Addendum

I wanted to clarify a few things from yesterday.

Not to pick on Ted Cruz (though that's easy to do), or Texas Republicans, or Republicans at large. Or Democrats, though I am lumping them in with my criticisms of the powers-that-be.

Its more that what just happened in Texas is a great example of the systemic problem. 

I don't think that the people I'm about to ding are necessarily more evil or terrible than anyone else. It's more like... 

I think they're on autopilot. I think they're showing the types of belief systems that crop up repeatedly in society's 'haves', generally right before their nation falls.

We have 'the rise and fall of nations' in part because this repeatedly and consistently happens, and you have to be aware and take steps to prevent it. (Like executives making sure their subordinates make good decisions about what they pass up to her/him, what they can handle themselves, and what they ignore. Also taking steps to make sure said subordinates give them the truth, rather than what they want to hear. Building a bubble of 'yes-men' is common, and all too likely to happen unless you put the work in.)

Ted Cruz going to Cancun when Texans are dying of hypothermia, letting fires rage out of control, dealing with busted pipes (TikTok has a ton of videos), lack of water, and horrendously high electric bills.

Meanwhile businesses are 'hitting the jackpot', and Texas Republicans are trying to point fingers and play the blame game.

The callousness and terrible values on full display are all symptoms of the larger problem. 

They're unmoored. Lost. It's not just that Ted Cruz went on vacation while people were dying. It's not even the complete lack of awareness of how it would look. 

Its that he's missing what Schwarzenegger called a 'servant's heart', and I am referring to when I talk about being a good shepherd.

Just as it's easy to create a bubble of yes-men, it's also easy to get so focused on 'winning' that you lose sight of why you're fighting in the first place.

Hmmm, it's more than that, and can come in different flavors. (and I'm not sure I can presume to know why people are fighting. I just assume most of them think it's for good reasons, and believe they're good people.) 

For example, I remember being unable to get the equipment we needed because generals many levels above my pay grade were locked in a budget battle.

Its not that they shouldn't fight, necessarily. It's that your larger goal acts like the North Star, and gives you something to steer by.

It's easy to justify your side of that budget battle. I don't even really know what it was about, but it's not hard to think of the possibilities. The problem is when they take so long sorting it out that it has a real impact on the training we were preparing for.

Servant leadership can act like that North Star. It's a guiding principle that can help sort our when you're fighting because you've lost sight of things, and when you really are fighting for a greater purpose. 

I'm going to step away from that a bit to throw in some more personal anecdotes. Oh, and forgive the crudeness.. 

This is common enough that we have terms for it, especially in the army. They're pissing contests, or dick-swinging contests. (someone relayed a joke about the 10th Mountain Division patch. That the crossed swords really represented crossed dicks.) There's jokes about all the testosterone, and officers and NCOs getting involved in stupid stuff... Just because.

Hell, that history book on Stalingrad noted that some people saw it as a pissing contest between Hitler and Stalin (and they were willing to lose a LOT of soldiers in order to win).

I hope I'm also clear in saying that the problem isn't the fighting itself (especially bureaucratic infighting, which for the most part doesn't have a death toll. At least not directly.)

Its losing sight of the bigger picture. It's locking horns over things that are ultimately petty or irrelevant, and ignoring or overlooking the impact. 

Its being so focused on winning the political battle that your first reaction to a deadly winter storm is to blame green energy. 

People who are guided by a servant's heart know, immediately, that your first concern has to be taking care of your people. However you can from where you are. 

Whether it's offering up cars with generators, coordinating relief, donating to those doing said coordination, working to prevent Texans from getting hit with ludicrous power bills, helping get resources from FEMA and the federal government... If you cared about your people you'd be looking for ways to help.

Instead, we got federal aid sitting idly by because nobody could tell them where to go.

Y'all done lost the plot.