p.s. Destiny Getting the timing and order of things right is the single most important ongoing factor to finally getting an inspired pursuit right. Bill Buckner knows Im right. He was just too good not to get that simple play right in The 1986 World Series. Forget about the curse of the Bambino... Red Sox Destiny got in Bill Buckners way, the night the ball rolled slowly by first base. Seven years ago (from 2011 when this thread of thought began)... The Boston Red Sox did something that no other American Major League Baseball Team had ever been done before, they overcame a three games to none deficit to defeat The New York Yankees in the Best-of-Seven League Championship Series and then went on to win The 2004 World Series... for the first time in 86 years. But that was then and this is today... the day The 2011 Red Sox season came to an end completing, as The Boston Globe phrased it, The greatest collapse in baseball history. Why does all this matter? It matters because Metaphors matter. It makes no difference what language you speak or how many books you have read or for that matter... written, we all dream in metaphor each and every time we dream. You might even go as far as saying, its the lessons we learn from our dreams... that make all our dreams come true or not. In my mind, a great sports metaphor is a terrible thing to waste... especially when it has the potential to permeate the waking consciousness and imagination of tens of millions of Americans eager to make sense of the demise of The Best Team Ever... at least thats what The Boston Herald called this Red Sox team before the season began. Where to begin? Lets begin here: Fat cats dont produce... at least thats what my father said each and every time I said, This Red Sox team is off. Something isnt right with the chemistry, the leadership or something. Ask anyone who watched this team perform... their poor performance in the month of September was really no big surprise. The Major League Baseball season is long, 162 games and 6 months long. The players play almost everyday, so something was noticeably wrong when many of this teams best and most seasoned players were gaining weight... a lot of weight, as the season played on. Something was going on. Baseball players usually have a hard time keeping weight on, but not this team. Another sign of trouble? The Red Sox developed a pattern of beating the best teams in baseball while frequently losing to the worst. For the most part, their numbers were good. Many individual players had statistically good seasons, with high batting averages, while scoring high numbers of runs... but they lost too many of their one run games. Meaning they played great while ahead, but not very well when the game was on the line... except for of course, Jacoby Ellsbury who began the 2011 Major League season with a major league chip on his shoulder. Last season, Ellsbury twice broke his ribs. His character was questioned and was scorned by some of his teammates and some in the media for not playing with pain. Today, Red Sox Nation is in pain and change is on the way. I dont have a crystal ball, but my best guess is that this Red Sox team will fix its leadership problem one way or another... and each player will get themselves in the best shape of their life and enter the 2012 Major League season with a major league chip on their shoulder. If they do, then someday... Red Sox Nation might look back on today, and see that today was a very good day. Its a funny thing about trying to get the timing and order of things right... something new always seems to catch my eye. I had hoped that my insight into the idea that The Boston Red Sox is a team of destiny would bring this book to an end, but that was before Rick Perry made clear his thoughts on taxes and jobs. Rick Perry, the governor of Texas and a republican presidential candidate, thinks the key to new jobs is a new flat tax. When asked what he thought of Mitt Romneys comments in 2008 about The Flat Tax being a tax for Fat Cats... Rick Perry called Mitt Romney a Fat Cat. And... today is Monday October 31, 2011 and the worlds 7 billionth child is being born somewhere in the world today. It is also the day Operation Odyssey Dawn finally came to an end in Libya. After how long? You guessed it... 7 months. And... today is Monday November 28, 2011 and Bloomberg News reports Add up guarantees and lending limits, and the Fed had committed $7.77 trillion as of March 2009 to rescuing the financial system, more than half the value of everything produced in the U.S. that year. 700 Billion was the TARP number that was made public... 