Drinking the Poisoned Cool-Aid of American Politics

by Tom Hinton

My father used to remind his children to avoid conversations on politics and religion. “Stick to the weather,” he admonished us. “You’re not going to change somebody’s political or religious beliefs in a ten minute conversation. You’ll only alienate them.” It's sound advice if only I could follow it.

But, in this season of presidential politics, emotions run hot. It’s hard to bite my lip and not express an opinion. Recently, I had a few unpleasant exchanges with my sister about the 2008 presidential election. She’s a staunch Republican and thinks American will collapse if John McCain and Sarah Palin are not victorious in November. I’m also a registered Republican who thinks the Bush-Cheney Administration has been an unmitigated disaster and already caused serious economic havoc around the world. I’m supporting Barack Obama in the hopes that the Democrats will get America back on the right track. After several heated exchanges, nothing had changed. She likes McCain and I want a new direction. We agreed to disagree. Dad was right.

But, the most disturbing aspect of these election conversations I’ve had with those who espouse the far-Right Republican position is their extreme views and outrageous allegations about Senator Obama and the Democrats. For example, my sister is an educated, middle-class woman who truly believes that our current economic demise has been caused by a conspiracy. The conspirators are ACORN, a non-profit organization that advocates voter rights and voting registration, and Senator Barack Obama. She also believes that, if elected, Obama will undermine America’s national security by siding with the terrorists given his Arab background and pro-Muslim (and, therefore, anti-Christian) beliefs. I was dumbfounded to hear my sister espouse these views. How could she believe such drivel?

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Obama is a Christian and his ethnic roots are in Kenya and Kansas. Obama is the son of a white Kansas woman and a black African who came to the United States from Kenya, Africa. Like John McCain and Joe Biden, Obama is a United States Senator. Obama is also a Harvard graduate, a veteran of Chicago politics, long-time Illinois resident, married to a talented lawyer, and they have two young daughters. You don’t get much more American than that!

So, where do people like my sister come up with these warped beliefs that are based on such outrageous innuendos, outright lies, and destructive rumors? I asked her where she got her information and she told me that she listened religiously to Fox News as well as two radio shows hosted by Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage. Since I wasn't really tuned in to these media programs, I decided that for two weeks I would conduct a personal experiment to find out if these media sources were poisoning the well from which conservative American voters like my sister get their information.

Regrettably, I discovered that Fox News and the radio personalities she listens to are not only fueling the fires of hatred and divisiveness among Americans with their vitriolic, biased rantings, but they are the spring source from which many of the lies, fabrications, innuendos, and misstatements about Senator Obama originate. During my two week listening experiment, I made note of the various comments and statements that sounded dubious or false made by the Fox News anchors and reporters as well as Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. Savage. I did not keep track of the exaggerated opinions of the many pundits and guests who appeared on these various programs. In a two-week timespan, I counted more than 362 comments that were either blatantly false or grossly misleading including repeated claims that Obama was a Muslim, Arab, or he supported terrorists. This included two terrorist-related remarks during interviews with the Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and two anti-American remarks about Obama from a Republican congresswoman who represented St. Cloud, Minnesota. In none of those cases did the reporter conducting the interview try to correct these candidates' gross misstatements.

I was so disgusted with the slanted reporting that these media outlets practiced that it moved me to write this article and raise the question, Why? Why do people who call themselves journalists and are entrusted with reporting the news or advocate a certain political philosophy resort to lies, fabrications, innuendos, and misstatements to make their case? Is it not enough to merely say to their viewers that they disagree with Obama and the Democrats and build their argument on the facts? Why must they spew such toxic and hateful messages? This is wrong and a gross disservice to the ethics and values upon which America was founded. Americans should stand-up and say “enough!” Perhaps, they will as they vote on Election Day.

When those who are entrusted with reporting the news and offering their views on presidential politics and national elections resort to poisoning the well from which voters must drink to quench their thirst for information and facts in order to make an educated decision to elect the next president of the United States, a terrible disservice is done. Certainly, everybody is entitled to their opinion and even a fool has the right to espouse their beliefs in America. But, when professional commentators, reporters, and radio personalities spew a message of divisiveness and hatred by knowingly fanning the political flames with their lies and misrepresentations, they have lost their right to be called professionals let alone journalists. They have reduced themselves to overpaid entertainers and jokers, and poor ones at that!

I subscribe to the belief that in American politics both parties embrace a core philosophy and their standard-bearers typically reflect the views of their party. I also think it’s important from time to time to shake-up the Congress and White House just to keep everyone in-line. I have never been one to simply vote the party slate. Blind allegiance is unhealthy. I think political balance is good. Democrats and Republicans as well as other political parties offer American voters an important choice, and choice is essential to preserving any democracy.

