11. February 2011 by admin.

Isn’t it wonderful, living in such historic times?  Well, there are good elements of history and then there are bad.  The downfall of Hosni Mubarak is a good element.  It shows promise and hope for a future in this world, something momentous and affirming.  The Egyptian people have taken back their lives and presented a statement to the region that power is granted by the people, not taken by a few chosen ones.  Not a bad start to the year.

Call me an idealist, but for me things began changing as the Soviet Union began to collapse.  This was followed by the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of the two Germanies.  Imagine, in a few years’ time there will be people who will have never known a divided Germany. 

We’ve seen relative peace break out in North Africa and the Middle East and while our focus has shifted toward central and eastern Asia, things have trended toward a common theme: knowledge begets power.  The knowledge of an incident of corruption and violence in Egypt has ultimately led to the downfall of an autocrat.  Facebook was the rallying point around which hundreds of thousands of Egyptians could coalesce to bring about (relatively) peaceful revolution.

How powerful is this knowledge?  Let’s say that the fear of spreading knowledge has led several countries to restrict the access of its citizens to information in a vain hope of avoiding a similar fate.  But let’s face it, the tide has turned already.  Even in the most impoverished of nations, people have their cell phones and their internet and are able to communicate without the knowledge or consent of their governments.  And even in places like North Korea where the people in power have the populace firmly under their boot, information trickles in.

Information becomes knowledge, knowledge is shared, and soon you have people who view knowledge (and access to information) as a right, not a privilege.  What is even funnier about this scenario is that even the most enlightened countries will have to face their own little revolutions as more people use the information that’s available to develop knowledge and then, to act on it.

Look at what has happened with the whole Wikileaks situation.  We all knew that the United States had its own share of secrets but the sheer volume of information that became available is staggering.  The big concern is that humanity is not yet mature enough to know how to handle this overload of information.  Or that we know how to determine what is fact from hyperbole from fiction.  For me, this means that we, as a world, need to ensure that everyone has full and complete access to unfettered and unbiased education.

I don’t just mean schools.  I mean that every human being has the right to learn how to learn.  This is distinct from learning information since anyone can learn stuff, but learning how to learn is the building block on which the future is built.  Sure, parents want their children to be just like them, believe just like them, but the reality is that every child has the right to choose for themselves.  More and more these days we hear about children diverging from the philosophies and beliefs of their parents, often to a diametrical opposite.  And that is good.  Because I firmly believe that while we all may disagree on how we get there, we all have the same set of goals in mind: peace, prosperity, and security.  And while some of us still think this is a zero sum game where someone has to lose for them to gain, I believe that we will discover that we can all succeed equally, if we choose to work at it.

So the changes in the Middle East are beginning and my heart is singing the possibilities of the future.  Where are we heading?  When will we get there?  I just hope that I am alive to see some of the major events unfold toward a bright and glorious future for all of humanity.  I can’t wait!

Posted in Your Rights, Freedom, International | No Comments »

27. December 2010 by admin.

It’s official, my brother is an asshole.  Now mind you, this was not something he achieved at birth, in fact he was taught better.  No, this is something he learned by marriage and has been causing harm with ever since.

So, here’s the scenario: he and his wife are at a cousin’s house in southern Wisconsin for Christmas.  They see my Dad and his wife as well as several cousins from his side of the family there.  On the way back to Minnesota, they drive up I-95.  My Mom is at her sister’s house, also in southern Wisconsin, where she celebrated Christmas with my cousin and his family as well as my Aunt and Uncle.  My Aunt and Uncle live seven minutes from an exit off I-95.  My brother and his wife do not bother to take a whole seven minutes out of their way to visit my Mom, whom they haven’t seen since the spring.  My Mom made sure they knew where she would be and what the travel distance would be.  They did not stop.

