Do you ever find yourself questioning what’s happening in the world today? (I thought so.) I continue to ask myself why? Here are a few things that puzzle me.
- Why do we marvel at celebrity “role models,” but scold our kids for imitating their behavior?
- Why do we hear about Rose Garden spending bills, but never White House savings bills?
- Why do we teach children to color inside the lines, but urge grown-ups to think outside the box?
- Why do we take note of what people make, but disregard what they give?
- Why do bosses receive raises, but employees have to endure cuts?
- Why do we spotlight what actors do fictionally in movies, but disregard what they do in real life?
- Why do we methodically cut coupons to save pennies, but permit our government to waste billions?
- Why do we choose to have children, but then make excuses not to be with them?
- Why do we praise the achievements of students, but ignore the teachers who helped them get there?
- Why do we complain of having no money, but then go shopping anyway?
- Why is IRS targeting of the wealthy right, but airport profiling wrong?
- Why do we measure the news media based on ratings, but disregard their objectivity and accuracy?
- Why do we focus on what people achieve, but ignore the path they took to get there?
- Why do we highlight total assets on a company’s balance sheet, but fail to include trust and integrity?
- Why do colleges lecture about the privileged and elite, but then create strict admission policies?
- Why do politicians write our laws, but then exempt themselves from living by them?
- Why do we pay employees for the hours they work, but ignore the value they provide?
- Why do we grade students, but fail to measure teachers?
- Why do we believe that people are swayed by celebrity endorsements, but aren’t influenced by movie violence?
- Why do we vote based on what politicians say, but complain about what they do?
Some answers may be found in these timeless quotes.
“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”
Dr. Seuss
“We may have found a cure for most evils;
but we have found no remedy for the worst of them all,
the apathy of human beings.”
Helen Keller
“If you have integrity, nothing else matters.
If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.”
Alan K. Simpson
“The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.”
Mark Twain
“I never worry about action, but only inaction.”
Winston Churchill
“Action expresses priorities.”
Mahatma Gandhi
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Leonardo da Vinci
“To the extent that we are all educated and informed,
we will be more equipped to deal with the gut issues
that tend to divide us.”
Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg
“When angry, count to ten before you speak.
If very angry, count to one hundred.”
Thomas Jefferson
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus,
but a molder of consensus.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“All our dreams can come true,
if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Walt Disney
“If you do what you’ve always done,
you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”
Anthony Robbins
“The future depends on what we do in the present.”
Mahatma Gandhi
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
Mark Twain
“Improvement begins with I.”
Arnold Glasow
Do you find yourself asking why? What things puzzle you?
Additional Reading:
Not Me
What Drives You Crazy?
If you like this article, subscribe to our blog so that you don’t miss a single post. Get future posts by RSS feed, email or Facebook. It’s FREE. Click your favorite option (top right).
Frank, as you know I am a big fan of your work.
This post hits it out of the ball park!
I truly believe this is your best post ever.
Your WHY questions are brilliant!
The answers are ours to think about and the change will happen when we start asking the questions with HOW ….
How will we teach our kids to color outside the line
How will we show our children healthy modeling behavior.
Etc. etc. etc.
The HOW is the answer to your brilliant WHYs
Thanks again for the work that you do. You are changing lives with every word you share.
Lolly
Hi Lolly
Thanks for your kind words. It’s important to question things that don’t make sense rather than sitting idle or blindly following others off a cliff. I like to say, “when our ears hear one thing, but our eyes see another … use your brain.” It’s in everyone’s best interest to reach consensus, determine how to move forward, and then act.
Thanks again for your thoughts. Have an awesome day!
Best,
Frank
Hi Frank- another very thoughtful piece.
So, Why do we highlight total assets on a company’s balance sheet, but fail to include trust and integrity?
I don’t have the answer other than a general sense of antiquated business models, but perhaps some of your other readers do!
Barbara Kimmel, Executive Director
Trust Across America – Trust Around the World
http://www.trustacrossamerica.com
Barbara
I believe that intangible assets differentiate great organizations from the also-ran. Innovation, flexibility, the ability to change, trust and integrity, employee commitment etc. aren’t found on a balance sheet. That has to change.
Best,
Frank
Well done – another thought-provoking post by someone we trust and respect very much. The quotes underscore your concepts very well.
The ideas and beliefs you develop are key and essential to building a better society. It takes such repeated reinforcement of positive ideas / ideals to overcome individual and collective short-sightedness, self-interest, and biases.
Thank you for your always upbeat column. Perhaps a future column could examine what has happened to our sense of community – of people caring for others beyond their family and friends ?
