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The 4 L’s

In December of 2015, the New York Times released an article after following a group of 85-year-old people for a year. What they concluded was that it was certain what mattered to them was laughter. They spent “no wasted time on anger and worry.” They were quoted as saying “with old age, I listen a little more.”

What did matter to them was The 4 L’s: Life, Laughter, Listening, and Love. Notice what did not matter to them; none mentioned a thing about current events, politics, donkeys or elephants. Only life, laughter, listening, and love. 

I’ve learned that I have no control over what someone does in the White House. I have no control over what they do in the Tennessee capital. I have no control over what happens in the Sumner County sessions. The closest thing I have to control is a vote. And I use that to the best of my ability. After that, it’s out of my control. 

Think back before covid. Who did you go to concerts with? Who did you have dinner with? Who did you hang out with, double dates, play dates with kids? Remember when it didn’t matter how they voted? 

What’s changed? Boredom and Social media. And a lack of pursuit of the things that matter. We’ve turned our focus away from the friends that make us laugh at dinner and decided they’re no longer dinner-worthy because they dislike Trump. Or they’re no longer someone you want to go to a concert with anymore simply because they don’t like Biden. Think about it, do these politicians know who you are? Do they care? Debatable.

Boredom. Covid put us in a place where we were in search of something to do. People were playing the stock market that had never done so before. There were no sports. This was the closest thing to it. 

One thing that is stoking opinionated fires needlessly that not many are mentioning is social media. Social media has unintentionally, yet successfully driven a wedge in our relationships while trying to bring them closer together. How could that be? 

Originally, it was meant to bring people together. Family that didn’t live close by could keep in touch. People would be positively reaffirmed with “likes”. But it was free. They had to make money. So the social media platforms sold data on what people were clicking on and watching- the algorithm. In order for them to make money, you had to stay on your phone. In order for that to happen, they put things in front of you they knew you’d like and agree with. Algorithms again. 

You kept feeding their data machine and they kept sending you things you liked and agreed with. The more you watched, the more money they made. Little did they, or you, know that the things they were putting in your face were creating total political polarization. 

So now we’re willing to lose friends, people we’ve been doing life with, over things we can’t control. That’s how ridiculous this has gotten. It’s gotten so out of control that an idea about something you have no control over, an opinion, is driving wedges in families, friends, communities. 

There has to be a point when we realize it’s just not worth it. That whether I back the blue or believe Black Lives Matter, or manage to believe both has no effect on the years of closeness I’ve had with someone prior to this social media experiment. 

I seriously doubt we’ll be 85 saying “I’m so happy I ended that 20-year friendship over my opinion on a police department in Wisconsin.” That just won’t happen. We’ll wake up with so much regret we won’t be able to function. We must get to a place where we focus on what matters: Life, Laughing, Listening, and Love.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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I Plead the 5th

We are all pretty tired of covid. We’ve seen rises in depression, anxiety, domestic abuse, child abuse, as well as drug and alcohol abuse as a result of being quarantined; quarantined whether you’re healthy or not. The debate began. “For the love of humanity, wear a mask!” And in the same breath, “But let me go to work!” Unfortunately, the two issues fall under the same umbrella, individual liberty. We either give it up entirely and accept that the government mandates and forces by law that we are all wearing masks and closing businesses OR we all open businesses as WE (the people) see fit and wear masks if WE (the people) are concerned; individual liberty and choice.

To dive a little deeper into this, we have to understand the US constitution, and in my personal case, the Tennessee constitution. First, masks. Can the government mandate that the public wear masks? Well, ask yourself this question, can the government mandate that you wear a seat belt? The answer to that is obviously yes. But there’s one HUGE distinction: the legislative branch proposed a bill requiring seat belts be worn that, after traveling through the proper channels, was voted on and passed into law. The law mandating masks being worn in public hasn’t had that opportunity. There has been no involvement from the legislative branch on masks in any government in the US. Again, we’re back to the constitution. Let’s see what it says.

Article II, section 2 of the Tennessee constitution says this, “No person or persons belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others, except in the cases herein directed or permitted.”

