I am mourning the loss of a good friend. I have been saddened as I have seen a slow. progressive decline.It has been difficult for me to put into words the way that I have felt. I first seriously began reading The Wall Street Journal in the 1970's when I was a struggling copywriter, then private detective living in New York. I started picking up spare copies left on the subway, local bars and the train stations. After a while, I began to enjoy the front page, as it summarized the news of the day, and always had a feature of real interest. The writing was crisp, intelligent and persuasive. I went so far as to budget and purchase daily copies at the newsstand along with the New York Times. We became good friends, the three of us. The WSJ gave me the news and information I needed during the week, on the weekend, the Gray Lady would take me all over the world with it's reporting, analysis, arts, culture and food. I was a happy (young) man.
Over the years, I have lived in many other cities, some big and some small but each of these friends remained with me. Then, 3 short years ago, my friend, The Wall Street Journal, was exposed to a dangerous and spreading malaise. It's origin is thought to be Australia although it is now firmly attached to the United States. It is known as the Murdoch Syndrome...Yes, on August of 2007, the Dow Jones & Company, a family owned business for over a century was purchased by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. It was a typical case of money being thrown at the victim, with a huge premium being paid over the stock's par value. The prognosis was "nothing would change" but, everyone knew this wasn't true. Any reader of the New York Post could attest to that. Soon, the WSJ began to politicize it's already conservative (but well reasoned) editorial page, then the news, then the features... Any recent time spent with my old friend is a sad re-enactment of Fox News (which is another of the Murdoch syndrome victims). A constant drum beat of dangerously slanted information, well screened and chopped into little bites for newly initiated readers, with little or no sense of what has happened in the past, soon followed. Just today, I had finally seen the end and I said goodbye old friend, I knew you when you were great, it is so sad to see you now. I am sure you will understand, you wouldn't want your friends to see you this way.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Born on the Fourth of July, almost.
I have been giving this blog a lot of thought. I intended to publish over the weekend and title it "Born on the Fourth of July" with credit to both Ron Kovic and Oliver Stone but time constraits and some thoughtful procrastination got in the way so today marks my blogging debut. Sure, I have lurked for months, reading all sorts of political, entertainment and real estate blogs knowing for certain that I could write as well as many, less so than some; but, I wanted a relevant topic. I wanted something of importance to me, and to my profession. What I have settled upon has an unknown answer to me so all I can do is ask. Are there politically progressive REALTORS? Time and time again I read REALTOR posts that are slamming the "liberal" press, longing for the "good old days" and railing against "big government." Are there real estate agents, practicing our craft, succeeding in sales and management and supporting both progressive causes and candidates on the local, state and national scene?
While I was born in Tennessee, and presently live outside of Nashville, I spent most of my adult life living on the East Coast of the US in a variety of cities, including New York, Baltimore, Hartford and Richmond. These cities fell along the mostly liberal spectrum with the exception of Richmond, which seemed mired in continuing the fighting of the Civil War both in politics and culture. It was the least fun, with the exception of numerous visits to Charlottesville, of the group. What shaped my beliefs, like so many others, were my life experiences. I left the cocoon of my family, my hometown and to a large degree the belief set(s) of ideas that I had formulated in my youth. I opened up to the world and the world rushed in. I met people from all strata of life; the poor, the over-educated, the rich, the homeless, the urbane and the others on parade in the big cities of the east. I met many people who were not native born Americans but embodied the spirit and vitality of life that made them successful in all they did.
About ten years ago I left a successful career in the publishing world, cashed out most of my investments and began a career in real estate. I was a single dad, with an infant son (he was 6 months old) and a five year old son. I thought real estate would allow me to be "flexible" with my hours and provide a profitable supplemental income for me. I was 49 years old at that time. I learned quickly that flexible meant I had to be on call for parenting and work 24 hours a day and I made $14,000 gross in my first year.
Fast forward ten years and I am now stable, love my work and my boys are happy, successful in their endeavors and we are all closely knit, along with Dingo the Family Dog. Life is OK again.
