Thank Goodness It's Monday #444

WE ARE BOUND

AND WE ARE BOUND

 

Not so long ago I was allowed the honor of delivering the first toast at the wedding of two good friends – Julie and Gerry.

And since each was (and is) fond of both using words effectively and playing games, that gave me the opportunity to stand at the microphone with the wedding band behind me and recall a bit of verbal sparring that would occasionally take place when friends and family gathered.

For example --

 

The challenge: Think of a word that can mean the opposite of itself; a word with two generally accepted meanings that contradict each other.

 

One easy-to-think-of one comes from slang usage.

Cool – definition: Frosty.

“She was cool to the idea.”

Vs.

Cool – definition: Hot!

“Wow! She was a really, really cool chick.”

 

Or how about:

 

Fast – Moving rapidly.

“Fast track.” “You got here fast.”

Vs.

Or the opposite “fast” that is, fixed in position:

“Hold fast, help is on the way.”

 

And one more:

Original – something creative or new.

“That’s an original idea.”

Vs.

Original in the sense of plain or unchanged, as in

 “The original flavor.”

Got it?

Good. So did the wedding guests although, by this time they were wondering where this all was heading. 

You too?

Well, it actually relates to today’s Martin Luther King observance and gives us an appropriate-to-the-day TGIM Takeaway or two to consider.

 

We’ll start by defining our terms.

Contronyms: That’s what these self-contradicting words are called.

And, as I got around to making the toast, there’s one, I said, that was particularly appropriate for the couple and their wedding day:

BOUND

Bound together. Two people who have found each other, and know each other and love each other and choose to be interlocked, secure, united. Two families, joined. Bound.

And the opposite meaning.

Be in motion. Move toward something. Bound away for new, shared experiences. Bound off for a new life, together.

The Toast:

“To Julie and Gerry

– today bound and bound –

and bounded, as in ‘surrounded,’

with all the love and support of your family and friends.”

Awwww. OK. So as I stepped away from the mike the lead singer in the wedding band inquired –

“Do you know that James Taylor song?”

I do. And in retrospect it’s obvious that it influenced my thinking and toast. And it’s the glue that connects us to this Monday as Martin Luther King Jr. Day and a leads us any TGIM Takeaways.

So I’ll now inquire of you --

Do YOU know that James Taylor song? 

It’s titled Shed A Little Light. The singer/songwriter was obviously inspired by MLK Jr. and, in 1991, on the album New Moon Shine, recorded this original song that both honors and pays forward the principles that guided the hero we celebrate today.

Here’s a particularly-worth-knowing part of the lyrics:

Let us turn our thoughts today

To Martin Luther King

And recognize that there are ties between us

All men and women

Living on the earth

Ties of hope and love

Of sister and brotherhood

That we are bound together

In our desire to see the world become

A place in which our children

Can grow free and strong

We are bound together

By the task that stands before us

And the road that lies ahead

 

We are bound

And we are bound …

Listen up: That’s just part of it. You can take under 4 minutes and hear James Taylor sing one version the whole thing HERE.

TGIM Challenge: What do you think about its message?

TGIM Takeaway: On the national holiday in the United States that commemorates the birthday of the late Martin Luther King Jr., it’s tempting to let his eloquence speak for itself.

There’s a world of wisdom in Dr. King’s writings and speeches that we can apply in the pursuit of improving ourselves and others; in our business and personal relationships and our efforts on the behalf of our communities.

But it’s also useful to realize how MLK Jr. inspired others when alive and continues to influence and inspire far beyond the limited frame of the Civil Rights Movement.

And the best parts of the man and his influence also speak to our individual obligation to all in the human family.

I was pleasantly surprised to realize how, at some level, the spirit of what we as a people now honor with a national holiday moved into popular song and worked its way into a wedding toast.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: In the land of self-improvement and personal empowerment I regularly occupy, we’re strong advocates of modeling the behavior of all-time greats. We often talk about carefully selecting your heroes and mentors.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Choose wisely.

Once again, in 2014, we are bound and we are bound.

Sisters and brothers, I hope you are as well.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S.  “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.... The chain reaction of evil – hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars – must be broken, or we will be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation. MLK Jr. said that in his book Strength To Love.

Though the body sleeps the heart will never rest.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #423

REFLECTING ON A DREAM

AND MAKING HISTORY

The view
August 28, 1963
from the Lincoln Memorial
down the Mall and Reflecting Pool
to the Washington Monument

Fifty years ago, on a hot, humid August 28, 1963 in Washington DC, some 250,000 people assembled on the grounds between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

The climax of the largest demonstration the Federal City had ever seen was an address that scholars rate as the most important political speech of the 20^th Century.

 

You know this, no doubt.

And, no doubt, you have an opinion and some memory of this moment and the related developments that have unfolded in the two score and ten years since.

