Leaving Things Unfinished

While it inevitably happens from time to time, I hate leaving things that are half finished but sometimes other priorities come to the fore and there is no other option. Eventually, I go back and complete that item or project but there is generally no guarantee when that will happen. However, that task is always on my mind and it doesn’t take much for me to return to the work that was once abandoned.

I was reminded of this when hearing the president speak last week. Unfortunately, his hand had to be forced in order to return to an unfinished war. There was no golf course to which he could retreat that would hide him away from that speech that you could tell he was dreading. When the words were spoken we listened hoping that we would hear of a solution that we could all stand behind. For many of us, the ‘solution’ presented fell far short of what we wanted to hear.  

The threat that we currently face from ISIL is one that many of use feared would grow out of our abrupt departure from the region. We hoped to hear of an all-out campaign to obliterate this terrorist organization that some report to be as much as 31,000 strong. While we have been engaging in targeted strikes, this does not seem to be stemming their growth. We need to show strength but we were left with the following rhetoric from the president:

Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL.  And any time we take military action, there are risks involved –- especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions.  But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.  This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground.  This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years.  And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year:  to use force against anyone who threatens America’s core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order. 

With a government a mere days old at the time of the speech and our greatest source of intelligence in the region, Israel, having to fight alone to defend their borders, we have little regional support that could counter this growing threat. There are times when overwhelming force is not the answer but this is not one of those situations. We gave up once, we let this threat grow unchecked, and we failed in finishing the job. We can’t let that happen again and trying to claim victory from a distance is not a viable solution.

There is a time for rhetoric… not now. There is a time for negotiations… not now. There is a time to let others handle the problem… not now, we started it. There is a time to step on their necks and not stop until they are wiped off the map and relegated to the biography of a failed president… that time is now. Now is the time to claim victory and fight for the peace and stability of the region.

Brace Yourself To Be Kicked In The Fannie

Interesting discussions abound every week during our regular Rotary meeting. The diversity both in our members and our guests makes for a wide variety of views and varying levels of passion about any given topic. With so much going on in the country and world today there is an endless stream of talking points to spur impassioned dialogues.

Our guest this week, Matthew D. Weglarz, brought to the forefront one such topic when he discussed the ever changing lending market and the possible implications if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are allowed to fold. Most notable of the probable outcomes would be the privatization of the mortgage industry and the subsequent elimination of terms extending beyond 15 years. This would be in addition to the increased interest rates that would reflect levels that haven’t been seen in over 30 years. Of course, these are suppositions at this point and like many events in the past we won’t know the true outcome until it happens as there are too many variables to fully comprehend.

Matt, who works for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and serves as Vice President and Resident Manager for the Philadelphia and South Jersey Regions, was very concise in his outlining the current situation that exists in the lending industry but also touched upon his own journey that shapes the way he conducts himself and treats others. The journey that lead him to his current position was not one that is commonly heard of in the executive ranks of his industry.

It is the understanding on a personal and professional level of the highs and lows that exist in life and the extremes in means that exist in society that makes Matt particularly effective in not just helping people make the right decisions but also to give perspective to the raw numbers. Many people are great with numbers but it takes a certain kind of person to see the humanity in the arithmetic. It is something that we each have inside of us, something that Matt has obviously tapped into, and something that we should all keep in mind when we go about our work.

Look for the humanity in what may seem emotionless; find the flex in the immutable; challenge what is accepted as the norm; strive to achieve greater and greater things in life. Don’t just see these as ideas, see them for what they are… actions. We can see these actions in the lives of others, in people like Matt, and know that it can be done because it has been done. If you want to serve others know how to serve yourself as well.