aefenglommung (aefenglommung) wrote,
aefenglommung
aefenglommung

Rinsing the bad taste out of my mouth

I finally identified what had made me so disgusted with so many of the contacts and meetings I was involved with at the BSA National Meeting and the NAUMS Annual Meeting. I remembered the bugs in Pogo. The bugs are, of course, the smallest of the critters in the swamp, and because of that they are often on their dignity.

There is a father and son pair of bugs featured which I particularly remember. Albert Alligator and the bats are caught up in their latest enthusiasm, and as they proceed through the swamp, a spontaneous procession forms. The little boy bug says, "Look, Pa, a parade! Let's get in it!" The daddy bug is outraged and calls his son down severely over his suggestion. As the father leads the son off, he gives him this immortal advice,
"Remember, son, never march in another man's parade!"

So many of the people I met were all involved in their thing, but they weren't interested in our/my thing. Everyone was busy talking about what they wanted, but nobody was listening to anybody else.

Now, a very wise man used to say to me, "Each of us is the only one who can give to the other what both of us want to have." I thought that was profound, and I have sought throughout my career to work with others so they would work with me and we would all achieve everything we all dreamed of. But most of the folks I met didn't act that way down in Dallas. Everyone was out strictly for Number One, with the result that our common enterprise (NAUMS, Scouting Ministry) suffered.

"Never march in another man's parade," eh? Well, good enough for you. But I'm looking for people who want to help each other. And if all you want is to get what you can from me/us, then you can go buttonhole people somewhere else. We're trying to do it differently over in this corner.
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