They Lie!

The other night, a representative of the state of South Carolina yelled at the President of the United States, “You Lie!” South Carolinians probably either shuddered or raised out of their chairs cheering, depending on their political leanings.

Michael Jordan told the crowd at his Hall of Fame induction that he told Tex Winter, “There is no I in TEAM, but there is in WIN.”

Both of these Southern gentlemen, in different ways, professed the overpowering “What have you done for ME lately” that seems to be permeating our American society. There is no togetherness anymore and everyone is suspicious of our leaders and their motives. One party seems to be asking that we protect everyone, the other says that they are protecting the rights of all. One screams their message and even adds hateful words to their message. This message seems to be pulling the nation apart much like the message of the 1860s did. And we all know where that led us.

Jordan’s speech was of competitive fire, but it hid a glorification of self. “I did this…. I had the fire” He never mentioned his teammates who gave him the ball, who played defense against the other players. I doubt highly if he would have been the player he was had he not had the teammates who gave up their games and sacrificed so he could grab the headlines. He inherited a team which was failing and turned them into a winner, but he was surrounded by others who helped him, he cannot claim, although he does, that he did it, not they did it.

I recently retired from coaching and teaching after 34 years. Through those years, I can honestly say that I never accomplished anything alone. My marriage is definitely a team effort, with me being the manager, and my wife being the general manager. I often let my teams decide things like practice times, and discipline. One time, they were having difficulty with the offense, and so I let them alone and had them do an offense. It worked, and we adopted the offense the rest of the year and won quite a few games. Everybody won because a few were able to change. They did not yell and scream that things had to be done their way, they negotiated and came to a unified conclusion.

Jordan disappointed me. He revealed that he was more of an egotist who was more concerned about winning and having his own way than I ever thought he did. His use of the prime pronoun really shocked me. But his way of thinking is not much different than the two parties who are struggling to work out a health care program. They both want their own ways, and there has to be a middle ground that is good for all involved.

The parties that brings the hatred to the table and the other issues are doing nothing more than taking away from the real problems and clouding the debate. There has to be some give and take. There has to be a point at which one decides to trust their leaders and hope that they are is going to take the the country to a place where all are looked after. Everyone might not be happy, but in America, the majority rules. If these groups which spew hatred and misinformation are convinced that things have to be done their way or the rest of us should take the highway, there is one thing for certain:

They Lie!

Doughnut