It's A Lot of Little Things

by Irene Daniel

We hear a lot of talk these days about our nation's many woes. We hear a number of solutions offered. Some are a little oversimplified; some filled with rhetoric and vitriol. And almost always, there are at least two sides venomously pitted against one another.

Let's take the discussion of gun violence, for example. Some claim the solution is more guns; for others, it's less availability of certain kinds of guns and ammo. For still others it's all about mental health issues; as well as the prevalence of violence offered as entertainment in our culture.

Here in the land of the free and the home of the brave, we liberally exercise our right to free speech; even if we don't know what we're talking about. We label one another this thing or that, even though most of the people we label, blame and shame are complete strangers to us; persons of whom we know little or nothing. Free speech is something that is so precious, that only the most narrowly tailored time, place and manner restrictions are legally imposed upon it, and only in the face of a compelling state interest, like public safety. And that is a very good thing.

However, is all this insistence on adopting only the solution we personally advance, based upon our own limited perspectives, really getting us anywhere? Are we engaging in any meaningful dialogue when refuse to see past ourselves? Or are we just shutting down the conversation with fearful name-calling and baseless accusations? Is it possible that the other person on the other side of any issue may actually have a valid point to contribute to a potential solution on gun violence, as well as a whole host of other issues?

Is there really only one solution, based upon one perspective? Don't we all wish it were that easy; but it's not. Democracy, if practiced with passion as we do here in the USA, is a messy thing; full of all kinds of people with all kinds of jobs, interests, priorities and anxieties. We all deserve to be heard. It is the very essence of who we are. And very much like the story of the Six Blind Men and the Elephant, we are all at least partly correct, from our limited vantage point.

In 1980, after coaching the San Francisco Forty-Niners to their first Super Bowl victory, Coach Bill Walsh was asked a lot of questions about his secret to success. Is it your passing game? Running? Suicide squads? Is it your front-line? Secondary? Pass-rush? What is your focus, he was asked. I have never forgotten his answer.

He said that he never focused on any one thing, because it's never just one thing that's gonna win the game for you. He said, "It's a lot of little things."

A lot of little things. Little things. A lot of them. Isn't that really how life is? Isn't raising kids about a lot of little things? Farming and ranching are still big out here in the Cowboy Cradle of the Southwest; and any farmer or rancher can tell you that growing crops and running a ranch are comprised daily of "a lot of little things." Writing, and writing well, I assure you, is about "a lot of little things." It's really all about paying attention to those myriad little things, that contribute to a positive outcome.

Why then, when advancing solutions to reflect the needs of our citizens, do certain voices insist that it is only "this," and cannot be "that?" Isn't mental illness a component of the epidemic of mass shootings that we are experiencing? Is it the only one? Of course not. Is it necessary to make available high-powered assault rifles and huge magazine clips, that are specifically designed to kill as many human beings as possible in an instant? Isn't this another component of the problem that we could examine objectively and discuss as patriots who have compassion for the hundreds of our fellow citizens who have been murdered by someone using this weaponry?

Yes, we live in an often violent culture. We are born of violence, of revolution. And this spirit of aggressive revolution seems to be ensconced in our American DNA. That, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing, nor necessarily a good one; but it is another piece of this violent puzzle. We should be grown-up enough to look at these many ingredients that have resulted in this unsavory mess in which we now stew, and examine how they contribute to the problem, as well as the solution.

I have no direct answers or suggestions to gun violence in America, nor to any of the other issues facing us in this election cycle. I believe that there are answers out there and that we can find them together; but it won't be easy and it won't be quick. And it won't be a democratic one if voices are shut down instead of invited to contribute.

I don't have the answers. I seem to have more and more questions as I get older, and find myself less wedded to one perspective or another. For questions beckon the answers when faced honestly and courageously, and I believe that my fellow Americans have the courage to face one another honestly. What we do not have is a compassionate dialogue with one another.

How do we create that dialogue? How can we evolve into the 21st century thinking that is necessary to solve 21st century problems and create 21st century innovation and prosperity?

Well, I'm getting started right here in this space that I have occupied with my words every week now for the past 3 years. I want to create a true 21st century dialogue with my friends and readers. I want to have deep and delicious conversations that illuminate solutions. Doesn't that sound better than name-calling and vitriol? I hope so.

Watch this space.

                                                              Copyright 2015, Irene Daniel, all rights reserved.