On Hospitality Best Practices, Ethics, and Democracy

“You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it.” – M. Gustave, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Such is the decrescendo of our times; a diminished hope that trails off into a resigned shrug.   One can only hope that our “better angels” can keep the embers of our shared humanity glowing.

I have been reading about the ethical intersection between the actor – the act – and the act’s consequences; and while I don’t expect presidential candidates to spend time on the trail invoking Aristotle, Kant, and/or Mills…I am comforted knowing when they are capable of such introspection.  I would like to believe that the next leader of the Free World is capable of grounding their actions in something more than brute instinct or narrow self-interest. 

Perhaps it is too much to ask of our public officials.  “Every country has the government it deserves” according to de Maistre, or perhaps it was Jonathan Winters.  Either way, the quote portends a long and bitter election season.  

Hope (such as it exists) must rest in those who, at the national, state, and local level, aspire to promote the common good while appealing to our virtuous nature. 

2016 might not be the year of the Philosopher-Statesperson, but at the very least, they can toss some kindling on the bonfire.  Keep those glimmers gleaming.  

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

Sentimental Liberation

“Cause we live in a time/When meaning falls in splinters from our lives

And that’s why I’ve traveled far/Cause I come so together where you are…”

-       Bob Welch

“Don't run.  Nobody exists on purpose.  Nobody belongs anywhere. Everybody’s going to die. Come watch TV.”

–      Dan Harmon via “Morty”

Without necessarily accepting either as being True, I would argue that both sentiments are ultimately hopeful, freeing and life affirming expressions. 

Rather then resigning oneself to a despairing and nihilistic acceptance of the notion that we are alone in the universe and that human lives lack an intrinsic Meaning, each reflects different aspects of an impulse to seek out and create Purpose. 

Perhaps we would view existence differently if our life expectancies were only 24 hours long, or if they spanned 500 years.   In any event, we all are present here and now, so we might as well strive to produce something…a family, a body of work, a legacy, anything that could be used to define, positively, our identity and what our relation is to the rest of what is known.

These creative strivings generally involve some measure of collaboration with other humans.  And if our lifespans are finite, we might as well make our existences and associations count.  Embrace what matters to us and figure out how to find Meaning in every effort…from taking a breath, a business meeting, or the hand of another in marriage.  Find Purpose in each moment, value in every interaction, and joy in our participation in a story that we can help shape.

Next up: perspectives on zoning?

Stay tuned, as more will follow.