What Is A Good Leader?

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We all want to be one. We want our children to be one. And when we’re not one, we want the person in charge to be one.

What is it?

It’s not just a “leader,” it’s a “GOOD leader.”

This represents a significant qualifier. You’ll need to brace yourself for this one. The word doesn’t reflect a moral imperative (yet), it merely alludes to effectiveness.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “but if a leader isn’t moral, why would I ever follow him?”

Let me counter that with a different question: If you find yourself placed in a life or death Continue Reading “What Is A Good Leader?”

Given a One-in-a-Million Chance, Always Take the One

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This crisis, like any other crisis, reveals the inner-most souls of many. For some, that means sharing a brightness that exudes hope, honesty, and optimism. For others, it’s a darkness of depressing despair.

It’s a glass-half-empty/glass-half-full sort of thing. People are different. Sometimes it’s easier to hide those differences. Other times it’s not. We were already in one of those times when it’s not before the crisis hit. The crisis only makes it even more difficult to hide the secrets of our souls.

We see this national Rorschach Test being played out in the media – both social and traditional. The two came together recently in a group I belong to. It gave me pause to think. Not about the superficial issue the group was discussing, but about the underlying philosophy it entails.

On the face of it, the post mentioned an article that exposed how journalists and certain Continue Reading “Given a One-in-a-Million Chance, Always Take the One”

Letting Go

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There’s a scene at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where Indy, despite being precariously perched on the cusp of certain death, desperately reaches 525200_73544751_balloon_release_stock_xchng_royalty_free_300for the elusive Holy Grail. “I can get it,” he gasps to his father, “I can almost reach it, Dad…”

Professor Henry Jones, who had been searching for the Holy Grail his whole life but now just as desperately is trying to save his suddenly smitten offspring, gently says, “Indiana.” His surprised son looks up at him. “Indiana,” continues the father, “let it go.”

And so he does.

Imagine spending your whole life striving to achieve that one goal, only to purposely back away when it lay within your clear grasp. How would you feel? What would be so important to have you “let it go”? And could you ever again hold as deep a conviction as what once drove you to that precipice?
Continue Reading “Letting Go”

Penalize Colorado! Ethics Begins on the Football Field

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the October 18, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Sure I wanted Notre Dame to score on that last second touchdown pass. Just like a lot of other people, I was disappointed when the receiver dropped the ball. Yet, something else occurred on that particular Saturday which upset me even more.

College football bashing seems to be a regular event among the more erudite columnists. Many people complain the big money business of NCAA football runs counter to the spirit of the educational university. Certainly, we can’t encourage putting bucks ahead of books. But a solid education must Continue Reading “Penalize Colorado! Ethics Begins on the Football Field”

Summertime Stargazing

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the July 5, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

 

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259I love the summer. Longer daylight hours means we can do a lot more. It also means, after a good day’s work, we can still spend some relaxing time with our family and neighbors.

Sitting on the porch gently taking in the sights and sounds of nature and our community, we savor the twilight of the day. The last lick of sunlight long since set, we slowly mellow with the sky. Our light conversation goes as smoothly as the transition from dusk to dark.

It is this time of day I enjoy the best. Surrounded by close comrades and all the chores done, I can now look heavenward. For some reason, I still get a kick out of finding the Continue Reading “Summertime Stargazing”

A Graduation Song

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the June 28, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259School’s out… Forever!
– Vincent Furnier (a.k.a. Alice Cooper)

Or so to speak, especially for those going to college in a couple months. But for now, revel in the new found freedom of no more homework, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks. You have completed the first job your country has given you – getting a high school diploma. That in itself deserves a celebration.

As music can often be found in most celebrations, maybe a graduation song would be appropriate. Since a newspaper doesn’t offer the proper medium for carrying a tune, the most one could hope for out of this song would be melodious lyrics. But, since this Continue Reading “A Graduation Song”

Rocky’s Gloves

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the May 31, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259One of the great things about an ethic upbringing is ethnic pride. Growing up Italian meant adopting the many Italian-American heroes of my parent’s and grandparent’s time. Two particular heroes stand out above the rest in my childhood memories – Joe DiMaggio and Rocky Graziano.

Truthfully, I can’t say I saw either of these athletes perform. Both retired nearly a decade before my birth. Yet, honoring these men pays respect to the judgment Continue Reading “Rocky’s Gloves”

Creative Chaos

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the March 8, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

 

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259There used to be a car repair commercial about the Second Law of Thermodynamics: The Law of Entropy. Here’s something you might not know: Entropy actually lists as the third law of thermodynamics. For a while, physicists viewed entropy as the second most important idea in thermodynamics. Then, they discovered what they now consider the utmost concept in the field. Unfortunately, by the time of the discovery, everyone used the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the Law of Entropy interchangeably. The scientists could not very well shift everything down one. It would cause too much confusion.

Physicists, however, can often act as astute problem solvers. Since the nomenclature had already included the terms First and Second, they needed to invent a higher order Continue Reading “Creative Chaos”

The Roaring Eighties – R.I.P.

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the March 1, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Like its predecessor the Roaring Twenties, the decade past seemed filled with excess. The eighties saw gargantuan gluttonous wrought forth upon a foundation of financial speculation and naïve hopes. But, enough has already been said about the sins of the last ten years.

Indeed, we come not to praise the eighties, but to bury them. While the calendar says we entered the nineties two full months ago, the end of February really Continue Reading “The Roaring Eighties – R.I.P.”

The Apolitical Blues

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(Apologies to Little Feat)

[This Commentary originally appeared in the February 22, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259“Politics must be avoided. Politics leads to trouble. Politics remains the domain of the greedy deceivers who can’t make it in the private sector. Politics should be shunned by all proper people.”

So go the thoughts of the typical citizen towards the professional which includes our government leaders. Where does this conviction originate? Why do most people view the political world with such disdain and mistrust? Why do honorable persons circumvent a discussion at the first Continue Reading “The Apolitical Blues”

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