And then there is the selfishness.  My brother used to be a reasonably unselfish person but now it seems it is more important to buy things for himself and his wife than for others.  My brother makes a good buck.  True, his wife hasn’t had a real job in years, mainly because she alienated people (go figure!) which makes it difficult to get a job in a smaller town.  But he still has enough to keep her in the style to which she has become accustomed.  The total spent on gifts for me and my partner for Christmas is roughly $100 (and that’s rounding up) while we spent more than $150 on him alone.  So why the cheapness?  Has he hit a tough spot?  But I just can’t see this behavior from him, it has to be something else.

Ok, so I still believe that he is a nice guy underneath it all.  I just wish that he wouldn’t let anyone else dictate his actions to him.  He used to love his cousins and all the aunts and uncles, we had a great extended family, and now it appears that he is too good for them.  Interesting.  Well, there’s a reason karma comes back on people who hate and plot.  I know she will get hers and he will discover that he lost something that has more value than he could ever imagine.

Posted in Personal | 1 Comment »

24. December 2010 by admin.

And so, with the flourish of a pen, the President eliminated one of the major barriers to equality for gay men and women: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.  It’s funny to hear how the right wing fanatics are beating the airwaves with claims that the military will collapse, that we’ll have to reinstitute the draft and that this decision will destroy our ability to rule the world..er..maintain our safety in these troubled times.  Please.  First, by saying these things, you make the United States sound like a weak nation.  How is it that other countries can integrate their militaries but the United States cannot?  I mean, if the British can do it why can’t its former colony?  Are we less than them?  That’s what they will have you believe.

And then there are the claims that suddenly, because they now can come out, gays will be showering with their straight counterparts in the military and sexually assaulting them.  Since there have been gays in the military since there has been a military, I seriously doubt anything will change.  In fact, it may help to alleviate the sexuasl issues that have plagued the military of late, perpetrated, I might add, by straight men against straight women.  The assault cases against cadets in the Air Force academy were not gay.  In fact, if you look at the statistics, gay men and women tend not to be the problem, straight men are the problem.  I don’t hear any call for “outlawing” them.  Ah well.

And then there are the concerns that this is just the first step toward giving gays and lesbians full equality!  Oh, the horror of it!  Soon we’ll have gay marriage and then you’ll be able to marry animals and children will have to grow up knowing there are gay people in the world.  Um…ok.  Why are these people so concerned with me?  Don’t they have their own lives to live?  Don’t they have their own marriages to destroy?  I mean, if marriage is such a sacred institution, then why is divorce allowed?  And why do 50% of marriages fail?  I would suggest that if these people are so afraid of the lives that others live that they begin with their own lives first.  He who is without sin, first stone, ect.  When your house is in order, then you can come and check out mine.  You’ll find it’s cleaner, more organized, and fabulously stylish.  Please!

So, here’s my proposed timeline:  In 2011 we will see the fall of Proposition 8 in California.  Civil Unions will begin the erosion of discrimination against gay marriage which will culminate in the codification of civil marriage sometime in 2013 or so, allowing religious marriage to supplement, but not control, the institution of marriage.  Sounds like a dream but then, the repeal of DADT was once thought to be a fantasy as well.  Here’s to our dreams coming true in our lifetimes!

Posted in Leadership, Gay, Your Rights, Freedom, Politics | No Comments »

3. November 2010 by admin.

And so we come to the end of another political season.  I know for myself and for most friends of mine it couldn’t have come soon enough. Unfortunately we’re going to be hearing a lot of pundits argue semantics about whether this is a referendum on the current president or if this is as I suspect merely a correction in the natural political order.

The fact is, it isn’t good for anybody to have a single political party in power.  And while I, personally, believe that the Democrats didn’t go far enough in achieving their goals, it does the political process good to know that you have to compromise from time to time in order to move your business forward.  Still, I think the problem was going to be that the Republicans will feel emboldened by a string of victories that really has nothing to do with the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, but in fact a general antipathy toward the entire government process.

