The Declaration of Independence and Social Justice

The Declaration of Independence and Social Justice

by Bryan J. Neva, Sr.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.  Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
—Thomas Jefferson, 1776, “The Declaration of Independence”

These were wonderfully inspired words written by the great Virginian, Thomas Jefferson.  But when we look back at our 240-year history, we see a struggle to live up to the ideals Jefferson wrote about in 1776.  Here’s some examples: the social injustices of racism, of slavery, of working conditions; the mistreatment of the poor and downcast, of women, children, minorities, immigrants, and Native Americans; the struggle between the rich and the poor, the abuses of greedy capitalist etcetera.

I’ll admit that we’ve made progress in our 240-year history, but there’s still a long way to go.  The abuses that Wall Street has inflicted on Main Street remain unresolved.  The abuses of our trade agreements and the globalization of our economy remain unresolved.  The abuses that corporations have waged against the average working person remain unresolved.  The abuses of our tax system—especially by corporations and the rich—remain unresolved.  The social bedrock of our society—the family—is under attack.  Our moral fabric is decaying.  Our freedom to worship as we please is under attack.  Agnosticism, atheism, and moral relativism have become the politically correct religions.

I’d challenge you on this 4^th of July 2016, to first of all be thankful for what we have and the sacrifices of so many to give us this wonderful country that we live in today.  But at the same time, think about what we can do to make our country better for our children and grandchildren.

Happy Independence Day!

1 in 25 Business Leaders May Be Psychopaths

Based on my own anecdotal research, I think it's much worse than 1 in 25 as this 2011 TIME article suggests.  My own non-scientific polling suggests that bad managers far exceed the good ones by at least 10 to 1.  It's almost the exception to the rule to find a good, honest manager in any organization public or private.  All these bad managers may not be certifiable psychopaths but I think in their quest for power at any price they learn that dishonest, unethical, immoral behavior is encouraged and rewarded whereas the opposite is not the case.

It seems the scum always rises to the top when people are promoted.  Why is this?  Well I think it's because promotions have less to do with merit and more to do with popularity.  In most cases, people are promoted because those in decision making positions personally like them and the amoral compass they live by.  And people tend to like those who are just like themselves; as the old saying goes, birds of a fetter flock together.  So the vicious cycle continues and good, honest people are consistently passed over for promotions and relegated to irrelivant positions as worker bees where they cannot do much to affect positive change in their organization.

And in this age of the financialization of America where Wall Street's demands for quarterly profits coerces business managers into making short-term financial decisions at the expense of the long-term viability of their company, who wants to hire a manager with long-term goals and objectives at the expense of short term gains?  Bad management at all levels in an organization just facilitates Wall Street's demand for a profit at any price!

Regardless of the type of organization you work for, start paying attention to who gets promoted and who doesn't; pay attention to the behavior rather than the words of those in management positions; pay attention to the subtleties; and I think you'll confirm for yourself my suspicions that good managers are few and far between.  But read this article and judge for yourself.

TIME

PSYCHOLOGY

Study: 1 in 25 Business Leaders May Be Psychopaths

By Maia Szalavitz @maiasz TIMESept. 20, 2011

One in 25 bosses may be psychopaths — a rate that’s four times greater than in the general population — according to research by psychologist and executive coach Paul Babiak.

Babiak studied 203 American corporate professionals who had been chosen by their companies to participate in a management training program. He evaluated their psychopathic traits using a version of the standard psychopathy checklist developed by Robert Hare, an expert in psychopathy at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

Psychopaths, who are characterized by being completely amoral and concerned only with their own power and selfish pleasures, may be overrepresented in the business environment because it plays to their strengths. Where greed is considered good and profitmaking is the most important value, psychopaths can thrive.

They also tend to be charming and manipulative — and in corporate America, that easily passes for leadership. But, as the U.K.’s Guardian reported:

The survey suggests psychopaths are actually poor managerial performers but are adept at climbing the corporate ladder because they can cover up their weaknesses by subtly charming superiors and subordinates. This makes it almost impossible to distinguish between a genuinely talented team leader and a psychopath, Babiak said.

In fact, it can be hard spot the psychopath in any crowd (according to Hare, psychopaths make up 1% of the general population). They’re not all ruthless serial killers; rather, psychopaths who grow up in happy, loving homes might end up channeling their energies in a less violent way — say, by becoming a CEO. “Psychopaths really aren’t the kind of person you think they are,” Babiak said.

