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Oct 28

The Subtle Slope of Self-Determination

by Chris Billows in Spirit Speculations 0 comments
Working in health care, I am faced with questions about a person’s ability to say no to health care treatment or service. Unfortunately, there is so much uninformed thinking about this issue, we waste energy on something that should be much simpler. The problem is that self-determination is a concept that does not possess singular qualities, but is multifaceted and complex. Each facet has a subtle difference that requires some degree of mental focus and contemplation to look at. It is this lack of focus and contemplation that dooms us to be caught up in issues that are not ours to own and also ignore issues that we should deal with. I have spent some time thinking about this and I happy to share how I see these facets existing on the theoretical Slope of Self-Determination: 1) People Have the Right to Make Bad Choices We start out at the top of the the slope. The assumption here is that everyone is competent until proven otherwise. It is both reasonable and practical to assume that people are competent to make their own choices, whether they are good or bad. People are given the freedom to succeed or fail. A person […]

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Oct 08

The Dark Side of Human Gratitude

by Chris Billows in Spirit Speculations 0 comments
My friend recently told me that the world and universe was created for human happiness. She commented how the world is grand, amazing, colorful, and full of beauty. Of course, I could not disagree with her. From my own observations and in watching the stunning Planet Earth DVD series, the world appears to be all of these things. Yet was the earth and its various biological systems created for human happiness? Is a stunning sunset with a backdrop of mountains made for humans? We would like to think so… but it assumes that in enjoying these sights and wonders, we are made special. We witness a wonderful sunset and a nice feeling arises. Nothing new there, but it is that rising feeling that tells us more about ourselves than about our environment. For example, a beautiful bird is not put there for bird-watching. It’s foliage is not for our enjoyment. The actual purpose is biological as the beautiful colors are there for the purpose of mating. They are beautiful because beauty works. Its a simple as that. Mountains are there for their own purpose. They were not created for human appreciation but simply represent the collisions of continents. Yet our […]

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Sep 25

The Humility of Free Enterprisers

by Chris Billows in Spirit Speculations 0 comments
I had a dinner with a friend recently and we talked about some of the personality characteristics of those who are for and against Free Enterprise. Since we had both spent time with Anti-Free Enterprise types over the course of our political experience and have since evolved into believing in the Free Enterprise system, we felt somewhat qualified to make a comparison. We did a quick summary and this is what we came up with: People who believe in the Free Enterprise generally possess the following characteristics: Humility – They don’t believe that the marketplace can be controlled.? It is far too complicated to be controlled and fully understood, but it works because individually the marketplace works for most people. Modesty – They don’t pretend to have the all of the answers or claim to know how to fix the marketplace. They trust the collective wisdom and decision making of? the participants to do what they need to do. Patience – They understand that businesses with make mistakes, that there will be market crashes, and that the long term view is important. Positive – They believe that everyone has the capacity to make it their way in the world to […]

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Sep 09

Fear at Social Heights

by Chris Billows in Spirit Speculations 0 comments
Just like there is an increased fear when somebody is at the top of a tower/building, so there is increased fear the higher one’s position is in a social organization. A friend was telling me how her store manager gave a customer a replacement plant even though it was obviously neglected and they had no proof that it was purchased at their store. She reported that the manager did this because negative customer comments will prevent him from getting a financial bonus. The store manager decides that the store losing $15 on the plant so that both he and the complaining customer can be satisfied is a rational way to operate. The complaining customer gets what they want and the manager keeps his reputation clean and bonus intact. Obviously it is the fear of losing his financial bonus that is driving his behavior. So, we now have two people benefiting at the shared expense of all others. The victims, the thousands of others customers who subsidize this action through the higher prices they pay, are unaware that the customer is getting a plant they don’t deserve. It is not fair, but I would argue that it likely happens far more […]

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Aug 09

True Leadership Avoids Systemic Scapegoating

by Chris Billows in Spirit Speculations 0 comments tags: Corporate Corruption, Corporations Don't Think, Institutional Learning
It is almost a year ago an individual, Brian Sinclair who was both physically and medically compromised died in the Emergency Room of our largest hospital. He died because for almost three days, he did not receive easily available antibiotics for a common bladder infection. Understandably, the media, public, and opposition parties were outraged and demanded heads. It was a disgusting display of neglect and failure. Despite evidence that Brian had initially approached the triage desk to alert the employees of his need, for close to three days, nobody bothered to treat Mr. Sinclair which led to his death. The government and health officials claimed systemic failure. They did not want to accuse any individuals of misconduct or failure. In one way, this can be seen as admirable as some employers employ scapegoating as a way of deflecting attention from themselves. But when is a “systems failure” simply a cop-out? I would argue that claiming “systemic failure” is just like scapegoating but instead of blaming an individual, a faceless system is blamed, and instead of being punished, it is to be fixed. It is more palatable to do since it is emotionally draining to discipline staff. Not to mention, there […]

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May 25

The Ecology of Art

by Chris Billows in Spirit Speculations 0 comments tags: Comprehensive Analysis, Critics and Criticism, Defining Life, Extrapolation
Does Art have to be controversial to be real Art? When does Art slip into Performance and Entertainment? When does Criticism become irrelevant? The purpose of these questions is to tease out answers that hopefully will lead to a better understanding of Art. As long as there has been Artists there have been Critics. But there are other players besides these two players. In addition to Artists and Critics, there are Consumers and Reviewers that appreciate the Art. Each contributes to a delicate ecology. Artists are driven by the need to create Art. At times, Artists will seek feedback on what they create and sometimes that seeking will lead them to simply become Performers. As Performers they derive their feedback in the form of money, ticket sales, fame, etc. For a Performer the Art becomes a means to Performance and at the highest levels, the Performance becomes the Art itself (Cirque du Soleil is prime example of this). Performers and Consumers have thus created a balanced ecology. If the Performers give they Consumers what they want (a good performance or Entertainment), the Consumers will give the Performers what they want (money, accolades). The Art itself becomes a product that is […]
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