The Monday Nut

I figured it out.  I’ve been struggling with what my problem has been of late, and was lucky enough to find one word to describe it.

UNINSPIRED.

Here’s how I figured it out.  I stumbled across the YouTube video of Paul Potts, winner of the 2007 Britain’s Got Talent on Seth Godin’s blog.  Seth spent a lot of time going on about the judges on the panel being snarky so I decided to give it a look because who doesn’t like to see snarky critics getting surprised by a talented Joe from South Wales.  So, I watched this guy come up to the microphone looking more depressed than a Bassett Hound in a rocking chair factory and like he was about to cry.  Zero confidence, but still the guts to give it a shot. The look on his face when he realized the judges were winking at each other with attitudes of “oh great, here we go…” literally told me his entire life story.  A talented guy, with some lessons under his belt, but no confidence in his abilities and not enough strength to reach beyond his normal way of life and take a total leap of faith.  A guy who made me forget a true snarl of teeth and that will buck the ridiculous trends of beauty = dynamic marketing.

It took all of 20 seconds into his performance for me to start crying.  I then remembered his face from a quick news item on him from CBS News the day after he won.  First thing I said to my wife was “hope he uses the money to fix those teeth.”  Dammit.  Such an asshole to say such a thing.  In my defense, I did not hear him sing until today, but still.  Jackass.

Anyway, watching him the fourth time made me realize that his story INSPIRED me (as it did millions of others I guess since it is the highest rated YouTube video as of Jan. 10, 2008).  A quick note here, I am thrilled to see this is the highest rated YouTube video and not some Jackass stunt or girl with big ‘ahems’ and a witty-wet t-shirt.  I am not one of those people who says “If Paul Potts can do it, then so can I!”  That’s just ridiculous.  However, I was moved by his strength and his weaknesses. I was moved by his amazing talent and his staggering humility.  I was moved by a man who I knew would rise to a level of stardom that few attain, but would appreciate every moment. And, I am thrilled that someone bucked the trend of “you gotta be beautiful (or have a beautiful spouse) first.”

I want to be inspired.  Not by the same old policies, the rehashed and renamed ideas, nor the words of others that actually did inspire in the past.  I want to hear something new, something creative, something that everyone thinks is crazy at first but that can still work…

Kind of like a cell-phone salesman and amateur tenor with bad teeth making the ever prickish Simon Cowell stare dumbfounded in awe, winning a televised competition, performing for the queen, cutting a double platinum OPERA album, and creating a whole new world for himself.

Yeah.  Kinda like that.

After reading the comment on my last post, I wanted to take a few days away from The Monday Nut to reflect on what I had said.  It was an impassioned piece that I wrote with my heart firmly affixed to my sleeve and although I wanted to fire back, it would have just been a knee-jerk reaction.  So, I decided to leave it for a while and look for something that would inspire a response I truly believed would be worthwhile.  I would add a very strong caveat of this post before you read on.  Many readers are dear friends of mine, and this is in no way a criticism of any person, their beliefs, or the way they conduct themselves. Think of this only as a letter “from me, to me” that I am sharing.

I found my epiphany this morning while reading The Ambassador, by Morris L. West (1965, Dell Publishing Co.).  The main character has been meeting with a Buddhist (Zen) monk in Japan since the death of his wife, and they begin to discuss the politics behind being an ambassador.  The monk stops his student and says the following:

“But the problem of politics is only a multiplication of the problem of the individual, and we try to solve it in the same way: by proposing ourselves to a limited end which, if attained, will signify success.”

The part which I want to discuss follows the colon “by proposing ourselves to a limited end which, if attained, will signify success.”  In my humble opinion, America is starving itself of its birthright.  In doing so, the very foundation upon which this great land has been firmly set for over two centuries is crumbling and will soon become like the bones of the great societies of old.

When the antecedents of this nation began their quest for unification, they proposed a flexible, versatile system of governing which would allow for not only unhampered opportunity, but for creativity as well.  I would advance the idea that our ancestors took a deity-like stance in writing The Constitution and creating a truly unique and unprecedented form of government.  While God created the world and handed it to us with free will and a few simple rules to prevent us mucking it all up; those men in Philadelphia crafted a system, gave us a few rules, and then prayed to God we wouldn’t muck it all up.

One of the freedoms we were given in the beginning was the ability for all citizens to undertake discourse on issues, with the thought that anyone can be creative enough to propose an idea that may be useful in advancing a united nation as a whole.

Certainly, part of being an American is to use your creativity for individual gain, and we have a staggering history of citizens that have created success not only for themselves, but countless others as well. Our system is set up to reward, and although it is not perfect, there is none other that is comparable.

Here’s where my problem with this election (and our political process as a whole) comes in.  Where is the discourse that allows someone to propose creative solutions that will advance this united nation?  Or, better yet, where are the proposals that will reunify this fractured union?  When I mentioned in my previous post that watching conservatives and liberals going at it was kind of like watching the Royals and the Brewers play an entire season against only one another, I meant it.  We are bound to basically two ideals in this country.  A better word here would actually be “shackled.”

An example for you, from what I consider my own inability to think creatively.  I was driving to the local mall today, and saw a gaggle of Ron Paul supporters on the sidewalk trying desperately to drum up support for their candidate by yelling, waving signs and singing songs.  The first thought in my head was, “Ron Paul is a lunatic and these people are even loonier for supporting him.”  I have been conditioned to think one way, and one way only.

My way.

I’m right.  I have the answers, and no one is going to tell me differently.  In doing so, I automatically shut off my ability to think creatively, and allow others to do so as well.  Instead of allowing other people to even have ideas, I spend my time calling names because it is fun to do so, especially in this time of irresponsible anonymous communication. The truth is, once you think you know everything, you don’t know nothing. In a society with unlimited possibilities granted “by God” and our forefathers as well, what more limiting situation could there be?

So, what do I propose?  Nothing at the moment that would be employable.  All I know is that the United States of America is truly the greatest nation ever set forth on this planet, but I am greatly concerned for its future.  There is no other nation with such potential and the ability to use it for the good of all (unity).  But, all the potential in the world is meaningless if we spend our time pushing only our ideals and refusing to openly look at any others. 

That said, I believe one thing I can do is to stop “writing” about politics.  I’ve made my fair share of jabs at several personalities, and no longer consider those comments of any real worth.  I am sure that I will err in conversation trying to be witty, but my hope is that I can avoid it, and my desire is to ensure I am successful.  If I do not, then everything I have said about looking for (and allowing others to seek as well) creative solutions is lost.