"We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption that what is good for the world will be good for us." -Wendell Berry, "A Native Hill"#
Over on Facebook, a friend of a friend reported this bit of political foot-in-mouth that I'm tempted to say is probably what a lot of them are thinking but not saying aloud:#
"Our then district Congressman's Chief of Staff Actually Told myself & 4 other VETS he would Not meet with us, because we were Non-Monetary constituents, ... so we made it our mission to defeat him...[and did in the next election].#
I've mainly been a non-monetary constituent myself, and I had a surprising experience some years ago. I called a member of the Indiana House delegation and somehow said the magic word, accidentally gave the impression I was important, and suddenly the person at the front desk put my call through to somebody in a role like press secretary or chief of staff or something. Then that person spent the next minute or so trying to figure out who I was, and never quite seemed satisfied with what he found out. #
One further impression: the person who ordinarily answered the phone was capable enough, but the up-the-ladder insider who I accidentally got to talk to what two or three notches up the ladder in insider skills and sophistication. #
Not only are we not supposed to notice that man behind the curtain, we're not meant to know that he's a specialist, with skills and knowledge beyond ours that he's not going to reveal or share. It's not just an insider's game, but the insiders are not like you and me. Or so it seemed.#
"We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption that what is good for the world will be good for us." -Wendell Berry, "A Native Hill"#
Over on Facebook, a friend of a friend reported this bit of political foot-in-mouth that I'm tempted to say is probably what a lot of them are thinking but not saying aloud:#
"Our then district Congressman's Chief of Staff Actually Told myself & 4 other VETS he would Not meet with us, because we were Non-Monetary constituents, ... so we made it our mission to defeat him...[and did in the next election].#
I've mainly been a non-monetary constituent myself, and I had a surprising experience some years ago. I called a member of the Indiana House delegation and somehow said the magic word, accidentally gave the impression I was important, and suddenly the person at the front desk put my call through to somebody in a role like press secretary or chief of staff or something. Then that person spent the next minute or so trying to figure out who I was, and never quite seemed satisfied with what he found out. #
One further impression: the person who ordinarily answered the phone was capable enough, but the up-the-ladder insider who I accidentally got to talk to what two or three notches up the ladder in insider skills and sophistication. #
Not only are we not supposed to notice that man behind the curtain, we're not meant to know that he's a specialist, with skills and knowledge beyond ours that he's not going to reveal or share. It's not just an insider's game, but the insiders are not like you and me. Or so it seemed.#
Copyright ⓒ 2021 by Ken Smith
Last update: Sunday September 26, 2021; 10:52 PM EDT.