The Socratic Test of Three - Something All Public Officials Should Think About

Socrates was a respected citizen, statesman and philosopher of ancient Greece. Many say he laid the seeds for modern western civilization.  He was revered by his neighbors and fellow Greek citizens for both his wisdom and high moral character. 

One day an acquaintance of his ran over to approach him and asked "Socrates, have you heard the latest news about Marcus?"  Socrates raised his hand slowly and said "Wait! Before you tell me what you have to say about Marcus, let's see if it passes - The Test of Three." 

"The Test of Three?" inquired the man. “Yes” said Socrates. "The Test of Three."

"The first test" Socrates explained "is the test of Truth. Are you absolutely sure that what you are about to share with me about Marcus is the truth?" "Well no I don't know," replied the man, "I just heard it a few minutes ago."

"So," said Socrates "you want to share with me something about Marcus that you yourself have not confirmed as being true". The man replied "Yes".

"Well let's apply the second test" Socrates said, "the test of Goodness". Is what you are about to share with me about Marcus good?" "No, on the contrary Socrates ..." the man began; but Socrates cut him off and said "So You want to tell me something bad about Marcus even though you are not certain it is true?" The man shrugged his shoulders as though he were a little embarrassed.

Socrates smiled and said "Don't be disappointed you may still pass the third test - the test of Usefulness. Will what you share with me about Marcus be of any use or value to me?" "No, not really said the man." 

"Well then," commented Socrates, "If what you want to share with me about Marcus is neither True, nor Good and has no Use or Value for me - why in the world do you want to tell me this?" 

The man, then hung his head, obviously ashamed and just stood silent.  Finally he turned around and just walked away.

As elected officials, civic leader, or business owners would not all of our places of work - especially our seats of local government - be a much better off if we all just remembered and employed the Socratic Test of Three?

Are You Cutting Ham or Making a Difference?

It was Christmas Day and Suzie's Mother arose early to start the holiday meal.  Suzy heard Mom in the kitchen and ran down to join her.  As Suzy watched, Mom took a large ham from the refrigerator, unwrapped it, and placed it on a cutting board.  She then took a knife and cut a thick slice off each end of the ham.

 

"Why did you do that, Mom?" Suzy asked. 

"Do what?" Mom replied. 

"Cut those slices off the ends of the ham", Suzy commented.

"Well dear, I learned that from my Mother." Every Christmas my mother cut thick slices off the ends of her ham and she would save them for later.  

"Why?" Suzy asked.  

"I don't know.  It was just a family tradition I guess", Mom said.

A few hours later Grandma arrived.  Suzy walked over and said, "Grandma, this morning I watched Mommy prepare the ham and Mom cut thick slices off the ends of the ham.  When I asked her why, she said because that’s the way you always made a ham."

"Well Suzy", Grandma said.  "When I was a little girl just like you, I would watch my Mother make the holiday dinner and the first thing she always did was cut thick slices off the ends of the Christmas ham.  She did that every Christmas, so it was only natural that I kept up this special family tradition; and now, thank goodness, your Mother is keeping up this wonderful tradition.  Just think, when you get older you can keep up this family tradition as well."

Later that afternoon, Great Grandma arrived.  Once she was comfortably seated on the couch, Suzy sat next to her and commented, "Great Grandma, this morning I watched Mom prepare the Christmas ham and she cut a thick slice off from each end of the ham because that was the way Grandma made her Christmas ham.  When I asked Grandma why she cut slices off the ends of the ham she said because you always cut thick slices off the ends of your Christmas hams. Why do we have this family tradition?"

"Well Suzy", Great Grandma began, "Mommy and Grandma might have gotten this a little wrong.  Yes, I always did cut a thick slice off each end of our Christmas ham but that was not any special family tradition.  You see, when your Great Grandfather and I first got married, we were very poor and all we could afford was a small stove.  The only way I could fit a Christmas ham in our small oven was to cut off thick slices from each end."

The New Year is now in full swing and March is the perfect time to review all your existing business practices, organizational policies and family rules. Are they really necessary, or are you just cutting ham?

For more great ideas, just visit Pearls of Wisdom

The Vietnam Memorial Wall

Received this information from an old Air Force buddy. Although it is not an actual story, it shares a powerful story we should all read and remember - for it contains a history lesson and unbelievable interesting statistics regarding the Vietnam Memorial Wall most people don’t even know.

There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.

