Bikes and Work Gloves

Some time ago I had an interesting experience at a local Walmart. Walking to my car with a cart of groceries I walked past a bike chained to a handicap sign. The bike had a beat up light for riding at night and a bent and re-bent rack for holding bags or whatever. The bike looked well used.

Then I saw the owner of the bike.

A "Mexican" - he checked the lock as he walked by, the way any responsible bike owner would.

Some background on me. I grew up in Queen Creek, Arizona. My Dad was literally raised on a farm and wanted his kids to have the same experience. My parents bought a lot, plopped down a house and started a garden before the paint was dry. Summers for me were not spent with video games but working the garden and mowing the lawn. During and after high school I got a job working for a family friend doing construction. Most of my time was spent working for/with his foreman, Manual. He liked to call me "el gato" because I would volunteer to climb high in the framing of our projects. I got an education from my experiences with Manual that I have always struggled to put into words in a way that conveyed my real feelings.

Then I remembered that bike and remembered my experiences with Manual.

I saw the owner in the parking lot. He worked for Walmart bringing in their carts and I am pretty sure he was cut from the same cloth as Manual. He wore a hat, not a ball cap but a wide brimmed hat that kept out the sun. He had gloves that had the wavy white sweat lines that properly used gloves get. He was "seasoned" as some say.

I had parked pretty close to the cart return but rather than put my basket there I walked it back to the store. I owed, this man, that. I didn't do it out of pity or desire to provide reparations one cart at a time.

He knew how to work and he was not afraid or ashamed to do it. He had a light on his bike, not for midnight runs to get booze but because he started work before the sun was up. He wore gloves because he knew that callouses could get so big that it would hurt to move his fingers. His hat shielded his eyes because he knew the sun would get to them by the end of the day.

Did he need to work? Maybe, but probably not. With government programs, less effort would be required to sponge from program to program. People don't work with that kind of purpose for money. I think I knew that he was working for the same reason my Dad worked and had me and my siblings work. He rode his bike early each morning and wore sweaty gloves everyday on the hope that his kids could be just a little better, have just a little more.

Growing up my Dad traveled and worked long hours. I knew it was hard on him, that there where other things he wanted to do and I always respected him for doing what he needed to be a good provider. Having my own kids I see how hard being away can be and I respect him even more. Maybe I was saying thank you to my Dad, or maybe I was saying thank you to that man for his kids, I don't really know. I do know walking a cart back to the store was the absolutely smallest thing I could have done, he really deserved much more.

Its time for change! Lets get rid of Conservative v. Liberal

Some people say "Well being a Liberal..." or "as a strong conservative...". Sometimes we even hear "I tend to be more moderate in..." or derisively "I am more progressive in my stance on..." and it's "right wing" counterpart "people should have more freedom in..."

All these terms are B.S. and no, for my accounting friends, I do not mean Balance Sheet.

Issues v. Principles: Why feelings get in the way

Thankfully we live in a world where current issues are passionately followed, researched and discussed. Information on everything is everywhere at anytime. People are more educated on important facts and figures than at any other point in the history of the world. If our friend Facebook asks a question or has a snide comment we can ask our friend Google the answer and (not sarcastically) become an expert in a short amount of time. This is a positive. We are able to make very well informed decisions with, compared even to just a few years ago, little effort.

The problem or situation that arises is not one of dearth of information but rather so much information that the real question becomes obscured. We look to commentary and rhetoric to pull us to the "right" conclusion relying on human emotions instead of critically investigating an issue looking for the underlying principles and using facts and pre-established ideals to guide our decisions. Health care reform provides a good example of how our feelings/emotions get in the way of what is principally best for society.

Think briefly how the debate on health care has been framed, "but people without health care get cancer and can't pay for the treatment and then they die" or "people without health care go to emergency rooms and clog things up when all they need is a doctors visit, it makes your care worse". Many things are obscured by these viewpoints that frame the discussion as one of "health care"(a service) when what is really being debated is health care INSURANCE (a good).

We see the issue as one of human welfare rather than a decision of whether or not to purchase a good. We see it as helping poor people not die from cancer instead of an individual's choice of where to use their resources (money).

We have allowed our feelings and desire to do good to produce the issue of "health care".

We have cast aside the logic of free agency supporting principles of choice and accountability.

By telling you to buy insurance I remove your agency, your ability to decide for yourself. I say you are too dumb to make the decision for yourself; I need to make it for you.

By telling me to pay for your insurance you revoke my ability to express true charity, you say that I am not capable of finding a worthy cause. You say that I have to be told who is worthy of my attention.