You cannot be a Catholic and be a Democrat! Period. The two are mutually-exclusive and it is irrational to assert otherwise.
May 2009 Archives
My daughter's college math professor sent the following surprisingly non-moonbatty message to the class:
To be good, one must do good. To do good, one must know what is good, and this is where education plays a formative role.
Gandhi once said, "One cannot be committed to doing good in one area of your life while you are committed to doing bad in another; life is one indivisible whole." In other words, a person cannot better his professional life unless he betters his personal life as well. He cannot make good decisions at home and bad decisions at work.
It is critical that we improve ourselves through education. Why? It has been said that he who would govern others must first govern himself. In other words, if you have any intention of successfully managing people, you must first "know thyself" (as Socrates said) and continually make yourself a better person. Another saying goes, "Hatred against others is inseparable from hatred against oneself." Put more plainly: if you do not like yourself, it is nearly impossible for you to like anyone else.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said that the role of education is to "live well, think wisely, and act sensibly." He did not say that its role is to make more money or earn company promotions. He understood (as we all should) that our role as educators is to improve the person, not only the professional. He understood that time invested in improving oneself cuts down on time wasted in disapproving others. You become better by improving your environment, surrounding yourself with good people, and learning from skilled teachers.
I am absolutely convinced that effective people (and managers) bring a bit of humanity, warmth, and caring to their environment. They create an inviting and supportive place that is conducive to improving their future, but they also encourage and stimulate others to be good and do what is good. People leave positive work environments feeling better about themselves and about the experiences they had.
You cannot help everyone (e.g., some people are not interested in knowing their direction in life, what they stand for, what they should strive for, or how they can better themselves and their environment, etc.), but you should not necessarily be concerned about that. Always look on the positive side; think of those whom you have positively influenced, and your future will comprise invigorating experiences for you and for those with whom you spend your time. Thanks Jen!