So, do we really think that much of anything is going to change in Washington?  I’ve been around long enough to know that that will not be the case.  Although, it is my fervent hope that the Republicans will actually begin to stand for something again, instead of falling for anything.  In a recent discussion I had with several friends of mine about the political process, I reiterated my sincere admiration for the political process as it exists in Germany.  Mind you most Western (and some Asian) governments do have a similar democratic structure to them, but as it is here in the United States, too many of these political structures are dominated by one or two parties.  If youWhile the Italians have the same number of political parties as the Germans do, they don’t quite seem to be able to pull together in any fashion to be able to govern appropriately.  Still, it does seem to work for them.  Commentary centered on the fact that there are 3 to 5 major parties and another five or so minority parties and in order for any group to govern, have to enter into alliances and partnerships.  Example that was given was when one of the major parties had to ally itself with the new Greens party in order to form a stable government.  The fact is, the United States doesn’t have the same level of ideological passion that these are the nations do and so instead of trying to develop a party around a specific ideology, we tend to lump ourselves into one of two categories.

The problem with only having a two-party system, is that the parties themselves try to be all things to all people in order to garner the most votes.  Simply put, this does not work.  The fact is that we are too divided to come together under just two banners.  And we, as the people who elect politicians, have to compromise on our own beliefs in order to fit within one of the two political parties.  It also means, that politicians assume that when people vote for them, they are voting for them and their beliefs.  All too often it’s actually the opposite, and they received a vote that was against their competition. 

Still, this is a political system that we have today and until there is the opportunity for the creation of a third and preferably a fourth political party, we will have to figure out how to make the system work for us.  It has been an interesting few months, but I’m glad to see it over.  Now we see the consequences of our actions.

Posted in Your Rights, Freedom, Politics | No Comments »

20. October 2010 by admin.

I am not a politician nor am I running for office but I am sick and tired of the politicians and political groups who are simply lying to us during this political season.  All of these negative ads reinforce my belief that our nation needs to redesign its political process.  There are three things in particular that I would like to address.

First, let’s talk about the so-called “failed” stimulus program.  To begin with, the stimulus program was initiated during the Bush administration and simply continued under President Obama.  With this fact in place, you have to realize that it means that Democrats voted for a Republican president’s agenda to stimulate the economy.  The fact that a Democratic president continued his policies means that it was a good plan to begin with.Then let’s talk about the concept of the stimulus package having failed.  In fact every political party and most government organizations recognize that if the stimulus package had not been enacted, our economy would have suffered a depression instead of the severe recession that occurred.  Yes, every state in the union lost jobs, but the impact of the economic downturn would have been much more severe if the stimulus program had not been in place.And to all those politicians and political groups who claim only that jobs were lost, I ask you to look at all the construction jobs, and all the economic impact of these programs that were funded by stimulus funds.  The stimulus program did not fail.  It may not have been as successful as most people would have liked, but it did serve its purpose.

Second, let’s talk about healthcare.  I really hate all of these ads that make it sound as though health care is a bad thing.  The fact is, in my opinion, we did not go far enough toward improving health care for citizens in this country.  I also hate the fact that politicians and political groups are using the cost savings of $500 billion from Medicare as a cut to the program instead of the cost savings that it actually is.  The amount reflects the savings that result from the elimination of duplication of services and oversight that was necessary to pay for the healthcare program.  It is amazing to see mostly Republicans claiming that cost savings and efficiency are bad.And finally, all of the conversation about the increase to the federal debt has really pissed me off.  Let’s not forget it was a Republican administration that completely destroyed a budget surplus and sent us into this spiraling debt sinkhole.  The fact that the federal government has had to spend billions of dollars to forestall a collapse of our economy was not the fault of the people in power today, it was, in fact, a true test of their leadership in keeping this country from falling apart.

Unfortunately, I am afraid that most people in this country are going to listen to the negative ads and the negative campaigning and will make poor choices when they go to the polls this election season.  While I do tend to vote Democratic, of the 16 offices for which I voted, four were actually votes for the Republican candidate because I felt they were the better candidate.  The fact is that most Americans will not take a vote, they will simply see the party of the person they are voting for and choose them based on an affiliation that has little or no meaning.  It will be interesting to see in two years whether people have “buyer’s remorse” or not.  Just remember, you get what you vote for.