Maia Szalavitz @maiasz

Maia Szalavitz is a neuroscience journalist for TIME.com and co-author of Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential — and Endangered.

Szalavitz's latest book isBorn for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential — and Endangered. It is co-written with Dr. Bruce Perry, a leading expert in the neuroscience of child trauma and recovery.

An Old Friend

Melancholy by Edvard Munch 1891

An Old Friend

by Bryan J. Neva, Sr.

When I was in high school, I had a close friend who fell very ill.  My friend came from a broken home.  His parents divorced and his younger sisters went to live with his mother while he stayed with his father.  We spent a lot of time together and had many happy memories.  We became best friends.

In the early 1980s, when I was visiting him in the hospital, I suspected then that he’d never really recover from his illness.  He moved away to live with his mother and sisters and we lost touch.  We briefly reunited a year after I joined the Navy and came home on leave.  We took a fun road trip together and rekindled our friendship, but we lost touch once again. Many years later when we reconnected through the Internet, my suspicions were confirmed—he never really recovered from his illness.

I had hoped when we reconnected that I’d discover that he’d gotten better, fallen in love, gotten married, had children, and built a career.  But none of that ever happened.  Despite his superior intellect, a college education, and handsome features, he’d never married, had children, or became successful; instead he's now living the life of a bohemian recluse just scraping by.  It was very sad for me to learn this.

But my old friend seemed to be quite happy with his life choices and has absolutely no regrets. He's quite happy living where he does and doing what he does for a living. He's no dummy.  If anything, he feels sorry for me for having the burdens of marriage and children, a mortgage, car payments, and maintaining a  career.  So we no longer have much in common.  Our lives went in opposite directions. I went the traditional route in life, and he went the bohemian route. He’d lost his Christian faith years ago and has become something of an agnostic.  And without that moral compass to guide him, he's developed some very unusual beliefs.

Mental illness can be a debilitating disease that, if left untreated, can literally ruin a person’s life, the lives of their family, and everyone who cares about them.  And it can rob them of their ability to live up to their full potential in life and become productive members of our society.  In the early 1980s when my friend was first diagnosed with a mental illness, it was socially taboo to discuss it. Today it’s gotten a lot better and I regularly see public service announcements on television educating the public about mental illness.   Having a mental illness is not that different than having diabetes; with the proper treatment, care, and support, it can be managed so they can live more normal lives.

Elijah

Elijah

by Bryan Neva

“Shout louder, Baal may be meditating, or retired, or on vacation, or asleep and needs to be awoken.”  The great Prophet Elijah taunted the 450 prophets of the false pagan god Baal as they danced around flailing themselves all day long calling on their god Baal to send down fire to consume their offering. But nothing happened!

Earlier that day on top of Mount Carmel, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest: two offerings would be set up; they would call on Baal and Elijah would call on the Lord; whichever god consumed the sacrifice with fire would be declared the one true God (1 Kings 18:20-39).

Finally it was Elijah’s turn. He built an altar of 12 stones and dug a deep trench around it; next he arranged the wood on top of the altar and placed the offering on top of the wood; then he did something completely unexpected: he completely doused it all with water completely filling the trench.

Then Elijah prayed, “Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things by your command. Answer me, Lord!  Answer me, that these people may know that you, Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to their senses.”

And then a dramatic miracle happened, the Lord God sent fire down from heaven and not only consumed the offering, but the wood, the stones, the dust and ashes, and evaporated all the water in the deep trench around the altar.  After seeing this, all the people fell prostrate on the ground and said, “The Lord is God!  The Lord is God!”

Elijah was one of the greatest Prophets and miracle-workers who ever lived, and he's venerated in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. During the 9^th century B.C. in the northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of the wicked King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, Elijah defended the worship of the one true God against the false pagan god Baal. (See the map at the right.)

On one occasion, in order to teach the wicked King Ahab and the people of Israel a lesson, he prayed and it did not rain in Israel for three years (1 Kings 17:1-6).  Elijah then went east of the Jordan River and hid in the wilderness by a stream of water, he drank from the stream, and God sent Ravens to bring him bread and meat every morning and evening to survive (another miracle).  After awhile the stream of water ran dry, so the Lord told him to go stay with a poor widow and her young son (1 Kings 17:7-16). The widow told Elijah that she was destitute and near starvation, but Elijah told her that until the drought ended, she’d never run out of flour or oil (another miracle), and the widow, her son, and Elijah had plenty to eat for over a year.

