The time has come for us to relate the news of the day to respected behaviors of the past and ask whether we are headed in the right direction. Some people do, and I admire them. But not enough people for my taste.
So, when I read the news yesterday morning on The Skimm, I was concerned. I love The Skimm. I am a busy person and The Skimm gives me the head start I need to follow later with my real newspaper on line in the afternoon and TV news at night — and a cocktail with the latter. I don’t know who possibly could listen to the nightly news these days without a cocktail. Certainly not me.
On The Skimm yesterday morning, I read that the Houston Astros cheated by stealing catcher-to-pitcher signs of opposing teams on the way to winning the World Series in 2017. (If you do not understand what “stealing signs” means in baseball, either look it up on The Skimm or ask your closest guy friend. He will be happy to explain and make you feel like an idiot ‘cuz you don’t understand baseball, the nation’s favorite pastime. Been there, done that. I recommend you look it up and then drop it in conversation with said guy friend for the dazzle factor and a free get out of idiot jail card.)
But the punishment from the Commissioner of Baseball missed the mark. Everyone who cheats or contributes to cheating should be punished. Losing future draft picks and a fine? Maybe cheating again and winning another World Series will justify repeated cheating.
The Skimm also included news that the Oscar nomination, which were announced yesterday morning, ignored the talent of women performers, producers and directors again this year. (One nomination does not adequate recognition make.)
So, here we are in 2020. Cheating is running rampant in our society. Cheating and its first cousin lying. People, including some people in very high places, cheat and lie openly to sound important and gain advantage. This is not good for society and what we teach our children. It also is not good for our perception around the globe. Really bad, in fact.
And 2020 is not starting out to look so good for women either. Overlooked again. Given a token. Maybe in addition to skipping a host again this year, the Academy should decide to skip the ceremony all together. Or women should refuse to show up in the lovely dresses and walk the Red Carpet. Then maybe the viewers, mostly women who want to look at the lovely dresses, would hit the off button. In Hollywood viewership and ratings mean a lot.
So that is how we are starting out in 2020. And these are only a couple of the issues that should concern us. How about climate change? How about guns? How about a woman’s right to choose? How about so many important issues that people ignore because it is so inconvenient to confront them and try to make a difference.
If you want to read about the values that have been lost in our own profession of law, check out my book, What Millennial Lawyers Want: A Bridge from the Past to the Future of Law Practice. It is all there. Including a look in the rear view mirror to where the good values reside. Our job is to bring them forward.
We can’t vote for the Commissioner of Baseball or members of The Academy. But we can vote for our lawmakers — from the local level on up. Votes count.
If we want to improve values and get back to what we can truly take pride in, that is where it has to start.
