Common Sense- Take the High Ground

Take the High Ground and Hold It

I am a student of history. Consequently I am addicted to the news. Lately I've been watching a debate take place that I never would have dreamed take place. It involves the debate about whether torture is justified in the war on terror. To me the answer is assinine and the fact that the debate is taking place seems to be something out of an Orwellian nightmare.

What is America? When is it destroyed? When does it go from being the "last greatest hope of humanity" to a mere post script in the history books? Is it when our land is laid waste by some nuclear terror? Is it when, heaven forbid, we replace our president with a dictator? Is it when our land is occupied or owned by other nations? Or is it when we change who we are? What would it take to extinguish the light of our blessed republic.

To find that answer I would cite four documents: The Declaration of Independence, the American Creed, the American Constitution and the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Declaration of Independence states that "ALL men are entitled to the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." At the time that was written a war was being waged on our soil. Our homes and farms were being burned, our citizens terrorized, and our soldiers were often times treated as traitors. Yet during all this what did we say? Did we state that WE were entitled to those rights? If you missed my point, please reread that quote again. It does state ALL men, including those who were burning the homes and yes, "terrorizing" our citizens were entitled to them. We recognized that people had a right to be treated like humans evens when others didn't. How is torture equivalent with that, the document upon which our very nation and way of life is founded?

Our own constitution states, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity...". I will grant you that torture will ensure domestic tranquility because one is far more reticent to commit a crime if they know that torture is part of the punishment. It will probably even ensure our common defence because nations fear other nations that practice torture (ie Nazi Germany). But how does it contribute to our general welfare? Cheney states that this practice has stopped conspiracies that would have saved countless American lives. Of course he can't give the specifics of those conspiracies because it would compromise national securities. Perhaps the specifics would but couldn't he give us at least one broad example? Are we so vulnerable that merely discussing threats compromises our security?

The Constitution also states that we are to ensure our liberty for our posterity. I'll point out two things. First children learn by example so what lessons are they learning merely by the very debate of this issue much less the practice? Do we really want them to have this stain upon their generation as we have let this practice stain ours? Second, may I remind people that Arabs have extremely long memories. There are times, when speaking with Arabs, that I have found them bringing up the crusades, which happened one thousand years ago. Now if they remember things from a millenia ago do you really think that they will forget things from the 21rst century? They're still fighting about the first round of insults that we gave them a thousand years ago so who knows how long they will remember the most recent? How is insulting someone know to hold a grudge helping posterity?

The Pledge of Allegiance, states that we believe in "liberty and justice for all." The American Creed describes us as a "democracy in a republic, a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes." Where does torture come into the picture.

The fact is Mr. Cheney, America is much more than a nation. It is a dream, a shining example, and in the words of the great Abraham Lincoln "the last greatest hope of humanity." The values extend beyond our borders to humanity as a whole. We are to set the example for the world, and the fact that we have, up until recently, been seen as the greatest nation in history. That's what makes us great.

I grew up in the Cold War Era and there was a saying that was very prevalent- "Better dead than Red". What did that mean? To mean the answer is obvious. It would be better to die for who we are then to change and live as someone we're not. I can't speak for anyone else, but if I am to be a victim of another 9-11 style terrorist attack, I would consider it an honor to lay down my life for a country that defended such noble principles. The fact is Mr. Cheney you may very well have saved the lives of our citizens, but only time will tell what you have done to our country.

Mr. Obama, you have chosen to take the high ground. I, for one, can assure you that I am completely behind you in this endeavor regardless of the cost. You and I know what it means to truly be American and I for one am willing to live as nothing less.

Confessions of a Job Hunter

"These are the times which try men's souls." Thomas Paine wrote that during the darkest days of the American Revolution. That quote has been used countless times to describe the myriad crisises which our republic has faced. It is no less true today. In these dark days of recession there is a mass of people who are engaged in a struggle to protect their homes. They struggle to pursue happiness. They long for freedom from the tyranny of their circumstances. They are the jobless and I am one of them.

Now you might think that job hunting is easy these days with all the resources available to us. After all there is the internet, which has a legion of job boards. Unfortunately employers seem to ignore them in favor of the new thing called "networking". Now networking works great is you're an outgoing or visible employee. However, if you were like me, you spent your time in an office and didn't have time to socialize. Consequently. I have found out that children aren't the only ones afraid of strangers. If you knew noone back when, chances are you no networks now. Or if you do have one it will be so limited that it's of virtually no use. Mainly because most of your friends have been laid off as well.

Recruiters are free with advice.

Some say that the resume will get you in the door. It should contain a list of everything you have done but be brief. After twenty years in the workforce a comprehensive resume is going to be anything but brief. Now since employers don't have time to do a lot of reading one must be brief and select only their most marketable talents. However, as I have found out, you will invariably leave off the one trait or program that they're really looking for. The solution is too tailor your resume to fit the job requirements. The problem comes when the employer lists specific computer skills. Most of us can pick up those skills given a short amount of time but the employer doesn't have that. Now I would ask the employer two questions. First, is your program modified in anyway from the original. If so, how do you expect anyone who is not an in-house employee to know about the modifications? And even an in-house employee from another department may not know the specific applications to that program. So let's face it, there has to be time for training. Now if a person claims to have knowledge of that specific software, how could they if they never worked for your company? There are only two possibilities. First either the person has padded (or essentially lied) on their resume or if they demonstrate an ability to work the software you're forced to ask the question as to how they got access to that program. In short you're probably hiring a hacker. Either alternative raises genuine trust issues.

Now to all those who now question how it can be determined if a candidate fits the job, if the specific requirements aren't listed, I have this to say. PEOPLE CAN LEARN(especially if they're over forty). If a person has been with a company ten or twenty years there has to be a good reason for that. If they've worked in multiple departments and have long tenure with their employers, it's a good indication that these people have the capacity to learn new skills. Furthermore if a person list 15 computer programs that they know how to work isn't it reasonable to assume that they can learn one more? Finally, could it hurt to have a fresh set of eyes look at that program? Isn't there even a possibility that a person with years of experience might be able to improve it?

Of course the push is now to have certifications. Certifications prove that you can do the job, right. Let me remind you of something that we all know in the workplace but we never talk about. Education is important but it's only half of the equation. Education can teach you how to work when things go right. What about when things go wrong? This is where I believe experience comes into play. A person could easily be an excellent troubleshooter and not have the papers to prove it. After all, when a trouble shooter does their job no one is supposed to notice much less document it. Besides these certification are costly. Now if you had a choice between a house payment and a certification and you took the time to look at your children or spouse, which one would you really choose?

Finally there are those that insist that the resume must be put on the best paper possible. I have gone this route and discovered that employers don't care what the qualifications are printed on as long as their there. How many of you can honestly tell the difference between 80 weight paper and 75 weight. How does this impact how a person would do their job?

To all prospective employers I have this to say. I don't own a suit and at that present time I can not afford to buy one. I have found that on the job people care more about what you do than how you look. I do however own business casual clothes and realize that an appearance of professionalism is important. Why make a person dress up in a costume when that wardrobe has absolutely nothing to do with the work you're hiring them to do?

Somewhere, sometime, somehow I believe that some employer is going to encounter this. I hope that you'll take the time to read it because there are millions of us out here. We don't want to play games to get hired- we simply want the chance to work.

I hope some company will consider me, because I could be an asset to you for the very reasons mentioned above. If you don't it'll be a loss for the both of us.