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Poor Davids Almanack July 21, 2019

July 21, 2019

Those who follow American politics are again tempest-tost over remarks made by Chief Executive Trump. In the current episode, President Trump encouraged on Twitter four freshman congressional representatives to practice their policy ideas in the “countries from which they came.” Three of his nemeses were born in the US and the fourth is a naturalized citizen, which makes sense given that citizenship is a requirement for federal legislators.

The objectionability of the statements offered by our President are self-evident. My reflection on his recurrent, ad hominem tweets – and the resultant voltage surge – is about the appropriate processing of them. Do they require aggressive condemnation? Does dismissal or silence indicate apathy? Indirect approval ?

The answer is that I don’t know. It is difficult for me to trivialize the language of America’s Commander-in-Chief, yet the language itself is routinely trivial ( taunting, typically ). The worst outcome of it is the vitriolic escalation. The Buddha offered some non-trivial observations in his famous Twin Verses:

The deluded, imagining trivial things to be vital to life, follow their vain fancies and never attain the highest knowledge.

But the wise, knowing what is trivial and what is vital, set their thoughts on the supreme goal and attain the highest knowledge.

As rain seeps through a poorly thatched roof, passion seeps into the untrained mind.

As rain cannot seep through a well-thatched roof, passion cannot seep into a well-trained mind.

For now, I think I prefer not letting unhelpful passions seep into my mind.

By David Kipp

Dave is the VP Technology Services for The Burns Group, an award-winning ENR 500 engineering and construction management firm focused on aviation, rail transit, infrastructure and energy. Burns provides consulting engineering and design for complex systems these industries, including security and information technology, airfield lighting, navigational aids, airport infrastructure and energy efficiency. The firms serves many of the most challenging and admired clients in the US: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Los Angeles World Airports, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Amtrak, SEPTA, NYMTA, Miami International Airport and San Francisco International Airport.

Dave’s 30 year career includes work as an engineer, project manager and project director in gas turbines, aircraft engine test facilities, airport fuel facilities, airport communications and security systems, airport information systems, automatic train control systems and broadband public safety radio communications. His work has included consulting engineering for clients in Asia, North America, South America and the Middle East, and for a number of leading public sector clients, including the Los Angeles World Airports, the Abu Dhabi Airports Company, the DFW Airport Board, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Caltrain and Amtrak.

Dave serves on the Board of Directors for the Airports Council International World Business Partners, and the Airport Consultants Council. He has been a host and speaker at transportation industry technology conferences, led the IT & Systems committee of the ACC and the Airport Planning, Design and Construction Symposium. He also serves on the Engineering Advisory Board for Saint Louis University and has contributed dozens of technical articles, management briefs and book chapters.

One reply on “Poor Davids Almanack July 21, 2019”

I wholeheartedly agree with you on that! I spend a considerable amount of time hoping that this current practice of endless twittering of accusatory messages ENDS SOON! And that the current twit does NOT remain in the White House after 2020, but instead returns to one or all of his golf resorts!

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