The names are arranged in the order in which each service member was taken from us by date. Within each date, the names are all alphabetized.

The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass.  He is listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956.  His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on September 7, 1965.

It is interesting to note that there are three sets of fathers and sons on the 'Wall'.

What is amazing is that 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 years old or younger and 8,283 were just 19 years old. The largest age group of 33,103 were 18 years old.  

12 names on the Wall were 17 years old and though it is hard to believe five were just 16 years old. One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock, was only 15 years old.

997 names on the wall were killed on their first day in Vietnam and 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam.

There are 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.

There are also 31 sets of parents lost two of their sons.

54 men attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia.  (I wonder why so many were from one school?)

8 women are on the Wall, all nurses, who were tending to the wounded.

244 military personnel names were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are listed on the Wall.

Beallsville, Ohio, with a population of 475, lost 6 of her sons.

West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.

And don't forget about "The Marines of Morenci" They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known.  After the games they enjoyed roaring beer busts.  In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail and stalked deer in the Apache National Forest.   In the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted together as a group in the US Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966 however only three returned home.

The Buddies of Midvale - Leroy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales, were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah, on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Avenues.  They lived only a few yards apart and played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field.  And they all went to Vietnam.  In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three were killed.  Leroy was died on Wednesday, November 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination.  Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day.  Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on December 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

The most casualty deaths for a single day in Viet Nam was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.

The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415 casualties were incurred.

Most Americans who read this, will only see the numbers the Vietnam War created.  For those of us who survived the war and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces and feel the pain these numbers created. We are, until we pass away, haunted with these numbers. These were our friends, our fathers, our husbands, our wives, our sons and our daughters. 

Never forget - there are no noble wars, just noble warriors.

Please pass this on to your family and friends, especially all those who served or grew up during this time.

Why do Government Officials Make Dumb Decisions?

There was an international conference held in Paris a few years back and engineers from around the globe flew in to attend.  After morning-long seminars, they broke for lunch.  Upon walking out of the meeting rooms, they heard the Japanese coastline had been hit hard by a massive tsunami.

As the attendees funneled into a banquet room for lunch, they listened to the radio broadcasts.  It was announced that the President of the United States had authorized the deployment of two aircraft carriers to Japan.  Immediately, a few of the European engineers in line began to chuckle.   They said,  "How dumb is that?  The President of the United States is sending two aircraft carriers to Japan.  What does he intend to do, bomb the Japanese?"

An engineer from the Boeing corporation who was behind them in line commented, "An American aircraft carrier has three hospitals on board that can treat over five hundred people per day.  They are all nuclear powered so they can supply unlimited emergency electrical power to many facilities on shore.   They have three cafeterias with a capacity to feed up to 6,000 people three meals a day for up to 90 days without any need to resupply. 

He went on to say that they are also equipped with a sophisticated desalination system that can produce 40,000 gallons of fresh water from seawater each day.  Finally, he pointed out that all US carriers sail from port with a minimum of six helicopters on board.  Each helicopter can be used to transport victims to safety or any injured back to the ship for needed medical attention.

He then looked at the European engineers who scoffed at the dumb idea of the US President sending two aircraft carriers to Japan and said, "America has eleven such ships.  How many similar ships do your countries have?'

The European engineers stood silent.

The Secret of Success

One day, a young man went to the home of Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, and asked, "Sir, I have come to seek your wisdom.  Will you help me?" 

 

Socrates looked at the boy and replied, "How can I be of assistance?"

 

The boy responded, "I want to be a great success. Will you teach me all I need to know so I can be a great success?"

"Certainly, my son," replied Socrates.  "Walk with me."  Socrates began to walk and headed towards the sea.  Once on the sand, Socrates continued to walk straight into the water.  The young man followed.  When both were chest deep in the ocean, Socrates placed his hands on the young man's head and quickly forced it under the water. After about ten seconds, the young man fought his way to the surface and began to gasp for air.  Socrates released the boy’s head, turned and walked away.

The young man was appalled.  He had traveled a great distance to meet with this scholar whom he admired and respected and when he asked for his wisdom all he did was put his head under water.  Never again, vowed the young man, would he seek the advice of Socrates.

However, time as we know, has a way of healing wounds and after a week went by, the young man thought maybe he did something to upset Socrates.  So back he went to visit the scholar.  Again he beseeched Socrates to teach him all he needed to know so he could be a great success.