Posted in Freedom, Politics | No Comments »

6. October 2010 by admin.

I have been struggling lately with my response to the recent spate of suicides by gay teens and children. How do you approach a group of children who don’t have any other view of the world? I know that I have lived a charmed life, and that my experiences do not mirror those of most people. But to see these children giving themselves up fear and frustration is unacceptable.I remember how I felt after my first experience with another man. The euphoria and exhilaration were incredible.  As I walked back to my dorm room, I remember feeling as though I was on cloud nine. I can only imagine the utter desolation experienced by Tyler Clementi when he discovered that his moment of passion had been broadcast on the Internet.I cannot understand how people can think it’s all right to ridicule and humiliate people just for being themselves.

The wonderful initiative by writer and columnist Dan Savage, It Will Get Better, is an exceptional example of how people can come together to help teens and children in need find the resources to learn about what life is about.The bullying that goes on schools, the torment that some children have to go through a regular basis, makes me sick. It is never all right to tease or bully or torment someone simply because they are different. We need to teach our children that it is not right to disparage others.

I have to think that at least part of the reason this seems normal to us is the tone that is taken in political advertisements. We seem to accept negative advertising as the standard in politics these days. I find it amazing that we are willing to accept a politician based not on their philosophy and voting record but on the fact that their opponent is someone we would not want in office. The way I look at it, if you cannot tell me what you believe in and how you would vote if you are elected, and instead turn to bashing your opponent, then you do not deserve my vote. I just wish that most of the electorate would think that way as well.  So if it is acceptable in politics, why would it not be acceptable in life?

We are supposed to be the adults. What kind of sad example are we setting for the children? It’s about time we took responsibility for setting that example. If by being out and proud I can provide some example to kids who are trying to figure out who they are, then I will consider myself to be a success.If you are a parent, then it is your responsibility to help your child find their way into themselves. Help them find the resources they need to be comfortable with who they are. And if I can do any good with that please let me know how.

Posted in Personal, Gay | No Comments »

4. July 2010 by admin.

Today we celebrate our declaration of independence from our colonial masters and the beginning of an amazing nation.  The United States of America is a unique conglomeration of peoples from around the world.  Imperfect, to be sure; parochial in ways; but truly, more capable than any other nation in the world.  And maybe that’s what makes the United States such an amazing country: our potential.  We can be the most caring and the most hateful, we can come together and fall apart, but when it is said and done, there is enough potential here to overcome every challenge that faces us.  The question is, are we willing to face those challenges?   Can we achieve our potential?  That is the question for the 5^th of July.  Today, we celebrate all that we have achieved and the potential for future achievements.

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25. June 2010 by admin.

I have a particular political bent and I don’t often espouse it but a recent comment by commentary moron Glenn Beck has pissed me off too much.  On a recent episode of O’Reilly’s show, Glenn Beck basically said that soccer (football to the rest of the world) is something that is being stuffed down the throats of Americans and that the world should leave us alone.Excuse me?  His comments basically said curling is better than soccer because at least we can see ourselves playing at curling and we beat Canada every year.  So, Glenn, because the United States has never won a World Cup, the sport cannot mean what, say, baseball or “football” mean to Americans?  Because the United States cannot (yet) compete on the world stage against, oh, the Brazilians or Germans, it means that the game is flawed? 

Typical Beck and typically arrogant US-centric thought and behavior.  At least Bill O’Reilly had it right, the United States is only 350 million of 6 billion people in the world and the rest of the world had made soccer the international sport.But I become emotional.  You see, I have always loved soccer; comes from growing up in Europe and seeing the game from birth.  I was in Germany in 1974 when Germany played Holland for the championship in Germany and won.  That may be the best example of why the United States has so many problems.  Has there ever been a time when the entire nation has been behind a single team?  Even with the Olympic “miracle” when the US beat the Soviet Union in hockey, it was not a celebration in the entire country.  For every World Cup, entire nations come together behind their teams.  When has the United States EVER been behind a team?  For anything?And that doesn’t even begin to challenge Beck’s view on the sport.  He compared it to curling.  Obviously, Beck has the attention span of a flea and suffers from the typical American penchant for bathroom breaks and commercials.  I mean, really, what other sports allow the television networks to pause the game for commercials?  Um…baseball, basketball, football…the “American” sports. 