Finally, while conducting my fair-and-balanced media experiment over the past two weeks, I decided to re-read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Since manyreporters and pundits were critical of Governor Sarah Palin’s inept response to an elementary question regarding the job of the vice president, I decided to review these two documents. These are amazing works by our Founding Fathers. Anyone who wants clarity about the vision, values, and mechanics of America's experiment with democracy should read these masterpieces. I also encourage you to read them to your teen-agers so they understand why the United States of America was established and what we truly stand for. I think too many Americans, especially in the fringe media, have forgotten these principles and could benefit from a refresher course.

My Summer Vacation

By Bill Kalmar

For some, Labor Day signals the end of summer as preparations for autumn and the accompanying holidays begin. As is customary in some locales, warm weather clothes, including one’s white wardrobe and shoes, are returned to the closet until next spring. Children and students go back to school, much to the delight of their parents, and hopefully to the excitement of their teachers.

Chances are one of the kids’ first assignments will be to draft a report on the activities of their summer vacation. Not to be left out of this assignment, I thought it appropriate that I pen a few lines about one of our recent trips. There were no death-defying rides on some monster roller coaster, no surfing in shark-infested waters or aerial descents with a parachute from a plane, just a sensible trip to Chicago for my wife and me.

What made the trip so memorable was something I wrote about in my August column for QualityInsider (Online at www .qualitydigest.com/content/quality-insider.) The column recounted several encounters with poor service, and thus I concluded that I was in fact a magnet for service personnel and organizations that don’t practice performance excellence. Well, traveling to Chicago convinced me that somehow I had been demagnetized, at least on this one occasion.

Off to a good start

Our trip began early on a weekday as we departed our home in Lake Orion, Michigan. Our first stop was The Big Apple Bagel. As we opened the door, the aroma of fresh bagels and coffee wafted into our nostrils. Three upbeat and smiling clerks greeted us with a hearty good morning--and this was 7 a.m. It’s no wonder that this particular location is well frequented by regulars and transients alike. We left, bagels and coffee in hand, knowing that our trip was off to a great start.

Motoring to Chicago took us on the Indiana Toll Road. Often, those manning the toll booths are cranky and don’t engage in many pleasantries. Perhaps the toll road commission had everyone read Jim Collins’ book Good to Great ( Harper Collins, 2001 ) because we were met with friendly greetings at each booth. Somehow that lessened the strain of doling out a couple of bucks every 50 miles or so.

We arrived at our hotel, blocks away from the Magnificent Mile, just after noon. Our room wasn’t ready, so to take the sting off our having to wander the streets of the Windy City in our traveling clothes, the hotel gave us a room upgrade.

After a five-hour trip, which included the last 30 minutes in typical Chicago traffic, we were ready for lunch. One of our favorite haunts in the Toddling Town is Gibson’s Steak House on Rush Street. Sitting on the enclosed street-level porch gives one a view of the horse-drawn carriages trekking through town and the hundreds of shoppers toting their bags laden with one-of-a-kind purchases that can only be found in Chicago. It seems that no one in the town realizes that there is a recession underway. The streets were crowded, and restaurants and hotels were at capacity.

Our lunch was an epicurean delight even though my medium-rare steak was a bit overcooked. Our waitress, Deena, noticed the lack of rare red beef on my plate and suggested that she would have another one prepared. I politely declined and stated that it was still just fine. When our bill arrived, Deena had unexpectedly taken the cost of my steak off the bill. She did this without my having to raise an eyebrow or growl about the preparation. This signaled to me that I was in the process of being demagnetized.

After lunch we wandered into the Neiman Marcus store. Prior to our trip, we had received a phone call from a Neiman Marcus employee, Naomi, indicating that some items I might be interested in were on sale, but that after the first of the month the prices would be increasing. As we walked into Naomi’s sales area, she greeted us by name and was genuinely excited to see us again. Our last visit had been the previous year, but her ability to remember names and faces is uncanny. While in the store, I noticed that Naomi maintained a huge three-ring binder of the names and phone numbers and past purchases of all her customers. Her practice of contacting customers personally when sales develop is no doubt one of the reasons why Neiman Marcus regularly posts sales increases and profits while other stores are incurring losses.