Sadly while Elijah was staying with the poor widow, her young son fell very sick and died (1 King 17:17-24). The widow was distraught and felt Elijah had brought a curse to her home. Elijah prayed to the Lord over the body of the widow’s son and raised him from the dead and returned him to his joyous mother (yet another miracle).  

After three years, Elijah prayed to the Lord and a heavy rain returned to the land (1 Kings 18:41-46).  The drought was finally over (another miracle).

By now Elijah was getting old and discouraged and went up on Mount Horeb and lived in a cave (1 Kings 19:9-16).  God told him to go outside the cave and He would pass by.  Elijah did this and strong heavy winds were rending the mountains causing rockslides—but the Lord wasn’t in the heavy winds.  After the heavy winds, there was a great earthquake—but the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake.  After the earthquake there was a fire—but the Lord wasn’t in the fire.  Finally after the fire, there was a tiny whispering sound, and a still small voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”  Elijah replied, “I’ve been very zealous for you Lord, but the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets…and I’m the last one left and they’re still trying to kill me!”

Not long after this happened, Elijah anointed a young man named Elisha as his protégé and successor (2 King 2:1-14).  Elisha’s last request to Elijah was that he would receive a double portion of his prophetic powers.  They walked beyond the Jordan River, and a flaming chariot and horses arrived from heaven and took Elijah away in a whirlwind!  Elisha did receive the double portion he asked for and in his lifetime went on to perform twice as many miracles as the great Prophet Elijah.

Elijah’s mission was the conversion of the people of Israel: to stop worshiping false pagan gods, worship the one true God and follow His commandments in order to live good lives pleasing to the Lord.  Many times along the way, Elijah experienced dejection, despondency, and loneliness, but each time he learned something new about God.  

Against all odds, he dramatically won the contest against the 450 prophets of the false pagan god Baal.  He learned that God does in fact exist and sometimes dramatically performs miracles in order to convert people.  Elijah hides in the wilderness and God supplied his need for water and food through Ravens.  The poor widow who sheltered Elijah for over a year discovers that her flour and oil never run out and they had plenty to eat during the drought.  Elijah learns that God even takes care of our physical needs for water, food, and shelter.  Then the son of the poor widow died and Elijah learns that God answers prayers and even raises the dead.  I think the poor widow learned that God loved her and her son and had the foresight to miraculously send Elijah to live with them so they wouldn't starve and her son wouldn't die.  When he was old, Elijah became so discouraged and despondent that he goes up on a mountain and hides out living in a cave. Maybe he (like many of us) just wanted to give up on life and the cruelty of the world and live alone.  He learns that God was always with him through the all the trials, tribulations, and tumults of his life (as demonstrated in the wind, the earthquakes, and the fire) and speaks to him in a peaceful still small voice.

Unfortunately, the people of Israel never really learned their lesson and eventually returned to worshiping pagan gods and idols and living wicked lives.  Was Elijah's life a failure?  I don’t think so!  Everything that Elijah learned about God taught him to trust in God’s eternal plans, even if that meant that it would take a lot longer than Elijah’s lifetime.  He learned that God’s timeframe is a lot longer than our lifetimes. God is very patient with people and keeps calling them to conversion and a change of heart.

Maybe God has called you to be a prophet in your own family, workplace, or life circumstances and to stand up for what is right and just?  You know there are just as many pagan gods and idols today as there were in Elijah's day.  The god of money, the god of materialism, the god of power, the god of popularity and prestige, the god of worldly success, the god of pleasure, the list could go on and on.  

Don’t worry that you have failed or will fail in what God is calling you to do in your life.  Remember that God is more concerned about your faithfulness than in your successes or failures.  Listen to that still small voice of God speaking to you. Don't be distracted by the trials, tribulations, and tumults in your life. God won't ever leave you or forsake you. He's right there with you helping you along the way. Trust Him! 

Strive to stay close to God, even in the face of discouragement, despondency and loneliness and you will come to know Him more and more just like the great Prophet Elijah did in his faith journey.  And with that deepening relationship with God, you'll come to know peace, joy, faith, hope, and love.