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nervous. England’s Winston Churchill stated in 1947, “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Churchill added , saying “but there is the broad feeling in our country that the people should rule, and that public opinion expressed by all constitutional means, should shape, guide, and control the actions of ministers who are their servants and not their masters.”
He had his guys meditate. He told them, “We’re gonna think about breathing. If you just work on your breathing, that will help you to be in the moment.”
The people “rule” through their votes, but elections in Hawai‘i tend to bring mostly intra-party squabbles, without major interparty battles of divergent philosophies. A democ- racy is surely strengthened when there’s healthy, multiparty, non-social-media debate over issues and action plans ... “if elected.”
In this Dec. 23, 1982, file photo, Chaminade’s Tony Randolph (right) moves around Virginia’s Ralph Sampson during an NCAA college basketball game in Honolulu. Chaminade’s 77-72 victory over top-ranked Virginia is widely considered the biggest upset in college basketball. AP PHOTO/FILE
The meditation and breath- ing lasted 20 minutes each practice. What he did was so offbeat for the times. ESPN covered one session of breathing and meditation at a coach Lopes practice.
How you gonna catch it?” Coach Lopes is today a vi- tal 90-year-old who remem- bers well that game from 40 years ago that showed the world he was a master trail-
As I suggested last week, leaders gotta lead. But do they? Some local elections are pretty much concluded with a pri- mary election win over a same-party opponent. Some seats are walkovers — no opponent in either the primary and/or general election. In Hawai‘i, the need for winners to truly act on published promises and pontificated platitudes is of- ten unnecessary as said politicos don’t have much (or any) competition. Sure, some candidates really are that good, or the opposition that bad, and too many eligible voters don’t vote or even register, a resounding victory for “ainokea.”
principle on which to man- ageanarmyistosetupone standard of courage which all must reach.”
“It was to bring my play- ers’ full attention in the mo- ment. To stay in the now,” Lopes explained
blazer of human potential.
In the Nov. 8 midterms, for local contests featuring two or more candidates for governor, U.S. House and Senate, and our local state House and Senate, 51 out of those 67 contests (76%) saw the winning candidate receive at least 60% of the votes. Winning by 20% or more might be considered a relative trouncing, or anticlimactic.
SPEED BUMP by Dave Coverly
Keep Your Eyes On The Ball
“Forever – is composed of Nows.” — Emily Dickinson
ADemocracy Determinants
“Y ou have to look at the ball to catch it,” coach Lopes said. “You catch it with
your eyes.”
On Dec. 23, 1982, Merv Lopes coached Chaminade’s NAIA basketball team to a 77-72 win over the Universi- ty of Virginia, the top-ranked NCAA team in the country. Sports Illustrated called it the biggest upset in the history of college basketball. Power- house Virginia recruited elite players from across the coun- try. It featured Ralph Samp- son, a 7-foot-4 center and three-time collegiate player of the year. Coach Lopes re- cruited guys at neighborhood outdoor courts. Samson stood 7 inches taller than his Cham- inade defender.
He asked his team to buy in. Buy into what?
“You are responsible for
merican democracy survived this year’s tumul- tuous elections, though pre-election prognostica- tions and election result deniers had lots of people
what you are and not, there’s no blame allowed,” coach Lopes explains. “Everything I did was offbeat.”
forming at peak potential.
Or as coach Merv Lopes says, “You gotta know where the ball is at and then use your hands to catch it, but you can’t do it unless you watch the ball go into your hands. If you close your eyes, you don’t know where the ball is.
We wanted to know his basketball strategy. Instead,
Staying in the now doesn’t allow living in the past or worrying about the future. Players completely in the now are in “the zone”— a state of such high focus it leads to per-
John Schmidtke is an attor- ney in Honolulu. He received a master’s degree in fine arts from Goddard College.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
he told us how to live life. He quoted from Sun Tzu’s an- cient Chinese philosophical treatise The Art of War: “The
Coach Lopes, like suc- cessful leaders in every dis- cipline, turned the complex concept into simple reality:
New Century Schoolbook bold (scaled H 73.6)
with
John Schmidtke
How much pressure is there on those elected to lead, be bold, take risks and affect change? It’s easier, safer and maybe smarter (job security) to simply meet, administer and manage. Not making tough decisions on long-gestat- ing issues apparently isn’t an issue with voters numbed by perceived minimal alternatives at best.
I’m not pushing any particular party or stance, but rath- er suggesting that perceived or real pressure on candidates might encourage bolder efforts while they’re in office. And I get it; more than 90% of incumbents get reelected — name recognition, funding, et al. We simply need more quality competition to give more people more reasons to vote here.
Think about it.
john@thinkaboutithawaii.com