2008 April

Why Do We Hate High Achievement?

Friday, April 25th, 2008
by James Connors

I have been wondering for a while now about a simple question.  Why does our culture hate it when someone is going above and beyond?  Why is high achievement looked down upon by our peers?  Today, I experienced this very effect while at a program meeting.  Allow me to explain.

There is a project that requires a certain amount of writing.  Now this project was supposed to encompass our views from our entire job placement in Ireland within the 7-week internship.  This report is supposed to be 14 pages long… just 14 pages for almost two days of daily entries.  Anyone that has read this blog knows that I love to write so when I saw that it was 14 pages DOUBLE SPACED!  Really?  That is not enough.  Seven pages of writing are not enough to sum up the deep pontifications from almost two months.

When asking about the requirements to understand whether it would be ok to write more, my peers scoffed, laughed, and became perturbed.  Why?  Why is it so bad that I want to do a little bit more than the minimum?  You will say, “But, James, if the minimum was enough, why would you want to do more?”  Well, to that I say this: we are abroad in a foreign country for the longest time than you have ever been away from everything that is normal to you.  I have to say that there is plenty that I would like to talk about.  I have been thinking critically about those aspects of my experience that are not “normal” and have noticed some very interesting differences.  I want to write about it - I want to have something tangible to show for my time here.

Why does that threaten society when someone would like to do a little bit more?  I do not think that it threatens to unbalance the world or shake the status quo.  Are we a society that is afraid to push a little bit harder for fear of filling the voids of our lives that we currently fill with mind-numbing television?  Or does it come to something much more personal?  Perhaps it would not have mattered if it were one of their friends, but because it had been me, an outsider, it was acceptable to be openly perturbed.  I cannot really figure it out.

Do you have any experiences like this?  Any ideas as to why we as a society dislike those that push the minimum requirements?  Leave a comment and we will get back to you.

The Gratitude Campaign

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
by James Connors

I wanted to take a few minutes to blog a really great organization that I’ve found. It’s called the Gratitude Campaign and the mission is simple - say thank you.  They have a very nice video that explains everything about it but let me share why I feel so strongly about this organization.

Some of you may know that I spent some time at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado as an Active Duty Air Force cadet.  In that time I came to a new understanding of what it meant to love my country, to be proud of my job, and be willing to give it all up so that others may live in freedom.  I’m no longer affiliated with that institution, nor do I hold any current ties to the military.

However, I do have friends there.  I have friends in Colorado, Florida, Arizona, Kansas, and all of the other States.  I have other friends that are in the Middle East, or on a boat on an Ocean somewhere.  All of these friends are in the profession of arms, they are the professional fighting men and women that serve our country without asking for more than some shoes to wear and some food to eat.  I also know that they don’t get much more than that.

In the Vietnam era, our country was fighting a highly unpopular war.  The country was more or less in revolt about our involvement in that conflict and hated everything attached to it.  So it was no surprise when riots welcomed home soldiers returning from the fight of their lives, shouting their slogans and hatred at the men and women who had put their lives on the line to do as their country had asked them to.  This concept rocks me to my core.  I understand the politics around our current military engagement and I say forget about those details.  You don’t have to support the war, but I think you should support the men and women that are serving our country.  That doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy cell phones for every soldier or even offer to make a dinner for the family while the soldier is away.  It’s as easy as saying thank you.

I’ve found a simple thank you to be one of the most meaningful gestures that anyone has ever offered to me while I’ve been in uniform either for the Air Force or for the United States Air Force Auxiliary, Civil Air Patrol.  Immediately following the tragedies of 9.11, I can remember people opening doors, buying meals, and saying thank you for my service.  I felt embarrassed at the time because I didn’t think I deserved the thanks but they weren’t thinking of me, James Connors - it was the uniform, the soldiers they were thanking.  Now, six an a half years after that day, we’re starting to forget about those soldiers that are still away from their families and friends.  We’re forgetting about the men and women holed up in the sand.  We’re overlooking those people that are fighting for their lives in a battle to keep our country free from fear and terror.

So, this is what I ask: please go to the website, www.gratitudecampaign.org and watch the video.  Then, the next time you see those whom have been fighting for your rights and your freedom, give them the sign.  It doesn’t take words or grand gestures.  You don’t have to buy their lunch or write them letters.  Just give thanks in any way you can, as simple as a sign.

For more information about The Gratitude Campaign visit their website at www.gratitudecampaign.com.

A New Name - A New Mission

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
by James Connors

Well, I have been reading a lot online and learning more and more about how to market yourself online and bascially, I’ve decided that I needed to own my name a little more than I do (online that is).  Therefore, I have registered www.jamesmconnors.com to bring together all of my projects.  If you came in over the old jconnors.net URL, hopefully you were redirected without issue.  I’ll be doing more testing to make sure that the transition doesn’t break anything major.

So the look is the same, the name is different, and now I’m trying to figure out where to bring this blog.  I know I want to keep it as an outlet for me to spend time on and all that but I also want to make sure that I can tie together my projects.  Some know that I’ll be launching a company in the near-ish future and hopefully that’ll bring my online operations into one single entity.  So look for information about that in the near future.

Hope you’re all keeping well and that you’re stopping in every now and then.  For more updates on my current adventures, please check out http://www.jamesindublin.com for a narrative of my semester abroad in Dublin, Ireland and my various romps around Europe.