Kindness Counts

My wife and I have become fans of ABC's  Designated Survivor , the fictional account of a cabinet member's ascendance to the Presidency premised on a tragic event that claimed the lives of literally all representatives of the three branches of our federal government.  In actor Kiefer Sutherland's portrayal of President Tom Kirkman we follow an idealistic account of his Executive Administration.   A recent episode tackled the very timely and sensitive subject of monuments to the Confederacy and the give and take between the President and one of the leaders of the early Civil Rights Movement.  Watch:  http://www.tvguide.com/news/designated-survivor-season-2-episode-3-recap/ The snippet is a tidy portrayal of respectful deference to a seasoned social change warrior he then returning honor to the figurative head of the free world.  By professional actors.  On television.    How does acquiescence play out in reali...

In this age of 24 hour media does it not seem that we are under a constant barrage of oneupmanship and whose voice can drown out the other?  Where is common courtesy and respect for the other person?  How can these attributes be leveraged as an asset for both business and personal success?    A lot of our communication can be tiresome.  It not only may tend towards loud and obnoxious, but intrusive, all knowing, and often self-centered.  I have reduced much of my television viewing for these very reasons. The alternative, print media, can be just as provocative.  A major daily that I subscribe to on line flashes advertising for a car dealership upon clicking to the first story selected, repeated clicks to remove the ad seemingly either ineffective or further locking in and illuminating the ad. To be fair, I don't want to cast stones solely at our often maligned journalists.  Many interpersonal conversations center upon th...