They Did What !

There are two peculiar things that happen every year about this time.

The first is a strange phenomenon of time. The 25th of December comes around every year right on schedule but it always seems to get here sooner than expected. Time appears to speed up starting in November and increases as we move into December. No matter how carefully we plan, everything gets knocked asunder by the unexpected – sick kids, crunch projects at work, auto and appliance breakdowns, and countless other unanticipated events. And suddenly the 25th is on top of us and we can’t figure out how it got here so fast.

Still, in spite of the rush and bustle, this is my favorite time of year. People seem kinder to each other. There are more smiles passed around. Everywhere you look, you see little faces shining with excitement.

The second peculiar thing is a behavioral phenomenon. People complain about the commercialization of Christmas and there is much evidence in stores and excessive advertising in print and on TV to back up these complaints. But it seems strange that so many of us seem to think we have to buy into this just because the retailers are selling it. When it comes to the rest of our lives, most of us are pretty vocal when others try to boss us around and tell us what we “should‿ or “have to‿ do. For some unfathomable reason, we react differently to this particular “should‿ as we rush to join the buying frenzy.

It might be interesting to see the result if all the people who object to the commercialization of Christmas, just made the choice not to be a part of it. What if they chose to celebrate the season with gifts of their time and energy -- doing things for others, making things using the skills and talents they have been gifted with, and spending time with family and friends? My guess is, it would increase the kindness, the smiles, and the shinning faces in our world.

I wish all of you a kinder, gentler Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, or whatever you celebrate during this season of brotherhood and peace.

Posted by Trish Purcell at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There seem to be a lot of people in a lot of government agencies who are not what we the people assume them to be. For example:

The Federal Communications Commission – the FCC. It seems as if most people think the FCC looks after our best interests in matters of public communications. But recently the Chairman, Kevin J. Martin, said that the commission …�should focus on creating a regulatory environment that promotes investment and competition…�.* That sounds more like the best interests of big media.

As a matter of fact, the FCC is currently “reconsidering� their rules. These are the rules that limit how many outlets any one company can own - the rules meant to protect the free exchange of ideas and information in our country. In 2003 the FCC voted 3-2 to weaken these rules about media ownership. This vote was cast in spite of 3 million comments in opposition. So it might behoove us to take a closer look at what this commission is doing for whom and why. We might start by letting our news media know that we object to their silence on the FCC "reconsideration" of its rules !

The Food and Drug Administration – the FDA. Most people assume that this agency works to protect our food and drug supply so that we can be confident in the safety of these products when we purchase them. That may play a part in what they do but looking a little closer, guess who you find paying for the testing the FDA does on new drugs? Surprise! The drug companies who are going to market the drugs. Seems like a conflict of interest doesn’t it? They claim not but remember Vioxx?

They also amended the FDA Act in 1987 so that US manufactured drugs could not be reimported to the US by anyone except the manufacturer. They now claim that they are against reimportation because they are concerned about the safety of the drugs . Funny how that works: if the manufacturer reimports the drugs, they are safe; if a consumer reimports the drugs they may not be safe.

These agencies along with many politicians and judges, are absolutely amazing. They are made of such strong moral fiber, have such incorruptible integrity, have risen so far above the normal human condition, that they are not subject to the temptations of greed, ambition, and hunger for power that most mere mortals experience. They are able to accept money and favors from people and companies directly connected to rulings and laws they must decide on and not give any special consideration to those same people and companies. It is interesting to note, that despite this lack of consideration, the rules and laws seem to favor these people and companies an extraordinary percentage of the time.

Perhaps it is time to fire the fox and get a real guard for the henhouse.

*Remarks of FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business’s Center for Business and Public Policy, November 30, 2006

Posted by Trish Purcell at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)