Alan Weiss’s Monday Morning Memo® – 11/04/2024
In the US, tomorrow is officially election day, though advance voting has been in place for some time now. (I’ve often wondered about someone who votes in advance but finds out ahead of election day something that would have changed their vote.)
In the last election won by Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, about 40 million eligible voters didn’t cast ballots at all. In the last election won by Joe Biden, there was the largest percentage turnout in the last 100 years. Yet it’s estimated that 80 million eligible voters didn’t vote!. That’s about the population of Germany, or of Canada and Spain combined.
I’m not a fan of mandatory voting, the law in over 20 countries. I think it’s a choice not to vote, and requiring it simply forces quantitative attendance, not qualitative choice. However, I also believe if you don’t vote then I really don’t want to hear your complaints about who’s in office or what initiatives were approved.
My personal opinion is that we have a choice tomorrow between two very mediocre candidates, neither of whom thrills me. Some of you may find one or the other highly attractive, or be voting because one or the other is highly repulsive. (I believe that’s why Hillary Clinton lost eight years ago.)
I believe we have a societal duty to help govern the country and try to contribute to its future for succeeding generations. I once knew an airline pilot and his flight attendant wife. They owned nothing, rented everything, and refused to pay taxes “on principle.” I asked them the Kantian Categorical Imperative: “What if everyone did that? How would the roads be paved or the police paid or schools funded?”
They told me it wasn’t their problem. I guess that made it my problem. And yours. But that’s okay, I have better things to do with my time than fight ignorance of that nature, though I did wonder how this guy could land a plane.
I’m urging you to vote for whom you believe is the best choice and course for our future over the next four years. The ability to vote is a right. Let’s not abuse it by ignoring it.
In 1964 we’ll have an election for President of the United States, and in 1968 and 1972 and 1976 and 1980, there will be elections for President of the United States. Now, if you look at 150 countries in the world, in about how many of them can make that prediction? —sociologist Daniel Bell
Not voting is not a protest. It is a surrender. —Keith Ellison
Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. —James Bovard
To argue that voting is a waste of time or useless is to participate in your own powerlessness. —Jonathan Capehart
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“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” —The Gospel of Mark, 6:4
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and, finally, this special offering:
Master Master Class 2025
I’m happy to once again offer the unique Master Master Class in 2025. It will be in the exquisite Newport area on March 12-13, two full days of learning, experimenting, and building new collegial relationships.
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This will be all new material from prior Master Classes. The fee will be $15,000 which includes lodging and most meals and a reception. (This will probably be the last Master Class I conduct in person, on site. No, I’m not kidding.) I have three people already attending simply by hearing me discuss this informally. My limit is a dozen people. It will not be recorded, but you may attend by Zoom, although I caution you on the intrinsic disadvantages of so doing. Attendees may record the session on their own.
The fee will be $15,000 which includes lodging and most meals and a reception. (This will probably be the last Master Class I conduct in person, on site. No, I’m not kidding.) Write me to apply: alan@summitconsulting.