7 trillion and 70 billion dollars more came to light today only after Bloomberg News sued The Fed and won... on behalf of The People who pay the bills. And... today is Thursday December 1, 2011 and Bobby Valentine is the new manager of The Boston Red Sox and the new Red Sox general manager, Ben Cherington, just said- One of the best parts of today is that it brings some closure to 2011 and now we can look forward to 2012. He also said, Now we have a manager in place who is excited to be here and it feels like a fresh start. When a problem is a relatively small problem like fixing a baseball team, everyone knows the solution... is that the team needs a leadership change. Even though Americas problems are much bigger and so much more serious... the same principles apply- America needs new leadership. Period. Whats standing in the way of a massive American leadership change for the better? Only our ability to see that we all belong to the same team. And... today is December 10, 2011. Robert Griffin III takes home the 77th Heisman Trophy. And... today is December 12, 2011. The Christian Science Monitor reports- Iran to US: We wont return the beast drone. And... today is December 15, 2011. Nine years and more than 800 billion dollars later... The New York Times reports that the U.S. War in Iraq Declared Officially Over. And they also report As of last Friday, the war in Iraq had claimed 4,487 American lives, with another 32,226 Americans wounded in action, according to Pentagon statistics. And... today is December 16, 2011. Nine years and $50 million later, its Judgment Day... for Barry Bonds. 30 days of home confinement, two years of probation and 250 hours of community service is what he received. And... today is January 28, 2011. The Boston Globe reports Whether they got lost, sick or swam astray chasing food, 77 dolphins that beached on Cape Cod in recent weeks have died, the second time in three months New England has seen a mass of marine mammal deaths. What died besides the dolphins? Lots of seals. And... today is April 5, 2012. Its Opening Day... for The Boston Red Sox. With all the nonsense behind them and new leadership in place... a new season is finally in play. Lets see how this team performs in the role of underdog. And... today is May 30, 2012. The Boston Globe reports: Schilling, Chafee trade blame over firms demise. Referring of course to The State of Rhode Islands failed video game venture with former Red Sox star Curt Shilling. Why the blame game? Because taxpayers are left paying tens of millions of dollars again for another mis-adventure into crony capitalism. And... today is June 7, 2012. Curt Schillings video game company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. How much did his company owe? 272 million dollars. -source: WCVB Boston. And... today is July 13, 2012. Bobby Valentine, manager of the last place Boston Red Sox, has a new film and it opens today... proving once again, that you cant fix a systemic leadership problem with a leadership name change... when inattention and selfishness are still rampant. Sadly, it remains all about me at Fenway Park. And... today is July 26, 2012. Mitt Romney touched off a firestorm of a sort at The London Olympics when he questioned the UKs Readiness for the games... which made the rest of US question whether Romney is truly ready for the world stage. These two Drudge Report headlines also caught my eye: WAR DRUMS: Panetta Heads to Middle East as Iran Dominates Israel Talks and In Israel, Romney takes tough stance on Iran.- as a presidential candidate on an overseas fundraising trip. And... today is 7.27.2012. I had hoped that The Boston Red Sox would be in first place by now... instead they sit alone in last place in their division. Last winter The Sox responded to their epic collapse by replacing their manager and general manager and for the most part kept the players in place. And... today is August 13, 2012. Real Clear Politics reports... Obama: A New Vision Of An America In Which Prosperity Is Shared. Why does this matter? Because certain things just cant be shared, prosperity being one of them... and this type of rhetoric by design- only divides America and feeds, strengthens, enables and inspires The American Lesser Self... and The President of the United States should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER do that! And... today is August 24, 2012. Boston reports: USADA strips Armstrong of 7 Tour titles. And... today is August 25, 2012. Boston reports: Red Sox, Dodgers deal done. This will be, arguably, the most historically significant trade the Sox have made since selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees. The Red Sox are going to be responsible for only $10-12 million of the $272 million they owed to Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto. And... today is 8.27.2012. NYTimes reports:Attacks Kill 27 Afghans and 2 U.S. Soldiers. And... today is September 11th 2012. Jon Lester is The Red Sox starting pitcher tonight against The New York Yankees. What is Jon Lesters 2012 pitching record before the start of this game? 9 wins and 11 losses. And... today is 9.21.12. The Drudge Report reports: Romney Releases 2011 Tax Returns; Paid $1.9 Million on $13.7 in Income ...donated $4,020,772 to charity. And then... ABC News reported Mitt Romney paid $500,000.00 more than the IRS required him to pay. Who but a Fat Cat does that? And... today is October 4, 2012. The Red Sox season has ended with a last place finish and their worst