So, I have to ask if an American athlete from baseball, football, or basketball can handle the stamina needed for a game of soccer?  Could they even play football for 45 minutes straight?  Not that football is even designed to be played for anything more than a couple of minutes in a row.And so, we have a game where the United States is not preeminent, where the athletes have to perform for 45 minutes at a stretch, where any player can actually score, and where the scores are usually quite low.  Glenn Beck must pee his pants every four years when the world, and an increasing contingent of the United States, celebrate the international sport that is soccer.

Posted in International | 1 Comment »

26. May 2010 by admin.

Something interesting has happened.  An opportunity has come open after more than a year of effort and I am moving forward on it.  I can’t say much yet, but this opportunity has the chance to change everything.  There’s something to be said for life-changing events.  Even the ones people think are life changing, but really aren’t, like my cancer.  I never really felt that having cancer changed my life much.  It was a major inconvenience and my life was changed during the treatment process, but now that it’s basically over, I am returning to the way things used to be.  I’m playing trumpet again, even played in a concert this past weekend.  I’m doing pretty well with work although the fatigue still affects me.  And I definitely want to gain more weight, I’m down to 170 and want to get back to about 185.

But when you look at everything, on balance, this will be a minor blip in my life, something that had a beginning, an end, and had a limited effect on me.  What is happening now could change everything from here on in.  Now that’s a major change.  If it actually happens the way I want and hope it will.  And so I contemplate a future where everything is different.  It’s an exciting possibility and we will have to spend the next month waiting to see how things progress.  I will, however, accept best wishes for the successful opportunity coming forward.  Let’s make this happen!

Posted in Personal | No Comments »

9. April 2010 by admin.

So, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about his passing but one of my college band directors died this week.  He was an interesting man and he certainly rubbed me the wrong way.  You see, he took the organization and did what most of us would do when confronted with an organization that had been in existence for many years and that now “belonged” to him: he changed everything.

Now I say this with many more years of experience behind me, not as the naïve college student of a time when everything was happening.  I’ve been in his position and I know what he went through as he came on board as the new Director of Music for the marching band.  And I still disagree with what he did, but now I know why I disagree with it.

I thought he was a tin-horn little dictator, we called him napoleon behind his back both for his size and his temper.  His autocratic manner notwithstanding, he came in to make the band over in his own image and it has suffered as a result.  I know there are many who loved him and will have nothing but good things to say about him and his work, but the upheaval he created and the results of my trying to get him to reconsider remain vivid, even today.

We were a force, an organization like no other in the nation.  While there are many college marching bands, even a few with reputations for having fun while performing, there was only one Showband.  The Marching Husky Showband had a swagger and an attitude that could not be copied.  Our logo was a mustachioed character under an aussie hat and we embodied that in all we did.  We were a travelling band too, something that was not very common.  My freshman year we played in a Mardi Gras parade or two and the tales we tell of those days still bring a smile to my face.

We were a party band too, with something happening almost every weekend.  The parades were common as were the non-college events we were asked to play for.  I can remember playing for the Bulls when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the stars.  We did international volleyball when the US played Cuba at DePaul University.  And I was on the field when NIU lost to Northwestern breaking the longest college football losing streak to date.

You knew that when you joined the band, you immediately had 200 friends, people who cared about you and with whom you were going to be spending a great deal of time.  Rehearsals began the week before school did with a band camp that tested many players.  It was a drum corps style show with flourishes and complex routines that seldom, if ever, ended with us in a formation that depicted our college logo.  But it was always cool!

And then came my junior year.  We had just played for a “national” audience at the Freedom Bowl where our football team lost to Fresno State.  Our director had decided it was time for a change and the Bowl game was his chance to finish on a high note.  And so we were without a director when the fall season came around.  We, that is the students, had a chance to “audition” a few directors but I don’t know if anything we did made a difference.  The result was that our new director took over in the early portion of the fall season.

