Sunday Musings – January 5, 2020
The sky is falling
Stories are often used at all stages to life to teach and remind us of some basic life lessons. Stories written for children are often some of the most poignant and powerful. When I am working for/with clients of all ages I often ask them to speak in a way a four-year-old could easily comprehend what is being said. It seems that we adults often use words and wordings which sound as if we are saying something important but does not communicate anything. We might think that politicians commit the most egregious examples of such convoluted communication. Yet, many of us are quite adept at speaking in tautologies. A tautology, one might recall, is a statement which proports to say something and which might be delivered as a very profound statement but which adds nothing to our fund of knowledge. For example, saying that my black shirt is black is a true statement. Yet, of course, all black shirts are black!
This morning I was reading an editorial in the local paper about the fact that we often teach historical facts without attempting to help students trace the factors, events or decisions which led up to that historical fact. If we want to learn from history surely, we need to trace those factors.
In the middle of the 19th century there appeared in print a Danish version of the Henny Penny folk story Kylling Kluk. Many will know this story and the chief character as The Story of Chicken Little or The Hen and Her Fellow Travelers. In this story Chicken Little or Kylling Kluk frequently give sage advice to other animals. One day, however, an acorn falls on her head and when she cannot identify what has fallen she assumes the sky has fallen. She rushes to tell the king this important fact. The king wisely investigates and discovers that it was indeed a mere acorn which has fallen on the head of Chicken Little.
It seems easy for us humans to experience life as if the sky is falling on our head. Yet, often it is a mere acorn or what I term a nuisance. Nuisance issues need to be addressed. If the electric goes off in my house I need to determine if the electric company is making repairs or there is some issue within the electrical system in my house. It is not prudent to just ignore the issue and yet it is not a case of the sky falling.
In our personal life and in our national and international life as a country we often cry “The sky is falling.” when in fact an acorn has fallen. There is a situation which sorely needs addressed but, if not careful we will respond with guns blazing as if the sky is falling.
Some believe that our response to the attack on 9/11 on the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon was an example of acting as if the sky was falling. Certainly the attacks had tragic consequences and needed to be addressed. Yet, we seemed to view them with little understanding or even concern for the events which had led up to the attacks. The fact that we have started wars which are ongoing may attest to a chicken little response. Some might think that the recent killing of the Iranian general by the United States is a chicken little response. Some would disagree and think it was a long overdue response. Some will think that the response to the response is an acorn response and some will say it is a chicken little response.
I suspect that we all need to take a step back, accept that we cannot change what has been done, and decide if we, as a country want to problem solve or run to the king to report that the sky is falling. Surely, we all recognize that the entire Congress needs to access the situation and formulate a long-term approach to how we, as a country, are going to work with other countries to address the serious issues which exist between us and other countries in the Middle East as well as those in other parts of the country. Surely, we need to address climate change, broken judicial and health care systems and a host of other issues.
Perhaps first and foremost on this Sunday I must be cognizant of how often my rhetoric contributes to the chicken little syndrome. The sky is falling may make for good tweets and political campaign news coverage but it may do little to facilitate sitting down together to problem solve.
Written January 5, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
The sky is falling
Stories are often used at all stages to life to teach and remind us of some basic life lessons. Stories written for children are often some of the most poignant and powerful. When I am working for/with clients of all ages I often ask them to speak in a way a four-year-old could easily comprehend what is being said. It seems that we adults often use words and wordings which sound as if we are saying something important but does not communicate anything. We might think that politicians commit the most egregious examples of such convoluted communication. Yet, many of us are quite adept at speaking in tautologies. A tautology, one might recall, is a statement which proports to say something and which might be delivered as a very profound statement but which adds nothing to our fund of knowledge. For example, saying that my black shirt is black is a true statement. Yet, of course, all black shirts are black!
This morning I was reading an editorial in the local paper about the fact that we often teach historical facts without attempting to help students trace the factors, events or decisions which led up to that historical fact. If we want to learn from history surely, we need to trace those factors.
In the middle of the 19th century there appeared in print a Danish version of the Henny Penny folk story Kylling Kluk. Many will know this story and the chief character as The Story of Chicken Little or The Hen and Her Fellow Travelers. In this story Chicken Little or Kylling Kluk frequently give sage advice to other animals. One day, however, an acorn falls on her head and when she cannot identify what has fallen she assumes the sky has fallen. She rushes to tell the king this important fact. The king wisely investigates and discovers that it was indeed a mere acorn which has fallen on the head of Chicken Little.
It seems easy for us humans to experience life as if the sky is falling on our head. Yet, often it is a mere acorn or what I term a nuisance. Nuisance issues need to be addressed. If the electric goes off in my house I need to determine if the electric company is making repairs or there is some issue within the electrical system in my house. It is not prudent to just ignore the issue and yet it is not a case of the sky falling.
In our personal life and in our national and international life as a country we often cry “The sky is falling.” when in fact an acorn has fallen. There is a situation which sorely needs addressed but, if not careful we will respond with guns blazing as if the sky is falling.
Some believe that our response to the attack on 9/11 on the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon was an example of acting as if the sky was falling. Certainly the attacks had tragic consequences and needed to be addressed. Yet, we seemed to view them with little understanding or even concern for the events which had led up to the attacks. The fact that we have started wars which are ongoing may attest to a chicken little response. Some might think that the recent killing of the Iranian general by the United States is a chicken little response. Some would disagree and think it was a long overdue response. Some will think that the response to the response is an acorn response and some will say it is a chicken little response.
I suspect that we all need to take a step back, accept that we cannot change what has been done, and decide if we, as a country want to problem solve or run to the king to report that the sky is falling. Surely, we all recognize that the entire Congress needs to access the situation and formulate a long-term approach to how we, as a country, are going to work with other countries to address the serious issues which exist between us and other countries in the Middle East as well as those in other parts of the country. Surely, we need to address climate change, broken judicial and health care systems and a host of other issues.
Perhaps first and foremost on this Sunday I must be cognizant of how often my rhetoric contributes to the chicken little syndrome. The sky is falling may make for good tweets and political campaign news coverage but it may do little to facilitate sitting down together to problem solve.
Written January 5, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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