Empty Exercises

Empty exercises, those exercises of political, economic, religious, whatever, that "fake out" their constitency, but show their efficacy in doing a job that they have been put in place to represent their constituency, team, whomever, and make themselves valuable and stay in their positions.
A prime example is the Republican Party in the majority within the current U.S. House of Representatives.  Another would be the Republican Party in the House that voted to impeach then President William J. Clinton. 
The current Republican Party in the House, has introduced bills that they know will never pass the Senate or the veto process of the President.  They are doing what they were elected to do by their constitutency, and their political party.  What these political people are forgetting is; they were put in their positions to represent the people.  They are supposed to receive the information presented to them in Congress and vote for the greater good instead of taking their preconceived ideas of their constituency and party to vote in a block.  They need to acheive the passage of bills that will actually pass through the House/Senate and President.  It is ideally why they were put into office.  Empty Exercises WASTE TIME! 
When you are thinking about who you want to support for a political party, insure you watch their previous performances, their support for legislature, their language in the public.  There is a Senator who recently made a statement of fact, in a speech, but when shown that he had made a error, he simply said that any of his public speeches are not statement of fact.  I think he needs to re-think that statement, our representation is in those positions to gather in all the data, make a judgement on the issue and state to his constituency what he has found out and why he agrees or disagrees.

Understand that learning is a continuous lifelong process

12. Understand that learning is a continuous lifelong process.
When you graduated from high school, everyone hopes you were prepared for the world of adulthood. Unfortunately, one of the biggest items that all that content in school neglected was the fact that you were only practicing learning skills that were supposed to be learned to be used in adulthood. Specific examples: outlining skills, summarizing, 5 paragraph essay, vocabulary, spelling, math, problem-solving, identifying problems, etc., etc. The content was only the vehicle to have you use these skills. College was another avenue to use them, to fine-tune them, to make you a better leader, to get along with people, to master one specific area enough so you could get a good job. After enough "practice" you should be confident enough to be given a task in your work and acheive success, by whatever definition. As you get older, you master these techniques. Now, how does that effect our subject, being an educated citizen?
You should have evolved a process of evolution that shows the more you learn the more you benefit. As an educated citizen, you should be able to volunteer for "committees" at your local church, school, etc. You help that committee by using your mastered techiques to help the group to acheive there goal. As you work in these settings, you gain more techniques; for example, you learn how to set up a meeting to acheive the goal you feel is best for the group/organization. You learn Robert's Rules of Order. Knowing these rules puts you in control, because once you have established the committee using the "Rules of Order", you can use that to your benefit. Learning becomes an enjoyable thing. You like to succeed, and knowing things helps you win "battles" The time it takes to know more than your opponent usually takes longer, but it makes you a better person and more knowledgable to help along the rough spots. Because you have spent more time, you have looked at the situation in all kinds of ways and understand better why things work and why they do not work, and you can explain that to your committee to have their support behind you. Always remember, especially in today's technological society, learning is always continuous. You would not like to play a video game using last year's version against someone who has been playing the newest version and plays you on their home court.
A very new change that is in the process as you read this blog is, books.
Books have been the newest innovation in academia since the Dark Ages. There have been some basic changes, mass market, etc., however a book printed in the Middle Ages can still be read today.
Books are starting to become passe. Starting with audio tapes, books have been read to us for years, CD's do the same, but the very latest item is books on line and "readers". Soon you will not have libraries that you go in to check out a book, you will simply order it on line and download it to your reader, then you will read it on the "moniter" and hit a button to turn the page. Don't become frustrated, you have become accustomed to change. You already do most of this with your e-mails, texting, buying on line, etc. Learn to use it to better "The Greater Good."

#7. Be able to lead.

Continuing with What should an educated citizen be able to do: BE ABLE TO LEAD.
Leadership is something that is a learned activity. Most people start out in life as a follower. After many experiences they "learn" that they have already accomplished the new activity and know the best way to acheive it. So they help people acheive the goal. In helping others, they learn what works in acheiving success and add those success activities to their frame of reference for future use.
The most important item in leadership however is: LEAD BY EXAMPLE. As a parent, if you want to instill character in your child, you show the item all the time in your activity. For example: You and your 13 year old go to the movies. You get to the ticket seller. You see that children 12 and under pay less for a ticket. Do you pay the lesser amount for your 13 year old because he looks 11, or do you pay the rate for a 13 year old. When you pay the lesser amount you are showing your child that you: 1) Have no character, 2)should bend the rules to meet your pocketbook. You are not leading by example. If you pay the higher fee and child asks, "Dad, why didn't you pay the lower amount, I look 11?" That is when you go into your lead by example speech.
Leading by example is important in all ways of life, including political. The people of America are finding their elected representatives are not leading by example when they fall behind their "party" and voting in a bloc to stop legislation. Representatives are supposed to vote for the Greater Good, not for how much power their political party gathers.
Leading by example is what a leader does to have others follow. Officers in combat must have the confidence of their men for them to follow his orders. He must lead them into battle and show courage if he expects his men to follow. Would you follow a leader into battle if you knew he did not know what he is doing?

Put your viewpoint aside and work for the Greater Good

There has been a great deal of rhetoric going on this past month. Much of it damaging in some way to the health care reform program. President Obama has made a fixture of himself on TV trying to gain more strength to get the legislature passed. Unfortunately, his constant, urging is starting to turn the people and legislators off. One of the legislators made an analogy that fits, "If you throw a single rock in a pond you get many ripples on the pond, but if you throw many rocks in the pond at the same time, all you get is a bunch of waves." People have time to catch the ripples, but not the waves. Perhaps Obama's strategy of allowing Congress to formulate the bills has backfired.
One of the things I learned early in life was how to control a committee, if you are trying to get something passed. You know you have to allow them to make the decision, so they will support it. So, you structure three alternatives for the solution. By you doing this, you eliminate any other items for consideration. The first alternative sounds good, however it leaves out a major item for the solution. The second alternative sounds good and everything seems to work out, however, with investigation, there is a killing flaw. The third alternative sounds good, everything works out and there is nothing wrong, no major flaw, no killing flaw, and oh, by the way that is the alternative you want them to select. 10 out of 10 times the committee will select alternative three. They made the selection of their own free will and will stand behind it upon scrutiny.
Perhaps, if President Obama had followed this way of politicizing he would not be in the situation he is now, looking at a bill that may not pass!!Then what will happen to his Presidency?
A note aside: It seems like everyone in this debate sees the need for change, but they are not willing to give up their particular position --FOR THE GREATER GOOD. Legislators are not remembering what they are supposed to do--vote for items that are for the betterment of the PEOPLE, not themselves or their lobbyists.