Building Confidence Was a Slow Bore
Thanks to Karen Schwartz for a phenomenal challenge, which is linked below.
One of my favorite quotes is by the German Sociologist Max Weber. It’s about politics, a subject I taught for forty years, but it applies to how confidence grew in me.
Politics is a strong and slow boring of hard boards.
See that guy in the photo teaching a 2023 Life Long Learning seminar on politics? He failed his high school civics class.
- If you knew someone was cheating on someone you cared about, would you tell them or keep quiet? I’m not sure. Sometimes, people don’t want to know or have learned to live with it. I would talk with her if I were sure neither was the case. Also, there’s usually a reason a person cheats. It’s possible knowing could help the relationship.
2. Do you mainly consider yourself a confident person or a pushover? I can be a pushover on things I know little about. I am a people-pleaser so I can be naive about motives. And the older I get, the less sure I become about the world — confident in my uncertainty.
3. You are a driver, cyclist, or pedestrian, and someone cuts you off. Do you rant for hours or let it roll off your back? There’s too much ranting in the world. It doesn’t need my bluster.
4. You’ve written your first book and want to publicize it. Would you dare to approach random people on the street? Yes or No. Why? No. That would be unseemly, it would invade their privacy, and they’d be less likely to read the book.
5. Do you dress according to the current trend, or do you dress in your own style, which may include wearing white pants in winter? Many of my friends, retired academics, have worn the same outfit for decades — for example, pleated and wide pants. I like Jerry Garcia ties and never want to be over or under-dressed.
6. Looking at your posture, do you slouch or hold your head high? What does it say about you? As you can see, my shoulders are back. It’s a daily mantra good for body and spirit.
7. Do you prefer publicly advocating for world change or silently doing your part? I’ve been retired for six years and will soon be 75. This year, I will teach three courses on America’s 2024 election — one in my home community, one in Romania, and one in San Miguel, Mexico. This is my itty bitty addition to world change. It also helps keep despair at bay.
8. To be a world leader, you must be confident. Do you also have to be more driven or compassionate? Choose the one that resonates most. The world desperately needs more compassion from everyone. On this matter — benevolence, empathy, grace, humanity, mercy, sympathy, and tenderness — America is losing its way.
9. Did you develop confidence most through education or experience? I was an average elementary, high school, and undergraduate college student, including an F in Civics. When I started graduate school at 27, everything fell into place. What do I mean? I began to break academic tasks into little bits to accomplish one step at a time. That discipline stuck with me. I apply it to every aspect of my life, including writing.
The slow boring of hard boards.
10. Are you where you thought you’d be at this age when you were a preteen? If not, are you better or worse? When I was a preteen, I was playing wiffle ball.