The first thing he did was change the name of the organization.  “What is a Showband, anyway?” he asked one day when another musician and I were meeting with him about the changes.  I guess you had to be a part of it to understand what it meant.  And he certainly was too common for that.  And so we lost our identity and became the Husky Marching Band.  Just another marching band with a mascot and uniforms that looked like they belonged to the 1960’s.  I tried, to no avail, to get him to understand the history he was removing but he needed to make the band over in his own image, to make it his completely, and any vestiges of the former organization would need to be eliminated for that to work.

And so my friend and I met with him on three occasions, gathered signatures from a good number of the band members in favor of retaining the name, and tried to reclaim a little bit of what we saw we were losing.  Nothing worked.  We went from unique to common.  Even the music went from original (we had music majors transcribing some cool music specifically for us!) to stuff anyone could get out of the marching music catalog.  Whatever was “hot” that year was good enough for him.  Don’t even think of playing the Budweiser theme or the Stripper during a football game.  No, we lost a significant chunk of our musical history when he took over.

And then I noticed that my role in the band was changing.  I had been a second trumpet most of my college career.  We had our first trumpet prima donnas, the squealers and screechers who could hit the high notes much better than I, and I was content to sit in the second row and support them.  And there were still times when the second trumpets had their solos and their chances to shine.  At least in my first two years.  But apparently I had upset the status quo and so, when I came back for the spring semester and the pep band season, I found that I was handed third trumpet music.  My senior year I was relegated back to fourth trumpet.  And yet my talent had not changed, nor had the number of trumpets or the talent being distributed.  My friend was right there with me.  We were being punished, it seemed.

But I didn’t care what I was playing, there was still joy and pleasure to be gained regardless of what part they handed us.  And we had fun, more fun than we were supposed to, no doubt.  I remember his nasty glances at us when we laughed during a football game at some joke we had made, or when things were pushed a little further toward being over the top than he liked.  Or we would start one of the old songs and he would angrily look around for the player.  Ah yes, we did not let him keep us down, there was no way we were not going to enjoy being in the band, despite his best efforts.

I learned a lot from him.  Mostly how not to be.  I understand the need to make an organization your own and to put your stamp on things, but I also know that you don’t do it the way he did.  You cannot come into an organization and change everything because you think you know how things should be.  That is the sign of a petty leader.  It validates our naming him Little Napoleon.  Because he had to have it his way without regard to the feelings of the people who had been there before him. 

When I came into an organization as the new leader, I made sure to study things before making any changes.  And I learned that you don’t have to substantially change an organization to either make it your own or to have it be your own achievement.  In fact, I learned that it’s not what you do with an organization or the successes you have as a leader or manager.  No, the true measure of a successful manager and leader is in the caliber of people you elevate to your level and beyond.  I know that I am a successful person because I have people who used to work for me who have gone on to their own successes.  Not because I made them do something but because I gave them the chance to grow and shine on their own.  My job has been and always will be to help my staff be successful in their positions.

I also know better than to meddle with success.  The Showband was a true success and a singular honor to be a member of.  There was little honor or pride for me in being in the marching band.  As with my life, I have helped others to be successful not by changing what works or turning something rather unique into something ordinary.  No, I relish the special and have helped to enhance and nurture unique organizations whenever I could.  Sure, I’ve left my mark, but not by changing them.  No, I’ve helped by keeping them unique.

So, I guess I do have to give my thanks to my old band director.  He was able to accomplish something special in me by being the wrong kind of person at the right time.  He was a disappointment and a lesson for a young man learning about life in college.  It is sad that he had to be that kind of person but I am thankful that he helped shape me.  I hope to be the kind of man he wasn’t.

I don’t know what happened with the band after I graduated, I’ve seen some pictures and know that they’ve changed directors a few more times.  But that unique spark is gone and while it will always be a wonderful memory for me, I am sad that others who followed won’t be able to experience it for themselves.

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