Halftime Principles
A Super Bowl television ad ... and one of our country's most brilliant minds in Economics.
The two were made for each other, and yet I'll bet nobody else has noticed this ... yet.
The Economist
I first met Woody Brock at a Financial Planning Association conference several years ago. He is the most brilliant mind in economics with which I have ever engaged - almost too brilliant (it's tough for even me to keep up with him and I'm an economics nerd/junkie).
Woody Brock has a new book called, "American Gridlock." In it Brock distinguishes between deductive logic from what he calls "First Principles" (basic "truths" of life that should be used to guide our daily actions) and inductive logic with inferences often derived from ideologically-driven data analysis. This cherry-picking of data has created a cacophony of worthless jibberish in the dialog between political camps, but complete gridlock in being able to make the hard choices that need to be made in the very near future.
The Commercial
Enter the 2-minute Super Bowl ad put together by Chrysler and voiced by Clint Eastwood.
The message is inspiring. It's halftime in America. We're down but not out. "This country can't be knocked out with one punch."
True Debate No More
We no longer have a "discussion" of ideas in this country. We have completely abandoned the Socratic method of debate and moved to a high-pitched scream-fest as the media, the politicians and the really good salespeople use limited data points that echo their own ideology and buy the biggest pulpits from which to work the (one-way) "conversation" to their personal advantage.
I find this aspect of modern life detestable and I see it as a highly corrosive and destructive force. It freezes people in their tracks. As the commercial says about past events,
"the fog of division, discord and blame made it hard to see what lay ahead."
We're stressed out, unsure of our direction and (as a society right now) looking to other people to tell us which way to go. I believe that is where we're missing the boat.
The Need for Truths
Woody and Clint are both correct.
We must get away from the fog of division, discord and blame. We must stop looking to some other person or group of people to tell us what to do. Instead we must focus on those First Principles. The debate needs to be reframed and the sooner that happens, the easier will be our choices. It will also be easier to launch forward rather than stay mired knee deep in the mud being slung by opponents at each other.
"After those trials we all rallied around what was right and acted as one."
The Personal Truth - Balance
There is only one thing that is "right" and that is the Truth - those First Principles that Woody talks about.
From my own little sphere of knowledge, I offer this basic Personal Truth (as I did in my financial planning blog post - Personal Finance Truth #1). The reason people are unhealthy, unwealthy or suffering poor relationships is because their life is out of balance.
"Every type of problem - financial, health, relationship, legal - is a problem because choices have been made and actions taken that are out of aligment."
In simple terms, the problems start when: you spend more than you make, you eat more than your body can burn off and you take more than you give in your relationships.
But isn't that what we're doing en-masse? Isn't that what our leaders are doing ... and then telling us that these rules don't apply to them?
Free-Lunch Society
Our society has become fixated on the free lunch. No more hard work. No more challenge. I deserve more just because I'm an American citizen (or not).
We have a media, political and even an educational culture that rewards and reinforces a free-lunch society, getting something for nothing, a chance to get without having to give. The politicians hand out free stuff in return for votes. We applaud and vote them into higher office so they can give us even more. Young people are taught to be paid for the time they spend on the job, not the value they create through their work. Salespeople peddle pills that will solve your health problems, or products that will make your dirty house go away ... or an insurance product that will save you from financial ruin.
We don't pay attention to First Principles anymore. They're boring and they go against that most basic of human desires for an easy life.
Great Reset Anyone?
Back in 2008, I was rooting for what I called "The Great Reset" where someone would push that big, red reset button. Things would get really ugly for a short time as we cleared all the bad debt, poorly run businesses and political hacks out of the system.
Then we would start to recover. People would band together. They would collaborate and support each other. Each person would focus on the value they could bring to their neighbors. In return, they would be compensated. Life would quickly get back in balance. We would eat less, work harder, save and invest more. We would be healthier. Life would be good, and probably far less stressful.
We would do all these things because they were the right things to do ... based on sound "truths" ... not because somebody else said we should or must.
Only Utopia or Only Solution
Some readers will probably comment that I'm enjoying another "out of this world" Utopian moment. It's a dream. This will never happen here. Then again, that Super Bowl ad that Clint Eastwood voiced for Chrysler got a lot of positive attention. I don't believe everything that was expressed in there, but I do believe in the overall good of the American character.
We ARE at halftime. We are down, but not out. We can come from behind, but it won't be easy and there is a lot of work to do.
John