Socrates smiled and once again agreed. He asked the young man to follow him and again they walked toward the ocean. Just like before, Socrates walked in the water and, when the water was chest high, Socrates grabbed the young man by his head and pushed it under water.  This time, however, the young man was ready.  Before going under, he took a big gulp of air and held his breath for almost for thirty seconds before coming up gasping for air.  As he wiped the water from his eyes, he saw Socrates already on the shore walking away.

Now the young man was livid.  Twice he had approached Socrates for the knowledge he needed to become a great success and twice Socrates took him to the ocean and put his head under water.  Never ever again would he be insulted and humiliated like this.

Well, thirty days passed and the young man had time to reflect. He truly wanted to be a success.  Socrates had the wisdom he needed so he decided to go one final time to see the scholar.  Upon arriving at Socrates’ home, he rapped on the door.  When Socrates appeared, the young man said, "I hope you remember me?" 

 

Socrates flashed a big smile and said, "I do.  You are the young man who wants to be a great success."

 

The young man once again asked Socrates, "Will you please teach me all I need to know and all I need to learn to be a success?" 

 

Socrates nodded and said, "Absolutely."  Then he started walking toward the ocean with the young man following in step.

This time the young man was well prepared.  As soon as Socrates grabbed his head, he took a deep swallow of air, relaxed and was able to hold his breath underwater for almost two minutes. When he finally surfaced for air, Socrates had already walked away.

Furious the young man ran after Socrates.  When he was a few feet from Socrates he shouted, "Socrates, why is it every time I come to you and ask for your help to gain the wisdom and the knowledge on how to be a great success, all you do is take me out in the water and dunk my head?"

Socrates turned around, faced the young man, and said, "Son, I have tried three times now to teach you the secret of being a great success. The secret is simple: When you want to succeed as much as you want to breathe, you will be a great success."

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The Seed

A successful businessman decided it was time to retire.  He  needed to pick a successor, someone to take over the business he had built.  Since he built the company, owned the company and controlled the company, he alone was going to choose the person who would replace him as the President and CEO of his company.

He called all the promising executives, old and young, male and female into the board room and said, "I have decided its time to step down and retire."  The executives were all in shock. The President continued.  "Today I am going to give each of you a SEED – a special SEED, a SEED my wife handpicked from our home garden."

"I want each of you to plant the seed, water the seed and care for the seed.  One year from today, we will meet again in this board room to see what you have grown from the seed I have given.  One year from today, I will judge what you bring back and then I will choose the person who will be this company’s next President and CEO."

The executives went home excited to share the news with their spouses and significant others.  The couples went out that night and bought fancy pots, expensive potting soil and special fertilizers.  They eagerly planted their seed and every day, they would water their seed and watch to see if it had grown.  After about two weeks, some of the executives began to talk about the shoots that were sprouting up from their seed.  

One man, Jim, thought he and his wife did everything right but every time he checked his seed, nothing had grown.  Four weeks, five weeks, six weeks went by and still nothing grew.  By now, others at the office were bragging about the amazing growth of their flowers, shrubs and plants.

Six months went by and Jim still didn’t have a plant.  He continued to water and fertilize his seed every day but still no results.  Feeling like a failure, he thought he must have killed the seed.  Embarrassed, he never said a word to his colleagues at work.

Finally, the year passed and all the executives were told to bring their plants to the board room for inspection by the President.  Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take his empty pot to work but she insisted he be honest and just tell everyone what happened.  Sick to his stomach, Jim knew this was going to be the most embarrassing day in his life, but he also knew it was the right thing to do.

He left the house with his empty pot and walked into the board room.  When he opened the door he was amazed at the variety of plants the other executives brought in. They were so beautiful - different shapes, different sizes and different colors.  Jim briskly walked to the back of the room and quickly put his empty pot on the floor in the corner.

When the President arrived, he greeted everyone as he surveyed the room.  All the while Jim tried to hide in the back of the room. "My, what great plants, shrubs and flowers you all have," said the CEO.  Way in the back of the room he spotted Jim and asked, "Jim where is your plant?" Jim bent down and lifted his small lifeless terra cotta pot. 

The President said, "Jim, bring what you've got to the front and place it here with the rest of the plants."  Jim was terrified.  As he walked to the front of the room, many of his colleagues snickered. 

 

Jim thought, "Everyone will see I am a failure and maybe the President will fire me." 

 

When Jim arrived at the front of the room, the CEO asked, "Jim, what happened to your seed?" 