 

I certainly do. 

 

But, as this anniversary and its official commemoration approaches, having been bombarded by the historical recollecting and reportorial build up in the media, I wonder –

Can we trust our memories?

This is tricky stuff. I was on the verge of adulthood in 1963. I’m convinced now that I was aware, somewhat informed and sympathetically sensitive to the struggles of the time. But …

Was I? How much of what I now think that I thought then was not even formed in my teenage boy mind?

A great deal I’m willing to concede. 

How about you? 

TGIM CHALLENGE #1: Can you objectively look back across the years -- and not just at this momentous world event but at any significant memory that involves thought and emotion and consideration and opinion -- and say with certainty what you think and feel now is what you thought and felt at the time?

Scientists say we can’t. And personal experience has me agreeing. Apparently our imprecise recollection of “stuff” that has happened is altered by the very act of remembering it; altered at a cellular level. 

And in line with that fact, every time we re-remember in a slightly altered way, it all shifts again.

So the reality of our today is not the reality of our recent past and certainly not our distant past.

 

That’s not necessarily bad. Or wrong. Or, well, not necessarily harmful.

It is, however, cautionary.

 

TGIM TAKEAWAY: What we let in -- the information we accept as truthful and accurate and that goes to reshaping our memories -- needs to be suspiciously viewed and seriously vetted before we allow it to go messing with our biology and influencing our biography.

Especially these days. The 21^st Century is awash with – 

►   suspect information

►   from non-objective sources

►   quickly and cleverly packaged

►   and delivered at nanosecond speed

►   directly to our already over stimulated senses.

And what we accept as true or truth, as well as what we elect to argue with or ignore, matters. It matters inasmuch as it shapes who we are and our understanding of the next round of information proffered for our delectation and consideration.

 

Why this bit of reflection on this day?

Because what I do remember in the days and decades following the “I Have A Dream” speech is a far cry from what I perceive others, mostly younger, have concluded. The memories I’ve built are far less benign than the behavior of many in this second decade of the new millennium appear to enjoy.

As it appears to me: The American Dream that Dr. King referenced is still a long, long way from being a reality for many. Lack of opportunity, equality, liberty, justice, freedom from so many oppressive factors still sweeps across the landscape of our lives – with and without regard for race. 

I suspect even the Founding Fathers would find cause to object. 

Yet we seem to have become complacent.

TGIM CHALLENGE #2: Please don’t let this anniversary go by without seriously considering that, although we have come far –

We still have a long way to go. What that means precisely, where and how we get there is a course of action you must choose, informed by your own process of discovery, ability to act and sense of commitment.

However, if nothing else, appreciate the genius of MLK Jr. on that day in August 50 years ago in striking a balance between comforting the assembly and challenging them. Then rise to the challenge.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Discover your own dreams. Seek to understand what’s at the core of your thinking. Find out what you believe that enables you to move forward. 

To help you do that, use this anniversary occasion as a jumping off point.

• Take the time and make the effort to consider the content and context of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (That was the proper historical name for the event. Surprised? )

 

• Listen to or read (or both) the entire “I Have A Dream” speech – not just the highlights that will loop in the media over the next news cycle or two. Seek to understand it’s historic precedents and its consequential developments – and lack of them.

Do this in the spirit of being or becoming an informed citizen of the world in the 21^st Century.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Make sure you’ve got facts (not speculation) and all the facts you need before you settle on a course of action. Check and double check. Know your sources. Search for independent resources to verify what others tell you.

Then make your own history.  

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P.S. “King called our country forward on that beautiful day in 1963, but he also called out our failings. He told us there could be no peace without justice, and no justice without struggle. We honor him best by sharing not only his hope but also his impatience and his resolve.” E. J. Dionne, American journalist and political commentator, and a long-time op-ed columnist for The Washington Post recently concluded his column with that observation.




We know, both figuratively and literally, what MLK Jr. “saw” when looked down the National Mall August 28, 1963. The "humanity" of it all is pictured at the top of today's post.
 

The US Park Service ranger assigned to guard Dr. King on the podium, Gordon Gundrum (loooking to the left above), is quoted as saying recently, “It was something I knew was going to change the world.”

My long-time local acquaintance Arnold Brown was also present (leaning forward, behind and right of the woman with the patterned hat) with his brother Jerome who recalls, “The march made me aware of non-violence – and I think it changed the way I thought about things, and approached things in my life.”

 

Thank Goodness It's Monday #392

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

In the 1993 movie "Dave" the title character is a politically unsophisticated regular guy who looks like the film's fictional president. 

When pressed into duty to impersonate the ailing chief executive, Dave sings to himself while taking a shower in the White House:

 

Hail to the chief …

He’s the chief we all say hail to.

We all say "Hail"

'Cause he keeps himself so clean!

