Waiting for the Light

Waiting For The Light

FTLComm - Tuesday, May 28, 2002

retire
For almost a decade the little guy from Shawinigan has been our prime minister and for more than half the lives of the people alive in our country today, this man has been playing a prominent role in public life. On this web site and elsewhere you have seen and read of more than subtle suggestions that Jean Chretien has reached a time where he should retire.

patronage
It might be instructional for us to recall that he came to power and swept away another Quebec politician, Brian Mulroney who had marshalled the countries energy to wrestle the deficit to the ground and while so doing, drove the country more deeply into debt than anyone thought possible. Mulroney practiced a form of politics that was so shamefully rife with patronage that Canadian voters practically exterminated the party Mulroney was leading.

Job
How we all gnashed our teeth and dawned sack cloth to do our “Job” imitation as we have complained of these men, complained of the lack of leadership and satisfied our lust for destructive criticism of Preston Manning and the to good to be true Stockwell Day.

distemper
We are hardly alone in this chorus of distemper as we joined Americans in condemnation of their president who seemed to be unable to control his urge to procreate while at the same time moving his country to its greatest level of prosperity ever. Now we join the Americans and the world in condemning a president who came to power through a back door and caters to those who he owes his living, corporate America.

curse of
leadership
The curse of leadership has been with us for all recorded history. The Profits of the Old Testament longed for a Messiah to come and solve the world’s, well at least their problems. The Christians of the world are convinced that the Messiah came and left his message and will come again and the people who call themselves the followers of Allah continue to see Messianic leaders come and lead yet another Jihad.

shared
responsibility
The reason for the development of the Arthurian legend about a King who would rule his kingdom from a “round table” was the realisation that a single devining leader was of little lasting value. The Brits and many others have come to the conclusion time after time in history that a really good system is when we share the responsibility of making good and bad decisions.

a team
As a high school principal I had been under tremendous pressure in a community because it just seemed like the thing to do, if things were not going the way folks wanted than it must be the principal’s fault. This opinion was shared by a few of the staff as well, until one tense staff meeting when the vice principal declared that he had his doubts about the direction of the school and he had indeed blamed me the principal, then he wondered what he was doing to make things better and at that moment realised that I had given him the full autonomy to make the decisions he needed to make and was faced with the awful truth that he must share blame if there was any blame. Within minutes in that staff meeting there was the realisation that expecting me, their principal, to solve the school’s problems was unrealistic but together as a team, each putting our energy into making it a better place to work and learn, we could really make a difference.

solution
or
problem
Complaining about the prime minister, the US president, or our premier is completely legitimate, but what is the alternative? As my vice principal Greg Bell had determined, without being part of the solution, we all become part of the problem.

love one
another
A Messiah is a wonderful thing, a saviour who accepts responsibility and miraculously solves all problems. Well that’s the theory but look at the example. The Messiah we Christians know about came along, saw the problems and held out to everyone the knowledge they needed to make things better, love one another. As you will recall he was less than popular with the authorities of the day and had a really short career.

power
and
authority
If you want things to get better you, not those of us who write our messages on this web site, but you who read these messages on this web site have to accept responsibility and start to exercise the power and authority vesting in your existence. You have to write your elected representatives, you have to vote, you have to make your views know and you have to accept the fact that from time to time things will screw up.

doing
nothing
is to
accept
guilt
Perfection is not an option. We all must simply do the best we can and we all must realise that if we do nothing we are guilty of the very worst crime of all, the crime of tacit acceptance of wrongdoing. To put this another way that is easier to understand, make no mistake about this the guilt and shame for the holocaust that saw millions of Jews slaughtered by the Nazi final solution, those responsible for this crime that stands as the greatest we know of in modern history, that crime was committed by those who stood by and failed to stopped the fanatics to carried it out. Adolph Hitler, Goring, Goebels, and is gang were a tiny minority in their land and the majority, allowed them to act.

cause
trouble
Similarly, you will be able to point to countless instances present and past where the so-call “good folks” waited in vain for some hero to come to their city, province, country’s rescue, they stood by not wanted to cause trouble and let things go to hell in hand basket. If George Bush did what we on this web site have said he did then he is only the one who carried out this atrocity the real guilt lies with those who failed to stop him. Those who were waiting for the light.

