Re: Ah Larry!

> You've got a well respected business that charges fees for your services
>for a profit, yet plenty of folks would say you're inordinately rich and
>succumbing to and becoming "the man".      You heard some of our fellow
>swimmers reply here on RSS that "the business contingent is not an accurate
>assessment of the population".  They (them business folk) don't matter.
>Even though all our jobs do rely upon it, making everyone part of the
>business community.   You are walking proof that political opinions are
>definitely diversified and do not necessarily follow typical stereotypes.

Rick
You make some interesting points here. One revealing comment I've heard when
taking TI to other countries (in this instance it was Australia) was this "If
you weren't American, TI would never have become a global thing." When I asked
why, she said "Because Americans are more confident and think bigger than
people in other cultures." I found that eye-opening, because I can't see the US
except from a somewhat myopic view of spending most of my life here.
So the US (and Americans) has always been admired and envied in certain ways
but viewed with great wariness in others - for our tendency to presume that
what's best for us is best for the whole world.  The element that is
unprecedented is that we're hated and feared by a certain proportion of the
world now -- and not just radical Muslims either. A stunning percentage of
Europeans opined that Bush is the greatest threat of all world leaders to world
peace, and that's an extremely dismaying development that makes most Americans
feel less welcome elsewhere than formerly.

Second, about the diversity of the business community, I suppose I'm still a
bit surprised when I meet or read about a high level business person whose
politics are as progressive (or liberal if you prefer) as mine, but I have the
greatest admiration for those businesses who:
(a) are fundamentally motivated by a passion for doing something well --
whatever you might say about Starbucks, they became tastemakers because Howard
Schultz really cared about coffee that was full-flavored and prepared with
great care. (I'm not a coffee drinker myself, by the way.)
b) view business and profit as a means of advancing social equity - Ben &
Jerry's, Newman's Own, Stonyfield, The Body Shop are examples. I hope TI will
soon have the means to make quality swimming instruction available on a pro
bono basis in resource-deprived areas here and elsewhere

And I am equally repelled by businesses that value profit, executive
compensation and/or shareholder return over all other outcomes, often with no
regard for how their sheer greed affects other stakeholders. The mutual fund
scandal, Enron, HealthSouth, etc. TI videos and books will never be sold in
Walmart, nor will I ever shop in one because I'm repelled by how they exploit
their employees and take extreme measures to keep from paying them a living
wage.Such examples of business greed tar all businesses by extension.
Terry