Right On!

Seasoned veterans of the military chuckle at the mention of a “Second Lieutenant”. The lowest rank among commissioned officers, the 2Lt. is, more often than not, new to the Armed Forces, let alone to leadership. The humor, at the Lieutenant’s expense, is well deserved.

Been there, done that!

As an eager, gung-ho 2^nd Lt. assigned to the role of a Platoon Leader in Cold War Germany, I was energetic in my quest to become competent and “all that I could be.” Raised in a Midwestern environment of family who were hard-working, self-reliant, church-going Illinoisans, there was always the thought that we weren’t better than anyone, and neither were others better than us.

Accordingly, I took my first job after high-school as the night shift janitor at Edwards hospital in neighboring Naperville. During the Summer I poured concrete and worked at Cerro Copper in Sauget as a United Steel Worker. I did my own tune-ups, changed my own water pump, rebuilt carburetors, and kept my ’69 Mustang running (with no heat) within the constraints of a young man’s budget. (Car heat was a luxury, the water pump a necessity).

Initially I approached being an Officer of our damn fine Army with the same values.  I considered myself a working stiff who merely happened to be a 2^nd Lt.  In some sense I was embarrassed by my new class distinction.  During my first months, I noticed one day the office floor needed to be swept. Wanting to show soldiers that I wasn’t afraid of work, that there was no work beneath me and that I was willing to do what I expected them to do, I grabbed the broom and began to sweep.

Not a few minutes later my Platoon Sergeant, a Green Beret Viet Nam veteran, came into the office, took me out into the hallway and said: “Sir, what are YOU doing?” I answered: “Sergeant Lutz, I’m doing what needs to be done, and setting the example. No one can say I am ‘too good to sweep.’”  He nodded, knew my intent, but said: “Sir, you’re an officer. Soldiers expect you to do officer work, and to tell them to do soldier work. Sweeping is not officer work.” Trusting his experience, I relinquished the broom and he made sure the floor was swept.  I never touched a broom in uniform again.

The story made me think of our President.  He’s not from a wealthy family, didn’t grow up in a life of privilege, but is already in a world class leadership position as a young man.  I see traces that indicate he isn’t quite yet comfortable being the world’s most powerful man.  From “regular Joe” to leader is not an easy transition. Imagine how much more difficult the adjustment to President is!

It takes time.

I hope he has people like SFC Lutz, who have the nation’s best interest at heart, to help him. 

We'll see.

The Fallacy of the False Alternative is alive and well in the Obama administration. Groomed and nourished under the G.W. group, the fallacy can be considered “Politics American Style”.

Here’s how it works: When discussing any issue that you support, speak as if there were only one other possible alternative than your solution and make sure it’s a bad one.

“You’re either with us or against us, in this fight against terror.”

Sound familiar?

The message implies you cannot be against the Bush admiinistration unless you support terror. The technique is effective, persuasive, particularly for those less prone to skepticism and, it’s absurd. We couldn’t have gone to war in Iraq without it.

The fallacy, sometimes considered black-and-white thinking, is manipulative, especially when aimed against those who oppose an agenda. When encountering critics, defenders of President Bush’s policies would often respond: “You just hate George Bush!” Can I not think there is a better way than the President’s unless I hate him? Is there really no other motive for the criticism, such as love of country and American values?

This fallacy is not the monopoly of Republicans. In a meeting before the press, President Obama said: “We're moving quickly [to pass this stimulus package] because if we don't, the economy's going to keep getting worse."

Do you see the false-alternative? If we don’t pass this quickly, then the only other choice is the economy’s going to continue to decline.

Is there really no other option, no better plan possible? Will the economy actually stop declining the minute we pass this, or are we just hoping so?

The false-alternative is alive and well, and fast becoming an American tradition. Voters beware of promise givers; you just might regret it.

We finally have a black President.  This is good for America.  It seems to me that race was the major issue of his supporters.  In other words had one of those men on our currency campaigned on the same platform, he would have lost hands down. 

I don't dislike Obama, and rather admire him, just wish he would run for Governor first as I don't believe his experience amounts to credibility.

That being true I warned his supporters that Barak was a Chicago Machine Democrat and that they were falling for fluff and stuff.

With the appointment of Chicago politician Rahm Emannuel, an efficient manager, comes the evidence.