Thomas Friedman has an interesting business card.
I have only just a minute,
Only sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, can’t refuse it.
Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it.
But it’s up to me
to use it.
I must suffer if I lose it.
Give account if I abuse it.
Just a tiny little minute,
but eternity is in it. — Benjamin Mays.
I woke up early last Thursday and the name Benjamin Mays was in my head.
Sometimes, things like that happen to me. It’s weird.
I’ll get an idea or wake up with a song on my mind and sometimes I’ll see a face or think of a name.
I know who Benjamin Mays is…he was the minister who gave the eulogy at MLK’s funeral. But I don’t know why I woke up thinking about him. I had to stop and think about it.
The poem above has two names “God’s Minute” and “Just a Minute.” In a few lines, Rev. Mays speaks to how fleeting life is and how we are called to make the most of the small blip of time we’re given. It makes you think and it forces you to ponder priorities.
The day before, my dad and I went to Florida Atlantic University to hear a lecture from three time Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Thomas Friedman. It was an interesting time to hear Friedman considering the state of our world and the war in Ukraine. Friedman has had a bird’s eye of view of world affairs for close to 30 years. He has known just about every player there is to know, and he has seen how our world is “flat” and therefore how trends knit together.
He spends his time thinking and writing about the big stuff.
Many of us, get lost in the small stuff. We miss the forest because we are deep in the weeds.
Friedman covered a lot of ground in his 90 minutes. He’s a remarkable thinker and deeply experienced.
But I came away with two thoughts from the Friedman experience.
First, the leaders who will make a difference in our world are those who tell the truth and build trust.
Think about that for a moment.
How many of our leaders tell us the truth and how many give us their spin or their “alternative facts?”
How many of our leaders build trust so that we can believe in our institutions and know that our values are respected and protected?
Second, the two most powerful forces in politics today are humiliation and dignity.
We all fear humiliation and we all want dignity.
Friedman believes so much in the power of those words and emotions that he often refers to himself as The New York Times’ “Humiliation and Dignity Columnist.” The title is on his business card.
Says Friedman:
“Humiliation, in my view, is the most underestimated force in politics and international relations. The poverty of dignity explains so much more behavior than the poverty of money. People will absorb hardship, hunger and pain. They will be grateful for jobs, cars and benefits. But if you make people feel humiliated, they will respond with a ferocity unlike any other emotion, or just refuse to lift a finger for you.
By contrast, if you show people respect, if you affirm their dignity, it is amazing what they will let you say to them or ask of them. Sometimes it just takes listening to them, but deep listening — not just waiting for them to stop talking. Because listening is the ultimate sign of respect. What you say when you listen speaks more than any words.”
Think about this concept in terms of Vladimir Putin, who feels deep humiliation over the collapse of the Soviet Union. And think about this concept the next time your City Commission or Council makes a mean-spirited decision and refuses to talk about it. Was that decision driven by some desire to heal humiliation (or inflict it) and will that decision humiliate others?
In Friedman’s view, politics is the quest for dignity.
If we read the “Just A Minute” poem and absorb its profound and moving message, we are called to achieve with the little time we are given.
We are challenged to lift up, not humiliate. We are tasked with building trust and dignity.
People who divide and polarize, who invade, destroy, and seek to humiliate others are not leaders. They are the problem. And we must do our best to make sure they never get the levers of power because they will abuse not serve.
Remembering a dear friend
Bob Levinson
Last week, we sent our condolences to the family of John Gallo, a wonderful man and big contributor to Lynn University.
This week, we remember and send condolences to the family of Robert Levinson, one of Mr. Gallo’s best friends. The two—who called themselves the young and the restless—worked side by side for decades at Lynn.
Bob Levinson passed within days of his friend. He was a month shy of his 97th birthday.
Bob was a friend of mine and a wonderful man. I served on the Delray City Commission with his son Jon and Bob and I had grown close over the years.
For a few years, we shared office space and I enjoyed seeing and chatting with Bob about world affairs.
He had a curious mind, worked until he was 90, wrote several books on business and management and never stopped learning. He was an inspiring man who enjoyed success in a wide variety of businesses ranging from hotels to manufacturing.
Bob cared deeply about the world and his community. He was philanthropic, generous, smart, experienced and well read.
I will miss his smile, our conversations, his take on the world and most of all his example.
What a special man.
He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.
Odds and Ends
Congratulations to the Delray Beach Public Library for a very successful (and fun) “Laughs With the Library” event at the spectacular Opal Grand last week.
Comedian Pat McGann headlined the show which was hosted by our very own Frank McKinney.
Congratulations also to the newly seated Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
Chair David Schmidt passed the gavel to Vivian DeMille who gave a terrific speech on the importance of heart and soul in leadership.
Lord knows we can use more of both here and throughout the world.
Finally, #prayersforukraine
