Politeness matters -- Katie Hafner, writing in 16 August issue of The New York Times, reported that Netflix has opened a call center in Oregon. The site was selected because of the polite prospective employees to be found in the region. Netflix says customers value both a human connection and a polite demeanor. (In fact, customers of all companies value the same. Will any other firms follow the Netflix lead?)

 

Platitudes

If it falls flat, it’s a platitude. Dull, predictable and most of all wearisome, every bad idea seems to spawn tired phrases that are repeated without shame by those who believe they win by numbing the minds around them. Critical thinking deserves resurgence. Here are two starters for thought:

People are not pets. High expectations apply to everyone and they bring the best results. Respect the humanity and aspirations of all individuals by assuming everyone wants the same basic things (e.g., food, shelter, love, a meaningful way to pass the time whether caring for others or study or work or some of each). If there is a rule that must be followed, it must be followed – or changed by agreement of all to whom it applies. But it cannot be ignored by some and adhered to by others because such a situation makes for chaos and bad feelings. Assume nothing. But expect the best and ask the best of everyone.


Burn it or eat it. It’s edible if it’s fit for human consumption. But combustion precludes consumption. Ethanol as panacea misses a few realities; first and foremost: the energy it takes to cultivate crops. In the garden, the necessary force could be the human muscles behind a spade and hoe. On the modern farm, it’s more likely mechanized tillers, harvesters and the like, machines that require fuel to run. Then, there’s fertilizer. Using petroleum products to grow crops for conversion to ethanol is like draining freshwater lakes and streams and building amusement parks.

Reading about war

For some serious 20th century reading on war, start with T.E. Lawrence:

“Seven Pillars of Wisdom,” T.E. Lawrence, co. 1926, edition read: Anchor Books, 1991

Body lice and boils, camel-flies and puff-adders were part of the day-to-day for Lawrence. A beating, scorpion bites and bullet grazings added to more trouble. Still, Lawrence (TEL) endeavored to consolidate Arab interests and keep them focused on one goal, a revolt against Turkey. The British saw such an effort as important to their offensive in World War I. But TEL never understood the fit between his country’s strategy and its move toward Turkey. In the end, he looked back from the vantage of “success” to conclude, “Death had taken the gentle ones” along the path of two years, a course that culminated with “its misery forgotten or glorified.”

TEL appreciated the physical pain that plagued him. He wrote it diminished the “internal ache” that would otherwise develop from introspection and reflection.

The ambiguities of war are all here. So is the transformation of a man. Early on, TEL is careful to align corpses so they have a peaceful repose. Near the end, he witnesses a brutal, expedient slaying of prisoners only to move on quickly to “sup.”

War, brutality, crime and all the horrors of life transform us all…and not for the better. We become inured when we should be startled and aghast.