Article II, section 3 says this, “The legislative authority of this state shall be vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives, both dependent on the people.”

Article II, section 18 says this, “A bill shall become law when it has been considered and passed on three different days in each House and on third and final consideration has received the assent of a majority of all the members to which each House is entitled under this Constitution, when the respective speakers have signed the bill with the date of such signing appearing in the journal, and when the bill has been approved by the governor or otherwise passed under the provisions of this Constitution.”

Based solely on these three articles, it is unconstitutional for ANY branch of government to exercise authority over another branch. In the mask controversy, the executive branch exercised authority over the legislative branch by enacting a law without that branch. Look up “separation of powers” or “Checks and balances”. But what does this have to do with businesses? Glad you asked.

The constitution was designed to limit the government, never the people. So let’s return to the constitution. The US constitution, Amendment V states, “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury… nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” Your business is “property”.

More succinctly, in the case of Tennesseans, the TN constitution states in Article I, section 21, “That no man’s particular services shall be demanded, or property taken, or applied to public use, without the consent of his representatives, or without just compensation being made therefore.”

Based solely on the US constitution and the TN constitution, it would be unconstitutional to mandate a business closure without “due process of law”. In the midst of this “pandemic”, businesses were forced to close, due to no fault of their own, without due process of any kind. Sports industries have been shut down… without due process of any kind. The entertainment industry (bars, concerts) which is close to my heart, has been shut down… without due process of any kind. Both the US and the TN constitution limit activity. But wait, it’s a state of emergency. That changes things. Possibly… let’s look.

Emergency management codes were all designed to “suspend” laws in order to expedite resources needed to help recover quickly from an emergency. For instance, laws that require multi-level approval for funding can be suspended during a state of emergency in order to expedite the funds. Another suspension of laws includes liability. If a first responder administers treatment because of an emergency, that responder is free from liability during a state of emergency. Laws were never meant to be created and/or enacted during this time.

During the pandemic, the federal government issued suggestions of safety. They gave recommendations. The states, however, began issuing mandates across the country (all except South Dakota). In TN, in particular, my home state, the governor began issuing mandated businesses closures and mask mandates which transferred authority to mayors throughout the state. The only basis on which he was able to act was one code. T.C.A. § 58-2-107.

T.C.A. § 58-2-107 Part (a)(1) says, “In the event of an emergency beyond local control, the governor… may assume direct operational control… and such person has the power through proper process of law to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The governor is authorized to delegate such powers as the governor may deem prudent.”  Part (a)(2) says, “…the governor may issue executive orders. Such executive orders, proclamations, and rules have the force and effect of law.” This code is strictly unconstitutional, per the above text from both the US constitution and the TN constitution.

There is hope. Take a look at an example HERE where the supreme court overruled a president for attempting to issue an executive order that, in the supreme court’s opinion, was unconstitutional. In Tennessee, there is an organization taking a stand against the unconstitutional code that gives the Governor too much power. Click HERE to read more. There’s also a petition to get the Tennessee house and senate’s attention. Click HERE for that. So, when it comes down to the bottom line on whether businesses should be forced to close or we should be forced to wear a mask in public, ask the simple question, did anyone vote on this? If the answer is no, then a king must be involved. As for me… I plead the 5th (Amendment).

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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It Was Still HIS Country

There we are. We finally have sports. Something to take our thoughts away from the everyday turmoil of our nation. I was SO ready for sports that I even agreed to watch baseball. That’s kind of a big deal for me. But then they did it… putting political messages all over everything and two teams kneeling during the anthem.

I won’t discuss the fact that they got where they are because they were good at throwing and hitting a ball, not because of their woke enlightenment. Not because of their superior intellect. Because they were born with and perfected a superior ability of hand-eye coordination.

I won’t discuss whether or not they even know why they’re kneeling. What the message is.

I won’t discuss police brutality and whether or not you think it’s an epidemic or not. That’s for another day.

Today I’m only talking about the vehicle chosen to protest. Do they have the right? Yes. And the consumer has the right to cease spending money on tickets too. Picking the right moment for the right audience is paramount for getting a message out that you believe is important.

So we pick the national anthem. There can only be one of two reasons why.