Those of you who are watch aficionados like me would certainly enjoy window-shopping at the Tourneau store in the Water Tower. Being greeted by name by Michael, the salesperson who sold me a watch three years ago, is something that still makes an impression on me. Like Naomi at Neiman Marcus, Michael remembers names and even the type of watch I purchased. Maybe he anticipates me buying another one shortly?

Quality experiences continue

The next day saw us walking over to another of our favorite restaurants--Tucci Benucch. It’s a small Italian restaurant in the Bloomingdale’s building. For us, a trip to Chicago isn’t complete without enjoying the great salads at this little nook on the sixth floor. To our surprise and disappointment, the restaurant had now morphed into “Frankie’s Pizza,” although we were told that it was under the same management. We dined, but it was difficult to hide my disillusionment at losing our favorite lunch haunt. Our waitress must have picked up on my vibes because when we returned home there was a message on our voice mail from the restaurant’s manager indicating that many of the same menu items from Tucci Benucch could still be ordered if we asked. Just another indication to me how embedded customer service is in Chicago.

Even the cabbies get it!

Cab drivers were equally pleasant and customer-focused even though it took us several days to catch our breath from the Indy 500-inspired drivers who dart around the downtown area as if they were vying for the pole position for the next race.

As you can see, our voyage to the Windy City was an example in performance excellence. And it didn’t end there. When we returned home, I received an e-mail from The Wall Street Journal, which is indicative of its strong focus on customer service. Here is an excerpt: “We see that delivery of your Wall Street Journal was scheduled to resume today after a temporary suspension and are following up to check that it did.” Wow! Is that great service or what?

In other news

I hope that you’ll permit me to opine on some other topics.

I recently purchased a polo shirt from Macy’s and attempted to have Lord & Taylor match the price. I wrote Lord & Taylor about the incident, and their reply indicated that I would hear from “the appropriate department and someone will be in touch with you within five to seven business days.”

After a wait of three weeks, I contacted the store again. A reply finally arrived indicating that “Lord & Taylor does not have a practice of matching prices.” Perhaps the delay was attributed to the management formulating a policy? Who knows, but it tells me a lot about how it resolves customer service questions.

More and more defective products continue to enter our country from China. We are now told to check our tire pressure in the wake of a recall of as many as 30 million replacement rubber valve stems. These defective parts can crack prematurely and cause tires to lose air. At highway speeds, this loss of air could result in a loss of control with a resultant crash. It’s time we boycott Chinese products until such time as that country raises its level of quality. At this juncture, what with all the lead-based products that we have banned, I think a total ban on products from China isn’t out of the question. What do you think?

If you have noticed a downturn in customer service in some segments, let me offer an explanation. Here in Michigan, there are thousands of automotive professionals who have been outsourced, downsized, or as we say--fired! These highly qualified people now find themselves working in positions much below their level of expertise, and as such, their attitude and demeanor in dealing with customers isn’t what you would characterize as exemplary. As we frequent the various restaurants and stores in our area, I often question how long the person has been employed. What I’m finding is that there are many college grads and MBAs who are now flipping burgers. This no doubt does not make for a pleasant experience for them or the customers.

Speaking of restaurants, the Ruby Tuesday chain is looking at changing its theme by eliminating the 1980s-style décor of black-and-white checked tablecloths and Tiffany-style lamps with brass rails. There will be a new menu and a more contemporary look. Let’s hope that the consultants who are working on this project aren’t the same ones who worked on Bill Knapp’s restaurant chain. In my opinion, changing the theme and focus of this chain ultimately put them out of business. How I miss those chocolate cakes!

What would one of my articles be without a plug for my favorite hotel--The Ritz-Carlton. The J.D. Power & Associates 2008 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study finds that the Ritz-Carlton won again as the top-scoring chain in the luxury category. Others that led in the survey included Embassy Suites in the upscale category, Hyatt Place for mid-scale full service, Drury Inn & Suites for mid-scale limited service, and for the seventh consecutive year, Microtel Inns & Suites took top honors in the economy/budget category.

Back to the hammock

Well, as I’m writing this article, the dog days of summer are coming to an end and cool nights are upon us once more. Hanging out in the hammock is still my top choice for a restful afternoon, and I hope all of you have that special place where you can relax and maybe, if I’m not being too presumptuous, ponder these words. If something resonated with you or some of my rants irritated you, please let me know by writing to the e-mail address at the bottom of this page. I personally respond to every e-mail. Until next time, remember the quote from Jonathan Swift: “You cannot reason a man out of something that he did not reason his way into.”

And by the way, as a result of our trip to Chicago, where we experienced wonderful service, I no longer attract metal shavings to my body. I have been poor-service demagnetized--at least for the moment.