Humble Pie or Truth be Hiding – by Deceptive People?
Humility is tough when eating crow. But do I eat crow and acknowledge a mistake? Or is there another answer?
Andrew Carnegie. In my brief look at Andrew Carnegie’s life, I am impressed. His Scottish-Presbyterian background places him in a better position than the Koch brothers or other super-wealthy today because, at the very least, he believed in Christian principles. Yes, he was against unions during the time of the robber barons and formation of trade unions in the USA. But did he actually state his opposition to unions or go along with “management ID” and “management groupthink” of his day? Unions were perhaps untested in his day, so did this influence Carnegie’s thinking.
The problem with the web today – and I am just as guilty – is the Vannevar Bush syndrome of “hypertext.” When I read something on the web, I place it in my brain and often forget to document it. This is a problem for which perhaps causes me to eat humble pie. Or does it?
I recall reading a quote attributed to Andrew Carnegie. It went in one of two ways: “Wealth is created by society, not individuals.” The other way: “Wealth is not created by individuals, but by society.” This quote was either in an op-ed in a newspaper like The Palm Beach Post or it was on the Internet. It was most likely in the newspaper. Nevertheless, the Internet has become so pervasive that one can typically find the quote again later.
What has happened is this. I have quoted this from the piece of paper where I wrote the UNDOCUMENTED quote down. In other words, I wrote the quote attributed to Andrew Carnegie, but not the source of the quote. I have quoted this piece of information several times on my blog. Now I attempt to locate this quote as associated with Andrew Carnegie and the only place this is to be found on Google is the three times I have included it in my blog.
What gives here?
In doing research of this question, I have reviewed numerous writings by Andrew Carnegie himself (http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/rbannis1/AIH19th/Carnegie.html, June 1889) and others: (1) well-referenced article by Nicole Notario (http://learningtogive.org/papers/paper80.html) for a graduate research paper; (2) a Fordham U. essay (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1889carnegie.asp); and various others. One might conclude from this material (and others) that Carnegie might have made such a statement. But an actual attribution would take further research.
I am puzzled who wrote this quote and claimed attribution to Andrew Carnegie. I did not dream this up on my own. I did not just write this down out of thin air because, at the time, I barely knew diddley squat about this man, except to recall a library at my alma mater, Syracuse University, named after Carnegie and an entire university in Pittsburgh bearing his name. QUite frankly, having a library named after this man placed him in high regard. So when I read a supposed quote attributed to him, I took it very seriously.
I am not an idealogue, so I would have had no presumptions or biases. I found it fascinating that a wealthy tycoon of the late 1800s would make such a statement.
I have also read (and again, perhaps I need to document this) that Carnegie sold his steel companies to a ruthless man named J.P. Morgan in order to devote his time to philanthropic measures. It was J.P. Morgan (now part of the name of one of the largest banks – one which has screwed consumers with regard to mortgage loans) who gave Franklin D. Roosevelt a hard time, as the Koch Brothers do today to Barack Obama. It was J.P. Morgan who purportedly (unproven, just word of mouth to me) had his servants cut out pictures and stories of FDR from the morning newspaper each day – before Morgan sat down to read it. Sounds like the fans of Fox Noise – “don’t tell me anything else but what Fox Noise says.”
Nevertheless, perhaps it was Morgan who was more anti-union than Carnegie? A hypothetical question.
Ayn Rand has ruined this nation by creating a strong groupthink of selfishness and greed via a fantasy tale. The visual Media, in particular, has grabbed this extreme fascination with greed and selfishness which causes materialism among the people. Madison Avenue is a shameful group of hyenas who lack any human qualities whatsoever, as they endorse the principles of greed and selfishness, clouding the picture of what true capitalism, as defined by men like Adam Smith, Andrew Carnegie, Teddy Roosevelt, and others had to say about it. Jeff Jacoby’s op-ed this past May in the Boston Globe is a tribute to the stupidity of people who view the world only in black and white. These people say, “either President Obama is a socialist or capitalist, but never can anyone be in the gray areas between and call themselves problem-solvers.” Like narrow-focused religions – Roman Catholic and Mormons, for instance, there can be no consideration of “gray” areas.
Nevertheless, if I am wrong in attributing this quote about individuals, society, and wealth, then I stand corrected. However, my admission that I am wrong is more than what egomaniacs in the wealthy class would be willing to do as they hide their money overseas and refuse to divulge their tax information.