 

Jim told the President and everyone else in the room the entire story - that he planted the seed, watered the seed, fertilized the seed but nothing happened.  The seed just didn't grow."

 

"Thank you, Jim," said the President.

The CEO then asked everyone to take a seat.  He then announced, "As I stated last year, I will appoint one of you the next President and CEO of this company today!"  With that he said, "Behold your new President and Chief Executive Officer," as he pointed to Jim.  Jim could not believe it; the others, all stunned, thought, "How the hell can Jim be the new President of this company?  He couldn't even get one seed to grow."  

"As you recall," said the President, "one year ago today, I gave each of you a seed, a seed I asked you to plant, water and tend.  The seeds I gave you last year were boiled seeds. Seeds I personally boiled in scalding hot water to ensure they were dead – it was impossible for any of them to germinate." 

"All of you, except Jim, brought back beautiful flowers, plants or shrubs.  It’s obvious when you found the seed I gave you would not grow, you substituted mine with another seed.  Jim was the only person with the courage, honesty and character to bring back a pot with the seed I gave him."  

"This company employs hundreds of people and provides products to countless consumers.  This company needs a CEO who will have courage, character and honesty to always do the right things.  Therefore, Jim will be our new President and CEO starting today."

Two Sheets of Paper

Late one Friday afternoon, Ms. Simpson handed out two sheets of paper to each of the students in her class.  She asked the students to list the names of all their classmates on the two sheets  paper – instructing them to leave a big space between each name they wrote down.   

She then told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about that classmate, then write that thought under the person's name.  She gave her class one hour to complete this assignment.  When the time was up, she had the students turn in their papers as they left the room.  

Over the weekend, Ms. Simpson sat at her dining room table and recorded all the things her students had written down. On Monday morning, Ms. Simpson handed each student the individual list she compiled and gave them a few minutes to read it.  All the students beamed large smiles as they read what their classmates had said about them.  Ms. Simpson was glad she had used the exercise to fill up time on a Friday afternoon.

She never mentioned this assignment again and never knew if the students discussed their papers after class or even shared them with their parents. The school year ended and all of her students moved on.  For some reason, she never found the time or had the desire to repeat that exercise with any subsequent classes.

Several years passed when Ms. Simpson learned one of her former students was killed in Afghanistan and she decided to attend his funeral.  The church was packed with family and friends and many, including Ms. Simpson, walked up to the casket to pay their last respects.  

As she returned to her seat, a soldier in his dress uniform approached her and asked, "Are you Ms. Simpson - Were you Mark's teacher?"  She nodded 'yes.'  He said, "Mark talked about you a lot when we were in Afghanistan – he really enjoyed having you as his teacher.  He said you were the best teacher he ever had."

Following the funeral service, a luncheon was served in the church basement and Ms. Simpson decided to attend. Just as she finished her lunch, Mark's mother and father walked over to her.  Mark's mom said, "We’d like to thank you for coming and we want to show you something."  Mark's father took out his wallet.   He carefully removed two worn pieces of paper that had been folded and refolded numerous times and were now covered in several layers of scotch tape.

He said, "They found this on Mark when he was killed.  We thought you might recognize it."  Ms. Simpson immediately knew what those two pieces of paper were.  They were the papers on which she listed all the good things Mark's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing this," Mark's mom said.  "Mark was so proud the day he brought these papers home - he could not stop talking about them - and, as you can see, he treasured it all his life."

Soon several of Ms. Simpson's former students, the classmates of Mark who also attended the luncheon, came forward and gathered around her.  Charlie smiled sheepishly and was the first to speak, "I still have my list, Ms. Simpson. It's in the top drawer of my dresser at home.  I look at it almost every night before I go to bed." 

Chuck's wife said, "Chuck had me put ours in our wedding album.  We show them off all the time."

"I have mine too," Marilyn said.  "It's in my diary."

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her purse, took out her billfold and pulled out her worn and frazzled list for the group.  "I carry mine with me at all times."

Without batting an eyelash, Wanda said, "I think we all saved our lists."  

That’s when Ms. Simpson sat down at a table and  began to cry.  She cried not only for Mark and all his friends but also for all the students she had taught throughout the years that she never took the time to repeat this effortless exercise.

Having a lasting impact on those we meet in life is easier than most of us think.  Once in awhile we need to take time out of our busy schedule to point out the nice things we see in those around us, the ones we work with and the ones we serve.