It's Obvious

I took the pride out today to enjoy the nice weather and noticed many buildings for sale around town. One of these was a church.

“Hey,” I said to Mrs. Cat, “wanna start a church?”

“What kind?” she asked warily. She’s seen too many Lifetime movies about creepy cult leaders that prey (ha!) on young women.

“The tax-exempt kind,” I replied. “You gutterbrain.”

I’ve been kicking it around, and I think I’ll start the Church of the Bleeding Obvious. People make things too complicated anymore. Some of them are so busy trying to make sure that nobody gets excluded from anything that nobody gets the full benefit from anything, others are actively trying to exclude folks from the benefits and power they themselves enjoy, and everyone gets pissed when their beliefs aren’t universally echoed.

(You’d think after bitching about complications I would’ve made that sentence simpler, wouldn’t you?)

No wonder everyone carps and snipes at each other. All of them insist theirs is the One True Way.

The C.B.O. would be organized around the idea that different people have different strengths and aptitudes, and would require people to use their particular talents to better their community. Not their opinions, their skills. Good at accounting? Teach your neighbors how to set up budgets. Can’t balance a checkbook but got a green thumb? Help people with their gardens. Computer geek? Get the older people off of AOL.

I know this is bordering on “stinking hippie commune” territory, but it’s not about divorcing yourself from society’s rules as a whole; it’s striking a balance between expecting the government to provide everything and trying to be completely self-sufficient.

It’s all well and good to give everyone credit for trying. That’s fine; people should be encouraged. But you can’t mandate that everyone be given the same rewards no matter their contribution and expect to get the same results as when you allow people to play to their strengths and excel.

It’s been said the last man that possessed all the skills necessary to produce a simple pencil was Leonardo da Vinci – i.e. growing the wood; producing the paint; making the graphite/lead composite; refining gum for the eraser; metalworking for the band; stamping a “2” on it. Each of these requires a large, specific body of knowledge. Our modern society has gotten even more specialized, with many different disciplines. No one can master them all. No one can even master all of the basics anymore. The more successful corporations cross-train their employees in order to create a larger skill pool. Why shouldn’t we do that in our families and social circles?

If nothing else, it will make it easier to survive the coming zombie apocalypse. People will have food, strong shelters, clean water, weapons, sniper skills, a communications network, and down-to-earth advice from the C.B.O.

Look for the neon exclamation point.