Walking a tightrope is a dangerous profession. I watched once, as a tight rope walker moved cautiously across the wire to the other side and I noticed several things. He was aware of his mission early on and knew he had to stay focused on his assignment. His mission was not just to get to the other side but was to not let anything grab his attention so that he would begin to fall. A tightrope walker will never make it to the other side of the ledge if they loose focus of their first and most important mission. You could be asking me why I have taken such space to state this truth several times. The simple issue at hand should be to focus on policy rather than on personalities. To expand this idea even more, I can say that a tightrope walker should learn from the airplane wing walker’s manual of survival. To be a successful airplane wing walker, there is only one rule that must be followed. That rule is: “Never turn loose of something until you have something else to hold on to.”
As an observer of the political world and being around politicians for many years, I often counsel them to stay focused on the mission. It is easy sometimes, to be pulled away into concepts and ideas that deal only with personalities rather than policy. The best advice I have to give to any person having to deal with issues where people are involved is to stay focused on the policy rather than the person. I am the first to admit we often go on first impressions of people and we develop attitudes and actions that relate to our feelings for a person and how we view them. This can be a deadly position to have. In the tightrope walking world of politics, there are decisions that have to be made that will anger. When a policy is in place to deal with issues ahead of time, it is best to follow policy rather than develop policy to deal with a certain personality type. Too much of the political world is fueled by feelings of like or dislike for a certain person or groups of people. Policies that have been brought about by following principles founded upon values serve best when the time comes to make decisions.
For too long in our culture we have adopted the wrestle mania approach. That approach is to beat our opponent into the ground leaving them bloody from the battle. This approach might produce a short-term winner, but in the long run no one wins. I have known people on both sides of political positions who have adopted that approach and continue to insist they are dealing from an ethical position because they are giving as much as the other side in the battle. We have become familiar with the way the national media has ruined the reputation of people who have a different opinion than the one they hold. We have seen politicians break all the rules to go after someone who they perceive as being their political enemy. Once again, we see the attitude of “live by the sword, die by the sword,” come into play with that spirit. Those who call for a more civil tone, many times are the first to attack the other person just because they do not like something they have suggested. Admittedly, we all walk that tightrope. When someone takes a swipe at us our first thought is to swipe back at them.
I cannot promise or document that one will have fewer enemies or even be understood better with the attitude of policy over personality. I can promise, however, with that spirit the person with the right attitude can sleep better at night and have fewer thoughts that other people are “out to get them.” The paranoia personality is always certain that anyone who dares suggest another way to approach an issue is their enemy and needs to be stopped from speaking or dismissed as unreliable. In my life calling as well as in the political world, there must be a thick skin in order to deal with all the various issues that will be dealt with at any given time. The best way to deal with the issues we are called upon to face in dealing with other people is to be principled and policy driven rather than personality driven.
Ray Newman
As an observer of the political world and being around politicians for many years, I often counsel them to stay focused on the mission. It is easy sometimes, to be pulled away into concepts and ideas that deal only with personalities rather than policy. The best advice I have to give to any person having to deal with issues where people are involved is to stay focused on the policy rather than the person. I am the first to admit we often go on first impressions of people and we develop attitudes and actions that relate to our feelings for a person and how we view them. This can be a deadly position to have. In the tightrope walking world of politics, there are decisions that have to be made that will anger. When a policy is in place to deal with issues ahead of time, it is best to follow policy rather than develop policy to deal with a certain personality type. Too much of the political world is fueled by feelings of like or dislike for a certain person or groups of people. Policies that have been brought about by following principles founded upon values serve best when the time comes to make decisions.
For too long in our culture we have adopted the wrestle mania approach. That approach is to beat our opponent into the ground leaving them bloody from the battle. This approach might produce a short-term winner, but in the long run no one wins. I have known people on both sides of political positions who have adopted that approach and continue to insist they are dealing from an ethical position because they are giving as much as the other side in the battle. We have become familiar with the way the national media has ruined the reputation of people who have a different opinion than the one they hold. We have seen politicians break all the rules to go after someone who they perceive as being their political enemy. Once again, we see the attitude of “live by the sword, die by the sword,” come into play with that spirit. Those who call for a more civil tone, many times are the first to attack the other person just because they do not like something they have suggested. Admittedly, we all walk that tightrope. When someone takes a swipe at us our first thought is to swipe back at them.
I cannot promise or document that one will have fewer enemies or even be understood better with the attitude of policy over personality. I can promise, however, with that spirit the person with the right attitude can sleep better at night and have fewer thoughts that other people are “out to get them.” The paranoia personality is always certain that anyone who dares suggest another way to approach an issue is their enemy and needs to be stopped from speaking or dismissed as unreliable. In my life calling as well as in the political world, there must be a thick skin in order to deal with all the various issues that will be dealt with at any given time. The best way to deal with the issues we are called upon to face in dealing with other people is to be principled and policy driven rather than personality driven.
Ray Newman
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