By Daniel B. Kline
A businessman would make an excellent president. If someone like Jack Welch who knows how to manage a complex company with varying departments, huge egos and thousands of working pieces were to run, I'd consider supporting him.
Unfortunately, no person who actually has run a successful huge company would ever consider taking on the miserable job of president of the United States. Being president pays poorly, the hours are bad and, though, the perks are pretty good, they're hardly worth having half the country question every decision you make.
We're long past the point where anyone actually runs for president out of duty or for the glory of their country. Instead, the only reason anyone runs for president is that from an ego point of view, there's no better job. No matter the downsides being president makes you the most powerful person in the world (sorry Oprah) and only someone with an outlandishly large sense of self-worth would even consider taking on the job.
That, of course, brings us to one Donald J. Trump – a cartoon businessman and a shameless self-promoter. The only difference between Trump and actual promoters like Don King and Vince McMahon is that Trump uses his personal fame to make real estate deals instead of boxing or wrestling matches.
If the United States needed someone to get other countries to change their names to variations of “United States of America,” then Trump would be our guy. Since we need someone to downsize government, figure out healthcare and, oh yeah, end the at least two, perhaps three, wars we are in, than we might want someone with a little more substance.
Being really rich and famous may make you a viable candidate for the presidency, but it does not make you qualified for the job. Trump gives good press conferences because he's an amusing buffoon who knows how to get attention.
He has done that by launching himself into the presidential election on the back of the “birther” controversy. Instead of laying out policies or explaining his positions on anything or orange friend with the bad combover has chosen to revive the debate about whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States.
Putting attention on that issue is sure to win you support from Tea Party radicals and other talk-show-fueled nut-jobs, but it has no bearing on the actual running of the country. And, realistically, Trump has about as much business running this country as he does taking over for Mick Jagger in The Rolling Stones.
Being famous does not equal being smart. Even being wealthy does not equal being smart, though, it would be hard to call Trump dumb – it's impossible to see how his particular brand of intelligence translates to being president of the United States.
We have lots of successful people in this country, but does anyone think Eminem or Snooki should hold the presidency? Kobe Bryant has a ton of money, but I wouldn't turn over the nuclear football to him just yet.
The sad thing is that if any of those folks ran, they would probably have a shot.
Daniel B. Kline's work appears in over 100 papers weekly. He can be reached at dan@notastep.com or you can see his archive at dbkline.com. You can listen to his podcast or buy his upcoming book, Worst Ideas Ever, at Worstideasever.com.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Consider where you are before you speak
By Daniel B. Kline
As my son and I left the family-friendly burger joint last Saturday, we got stuck in the exit behind two men casually talking about nothing in particular. Unfortunately, these two fellows, perhaps unaware that they were in public, chose to casually pepper their language with words that would make a sailor blush.
This, of course, led to my seven-year-old son – who calls me out if I say “butt” or “crap” – to start telling me, “he said the 'f' word, he said the 's” word” and so forth. Fortunately, if you can call it that, many of the filthy terms these men used without regard to their surroundings did not register with a first-grader as bad words, so I was spared conversations about some of the more choice language.
This would not be quite so alarming if it wasn't such a regular occurrence. Over the course of that day, my son and I visited a music recital for kids around age 6 through teenagers, ate at the aforementioned burger joint, visited a popular department store and went to the movies.
At every single one of these places, including the children's music recital, I heard words that I would not be allowed to say on the radio. Apparently the use of “swear” or “curse” words has become so common that people no longer consider the surroundings before using them.
Now, I'm not going to pretend I don't use various inappropriate words when surrounded by adults. I'll also admit to swearing if say, something heavy falls on my foot and I can remember one job where the actions of our CEO (he's dead now, deservedly so) caused me to let out a muttering string of bad words in the newsroom.
Sometimes life simply requires that you use an inappropriate word. If I get hit in the face by a frying pan, my verbal response is not likely to be, “oh, fiddlesticks,” but at times when one can control his language, I make every effort to.
It seems like not using foul language where children might be present should be a basic rule of society. That hardly seems to be the case as even when I was running a giant toy store – a place ostensibly filled with kids – I constantly had to ask people to tone down their language.
Of all the basic societal courtesies this seems like one of the easiest to abide by, yet too many people seem either unwilling, or perhaps, unable to control themselves. While people ma have varying lines for what they consider appropriate, there are a number of words we all agree should not be used in public settings.
I'd prefer to not have to explain certain vulgar anatomical terms to a seven-year-old and can think of few reasons why those terms would be used in public. It's a question of basic civility an understanding that you are not the only person in the world – a hard concept for some, but one that we should all keep in mind.
Daniel B. Kline's work appears in over 100 papers weekly. He can be reached at dan@notastep.com or you can see his archive at dbkline.com. You can listen to his podcast or buy his upcoming book, Worst Ideas Ever, at Worstideasever.com.
As my son and I left the family-friendly burger joint last Saturday, we got stuck in the exit behind two men casually talking about nothing in particular. Unfortunately, these two fellows, perhaps unaware that they were in public, chose to casually pepper their language with words that would make a sailor blush.
This, of course, led to my seven-year-old son – who calls me out if I say “butt” or “crap” – to start telling me, “he said the 'f' word, he said the 's” word” and so forth. Fortunately, if you can call it that, many of the filthy terms these men used without regard to their surroundings did not register with a first-grader as bad words, so I was spared conversations about some of the more choice language.
This would not be quite so alarming if it wasn't such a regular occurrence. Over the course of that day, my son and I visited a music recital for kids around age 6 through teenagers, ate at the aforementioned burger joint, visited a popular department store and went to the movies.
At every single one of these places, including the children's music recital, I heard words that I would not be allowed to say on the radio. Apparently the use of “swear” or “curse” words has become so common that people no longer consider the surroundings before using them.
Now, I'm not going to pretend I don't use various inappropriate words when surrounded by adults. I'll also admit to swearing if say, something heavy falls on my foot and I can remember one job where the actions of our CEO (he's dead now, deservedly so) caused me to let out a muttering string of bad words in the newsroom.
Sometimes life simply requires that you use an inappropriate word. If I get hit in the face by a frying pan, my verbal response is not likely to be, “oh, fiddlesticks,” but at times when one can control his language, I make every effort to.
It seems like not using foul language where children might be present should be a basic rule of society. That hardly seems to be the case as even when I was running a giant toy store – a place ostensibly filled with kids – I constantly had to ask people to tone down their language.
Of all the basic societal courtesies this seems like one of the easiest to abide by, yet too many people seem either unwilling, or perhaps, unable to control themselves. While people ma have varying lines for what they consider appropriate, there are a number of words we all agree should not be used in public settings.
I'd prefer to not have to explain certain vulgar anatomical terms to a seven-year-old and can think of few reasons why those terms would be used in public. It's a question of basic civility an understanding that you are not the only person in the world – a hard concept for some, but one that we should all keep in mind.
Daniel B. Kline's work appears in over 100 papers weekly. He can be reached at dan@notastep.com or you can see his archive at dbkline.com. You can listen to his podcast or buy his upcoming book, Worst Ideas Ever, at Worstideasever.com.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Religion has no place in politics
By Daniel B. Kline
The various contenders for the the 2012 Republican presidential nomination have fallen over themselves to prove to the party's right wing exactly how conservative they are. This means taking aggressive stances against gay marriage and, of course, abortion. Not one of these candidates has the courage to stand up and say the actual truth on this subject – that government has no business legislating morality.
It's perfectly fine if you – be you a candidate for office or a private citizen – find abortion and/or gay marriage morally reprehensible. The problem comes when you decide that you have the right to take your religious beliefs and impose them on other people.
I, for example, passionately dislike mayonnaise and consider its use as an ingredient horrifying. Were I to be in charge of the world, I would use that bully pulpit to lecture people on just how disgusting I find this particular condiment. I would not, however, attempt to take my personal belief and make it a law.
Government has no business deciding who can get married or who can terminate a pregnancy at what point. When politicians share there opinions on these things instead of stating that they believe government should allow the people to make their own moral choices, I immediately distrust that politician.
Government exists to protect us from each other and those who might harm us collectively. The U.S. government is not mommy and daddy telling us what choices we should make nor should it be.
The fault for this, however, lies not in the politicians who simply seek to win votes by telling the voters exactly what they want to hear. Instead, it lies in the citizens who so desperately want their way of thinking to be forced upon everybody else that they never stop to consider the danger inherent in that position.
Having strong beliefs is admirable. Trying to convince others to think the same way is similarly admirable. Attempting to make your beliefs and your moral code the law takes things too far.
The Republican presidential candidates, though, are so eager to prove that they are not in any way like President Barack Obama that they forget that they come from the party of less government. Republicans – in the true sense of the word – should be pushing for less laws and smaller government. They should be supporting personal responsibility, not a nanny state where we use the police to make people think the way we want them to.
You may very well do things I find morally reprehensible and I may do the same. Perhaps you raise your kids in a way I find repugnant and maybe I raise my child in a way you find similarly distasteful.
We're allowed to disagree and government should only get involved when my beliefs start to impinge upon your ability to live according to yours. Gay marriage or abortion – while distasteful to some – do not force your moral choices on other citizens, thereby, they should not be part of the political discussion.
Daniel B. Kline's work appears in over 100 papers weekly. He can be reached at dan@notastep.com or you can see his archive at dbkline.com. You can listen to his podcast or buy his upcoming book, Worst Ideas Ever, at Worstideasever.com.
The various contenders for the the 2012 Republican presidential nomination have fallen over themselves to prove to the party's right wing exactly how conservative they are. This means taking aggressive stances against gay marriage and, of course, abortion. Not one of these candidates has the courage to stand up and say the actual truth on this subject – that government has no business legislating morality.
It's perfectly fine if you – be you a candidate for office or a private citizen – find abortion and/or gay marriage morally reprehensible. The problem comes when you decide that you have the right to take your religious beliefs and impose them on other people.
I, for example, passionately dislike mayonnaise and consider its use as an ingredient horrifying. Were I to be in charge of the world, I would use that bully pulpit to lecture people on just how disgusting I find this particular condiment. I would not, however, attempt to take my personal belief and make it a law.
Government has no business deciding who can get married or who can terminate a pregnancy at what point. When politicians share there opinions on these things instead of stating that they believe government should allow the people to make their own moral choices, I immediately distrust that politician.
Government exists to protect us from each other and those who might harm us collectively. The U.S. government is not mommy and daddy telling us what choices we should make nor should it be.
The fault for this, however, lies not in the politicians who simply seek to win votes by telling the voters exactly what they want to hear. Instead, it lies in the citizens who so desperately want their way of thinking to be forced upon everybody else that they never stop to consider the danger inherent in that position.
Having strong beliefs is admirable. Trying to convince others to think the same way is similarly admirable. Attempting to make your beliefs and your moral code the law takes things too far.
The Republican presidential candidates, though, are so eager to prove that they are not in any way like President Barack Obama that they forget that they come from the party of less government. Republicans – in the true sense of the word – should be pushing for less laws and smaller government. They should be supporting personal responsibility, not a nanny state where we use the police to make people think the way we want them to.
You may very well do things I find morally reprehensible and I may do the same. Perhaps you raise your kids in a way I find repugnant and maybe I raise my child in a way you find similarly distasteful.
We're allowed to disagree and government should only get involved when my beliefs start to impinge upon your ability to live according to yours. Gay marriage or abortion – while distasteful to some – do not force your moral choices on other citizens, thereby, they should not be part of the political discussion.
Daniel B. Kline's work appears in over 100 papers weekly. He can be reached at dan@notastep.com or you can see his archive at dbkline.com. You can listen to his podcast or buy his upcoming book, Worst Ideas Ever, at Worstideasever.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