Reason #1- you hate America. To those, I’m sure there are great real estate agents that can get them top dollar for their homes and they can move to another country.

Reason #2- it’s a huge platform that can get the attention of a large audience. But again, is this the audience you want to appeal to?

We all remember the story of Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks (now referred to as three persons of non-specific gender or region) and her decision to tell people in London how bad she hated our president (W at the time). On the surface, that doesn’t sound like a big deal. I happen to personally know a musician that was on that stage with her that night standing right behind her and it didn’t strike him or any other band members as a big deal. Just Natalie being Natalie. The problem was that the people who bought their albums and bought tickets to their shows were huge fans of “God-fearing Republicans”, which W was just that. It caused their career to implode overnight. And it seems here recently a certain group of people forgot that story and seem destined to repeat it.

And here we are, watching people protest during a song. But what do they know about that song? Obviously not much. A close friend of mine discussed the lyrics a few years back. I’m going to discuss the resolve of the writer and the audience of the protesters. Quick history…

British ships were intercepting American ships that were on their way to France to provide supplies. Britain still had this superiority complex that they could just do whatever they wanted to Americans. President James Madison has people in his ear that basically say, “Are you going to stand for this or do something about it?” Could he have chosen a diplomatic route? Possibly. But just 30 years earlier the Americans learned that diplomacy wasn’t something Britain was used to. The British like to do what they wanted when they wanted.

So there’s this lawyer who has a knack for excellent poetic writing. He is outraged when he learns that President Madison has declared war on the British. He felt it could have and should have been handled diplomatically. The vote to go to war was the closest ever, proving that the country was very divided on this issue. Francis Scott Key began using his national platform, expressing his disgust of Madison and his outright protest of this “unjust war”. He. Was. Angry.

So Britain obliges. They bring the fight to Ft. McHenry. Key was given permission from the President to negotiate the release of a prisoner. He boards a British ship and while they are negotiating, the fight intensifies. Key is not allowed to leave the boat for a couple of reasons.

So he was relegated to sit back and watch from a distance. The next morning, he began asking questions, (paraphrased) “Can you see?… at dawn?… is it the same flag we proudly posted last night? … the one with stripes and stars… it made it through the fight? but I watched our land get hit with a flurry of shells?… but I saw that British red powder flying through the air behind all of those bombs? Somehow through all of that our flag was still there? WHAT?! … Well I’ll be damned! It’s still waving over the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

What Key saw that night was shell after shell being hurled (approximately 1 per minute, which was a lot back then) at his country. The same country he was PROTESTING. The same country he was angry with for even being in this conflict. He watched in horror thinking the worst. It completely shocked him to find the flag still standing there. 

See, in the midst of his anger and protest, this was still HIS country. He still loved America. He was just angry at President Madison and those that voted to enter the conflict. If the story of this song tells us anything, it’s that even in the midst of disagreement, we’re still Americans. This is still OUR country.  So protesting this tune, written by this guy, who was protesting America, makes ZERO sense.

And then there’s that issue of audience. Most sports lovers really don’t care what their favorite athlete thinks about law enforcement. They want to cheer on their team and enjoy sports. If you feel the need to protest something, there’s nothing wrong with that. But make sure you at least consider what you’re protesting and who it will alienate in the process. The latest antics by the woke sports mob will only hurt. It will only continue to divide. The NFL and NBA TV ratings were at an all-time low prior to covid. We look to sports as an escape… not more political rhetoric. If we want that, we’ll just hop on Facebook… followed by lots of prayer and anti-depressants!

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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Missed Opportunities

Some opportunities come often. Some come “Once in a lifetime” so “You better lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it…” well you know. We can all point to missed opportunities in our own lives, if we’re honest.

I can point to countless meetings with music industry heavy weights. One particular meeting was with a producer who presents ideas to me about his vision for my career and I begin to lay out why he’s wrong and what really needs to be done. This dude was ready for me to be out of his office.