record since 1966. Oh, by the way... Bobby Valentine was fired today. And... today is 11.5.12. After missing 72 games with an Achilles Heel injury... David Ortiz and The Boston Red Sox announced his new deal today. After all his complaining and talk about how his last 14 plus million dollar/ one year contract was humiliating to him- 2 more years at 13 million dollars per year is what he received. And... today is November 7, 2012. Barack Obama has been re-elected president of The United States. As far as Im concerned, extending his presidency for 4 more years makes about as much sense as giving Bobby Valentine a 4 year contract extension after The Red Sox finished in last place. No, Mr. Obama isnt solely responsible for all of Americas problems... he had help. A lot of help. But it was his ultimate responsibility to make sure that things went well and they havent. They havent gone well at all. On his watch... things have stopped working in Washington D.C. and now America is paying a very, very, very heavy price for all of the dysfunction. In much the same way, Bobby Valentine wasnt responsible for all of The Red Sox dysfunction this year... but just like Mr. Obama, he was an important player in the negative scheme of things. Deciding not to bring Bobby V. back was an easy decision to make. All The Red Sox had to do was pay him his salary... and tell him to go away. Like it or not, once elected to another term... you cant do that with The President of The United States. To extend the metaphor out a little more... in Barack Obama, Americans thought we were getting an international superstar... instead what we got was the political equivalent of... Dice-K. By the way, he isnt coming back next year either. Whats the only thing to do when the highly ineffective manager of a team cant be fired? The owners MUST step in and assert their complete authority of course... and force him (metaphorically of course) to become a better leader. And... today is 12.14.12. This New York Times headline says it all: 27 DEAD IN SHOOTING; 20 CHILDREN. And... today is 12.27.2012. Boston reports: Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk pleads guilty to DUI. Fisk wore number 27 with The Red Sox. What number did he wear with when he played with The White Sox? 72 of course. And... today is 12.31.2012. NY Times says: Tentative Deal Is Reached to Raise Taxes on the Wealthy. And... today is 1.1.13. This Drudge Report Headline just caught my eye: Warren Buffett kills newspaper, fires 72 workers. After all, the idea of raising taxes on the rich really took hold after The Buffett Rule... was given its name by Barack Obama. On this day... The Buffett Rule has become The Buffett Tax. And... today is 1.3.13. Today I cant help but wonder what tax comes next... when the day comes that all Americans can finally see that raising taxes on the rich... was never the right code to fix what is wrong with America. As fate would have it... I just got my answer. President Obamas campaign team just released a video claiming that the rich still arent paying their fair share. And... today is January 18, 2013. This Boston Herald Headline just caught my eye: Sadly, Curt Schilling hits sock bottom. The time has come for this Fat Cat to pay a hefty price... Schilling is being forced auction off the bloody sock. And... today is 1.21.13. Its Martin Luther King Day and its inauguration day... its also the day after The New England Patriots lost to The Baltimore Ravens. I woke-up today... once again, thinking about the idea of destiny and fate. Why? Because for the first time two brothers will engage in a metaphorical fight to the end... for The Super Bowl title. Why does this matter? Because a similar battle, is a lesser known part of The Mayan Prophecy. So maybe its finally time to think about the idea that The Patriots are also a Team of Destiny. The Patriots arent perfect. And no, they dont win every game. But in recent history, no team has won more games. How do they do it? Well, no matter what role they play, each member of The Team is held to the highest possible standards at all times. And when the game is over, win or lose... there is no blame game- each member of the team takes their appropriate share of the responsibility, vows to get better and then, they all move on together to the next game. The People in New England call this... The Patriot Way. Now we have it... a new metaphor, that provides Authentic American Leaders with the moral authority to ask each and every one of US to make a commitment to become Better... in our own way of course and to start winning and losing together... The Patriot Way. And... today is 2.13.2013.This Boston headline just caught my eye: Redemption is theme for Red Sox. And... today is February 18, 2013. Its Presidents Day... I woke-up today thinking about The Law of Attraction and the idea that every time President Obama gives another speech on gun control... guns and ammunition fly off the gun store shelves. Why? Because... what you think about expands. Thats how The Law of Attraction works. After all