Timothy W. Shire



Waiting For The Light

FTLComm - Tuesday, May 28, 2002

retire	For almost a decade the little guy from Shawinigan has been our prime minister and for more than half the lives of the people alive in our country today, this man has been playing a prominent role in public life. On this web site and elsewhere you have seen and read of more than subtle suggestions that Jean Chretien has reached a time where he should retire.

patronage	It might be instructional for us to recall that he came to power and swept away another Quebec politician, Brian Mulroney who had marshalled the countries energy to wrestle the deficit to the ground and while so doing, drove the country more deeply into debt than anyone thought possible. Mulroney practiced a form of politics that was so shamefully rife with patronage that Canadian voters practically exterminated the party Mulroney was leading.

Job	How we all gnashed our teeth and dawned sack cloth to do our “Job” imitation as we have complained of these men, complained of the lack of leadership and satisfied our lust for destructive criticism of Preston Manning and the to good to be true Stockwell Day.

distemper	We are hardly alone in this chorus of distemper as we joined Americans in condemnation of their president who seemed to be unable to control his urge to procreate while at the same time moving his country to its greatest level of prosperity ever. Now we join the Americans and the world in condemning a president who came to power through a back door and caters to those who he owes his living, corporate America.

curse of leadership	The curse of leadership has been with us for all recorded history. The Profits of the Old Testament longed for a Messiah to come and solve the world’s, well at least their problems. The Christians of the world are convinced that the Messiah came and left his message and will come again and the people who call themselves the followers of Allah continue to see Messianic leaders come and lead yet another Jihad.

shared responsibility	The reason for the development of the Arthurian legend about a King who would rule his kingdom from a “round table” was the realisation that a single devining leader was of little lasting value. The Brits and many others have come to the conclusion time after time in history that a really good system is when we share the responsibility of making good and bad decisions.

a team	As a high school principal I had been under tremendous pressure in a community because it just seemed like the thing to do, if things were not going the way folks wanted than it must be the principal’s fault. This opinion was shared by a few of the staff as well, until one tense staff meeting when the vice principal declared that he had his doubts about the direction of the school and he had indeed blamed me the principal, then he wondered what he was doing to make things better and at that moment realised that I had given him the full autonomy to make the decisions he needed to make and was faced with the awful truth that he must share blame if there was any blame. Within minutes in that staff meeting there was the realisation that expecting me, their principal, to solve the school’s problems was unrealistic but together as a team, each putting our energy into making it a better place to work and learn, we could really make a difference.

solution or problem	Complaining about the prime minister, the US president, or our premier is completely legitimate, but what is the alternative? As my vice principal Greg Bell had determined, without being part of the solution, we all become part of the problem.

love one another	A Messiah is a wonderful thing, a saviour who accepts responsibility and miraculously solves all problems. Well that’s the theory but look at the example. The Messiah we Christians know about came along, saw the problems and held out to everyone the knowledge they needed to make things better, love one another. As you will recall he was less than popular with the authorities of the day and had a really short career.

power and authority	If you want things to get better you, not those of us who write our messages on this web site, but you who read these messages on this web site have to accept responsibility and start to exercise the power and authority vesting in your existence. You have to write your elected representatives, you have to vote, you have to make your views know and you have to accept the fact that from time to time things will screw up.

doing nothing is to accept guilt	Perfection is not an option. We all must simply do the best we can and we all must realise that if we do nothing we are guilty of the very worst crime of all, the crime of tacit acceptance of wrongdoing. To put this another way that is easier to understand, make no mistake about this the guilt and shame for the holocaust that saw millions of Jews slaughtered by the Nazi final solution, those responsible for this crime that stands as the greatest we know of in modern history, that crime was committed by those who stood by and failed to stopped the fanatics to carried it out. Adolph Hitler, Goring, Goebels, and is gang were a tiny minority in their land and the majority, allowed them to act.

cause trouble	Similarly, you will be able to point to countless instances present and past where the so-call “good folks” waited in vain for some hero to come to their city, province, country’s rescue, they stood by not wanted to cause trouble and let things go to hell in hand basket. If George Bush did what we on this web site have said he did then he is only the one who carried out this atrocity the real guilt lies with those who failed to stop him. Those who were waiting for the light.

	Timothy W. Shire