#594 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Monday February 27)
Good morning,
“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. And loving favor rather than silver and gold”.—Proverbs 22:1
YOU HAVE ONE NAME—PROTECT IT
I have counseled a lot of young lawyers and young businesspeople early in their careers. One of the most important lessons I try to impart is that they begin their careers with a clean slate. Their reputation is untarnished when they start work. It should be jealously guarded and protected in all of their dealings. They only have one reputation and, once sullied through bad behaviors or dishonesty, it cannot be retrieved. I believe this is one of the great lessons in life as well.
There have always been examples of those who are ruthless, cutthroat, liars who are able to succeed without having to curb their animal instincts. But these are, I believe, the exception rather than the rule. Most of the time, people start by cutting a corner here and a corner there. Just a single, small transgression is viewed as not such a big deal. But as time goes on, it becomes easier to find justifications for slightly larger ethical lapses until they simply become bad actors.
It is better to live by the notion that one carries one’s reputation throughout life and it is something that must be maintained and nurtured, resisting the temptation to do something the “easy way.”
CLARITY AND HONESTY
A refrain you’ve read here before is that people don’t have a good appreciation of nuance—that not all issues are clear. Generally there is a grey area to be considered. When communicating with others, that’s a different matter. Trying to couch every statement with multiple qualifiers makes the message difficult to understand. In communications, I prize clarity. While it might be taken for being “too blunt” I think it is best not to leave people guessing about one’s meaning. There is a saying that one should “mean what you say, say what you mean and do what you say.” I think this sort of honesty of intent and objective is critical to maintaining good relations.
HOW HONESTY IS HOLDING UP
Bob Held recently wrote to me and asked about truth and honesty and where they have gone. Bob shares my view that these traits are necessary but often lacking. How can we exist with each other if we cannot trust each other and know that dishonesty is met with repudiation, how can we coexist with each other?
Bob notes that honesty and truth are under attack in politics, in business and in relationships. As to politics, he notes, “With the Santos discoveries and no one doing anything about it, what does that say about our political leaders who will not condemn a party member, political parties who will not censure a member, and voters who will not admit a mistake and show that they need to make a change?”
This question about the unwillingness to condemn a member of one’s political tribe is a troubling. And I actually think it’s counterproductive to one’s own interest and political desires. There are two things going on here. The first is the inability to admit one’s mistake. The second is fear of the party’s base. By being so desirous of maintaining power, they don’t want to risk their short term political standing by standing for truth and morals. If they did, I don’t think Marjorie Taylor Greene or Matt Gaetz would be sitting so comfortably in their House seats, holding meaningful committee appointments. Ironically, because of their unwillingness to condemn Santos’s bad behaviors (and those of others), the Republican leadership may be satisfying their most ardent supporters in the short term, but they are creating a narrative of a failure in leadership and an unwillingness to call out dishonesty that will plague them in the future (and certainly in history).
And this, of course, is the crux of the idea behind Liz Cheney’s now famous quotation to the House: "Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain."
Honor, honesty, and telling the truth. Sadly, in short supply these days.
ARGUING WITH IDIOTS
And while we are quoting great Americans, the words of Mark Twain (attributed but not conclusively proven) ring true:
“Don’t argue with idiots, because they will take you to their level, and then they will beat you with experience.”
Have a great day,
Glenn
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