Simple Mitt
I was reminded of a man who brought me firewood last week. My neighbor had rented to him previously, and told me the wood he cut was good, seasoned, and at a good price. Still, not knowing him directly, and knowing how much green wood is cut and sold – how unregulated the market for firewood is: buyer beware, like in crazy Brazil, or like in America’s Banker’s Haven – I had this uneasiness as I waited for delivery. “I’m going to have to stack and measure the cord, to be sure I wasn’t slighted.” “I’ll need to see the checking on all the pieces to make sure they’ve been drying”… in short, I didn’t trust the guy.
When he arrived, the trust issues dissolved. He pulled up with his dog in the passenger seat; the way he treated his pet (with care and obvious love) was a fine reflection of the way he treated the world: as companion, not conquest. The wood was of better quality than I received last year from local cutting on my land. And most importantly, it was clear after the first minute of conversation that I was dealing with an easy ego, a guileless presence, who lived simply and simply did good work. He had very little in terms of possessions. He unloaded two pickup beds by hand. I paid him gladly. I never measured my stacked wood.
There are bigger egos, and more powerful personalities, and with their gifts they have an inborn ability to be guileful. I think I can be guileful: I certainly convince myself of all kinds of things when my thinking is lazy, or when I am anxious and therefore vulnerable, that I later wish I had not.
But even tale-twisters like me give me a feeling of confidence and trust, when they actively reign in that tendency to distort facts. Actually, a great leader is one whose ability to speak and convince is great, but who refrains from leveraging that ability, rather looks to the complexity of issues and tries to root out the best path to growth, security, change. When you say one thing and mean one thing. When what you say is the same tomorrow as it was today.
Wednesday night I was “wowed” by Mitt Romney’s powerful, bulldog debating skills. Wow-wow. To stay on a message of “you have failed”, without offering any information of his own, contradicting previous positions with ease and confidence – really quite amazing. Incredible debate skill.
However, unlike the simple solidity of the woodman, the closer I get to Mitt, the less I trust him. His private persona and behaviors belie a more devious and ultimately self-serving personality, one I have met many times in my life, one that raises my hackles instead of calming them.
One needn’t look too far into the details of this life to find the roots of the mistrust. Shapeshifting Mitt. “Simple” Mitt, where all of our complex, interwoven, global issues are resolved with a wave of his dismissive hand.
I don’t buy wood from people like Romney. It always shows up dry on the surface, but green underneath, and half a cord short.