So what? During this same decade I have seen and observed many, many things taking place in our country that I do not like. I worried on 9/11 that we would lose our soul in a revengeful moment and I think we did. I feared the first invasion of Afghanistan would ultimately be very painful to the country (as historical invasions by the British and Russians had been for them). I did not believe the invasion of Iraq was a just ward and that it was the first, unprovoked attack by the US of another country in our history. The smoke and mirrors of the Executive Branch aside, I wondered why the US press did not take on and report the factual issues that lead us to war until it was too late. Since that time, I have seen the US sink into a divided nation, whatever the issue. It is time for post partisan politics to take hold but I am not confident that will take place. We are at a period in our history where personal bankrupcties are at an all time high, iconic companies are falling, banks and financial institutions are scoundrels at their core, marriages are strained and breaking, politicians are consistently caught in their web of lies and deceit. What can be done? I am not at all sure, but at least a dialogue from progressives, who want to see change, who want to make things work for the many need to step up and take the mantle of leadership from those who have driven us to this point. This is the purpose of my blog, to take the progressive view, that government can and should help and that basic goodness can prevail. It's past time to take action. So my first question: Why are the great majority of REALTORS so conservative politically?
If there are any progressive REALTORS who read this, please let me know I am not alone.
While I was born in Tennessee, and presently live outside of Nashville, I spent most of my adult life living on the East Coast of the US in a variety of cities, including New York, Baltimore, Hartford and Richmond. These cities fell along the mostly liberal spectrum with the exception of Richmond, which seemed mired in continuing the fighting of the Civil War both in politics and culture. It was the least fun, with the exception of numerous visits to Charlottesville, of the group. What shaped my beliefs, like so many others, were my life experiences. I left the cocoon of my family, my hometown and to a large degree the belief set(s) of ideas that I had formulated in my youth. I opened up to the world and the world rushed in. I met people from all strata of life; the poor, the over-educated, the rich, the homeless, the urbane and the others on parade in the big cities of the east. I met many people who were not native born Americans but embodied the spirit and vitality of life that made them successful in all they did.
About ten years ago I left a successful career in the publishing world, cashed out most of my investments and began a career in real estate. I was a single dad, with an infant son (he was 6 months old) and a five year old son. I thought real estate would allow me to be "flexible" with my hours and provide a profitable supplemental income for me. I was 49 years old at that time. I learned quickly that flexible meant I had to be on call for parenting and work 24 hours a day and I made $14,000 gross in my first year.
Fast forward ten years and I am now stable, love my work and my boys are happy, successful in their endeavors and we are all closely knit, along with Dingo the Family Dog. Life is OK again.
So what? During this same decade I have seen and observed many, many things taking place in our country that I do not like. I worried on 9/11 that we would lose our soul in a revengeful moment and I think we did. I feared the first invasion of Afghanistan would ultimately be very painful to the country (as historical invasions by the British and Russians had been for them). I did not believe the invasion of Iraq was a just ward and that it was the first, unprovoked attack by the US of another country in our history. The smoke and mirrors of the Executive Branch aside, I wondered why the US press did not take on and report the factual issues that lead us to war until it was too late. Since that time, I have seen the US sink into a divided nation, whatever the issue. It is time for post partisan politics to take hold but I am not confident that will take place. We are at a period in our history where personal bankrupcties are at an all time high, iconic companies are falling, banks and financial institutions are scoundrels at their core, marriages are strained and breaking, politicians are consistently caught in their web of lies and deceit. What can be done? I am not at all sure, but at least a dialogue from progressives, who want to see change, who want to make things work for the many need to step up and take the mantle of leadership from those who have driven us to this point. This is the purpose of my blog, to take the progressive view, that government can and should help and that basic goodness can prevail. It's past time to take action. So my first question: Why are the great majority of REALTORS so conservative politically?
If there are any progressive REALTORS who read this, please let me know I am not alone.
Am I an embarassment to my profession?
This is one of my favorite responses to a comment I made in the New York Times:
Returning to work after attending a Habitat for Humanity kickoff campaign, I noticed an email in my Blackberry inbox. After reading it, I went to the Active Rain website, and surely enough, Borat (?) did send me the following message via the Active Rain website:
Message
Name: Email Address: Subject: IP: Message:
After ruling out people that I know, who might actually be playing a little internet gag on this Friday afternoon I became convinced that Mr. Borat must have read my comments in the NYTimes today, tracked my name back to Active Rain and sent me his little screed. For those who might be interested in what I wrote, I am including it below. It is a response to an article by Paul Krugman, Professor of Economics at Princeton University and ah, Nobel Laureate in Economnics:
255. HIGHLIGHT (what's this?) Paul Gaddes Franklin, TN December 4th, 2009 1:40 pm Thanks for this cogent, honest and revealing expose on the GOP's Senate strategy...I live in a Red State and am forwarding this article to my two GOP Senators, Mssrs. Alexander and Corker, who, will of course ignore these facts and vote against health care reform. Recommend Recommended by 27 Readers (Notice that the Times gave my post a Highlight rating which means it represents a broad group of readers)
So, now that I know that I am a weenie, and having been called out by a person who won't honestly identify himself and by looking around to realize that "I don't live in the real world" (although, I do like Tennessee) I guess I will change my lifelong beliefs, political affiliations and go against all the lessons that I have learned in life...oh, the power of an anonomous email...
