Constructing Social Capital

The future is a place of construction. What happens will be built on top of what is being done today. It’s easy for me to look back to search for answers, but the future is a place of dreams and aspiration. It can be a place that welcomes me if I build toward it today.

Where do I want to go? I like to come up with new ideas and new ways of organizing information. Other people have their own destinations.

The concept of social capital is useful for making a successful quest. The resources in the form of people and organizations whom I can connect with; people I can get feedback from and who can help me move from the origins of an idea into its completion. Social capital can be just as necessary as physical capital.

These memoji can represent some of the ways to build social capital. Depending on loved ones and people who care about the same things. Using physical resources to combine efforts. Building social capital by having something appealing to share. Finding people who want to come along toward the same goal. Having an idea that inspires people.

By building on their inspirations, many people could build a new future. Trusting that it will be successful is daunting without also constructing some social capital.

I believe many people currently are impoverished in their social capital. They might not belong anywhere and just need someone to help them climb up the mountain of fulfillment. Perhaps they feel unable to make something beautiful or reach the summit.

Social capital is a resource that would help many overcome their struggles.

Don’t shoot the message

A well-known cliche is “Don’t shoot the messenger.” When someone brings bad news, don’t blame the messengers who brought it.

A related principle is “Don’t shoot the message.” This principle notes that a good idea that comes from an bad source is still a good idea.

A thought experiment:

Some physicians and medical scientists defect to ISIS. They discover a cure for cancer that is extremely inexpensive. In addition, this cure has a 95% 10 year survival rate. The cure is simple to use and very safe. What would you, as a patient, do with a cure that was created by terrorists?

One situation to apply the principle is in religious spheres. The spiritual principles from an incompatible faith community can still deserve a fair hearing.

Perhaps the most obvious way this principle is violated today is in the political arena. If the minority party in the Senate has a good idea, the majority opponents won’t consider it for more than a minute.

If you’re making a decision, don’t shoot the message.