He's got the power,

That's why he's in the shower...

As the movie progresses, ordinary Dave sees in his extraordinary situation the opportunity to create necessary change. He acts on it and accomplishes his goal. 

Of course, that’s all a conveniently scripted and nicely acted bit of fiction.

At noon today in Washington DC the USA publically inaugurates our 44^th President for his second term. Barack Obama will once again hear the strains of the official Presidential Anthem of the United States -- Hail to the Chief -- played for him as he recommits to upholding the Constitution and fulfilling the duties of the highest office in our land. 

Derived from an old Gaelic tune, the melody was adapted and was first performed in New York in 1812. It caught on instantly. New lyrics were written and it was re-titled Wreaths for the Chieftain and played in Boston in 1815 to celebrate the birthday of George Washington. It’s had Presidential associations ever since.

So, with this capsule history, what's the TGIM point? 

The answer for today lies in the lyrics that the movie character Dave didn't know, and few citizens do. 

Here are the correct rarely sung lyrics of Hail to the Chief:

Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,

Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.

Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation

In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.

Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,

This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.

Hail to the one we selected as commander,

Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief! 

After a contentious first election, troubled first term, another contentious round of polling, and threatened rocky start for the President in the second term, the words “hail to the chief” hold a certain irony in and of themselves. 

Yet I think the lyrics also suggest one of the abiding reasons a democratic people in a democratically led nation can come together and know continued success. 

At noon today the Marine Band might have played this for a new 45^th President. But they will continue to play it for the duly reelected Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama. 

And a United States hopes for "proud fulfillment of a great noble, call."

Speaking of “proud fulfillment of a great noble, call” …

Today we also commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. – with one of the Monday Federal holidays that TGIM must regularly address. 

This year the connection is completely obvious. 

Talk about dreams and “a dream deferred.” Roughly four years ago when Barack Obama first assumed the Presidency the long-held hopes and dreams and aspirations of many people became more tangible. Many finally began to feel their deferred dreams were well on the way to being fully realized.

Four years later: There will be many comparisons and lots of insightful and significant talk about whether this is, in fact, so. 

Surely there will continue to be soul searching, and forward-looking messages, and challenges, and – especially today -- inspiring speeches that likely will echo through the centuries.

 

And there will be naysayers and folks who see all this as empty platitudes and manipulative political posturing and branding.

TGIM Takeaway: What it will all amount to for each of us as individuals – what kind of “opportunity” this presents as well as represents – depends almost entirely on each of us as individuals.

You will recall that four years ago in the run up to the November 2008 election virtually every candidate for the Presidency talked about “change” – so much so that an important truth almost became trivialized. Still, the idea resonates because it’s a universal longing.

This year the official inauguration theme is “Faith in America’s Future.”

Four years ago, echoing Abraham Lincoln, it was “A New Birth of Freedom” and the official inauguration poster featured the phrase – 

“Be the Change.” That thought and counsel is usually viewed as the embodiment of the philosophy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, best known by the honorific Mahatma (“Great Soul” in Sanskrit) Gandhi. 

And Gandhi and his non-violence were a foundational inspiration to MLK Jr. and those he inspired to carry his efforts forward.

Change = Opportunity + Action

The untrivial fact of life is, if you really want change in any part of your life --

It takes action. 

►   You can think about change …

►   You can read about change …

►   You can listen to and watch others speak about change …

Or -

►   You can take action and change. 

You and I are not so far removed from Lincoln or Gandhi or MLK Jr. and, dare we say, Obama, or hundreds of thousands of other “ordinary” men and women who longed for change … saw the opportunity to create change … and took action. 

They made history.

You can make history, too. It’s not always easy. It’s not always immediate. It’s seldom accomplished alone. It may not be on a grand scale.

But it can be done. If you see the opportunity and act on it, you can “be the change” and you can make change happen. That is perhaps one of the greatest personal improvement lessons any individual can take away from our historic past and the eventful days ahead.

Hail! TGIMers. I salute you, one and all. Be the change. Keep the faith. And --

Work for success. Yours … ours … and our nation’s.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. According to the Library of Congress: It was Julia Tyler, the wife of the tenth President, John Tyler, who first requested that Hail to the Chief be played specifically to announce the President's arrival on official occasions. 

The tune was included in certain nineteenth century musical instruction books and the future First Lady, Sarah Childress Polk, studied it as a young woman. It was played at the inauguration of her husband, James Polk (the eleventh President). But she, perhaps more than others, ritualized its use. As the historian William Seale stated,

“Polk was not an impressive figure, so some announcement was necessary to avoid the embarrassment of his entering a crowded room unnoticed. At large affairs the band...rolled the drums as they played the march...and a way was cleared for the President.”

It was not until 1954 that the Department of Defense established Hail to the Chief as the official music to announce the President of the United States.