Being sure that an idea is good...

I'm beginning to learn how to know if an original idea is any good...it's when it works over and over again...

I've had several personal and professional situations, recently, which have made me beyond a doubt, reasonable or unreasonable, sure of the application of the ideas I've been working with in interpersonal situations, nevertheless policy...meaning both that softer and least possible aggressive means deal with situations better, generally...but also that this the direction that people will take, not just that they should take...

That's what I love about policy...it's the coming together of the ideal world of moral aspirations and the messy world of real human interaction...

As Bobby Kennedy said...real moral courage is rare, truth be told...

And it isn't enhanced by power...quite the contrary, it is often eroded and undermined by power...people with power can be good people...but power can often undermine an otherwise moral or decent aim...

Real leaders of moral courage -- Jesus, Buddha, Ghandi, King...and I would include Desmond Tutu -- don't use or need power to have influence...

They use the soft power of ideas and genuine justice...

The tricky part is that none of these men have been responsible for using force to defend people from harm, inside their countries or outside...

And force is definitely needed, at times, for self-defense...or, in the case of Iraq, to remove a bloody tyrant or to protect the weak from the predatory...

But the insanity that humanity creates for itself is that once it is embroiled in the responsible use of power and wealth (a form of power) and the use of force...it often gets lost in its own rationalizations about it's need to have it and use the maximum amount of it and with as much frequency as it can...

And that is the sad and perpetual tragedy of humanity...it is not unavoidable...it is not unchangeable...

And most hopeful, it is not unchanging...

It does and is changing, as I write these words...
What is most hopeful about this tragedy...is as Bobby Kennedy quoted Aeschylus as saying...

"Pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon heart until at last in our own despair comes wisdom by the awful grace of God."

Or as Aeschylus himself said...

"Wisdom comes through suffering.
Trouble, with its memories of pain,
Drips in our hearts as we try to sleep,
So men against their will
Learn to practice moderation.
Favours come to us from gods."

I find myself, like most people, softening in my old age...because the failure to do so is arrogance and pride...neither of which are capable of leading anything...

The one most important thing I am most proud of in my life is that I will likely be a pretty good father and husband...

I'm realizing, as I grow older, that our influence in this world and even the next is very limited...but often lasting...at least it is lasting if you have something to share worth keeping...

Have a great week, everyone:):)...

Love,
Ben