Inflexibility is not to be respected
Today, in a speech to the Australian-American leadership dialogue in Sydney, Dick Cheney spoke in glowing terms of Australian military support in Iraq and the strong alliance that AU and the US have formed through the commitment to the war on terror. Vice President Cheney highlighted the respect that the world has for our PM for not withdrawing from Iraq before the job is done.
“He stuck to those words one day later and he has stuck to them every day since. Prime Minister Howard and the nation that he serves have never wavered in the war on terror. The United States appreciates it and the whole world respects him for it.” -Dick Cheney.
In every classroom, workplace, and family, in every city around this country, people are practicing and valuing being flexible.
In the workplace or government, when a new policy is decided, there is a pilot project (or two) which has at its core a review mechanism. This acts as a feedback loop for customers, staff, management, stakeholders and funding bodies to have input into the way that policy impacts on the way that business is done. It provides new information, highlights unintended consequences and serves to alter the policy so that it does what it is supposed to do. It is not a deficit model, it is a celebration of fluid and dynamic decision making. In healthy organisations this feedback loop is continuous and fluidity is valued.
What do we then have to celebrate in our respected by the world PM who has stated that no new information will be considered in deciding Australia’s commitment to the ‘war on terror-ism’? Sadly, we have very little to celebrate in our PM’s decision-making behaviour. It is very clear that our PM has reached his potential capacity.
It is not a strength of character to be inflexible and rigid when new information enters into a system. The new information can be minimal or profound. The point is that a system must be flexible enough to consider all new information for it to remain dynamic, and therefore valid.
John HoWARd- inflexible, rigid and ‘stuck.’ With fans like Dick Cheney and George W. Bush, it’s clear our PM occupies a redundant time line with a redundant personality type.
Image from here
February 24th, 2007 at 5:08 am
You are right. It reminds me of the sayings:
“A wise person may change their mind, a fool never.”
and
“When you’re heading in the wrong direction, the wisest person is the one who turns back first”
and also:
“Genius has its limits. Stupidity none.”
That last one has nothing to do with the current post – I just like that quote a lot at the moment
February 24th, 2007 at 5:16 am
Of course, everyone should be fluid and dynamic; it’s not a sin to change your position… unless you change your position from logical, correct, well considered and reasonable to you gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me.
February 24th, 2007 at 9:55 am
I honestly can’t wait for 50 years from now. I know how history is going to judge these men, and it ain’t going to be kind. Already looking back over the past six years some general historical themes of catastrophe are starting to emerge. And this is at a time when we’re still in the middle of this swamp! It’s depressing that they have gotten away with their despicable, arrogant ventures for so long. But, I think people are finally starting to wake up. And this, too, shall pass.
February 24th, 2007 at 10:45 am
And this, too, shall pass.
Yeah, but ‘this’ has shaped the political worldview of much of the younger voting population as HoWARd is now in his 11th year as PM. This was paaaaiiiiiinfully evidenced by a couple of momma’s boys who showed up in Sydney with a $1200 “I ? Dick” banner…
February 24th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Hhhhmmm. True Weez. Way to dampen my outlook! 😀
I do think that most people are getting more wary of the HoWARd way though. Take for example a bunch of fairly easily influenced chaps whom I used to go to school with who I keep in touch with from time to time. Apolitical in the extreme these chaps are. I occasionally in a round-about way switch the conversation to political matters to gauge their reactions. Australia day was the last time I saw them and every one of them that night had nothing nice to say about HoWARd and the Lieberals. I asked them if this was going to change their vote and they said that indeed it was (although some of them were already Labor voters) – Rudd was their man of the hour it seemed. I hope he’s their man of the year and HoWARd doesn’t fool them again. I still think we can hope a little more this time around than last. Fingers crossed.
February 25th, 2007 at 1:22 am
Do you think John Howard will back up his rhetoric on Iraq with any new sets of testicles, anytime soon?
February 25th, 2007 at 4:49 am
Yes, but only with about 10% of the ‘nads Barack Obama has already committed. 😉