We were going to write a boilerplate commentary on resolutions for the New Year, but decided against it due to events both far and near to us. This year can’t just be left at “Let’s just do it better next year.” We have way, way too much to make up.
As this is written in the days before publication, the country is still headed toward the fiscal cliff, which has also been defined as a slope. It’s all noise, and the discourse focuses on who has the best sound bite at any given time. Any year-end accord is likely to be less effective than if there had been more genuine cooperation by opposing sides.
That may be 2012’s main lesson. We didn’t hear the word hubris as much as we probably should have this year. Aristotle defined hubris as excessive pride or arrogance, shaming the victim for one’s own gratification. Then there’s schadenfreude – defined as pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. We prefer to regard it, more charitably, as “Thank God that’s not me.”
In the 2012 presidential election, hubris and schadenfreude, pumped up on the steroids of the Internet, ran a pass-the-banner relay race with the number 47 percent. Republican Mitt Romney’s unscripted discourse surreptitiously recorded at a private event labeled 47 percent of the U.S. population as net takers of government services. He ended up with 47 percent of the vote. What goes around, comes around, the schadenfreudenistas chortled – which may lead to another cycle of hubris, but this time, it’ll be theirs.
Other guardrail breaches in the 2012 presidential campaign trail besides Romney’s were brought about by loose comments by individuals who ignored the extraordinary refractive power of social media at the peril of the wider campaign.
Maybe it’s time to bring back the World War II slogan, “Loose lips might sink ships,” except that the demographic experienced firsthand the meaning of that caution is disappearing.
We have just lost another of that generation. Timothy M. Warren Sr., father of Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, died at age 89 on Dec. 21 (See obituary, page one). Timothy Warren Sr. served in World War II as first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
By the time he was in the service, Tim Sr., a product of both nurture and nature, had already made good use of both. He’d started a school football team and served as one of three young editors of a local bi-weekly publication, with his father’s help. At age 11, he opined, “Cooperation is not only two people working together, but they must be willing and cheerful about it. Each person must lift his corner in the great game of life … ”
Our elected representatives in Washington could do well to take note. When young “Timmy” Warren emphasized the importance of lifting his corner, he meant lifting all sides – not pulling the corner out from under the other guy.
Email: coneill@thewarrengroup.com
