The Quiet Ones

Like a lot of people, I have been following the not-so-pretty verbal jousting that has been going on in both Washington, D.C. over health care and in Denmark over climate change. Without question, passion reigns supreme regarding both issues. Because the news media seems to be doing little else but focusing on the people making the biggest noise at each site and on each issue, I keep wondering about the men and the women who are quietly working well with others to try to find common ground so that some agreements or consensus can be reached. For a change, I would love to hear about those people and not the ones who are making the wildest charges and who seem to be more interested in hearing themselves talk than actually contributing to the process.

Eventually, if agreements of some sort can be reached on these issues, then those quiet, behind-the-scenes workers will certainly get my vote as the unsung heroes. In terms of strategy, I will concede there may be times for public posturing. But more often than not, building on commonalities in a respectful, honest and cooperative manner will get one to the finish line faster than bullying or name calling ever will. Both styles represent different ways of communicating. But at the end of the day, which one makes the most solid contribution toward resolving a difference of opinion? It is a shame those who make the most noise, yet contribute the least to obtaining a resolution get the headlines.

This is one reason I believe we all need to be a bit skeptical of those in the headlines. Just because they are the ones standing in front of the microphone does not automatically mean they are meaningful contributors. When I see someone step in front of a camera to talk, often my gaze goes to those behind them. My hunch is it often those people who probably have the most to say; those people who spent long hours working through the details of an issue; those people who slogged away at hammering out some sort of agreement that, while not perfect, more often than not brought all of us closer to adequately addressing the issue at-hand. In these cases, it is health care and climate change. Both are long reaching and both affect all of us. I tip my hat to the quiet ones who often do so much of the heavy lifting in life. While they may not make the headlines, yhey sure do make the story.