Then there are those times we go through something tough that we brought on to ourselves. And somehow after going through this, we don’t learn from our mistakes. We repeat them. We go back to that toxic relationship. We go back to that “friend” that isn’t a friend at all for introducing us to a highly addictive drug. These are all missed opportunities. And I can promise I’ve had my share and them some. So, I do not judge those that also miss opportunities.

Since this virus has hit America, there has been more division in our country than ever before since the civil war. People have picked a side and will die fighting for a side or an ideal regardless if they’re right or wrong. One side could say the sky is blue and the other will say “Fake news! I looked up and it was orange!” When in reality, they were both right but too divided to know it.

I’ve been praying and hoping there would be a voice of unity. A voice of reason in all this madness. Someone with a national platform that rises up and says something to the effect of “There are great people on BOTH sides of every argument. We must figure out a way to coexist in the middle of our disagreement… like adults!”

I keep thinking that soon it will happen. Someone will figure out a way to get people to put down their pitchforks just long enough to see the humanity in the person they have sworn to hate because their tribe says to. “ALL Biden lovers are lunatics!” or “ALL Trump lovers are racists!” really… anytime you put “ALL” on anything, you corner yourself into a place where you will most certainly be found WRONG.

In my life, I’ve had the fortune of traveling the world playing music and refereeing basketball. One thing that I found very consistent is that in every race and every culture there are: great people, terrible people, classy people, trashy people, people with high integrity and people who’d steal anything they can. There really is NO SUCH THING as “ALL” when referring to human beings… except that they are all human beings. That’s about where it ends.

Unfortunately, while waiting for this voice of reason, I completely stopped hoping it would be our president. While I realize that the things he’s “doing” are incredibly great for our country, the things he “says” aren’t. Yes, he’s taking care of America first and everyone else takes a number and gets in line… for the first time… maybe ever. Yes, he orchestrated the best economy this country has seen in at least 50 years. But the words he continues to say and tweet are at least as divisive as his predecessor. I find myself hoping someone will put him in Twitter time-out.

Trump’s predecessor, Obama, was one of the greatest speakers in American history. I was always a fan of who he was. What he stood for. He was a classy person. He was a family man. A good father and devoted husband. He knew when to lighten up and when to be serious. He knew how to put words together in such a way that they sounded like absolute art.

So when I heard he was speaking at John Lewis’ funeral, I quickly thought… “He’ll be the guy! Obama will say things to unify the country!” I’m not sure why I thought that. He never did it once in 8 years of office. But I thought that his classy nature would prevail and he’d be a voice of reason. No one would listen to Bush. No one would listen to Clinton. No one would listen to Pelosi. But EVERYONE would listen to Obama.

And as he began, the story was inspiring and full of awe. He spoke highly of a man that was worth speaking highly of. A man (J. Lewis) that overcame many obstacles and endured many hardships to make sure “the movement” didn’t die until racism did.

But then, in true presidential-Obama form, he began using his national microphone to push partisan agendas. To divide the country even further. If someone wasn’t angry about political division before, they certainly were after.

This man (Obama) had an opportunity to bring the nation together. He had the ears of Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, LGBTQ, Christians, Muslims, MAGA-bons, Never Trumpers, old, young, black, white, brown… he had the entire country in his hand and…..

He said, to a GROUP of PEOPLE in an INDOOR BUILDING that are sitting in close proximity that “there are those in power that are undermining the Postal Service in an election that is going to be dependant on mailed-in ballots so people don’t get sick.”

Yes, you read that correctly. He told people in an indoor building that coming into an indoor building was hazardous to people’s health while voting. Even Dr Alveda King, niece of the great Martin Luther King Jr., took notice of the missed opportunity. She stated that she was very upset that Obama would “grab at the chance” to politicize this funeral.

He had an opportunity and he missed it. He was the one person the entire country would have followed into unity. But he chose to divide… in equal fashion as our current president. Again, I’m not judging because I’ve had plenty of missed opportunities. Just pointing out the sad reality. So here I sit, still waiting for a national voice of reason to find a way to unify and to stop driving the partisan train into Missed Opportunities.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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The Divided States of America

“I pledge no allegiance to a flag in the divided states of America, and to the republic, which is destroyed, one nation, under control where individual liberties and freedoms are gone.”