BTW. My scathing remarks about specific religious denominations should not be taken personally, except perhaps those who are hypocrites within those churches. Perhaps they feel guilty, so therefore take it personally. But then, imagine the berating my own denomination took in 2008, at the brief glimpse of statements made by ONE of the myriad pastors and clerics within my church. Double standards in America which remove my liberty and freedom – and the separation of church and state. Are we afraid to speak about the Christian beliefs of Adam Smith and Andrew Carnegie because such Presbyterian beliefs go against the grain of the dogma and doctrines of huge hierarchically-based churches with strong dictatorial leadership?
Is it humble pie for me or the truth being hidden – by deceptive people … no… deceptive egomaniacs – who seek power and control first, before reasoning and rationality? I would like to know.
Tioga Herald 
I am Who I am and Proud to be Who I am
I am gay and knew it from a young age, but was bullied by many to reject who I am because I did not play sports as a “man” could. Yet, I was part of a championship football team (JV) in high school.
My JV football coach was also my 7th grade New York State History teacher. I learned from him regarding history. I learned from him regarding football.
I am a Christian, raised in a Protestant denomination. With today being Ash Wednesday, I am reminded of the football coach who boarded in our home. When I was a kid, he came home after attending the local Roman Catholic Church. He had ashes on his forehead in the sign of the cross. I had never seen that before. I went over and asked him what that was about. My mother was embarrassed that I would ask or, as she said, “bother” him about that. But he was not the least bit bothered and explained to me what the ashes were about. Our Protestant church in Newark Valley never had an Ash Wednesday service like that. But the UCC I attended in Florida DID have an Ash Wednesday service and I received my ashes, while participating in the choir in that church. The service followed a dinner of homemade soups made by members of the congregation.
I am who I am.
The basketball coach who boarded at the the same time as the football coach introduced me to the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Did you know that paper burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit? The story was about a time in the future when firemen were not used to protect us from burning homes, but to burn books which were not pleasing to some people. The basketball coach gave me a copy of that book.
The basketball coach also gave me a copy about a white man who lived among a black community so as to discover how black folk were treated in the South. The book was titled, Black Like Me.
These coaches were borders at our house in Apr. 1968 when Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , was shot down in cold blood. Sad that I was exposed to so many people in our school and community who rejoiced at the murder of MLK. I did not know how to accept it all. So, I asked the basketball coach whether it was right for people to rejoice at the death of a black man. He answered my question with a question. His question for me, to get me thinking, was this: ”What do you think?” I thought and thought and replied with, “I don’t think it is very good for anyone to kill another nor to even rejoice over it.” To which the basketball coach said, “I think you answered your own question correctly.”
From that point forward, to the day I heard the song “Who Am I?” in Les Miz, to today, I am always willing to take responsibility for mistakes I might make.
This is a long-winded approach to say this. Several days back, I wrote a review of a local production of Cabaret, which I had really enjoyed and appreciated. I take responsibility for the errors in that review. Not errors in what I said or the references provided. Errors in my writing. Run-on sentences, for instance. I had written the review so quickly and had to deal with so many problems with the app with which I was using, that I just submitted it without a thorough review of it. Sad.
I take responsibility, despite the fact that I COULD blame the technology. I LOVE to blame the technology. And today’s technology leaves a lot to be desired, from inept and non-intuitive phone apps and so forth, to stupid AI which makes changes I don’t want, to many other ineptitudes of technology.
And some would think, to be a “man,” I need to hide my mistakes and lie. That is very unacceptable to me.
So, I am who I am. Trying to be an honest man who seeks quality in life, even though the fat pigs of big corporate supply-side companies deny us quality control and don’t know what it means to analyze quality control. So that so many common folk have no idea what quality control is and then finds some way to blame me and others when we seek it.
Perhaps I will have a chance to re-do that review of Cabaret and correct errors such as run-on sentences. At least I did NOT use foul language in it. And words of my analysis will be the same. I just need to tweak it a bit. And perhaps this time around, I will learn something and do something different. I might use Microsoft Word to write it and then copy and paste it into the app! Humility begets learning and learning begets knowledge which begets wisdom. Seek wisdom, not certainty and life resulting humility would be better for all in America.
My tastes are simple being satisfied with the best. (Attributed to Oscar Wilde).
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