tax breaks that can only cripple or at least inhibit a community’s ability to deliver needed services. Promises of employment and other potential benefits are fine and good, but I need to see studies confirming that this is actually what happens when a mega-company moves in,  builds a plant and then either doesn’t pay taxes or enjoys reduced taxation for twenty years or longer.

I know this touches on one’s philosophy of governance and commerce and what Hamilton and the rest actually envisioned at the birth of this nation, but the hard reality is that government at every level is entrusted with certain responsibilities, among them the proper management of assets as these are used to alleviate suffering and provide services to citizens who live in any given village or city. We can’t depend on collective largesse and altruism to fill human needs. Nor does it seem realistic to expect charitable organizations to handle such responsibilities.

And enough of the bootstraps mentality. I’m tired of hearing how, if everyone just works hard, they’ll make their own way. That philosophy boils my blood, because not everyone gets an equal shot at tackling life this way. People need help from time to time.

It is just too easy for someone in a penthouse or a board room to sit back and say, “If I can do it, so can you.”

Bull shit.

It’s not as ominous as it looks. Actually just a quiet morning, a few minutes before the sun really lit up the edges of the clouds.

 

A representative system of governance is only as good as the representatives. An informed electorate is also critical. It bothers me that we seem to have such a disconnect between voters and people for whom we vote. A candidate can say he or she has their constituents’ best interests in mind as they journey off to Washington, but then something happens. The waters get muddied, promises made during a campaign give way to the more complicated reality of deal making and concessions. And all those promises, while not exactly falling by the wayside, get trampled a bit.

Candidates for public office promise the world. This was Donald Trump’s strategy. If ever there was somebody who just said whatever he thought people wanted to hear, it was him. What he promised was a whole lot of garbage, but people bought it.

Imagine the epitaph on a gravestone that simply reads : “Here lies ___________, consumer and end user.”

I was getting a haircut the other day and was reminded that here is a situation that calls for conversation. Dialogue. I am not much of a conversationalist, so sustained discourse is a challenge for anyone who gets me for a customer.  

Let me clarify- I can talk breathlessly about certain things in certain settings, but I am miles beyond feeling the need for small talk and could, with little discomfort, sit silently for the ten minutes it takes to cut my hair.

I guess this colors me lazy and boring, maybe even snobbish and cold. I mean no disrespect, but engaging in idle banter for ten minutes- well, I do it, but I could easily not do it.

I appreciate those who cut and style hair for a living. It is a calling all its own, because on a daily basis these folks encounter a mix of familiar faces and strangers with whom they must interact, if only to increase their chances of receiving a tip.

In any event, I don’t see this being a job for introverts.

Yes, Donald, we will take your word for it. Because you are a sterling judge of character. Dear Vlad can’t possibly be lying about involvement in your election. We can trust you when you reassure us that there is no guile in his heart, there was no funny business, we have nothing to worry about.

Because you are our rock. You are the man- the businessman who’s gonna clean things up in Washington, do things differently, kick ass and take names. Make America great again.

If only it was fear itself we had to fear.

The cynic in me is fully formed, especially when it comes to members of Congress and other leaders of this nation. One in particular.

The longer one lives, the less starry-eyed and naive one is liable to become. The veneer fades, the shine comes off the apple with regard to people you might have viewed at one time as pedestal worthy- above the fray, honorable, courageous, and wise. Even those who may exhibit these attributes from time to time are now guilty by association. It’s too much work to sort people out.

It’s not clear to me what motivates people to run for public office. Is it altruistic public service, or just self-serving power grab? Maybe they like the give and take, the jousting. Or, heaven forbid, the art of the deal.

Maybe they just like the benefits.

Perhaps this jaded view is all because I am no longer looking up to my elders. I am becoming an elder, and I have a less naive view of how the world apparently works. I am less trusting, less sure that people in positions of power actually know what they’re doing, or that they care about the people who elected them.

Yikes. I’m not always this bleak.

After you’ve taken time to listen to a person’s story, given them an opportunity to explain themselves and share a bit of their lives, what comes next? I’ve heard this is the missing piece that will move us beyond the current toxicity- we have to take time to listen to each other.

But what are we listening for? What are we supposed to hear? Is this supposed to soften the edges, move us toward some sort of revelation and deeper appreciation for where someone is coming from? Is anything yet to come going to be that much different from what we’ve already heard?

Or does it just end up confirming what we already knew?

There’s something to be said for walking a mile in another person’s shoes, but how does this help us here? How would this help us turn a corner on polarized philosophies and entrenched understandings? How does this move us toward governance and leadership that reflects rational thought and evidence of a heart?

So the best we can hope for is that our discourse become a bit more civil, even as we realize we want different paths for our country?

How does that play out?

Patriotism. I’m just not feeling it like I once did.

Sure, after 9/11 there was a stretch when we flew the flag on our front porch. But I’ve moved beyond my Boy Scout days and a hook, line, and sinker buy-in of how great this country is supposed to be. Don’t try to sell me on blind, unquestioning allegiance. Especially to a flag or an old drinking song.

The world’s last, best hope. The New Jerusalem. American exceptionalism. Is it really that difficult to imagine how such arrogance hits the ears of people in other countries? Or the ones relegated to reservations who were the first to call this land home?

We talk big, we call ourselves the greatest nation on earth, as if it’s never about anything more than bragging rights. Such a self-assessment sounds like something a teenager or a WWF wrestler would say. When I hear our leaders say such things, it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard.

America is, and perhaps always will be, a work in progress. In some ways, it’s still an impulsive teenager seeking approval, searching for its identity amidst nations that have been around a lot longer than we have.

We’ve come a long way quickly, made our mark. But there are still growing pains. It’s not like there’s nothing left for us to learn.