I’m as big a critic of President Biden as anyone one but one of my biggest pet peeves with him is his inability to make a quick and logical decision without involving the Congress or twenty advisory committees. It’s as if he realizes his decisions may be faulty so he asks for backup to try and cover his butt if things don’t go as expected. In my mind that does not make a good leader, it actually weakens the presidency in the eyes of the world as recent comments from Great Britain confirm. So I’ve gone searching for the thoughts of other late and great Americans on this subject.
- “Problems come when the individual tries to hand over the decision-making to a committee.” Rupert Murdoch
- ” If I had to sum up in one word what makes a good manager, I’d say decisiveness.” Lee Iacocca
- “The percentage of mistakes in quick decisions is no greater than in long, drawn-out vacillations, and the effective of decisiveness itself “makes things go” and creates confidence.” Ann O’Hare McCormick
- ” A decision delayed until it is too late is not a decision; it’s an evasion.” Anonymous
I understand the need of big government to have panels and advisory committees. The President supposedly makes the final decision but a really smart president makes it in a reasonable length of time. The need for lengthy meetings, conferences, and telephone calls in the middle of the night to Democratic and Republican buddies isn’t getting the job done in my view. Nothing is more important than a timely decision. If the voters in this country took as long to make a decision as some of the politicians, it would take twelve years to elect a president. Now that I think about it maybe that’s the best way to go.
A QUESTIONABLE DECISION IS PREFERABLE TO A DELAYED ONE
Socrates is famous for this quote, "The unexamined life is not worth living." With that thought in mind I’d like to ask you ten questions. These questions will concern your values, your beliefs and your life in general. To answer them truthfully will require that you examine your belief system when faced with difficult situations and ethical dilemmas. You may be surprised just how much personal reflection it requires and how many interesting discussions it may initiate to answer them.
I’m putting forward these ten questions to start our discussion and more will follow if there’s an interest. I’ll answer each question myself as truthfully as I possibly can and I hope you’ll do the same. If you wish, please send me an anonymous email or comment with your answers. I’m sure they’d be of interest to us all.
Q1. Do you believe in God? If not, do you think you might pray if you were in a life-threatening situation?
A. I’m not a believer and one of the reasons is that I’ve been in life threatening situations a few times and there was no praying going on.
Q2. If you found yourself attracted to a person of a different race, how would your behavior differ from what it would be with someone of your own race?
A. Not one bit.
Q3. Would you be willing to give up television for five years if a benefactor would provide for 1,000 starving children in some poor country?
A. No.
Q4. Would you add one year to your life if it meant taking a year from someone else? Would it make a difference if you personally knew the person whose life you’d shortened?
A. No, I wouldn’t do it regardless of who it was.
Q5. Would you be willing to murder an innocent person to end world hunger?
A. No.
Q6. If you could prevent either an earthquake in Costa Rica that would kill 10,000 people, a crash at a local airport that would kill 100 people, or an auto accident that would kill a friend or family member, which would you choose?
A. The earthquake, of course.
Q7. You are given a $1,000,000 to donate anonymously to charity. How would you do it?
A. $500,000.00 to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and another $500,000.00 to the Wounded Warrior Fund.
Q8. If 100 people your age were questioned, how many do you think you’d find leading a more satisfying life than your own?
A. 20
Q9. If you could wake up tomorrow in the body of someone else, would you do it? And next, who would you pick?
A. No-one, I’m comfortable in my own skin.
Q10. Does the fact that you’ve never done something increase or decrease it’s appeal to you?
A. A definite increase, I’d love the challenge.
Did they make you think a little? I hate to admit it but they did for me.
everyuselessthing.com 