Returning to work after attending a Habitat for Humanity kickoff campaign, I noticed an email in my Blackberry inbox. After reading it, I went to the Active Rain website, and surely enough, Borat (?) did send me the following message via the Active Rain website:
Message
Name: Email Address: Subject: IP: Message:
| Borat |
| bigboy@gmail.com |
| Paul's New York Times comments |
| 12.6.188.130 |
| Paul is a serious liberal weenie with little of substance to say. Paul - please stop! You are a complete embarrassment to your profession and to anyone living in the real world. |
After ruling out people that I know, who might actually be playing a little internet gag on this Friday afternoon I became convinced that Mr. Borat must have read my comments in the NYTimes today, tracked my name back to Active Rain and sent me his little screed. For those who might be interested in what I wrote, I am including it below. It is a response to an article by Paul Krugman, Professor of Economics at Princeton University and ah, Nobel Laureate in Economnics:
255. HIGHLIGHT (what's this?) Paul Gaddes Franklin, TN December 4th, 2009 1:40 pm Thanks for this cogent, honest and revealing expose on the GOP's Senate strategy...I live in a Red State and am forwarding this article to my two GOP Senators, Mssrs. Alexander and Corker, who, will of course ignore these facts and vote against health care reform. Recommend Recommended by 27 Readers (Notice that the Times gave my post a Highlight rating which means it represents a broad group of readers)
So, now that I know that I am a weenie, and having been called out by a person who won't honestly identify himself and by looking around to realize that "I don't live in the real world" (although, I do like Tennessee) I guess I will change my lifelong beliefs, political affiliations and go against all the lessons that I have learned in life...oh, the power of an anonomous email...
Isn't that the way it is suposed to work?
But my point here, as a Progressive REALTOR, at lunch today, I was flummoxed while watching conservative television (yes, I like to hear differing points of views). The newscaster (personality) was saying, in essence, that the movement upward in the economy was only a consequence of "Cash for Clunkers" and "The First Time Home buyer's Credit". I let that sink in for a while, but then I decided that was the point of both of these programs. Here is a contemporary example of how government is supposed to work. Following the virtual collapse of the national, and hence international banking system, the private markets either a)had no capital or b) were unwilling to risk their capital in such a turbulent market. Whatever the reason, capitalism was frozen in it's tracks. After the standard hullabaloo and political posturing the Congress basically followed the blueprint created by the Bush advisors and refined by the Obama Administration by dumping money into the system. That "stimulus" is still being infused today for worthy projects. My local utility company just yesterday announced a $110 million grant for improving the stability of their grid, which in turns, benefits several hundred thousand customers.
What bothered me about the TV story at lunch, was that there was no acknowledgement of the contradictory position that they had taken only a short time ago. They were very much against the "government giveaways" and "big spending" but now that those programs are showing real results, they credit those programs as the reason the GDP is growing, but cannot bring themselves to admit that it is yet another example of how government can and will be beneficial to the public at large IF and only IF government is staffed by smart, hardworking and qualified people.
On the pages of Active Rain I have seen Ronald Reagan's quote paraphrased several times. He has purportedly stated "government doesn't have a problem. government IS the problem" While this often draws applause in various circles, I fundamentally disagree. To quote H.L. Mencken "For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong."
Many American's today are late blooming fiscal tightwads. They fight and scratch against any and all changes to our various belief systems regarding health care , taxes, helping the disadvantaged, improving educational opportunities for all citizens and the list goes on. If we allow the progress of our society to be short changed then we deserve what the future could hold for us. How many of you still reminisce about the days of the paper listing services, the post card mailing campaigns and those folks who managed the Katrina rescue. There are talented and smart people in the government now, and we should be thankful
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)