Crossing Divides. We spent a couple of days at the beach. I tried to clear my mind of the political divisions in our country. When that failed, I have been trying to cross the divide by having dialogs with friends on both sides of the aisle. We are having much more civil disagreements than our politicians.
We could all benefit from knowing the relationship between Jesse Owens and Carl Luz Long during the 1936 Olympics in Germany. Hiler was watching in horror as a black man repeatedly destroyed his Aryan superiority theory. Hitler did not offer much acknowledgement of Owens four medals.
Long was a German competitor against Owens in the broad jump. Some myths about Long and Owens are untrue embellishments, but the truth is — they formed a friendship despite Hitler’s presence. Long was courageous and reached across the racial divide. We need more friendships across the many divides we face in America.
Franklin Roosevelt Snub. In reading about the relationship between Hitler and Owens I was shocked to learn Owens felt more slighted by Franklin Roosevelt than Hitler. Indeed, Roosevelt did not acknowledge the Black athletes who competed in the 1936 Olympics. The athletes were not invited to the White House until Barack Obama invited them or their relatives in 2016. Reportedly Roosevelt was afraid that showing support for Blacks would harm his standing with Southern Democrats.
Capitalism. Also, in reading about Germany at the time of Hitler I learned it was a free-market economy with central planning. To me that sounds a lot like China today — capitalism with central planning. In both cases the problem is not an economic approach but a dictatorship. Capitalism is not a guarantee for freedom and can be used for evil by a dictator. Dictators are the problems.
I was impressed by a capitalistic movement being led by Pete Stavros. He is practicing a form of compassionate capitalism. He is a very successful hedge fund manager. He still buys companies and overhauls them, but with a big difference. He has the employees as shareholders.
He is co-head of KKR. He came to his interest in employee shareholders from his father’s experiences in labor. To me his reasoning is based on a basic question —What can be done to increase worker interest in developing and producing a good product? Employee ownership is the method he is using with great success.
Over 50 companies are currently using the model. The following is one of many excellent reads discussing what he is doing:
Media Bias. I have friends who use the words “Fox news” as curse words. I have friends who use the words “mainstream media” as curse words.
To overcome the divide, rather than assuming one side is bias and the other side is not, I assume both are bias but in different directions. I try then to read or hear both sides with an understanding of my bias and theirs and then draw my conclusions.
The divide and the bias reporting were clearly demonstrated in how the same polling was reported by different outlets. Some said Trump leading by one point in three swing states was bad news for Harris. Others said Harris was surging. Different views of the same data
Later polls have Harris is now leading in those states. I personally think the differences are too close to call at this time.
This and That
Fact checking the Democratic National Convention shows the need for context. Please note this is a mainstream media posting I consider to be an excellent critique (fact check) of opening night speeches in the convention. I think it is a worthy read for both Liberals and Conservatives.
If you want to age gracefully, be prepared to live with death. Just this week, I lost two high school classmates and learned of a good friend’s earlier death. Aging isn’t for sissies.
Good News
Kindness
Courage
12-Year-Old Saves Mother’s Life In Texas Sinking Car Incident (sunnyskyz.com)
Peace
Jerry
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