I’ve been searching for the root of what we’re seeing. I’ve seen a myriad of symptoms. The anger turned to violence. The violence turned on those who represent hate. But then the violence turned on those who were instrumental in making sure we no longer have slavery, to ensure we don’t have two separate countries… people who fought FOR justice and equality. The statues of U.S. Grant and Frederick Douglas came down… this made no sense.

We are obviously witnessing a cultural, non-violent, civil war. The country is at least as divided as it was under Obama or any other administration, for that matter. And the symptoms are in front of us. But the root isn’t. I truly think the civil unrest that hovers over our nation is due to 2 things: 1- A lack of Identity and 2- Unforgiveness.

Identity: Go back and look. In the 1960’s when LBJ responded to the Moynihan report by incentivizing single mothers to remain single, the welfare state as we know it began to take root. And along with the spike in fatherless homes came their end of the bargain- votes. And with those votes came more free housing and food. Which placed many people in a position to depend on the government and never lay claim to a land of their own. This is NOT relegated to a certain race, by the way. White and black people suffered from this.

One of the ways to tell that this is true is to listen to conversations between people who were raised by people who lived in that system. They always refer to their home as “where they STAY”. “I stay on the north side. Where do you stay?” A buddy of mine wrote a blog on it once and I almost fell out of my chair because finally someone besides me noticed it and mentioned it. The word live isn’t used. Because it would refer to ownership or heritage. And there is neither with those that grew up dependent on the government.

The more ownership you have in something, the less likely you are to want to destroy it. You feel a certain connection to that town or area. You remember the history of that area… good and bad. You revel in the good and learn from the bad. But it’s your town. Your people. I submit that those of us who have a hard time understanding how someone could burn a town down, truly try to understand those that feel displaced. With no American roots. The cultural identity is a huge step in ending the misguided anger that we’re seeing unfold. And it’s up to us to include those who feel displaced to help give them a sense of ownership and pride.

Unforgiveness: When you think of people that have done great things, you remember the greatness of who they were and often overlook the wrong they did. Take a biblical character, for example. Saul/Paul. Paul wrote most of the new testament. Very possibly the largest contributor to the longest running best-selling book in the history of the world. We benefit from the teachings on marriage. On sins. On church. On friendships. We accept all of this knowing that he massacred many Christians prior to becoming a believer himself. Why? Because we know that who he WAS is not who he IS.

Historical figures that paved the way for our country to be the greatest country in the world are a bit messy. Lincoln, Grant, Jefferson, Madison, Washington… the list goes on… ALL owned slaves. Hamilton bought and sold them for his father-in-law. But all of these men accomplished incredible things that paved the way for us to have a free market system surrounded by individual protections that make us, by far, the best country in the world.

So when one mistake is made or discovered, does that discredit any good thing they ever did? I hope not. I RARELY agree with this guy, but truly, Bill Mahar said it best when it comes to cancel culture, “Who are these perfect people that have never made any mistakes?!”

What we’re seeing is an attempt to completely discredit any good thing done by someone who has ever failed in their past. Unfortunately, that would include every single person in the history of the world… except one. And that One taught us to forgive. To look past the transgression itself and into the heart of the person and forgive. This coming from a man that knew He would be betrayed by His own people.

What was the basis of America? The very reason for creating a new country and being willing to fight for this country to the death? Freedom. Freedom from a king’s rule. Freedom from being ruled by the church. Freedom to exist and partake in individual liberties without the fear of an oppressive government dictating and mandating your every move.  

And we got there. Did they make mistakes getting there? Yes. Did America make some mistakes getting to the place we are now? Of course. But we got here. We got to a place where we are more free and more equal than ever before in our nation’s history and more than any other society anywhere in the world. On the backs of humans… who made mistakes. In order to enjoy the benefits, we must forgive the mistakes, learn from the mistakes, and then we can enjoy the successes. If we keep erasing the mistakes, we’ll forget the mistakes… and repeat them. We must figure out a way to return to the UNITED states of America- through identity and forgiveness…. you know what? Forget everything I just said. I actually think it’s sports. That’s why we’ve all gone nuts. We need sports back!!

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger