Friday, March 16, 2007
Who Will Rid Me Of This Meddlesome Priest?
Copyright 2007 by Donovan Baldwin
It was late in the year 1170 when Henry II of England supposedly uttered the famous words which have come to us as, "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" Actually, no one really knows the exact words spoken, but the idea was apparently conveyed in some similar language. Supposedly, the statement was preceded by something similar to, "What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord."
Whatever the exact words, the idea put forth by the king with such fervor was enough to encourage four knights who were with Henry in France, to take horse, cross the channel, and ride to Canterbury cathedral where they found Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, taking refuge at the altar. There, on the afternoon of December 29, apparently believing they were acting on the wishes of their liege lord, they brutally hacked at him until he was dead.
Throughout history, and at all levels of power, words and wishes of those in positions of authority, even words and wishes not specifically defined but merely implied, have often been translated by others as statements of fact or even as direct orders.
Whenever I hear of people taking it upon themselves to manufacture a standing structure out of an illogical (sorry Spock) pile of rubble, I remember a cold morning in Germany when two young soldiers approached me and asked, "Sergeant Baldwin. Are we going to have an alert?"
For those of you who never knew the joy of getting a phone call at two in the morning and hearing a gruff voice on the other end say, "We're on alert! Grab all your gear and get here now!", it was, and probably still is, something to be expected by any soldier stationed overseas, and many in the States. At that ungodly hour, the real thrill was kissing your loved ones good-bye as you headed out the door, not knowing if, as everybody wanted to know, "the balloon's gone up for real" this time.
Back to the cold morning in Germany. I tried to answer as noncommittally as possible, "Well, I don't really know, but they normally call one a month and we haven't had one yet this month. It's been about a month since the last one." I shrugged my shoulders and went on about my business. A few hours later, I overheard one soldier tell another, "Sergeant Baldwin says there's going to be an alert tomorrow." A little later, the company First Sergeant wanted to know why I was telling the troops we were going to have an alert. My protestations of innocence must have really seemed untruthful when the next morning the battalion to which our company was assigned, called an alert.
I believe the First Sergeant believed me, although some of the soldiers seemed to take my denials with a grain of salt and a knowing grin. What is important to note is that the First Sergeant knew that I had this disgusting habit of telling the truth, particularly when it would have saved certain portions of my skin if I had lied just a little bit!
Based on this and other events in my life, I long ago learned to be very cautious of what I said and how I said it in certain situations. I am sure that the President, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Trump, and the local mayor have all learned this lesson long ago. Therefore, when executive officers of companies both major and minor, and political office holders and bureaucrats disclaim knowledge of or participation in certain activities or events such as the mass firing of a large number of employees, the revelation of supposedly secret information, or the redeployment of resources to new areas for unknown or illogical reasons, I find myself going back to square one.
In square one is the basic question: How honest and reliable has this individual proven himself or herself to be?
As very often happens today, particularly in the political arena, many officials do not have a good track record. In fact, it often seems as if many "knights" have jumped on horses and crossed the channel to rid their bosses of some "meddlesome priest". While they at least might have been acting from the highest motives and in the belief that they were fulfilling the desires of their boss, I wonder how often the boss made sure that his or her unvoiced desires and wishes were loud enough to be heard.
About the Author
Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer and a University of West Florida alumnus. He is a member of Mensa and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. In his career, he has held many managerial and supervisory positions. However, his main pleasures have long been writing, nature, health and fitness. In the last few years, he has been able to combine these pleasures by writing poetry and articles on subjects such as health, fitness, yoga, writing, the environment, happiness, self improvement, and weight loss.
Learn how you can save hundreds of dollars with do-it-yourself legal forms and software at http://www.legal-forms-supermarket.com/ .
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)
--
It was late in the year 1170 when Henry II of England supposedly uttered the famous words which have come to us as, "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" Actually, no one really knows the exact words spoken, but the idea was apparently conveyed in some similar language. Supposedly, the statement was preceded by something similar to, "What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord."
Whatever the exact words, the idea put forth by the king with such fervor was enough to encourage four knights who were with Henry in France, to take horse, cross the channel, and ride to Canterbury cathedral where they found Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, taking refuge at the altar. There, on the afternoon of December 29, apparently believing they were acting on the wishes of their liege lord, they brutally hacked at him until he was dead.
Throughout history, and at all levels of power, words and wishes of those in positions of authority, even words and wishes not specifically defined but merely implied, have often been translated by others as statements of fact or even as direct orders.
Whenever I hear of people taking it upon themselves to manufacture a standing structure out of an illogical (sorry Spock) pile of rubble, I remember a cold morning in Germany when two young soldiers approached me and asked, "Sergeant Baldwin. Are we going to have an alert?"
For those of you who never knew the joy of getting a phone call at two in the morning and hearing a gruff voice on the other end say, "We're on alert! Grab all your gear and get here now!", it was, and probably still is, something to be expected by any soldier stationed overseas, and many in the States. At that ungodly hour, the real thrill was kissing your loved ones good-bye as you headed out the door, not knowing if, as everybody wanted to know, "the balloon's gone up for real" this time.
Back to the cold morning in Germany. I tried to answer as noncommittally as possible, "Well, I don't really know, but they normally call one a month and we haven't had one yet this month. It's been about a month since the last one." I shrugged my shoulders and went on about my business. A few hours later, I overheard one soldier tell another, "Sergeant Baldwin says there's going to be an alert tomorrow." A little later, the company First Sergeant wanted to know why I was telling the troops we were going to have an alert. My protestations of innocence must have really seemed untruthful when the next morning the battalion to which our company was assigned, called an alert.
I believe the First Sergeant believed me, although some of the soldiers seemed to take my denials with a grain of salt and a knowing grin. What is important to note is that the First Sergeant knew that I had this disgusting habit of telling the truth, particularly when it would have saved certain portions of my skin if I had lied just a little bit!
Based on this and other events in my life, I long ago learned to be very cautious of what I said and how I said it in certain situations. I am sure that the President, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Trump, and the local mayor have all learned this lesson long ago. Therefore, when executive officers of companies both major and minor, and political office holders and bureaucrats disclaim knowledge of or participation in certain activities or events such as the mass firing of a large number of employees, the revelation of supposedly secret information, or the redeployment of resources to new areas for unknown or illogical reasons, I find myself going back to square one.
In square one is the basic question: How honest and reliable has this individual proven himself or herself to be?
As very often happens today, particularly in the political arena, many officials do not have a good track record. In fact, it often seems as if many "knights" have jumped on horses and crossed the channel to rid their bosses of some "meddlesome priest". While they at least might have been acting from the highest motives and in the belief that they were fulfilling the desires of their boss, I wonder how often the boss made sure that his or her unvoiced desires and wishes were loud enough to be heard.
About the Author
Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer and a University of West Florida alumnus. He is a member of Mensa and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. In his career, he has held many managerial and supervisory positions. However, his main pleasures have long been writing, nature, health and fitness. In the last few years, he has been able to combine these pleasures by writing poetry and articles on subjects such as health, fitness, yoga, writing, the environment, happiness, self improvement, and weight loss.
Learn how you can save hundreds of dollars with do-it-yourself legal forms and software at http://www.legal-forms-supermarket.com/ .
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)
--
Labels: Becket, Canterbury, current events, Henry II, history, news, politics
Friday, March 09, 2007
Politics and the Art of Teaching Dogs Not to Bite or Bark
Copyright 2007 by Donovan Baldwin
I was born in America, raised in the south of the 50's and 60's, lived in Europe for six years, attended three colleges, and was bitten by two "bad dogs" when I was a boy. Actually, several dogs have had a nip, not to mention cats, but those particular two were known to be "bad dogs".
How many times have you and I said or thought something, or reacted in a certain way because of factors like those? How many times have we thought about it later and realized that our initial reaction, whether correct or incorrect, was based almost entirely on what we had heard, read, or absorbed through our finely tuned "skin" of expectations and beliefs?
It happens to a lot of us with some regularity, and hopefully, over time, we learn that we should delve a little deeper into the facts and realities of a situation or a person before we reach some sort of damning or beatifying conclusion.
Now, that's those of us who are introspective and capable of pulling ourselves up to a higher plane of existence. In other words, you and me.
Let's talk about all the other people.
Most of them will never give a second thought to their actions or beliefs other than something along the line of, "I'm afraid of dogs because I was bitten by one when I was a child."
Hmmmm! Something wrong here. When I was a child, I was bitten twice by "bad dogs" and several times by dogs without a qualifying adjective and I have absolutely no fear of the critters.
I wonder if maybe all those other factors in my life had some sort of impact on my adult reaction to dogs!
Now, let's talk about the dogs.
A dog is a dog is a dog. Oh sure, they have different personalities, and some breeds having been bred for particular traits or sports may tend to be more passive or more aggressive...whatever! In the final analysis, however, except for the occasional Hound-ibal Lecter, most will be like us to some extent, becoming what they are raised to be within the constraints of their doghood. They cannot talk, but they can communicate by barking. They scratch because they itch, they lick themselves in places that offend our sensibilities, they leave gifts on our lawns, and, in general do what they as dogs are prone to do. While we can teach them to use a certain spot in the yard, or to give us a signal when they need to go out to use that spot, for the most part, they could care less about our desires and wishes...not because they are unthinking, unfeeling, or bad. They are dogs by birth and instinct, molded with a veneer of "social graces" that we have forced them to acquire. This is not bad nor good. It is merely "dog".
Back to people now.
I am not trying to compare people to dogs per se, any more than the old saying, "A leopard can't change its spots" makes humans into leopards when applied to one of us. However, maybe seeing that once a nature is formed either by birth, education, environment, events, circumstance, and a host of other factors, we will understand that the creature known as man is almost as susceptible to blind adherence to our nature as any other being.
With all this in mind, how many times in history has a ruler, a politician, a diplomat, or even a private citizen felt compelled to teach someone in another land, of another faith and belief system, the "right" way to think and do things?