of his speeches, its clear The President is using the full power of his office to do more harm than good. By the way, Mr. Obama played golf with Tiger Woods yesterday. And... today is September 11th 2013. For the past week, Barack Obama has been using the awesome power of his office to make the case to The American People, Congress and The World... that the ONLY way forward for America is to initiate another war of choice. What He should have said to America in the 7 days before the 12 year anniversary of 9-11 is this... Look at all the damage The Endless-War is doing to US. It has changed US. It has changed me... and NOT for the better. And... today is September 17th 2013. Looking back on the 12 years since 9-11... its easy to see that Americas biggest mistake was to fight this fight by constantly sending Americas brave men and women into harms way and with unmanned drones and with limitless cash borrowed from China. After all, this fight was then and is now... A War of Ideas. And since 9-11, in too many places and in too many ways, America has sacrificed... OUR BEST IDEAS... for The Idea of Endless-War and in doing so We have lost Our Moral Authority which has always been Americas secret weapon of choice. And… today is September 21rst 2013. “Worst to First” that’s today’s Boston headline that says it all. Why? Because they were talking about The Boston Red Sox. And today is 11.1.2013... In September of 2012, the Sports Illustrated cover story was titled: How The Red Sox Lost Their Way. Toda... The Red Sox have WON... The 2013 World Series. They have clearly have found their way. Why does all this Red Sox chatter really matter? Because the secret to The Red Sox turnaround is also The Secret... to fixing the political dysfunction in our Nations capital. My fellow Americans Team America has a decision to make. Will we finally learn from the story of the demise of The 2011 Boston Red Sox and come together and play well as a team and bring The Great Leadership Crisis to an end once and for all... or will Americas Political Leadership continue to make sport of all the privileges and perks and destroy the greatest team ever assembled... just like The 2011 Boston Red Sox. Today the choice is ours... but if Destiny has her way, that could all change in the blink of an eye. And today is 11.11.13... its Veterans Day. I woke up today thinking about the idea that ‘The Shot Heard Round The World’… started the original ‘Race to a Batter Place’ in Massachusetts. Only most people don’t call what began in April of 1775 a race. Most people call it The Revolutionary War. And they are right it was a Revolutionary War… but it was also the start of a new race between competing ideas. Why does this matter? Because if Americans can learn to see The War on Terror today… in terms of a race… instead of an endless-war... Well, then ‘the hidden secret’ to winning this War of Ideas... becomes crystal clear when ALL of US finally see... AMERICAS REVOLUTIONARY WAR isn’t over. Not yet. At one time, The Idea that The Strong Should Rule The Weak… prevailed all across the world. And those who ruled, did all they could to make it VERY difficult and often impossible to argue the right or wrong of that idea. Many tried and paid the price with their life. It’s been said that no greater sacrifice can be made… to sacrifice one’s life for their country. And it’s true if the country you make that sacrifice for is The United States of America. The reason this is true, is because... The Idea of America and Our Founding Promise--- that ALL PEOPLE are Created Equal… is the competing Idea that fiercely competes with The Dark Idea... that The Strong Should Rule The Weak. Of course The Rulers of The World have also always told their warriors... that “no greater sacrifice can be made… to sacrifice one’s life for their country”. But what makes US different… is that this great nation of OURS is a nation where the strong willingly sacrifice their lives for the weak not just in America... but around the world. That’s why we celebrate Veteran’s Day. But on this day, instead of light... a dark shadow spreads. That’s why today the absolute best way to honor America’s Warriors is to finally stop The Idea of ‘Endless War’... in its place... and replace it with the idea of a race. And today is 11.20.13... On the big issues of War and Economic Inequality and the fight between The Left and The Right and Mid-East Peace the question still remains... Who is right and who is wrong? So we pick sides and... WE FIGHT. In this modern world... the more we fight, the more we consume Our Good Nature, Our Resources and The Light that all of our ancestors fought so hard to achieve. In other words, in this modern world... the more we fight... the more darkness we bring into this world. And the more we do that... the more everyone loses. Thats The Dark Secret that Al Qaeda was hoping to keep secret until it was too late. But its not too late... not yet.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 17:18:04 +0000
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