Best,
George
Thanks George.
We should all be striving for a better society. How do we get there? You answered the question so well.
“It takes repeated reinforcement of positive ideas / ideals to overcome individual and collective short-sightedness, self-interest, and biases.”
And, thanks so much for suggesting “what has happened to our sense of community?” as a future post. GREAT idea.
Best,
Frank
Frank – you have always been a thinker outside of the box, and a Renaissance Man. Great food for thought. I love the “timeless quotes” ….always great to be refreshed, and provoked to think.
Thanks so much Laurie. It’s great hearing from you.
I had a lot fun identifying quotes to complement this post. There are so many lessons to be learned from these great thinkers.
For some reason whenever I search for quotes I’m drawn to Dr. Seuss. His work is so simple yet so profound. One of my favorite quotes by him is “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
Have an awesome day!
Best,
Frank
I admittedly started reading and thought that I might recognize a good deal of your ‘Why?’s…but I was wrong. As I often do with your better posts, I went back to read it more than once and found there are so many great questions in that list I never stopped to think on. I really can’t get past this one:
Why do we take note of what people make, but disregard what they give?
I’m so glad you chose to add in these quotes to punctuate the point. Particularly A.K. Simpson and those from one of my favorite authors, Sammuel Clemmons, which I haven’t heard before but now tops my list!
I’ll probably come back to read this again the next time you have a new post – it’s worth it! (and these answers don’t come easy)
Hi Marc
One of the things that I’ve learned about blogging is that I can’t predict which posts will strike a chord. When I composed this list I knew that some questions would be more meaningful to people than others. As soon as you said the list made you stop and think I knew I achieved my goal. As Lolly said, it’s our responsibility to do something about it. As I always say, “It’s tough to change the world, but we can change the world around us.”
I also love Alan Simpson’s quote. It’s SO true. “If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.”
Thank you, as always, for your thoughtful comment.
Best,
Frank
The thought process that are taught to us as infants are contrary to anyone whose been successful. When Bill Gates approached IBM to buy Microsoft when it was in its infancy, he was rebuffed because the Ivory Tower knew what the consumer wanted; not an Ivy League dropout. Developing a contrarian approach leads to innovative thinking…a quality sought after by every corporation.
Is this an indictment of the education system as a whole? A system in dire need of massive reform.
Hi Alan
Great hearing from you.
I believe education should be one of the highest priorities for our country. A good education will propel our kids down a successful path in life while a poor education will doom them to a life of dependency.
We should be demanding that our education system be the envy of the world. We should view teaching as the most noble of professions, while teachers must be held in high regard and be paid commensurate with their important mission. But, I also believe that teachers should be held accountable for the education of our kids.
Thanks so much for your thoughts. Have an awesome day!
Best,
Frank
Very provocative Frank. Apathy doesn’t stand a chance around you! It occurs to me that to truly take on and change any one of these things could be someone’s life work! Yet we can each make choices and do small things to chip away at the things that don’t work in our world if we are courageous enough to continue to ask why and stay with the question long enough to see how our action or inaction just might be part of the reason.
Hi Sue
I absolutely agree. Most change that occurs in the world is not sweeping, but occurs with “baby steps” over time. Your solution is right on the mark. “We can each make choices and do small things to chip away at the things that don’t work in our world.” My hope is that we don’t expect others to do the heavy lifting. Every generation before us did their “job” to make the world better for our kids. It’s our turn.
Have an awesome day!
Best,
Frank
If you think that teachers are not held accountable for student learning, you must not know many teachers. It’s sad when people decide to perpetuate the myth that teachers are not judged. It just creates more ignorance.
Hi Dina
Thank you for your thoughts. I hear you and respect your opinion.
I believe children are our highest priority. As such, the teaching profession should receive our utmost respect and teachers should be compensated commensurate with the value that they provide.
That being said, exceptional teachers should be well-rewarded for their knowledge, passion, and dedication –– But most of all, for their ability to translate these gifts into an exceptional learning experience for their students. On the other hand, poor teachers should not be equally compensated if they are not performing as well as their exceptional peers. To often we paint the teaching profession with a broad stroke. And that, I believe, is our mistake.
Best,
Frank
Hi Frank,
When I was reading through the “timeless quotes” section of your post, I thought of the serenity prayer used by AA, the beginning of which is; “God grant me grace to accept with serenity the things which cannot be changed, the courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.” Too often I find myself complaining about things I have no control over and need to refocus on the things I can change starting with myself.
Thanks.
Dan
Hi Dan
You’re absolutely right.
I can’t change these things, but “we” can 🙂
Have an awesome weekend!
Frank