You know, anybody who knows much about dogs knows that if you think that you can take food away from a dog the way you take food away from a child, there is a chance you may get bitten. Most of us with a modicum of common sense would think twice before we tried to force a bear to wear a dress and sit at the table with us. This is not because the bear is any more "bad" than the dog, but it is in the nature of most creatures to be what they are and resist change. A thinking creature, such as a human, perhaps, can go one step further and see, or believe, that his or her very humanity is being threatened.
A dog usually bites once in response to a stimulus, but humans are more dangerous. They can decide when, where, and how...and how hard...to bite...or worse.
A human will not change his or her thoughts or way of life to yours simply on your say-so any more than a dog will stop barking or biting because it offends your sense of right and wrong, proper and improper, which has been developed within you for all the years that theirs were growing in them.
Beware the human. He bites.
Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer and a University of West Florida alumnus. He is a member of Mensa and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. In his career, he has held many managerial and supervisory positions. However, his main pleasures have long been writing, nature, health and fitness. In the last few years, he has been able to combine these pleasures by writing poetry and articles on subjects such as health, fitness, yoga, writing, the environment, happiness, self improvement, and weight loss.
Save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in legal fees and attorneys' fees with do-it-yourself legal forms and software at http://www.legal-forms-supermarket.com/ .
I was born in America, raised in the south of the 50's and 60's, lived in Europe for six years, attended three colleges, and was bitten by two "bad dogs" when I was a boy. Actually, several dogs have had a nip, not to mention cats, but those particular two were known to be "bad dogs".
How many times have you and I said or thought something, or reacted in a certain way because of factors like those? How many times have we thought about it later and realized that our initial reaction, whether correct or incorrect, was based almost entirely on what we had heard, read, or absorbed through our finely tuned "skin" of expectations and beliefs?
It happens to a lot of us with some regularity, and hopefully, over time, we learn that we should delve a little deeper into the facts and realities of a situation or a person before we reach some sort of damning or beatifying conclusion.
Now, that's those of us who are introspective and capable of pulling ourselves up to a higher plane of existence. In other words, you and me.
Let's talk about all the other people.
Most of them will never give a second thought to their actions or beliefs other than something along the line of, "I'm afraid of dogs because I was bitten by one when I was a child."
Hmmmm! Something wrong here. When I was a child, I was bitten twice by "bad dogs" and several times by dogs without a qualifying adjective and I have absolutely no fear of the critters.
I wonder if maybe all those other factors in my life had some sort of impact on my adult reaction to dogs!
Now, let's talk about the dogs.
A dog is a dog is a dog. Oh sure, they have different personalities, and some breeds having been bred for particular traits or sports may tend to be more passive or more aggressive...whatever! In the final analysis, however, except for the occasional Hound-ibal Lecter, most will be like us to some extent, becoming what they are raised to be within the constraints of their doghood. They cannot talk, but they can communicate by barking. They scratch because they itch, they lick themselves in places that offend our sensibilities, they leave gifts on our lawns, and, in general do what they as dogs are prone to do. While we can teach them to use a certain spot in the yard, or to give us a signal when they need to go out to use that spot, for the most part, they could care less about our desires and wishes...not because they are unthinking, unfeeling, or bad. They are dogs by birth and instinct, molded with a veneer of "social graces" that we have forced them to acquire. This is not bad nor good. It is merely "dog".
Back to people now.
I am not trying to compare people to dogs per se, any more than the old saying, "A leopard can't change its spots" makes humans into leopards when applied to one of us. However, maybe seeing that once a nature is formed either by birth, education, environment, events, circumstance, and a host of other factors, we will understand that the creature known as man is almost as susceptible to blind adherence to our nature as any other being.
With all this in mind, how many times in history has a ruler, a politician, a diplomat, or even a private citizen felt compelled to teach someone in another land, of another faith and belief system, the "right" way to think and do things?
You know, anybody who knows much about dogs knows that if you think that you can take food away from a dog the way you take food away from a child, there is a chance you may get bitten. Most of us with a modicum of common sense would think twice before we tried to force a bear to wear a dress and sit at the table with us. This is not because the bear is any more "bad" than the dog, but it is in the nature of most creatures to be what they are and resist change. A thinking creature, such as a human, perhaps, can go one step further and see, or believe, that his or her very humanity is being threatened.
A dog usually bites once in response to a stimulus, but humans are more dangerous. They can decide when, where, and how...and how hard...to bite...or worse.
A human will not change his or her thoughts or way of life to yours simply on your say-so any more than a dog will stop barking or biting because it offends your sense of right and wrong, proper and improper, which has been developed within you for all the years that theirs were growing in them.
Beware the human. He bites.
Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer and a University of West Florida alumnus. He is a member of Mensa and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. In his career, he has held many managerial and supervisory positions. However, his main pleasures have long been writing, nature, health and fitness. In the last few years, he has been able to combine these pleasures by writing poetry and articles on subjects such as health, fitness, yoga, writing, the environment, happiness, self improvement, and weight loss.
Save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in legal fees and attorneys' fees with do-it-yourself legal forms and software at http://www.legal-forms-supermarket.com/ .
Labels: diplomacy, government, politics
