8Dave Richards for October 30th…………….
--I don’t know if you folks ever have trouble writing. I usually don’t have much trouble thinking of things to write about. My trouble comes when all I can think about, that is, the one topic which occupies my mind, is something I cannot or should not express myself about.
Don’t misunderstand me, it’s a free country and a citizen can say, within certain boundaries, what they wish to say. But with all rights come responsibilities. And after you say what you want to say you should be prepared to take what comes.
This is where it gets ‘complicated’. If you are a leader, there are certain things you should not say because the reactions to what you say could hurt people. This is something our present President has had trouble coming to grips with, and he continues to say things which are designed to anger people rather than to inspire them to work together in a positive manner.
While I do not compare myself to the President of the United States for a minute, I do recognize that if I said what I really wanted to say sometimes, I would affect the lives of people who depend on me to keep my cool and represent them in a positive and constructive way. So there are some things I don’t write about here or speak about in public because the little bit of relief I might feel in “telling it like it is” isn’t worth the consequences.
So it is with that backdrop of information that I tell you what’s bugging me, without really telling you in detail.
Last week I was on a business trip when the deadline for the weekly column came up, so I actually wrote what you read last Tuesday on the Sunday before. I commented again about negative political advertising and pointed out how proud and pleased I was that such negative attacks were not taking place in Woonsocket. I remember thinking to myself as I wrote those words that I sounded like I was bragging that MY city is above such destructive and low behavior. What I didn’t know was that before my words would be read by you, they would be wrong.
I am just beside myself about this. Yeah, I know, it’s like my dad told me. “Grow up and be unhappy, kid. Life’s like that”. Well, I can dream and I can hope. But I don’t dream and hope for a winning baseball team, no, I dream and hope that everyone, be they candidates for office or voters who will elect them, will reject negativity and embrace and promote positivity.
It’s a shame we haven’t made more progress by 2018, but apparently we still have work to do.
Reject negativity. Negativity breeds hate. We’ve all seen what hate can do, and no good person wants it. Hate begins with negativity. Hate begins with personal attacks. Hate begins with words chosen without care for the effect they will have or who they will affect.
Promote positivity. If you want a good example of how people who promote positivity do business, look at the Boston Red Sox Baseball Club. Each and every player on that team complimented, uplifted, and supported each other for the positive things they did. The atmosphere in the clubhouse was legendary and it was…….positive. They had stars on the team, but they didn’t care about being a star themselves. They tried to help their teammates to be stars, and as the history of the baseball season is written, each player took turns being a star in their turn. And the combined “light” of those many stars in many games outshined the light of their opponents. They not only won baseball games……….they won at life!
So the next time someone tells you, “Nice guys finish last……”, don’t pick a fight with them. Don’t call them names, or attack them personally. That’s the wrong way to win.
Anyone who tries to win a race by “tripping” other runners doesn’t deserve to win. Reject negativity. When good people consistently reject negativity, society wins. When society wins, everybody wins. A rising tide raises all boats equally.
--That’s what I think. What do you think? Comments to: dave@onworldwide.com or postal mail to Dave Richards, WOON Radio, 985 Park Avenue, Woonsocket, RI 02895-6332.
Thanks for reading.
--30—
