Where have all our mentors gone?

Where are our mentors? Throughout history people have always looked to the elders for wisdom and for mentorship. I am afraid that one of the consequences to the decades of prosperity that we have experienced is a lack of mentors. Those that are the most successful in life and could be the most valuable as mentors, retire and cocoon themselves in gated communities to play golf and cribbage until they pass. In the times we are living in we need mentors more than ever. Many of those that I know that could be excellent mentors are consumed with selfish pursuits or clouded with cynicism. Those of us that have experienced life need to be sharing those experiences and our advice with the younger people that will be leading businesses, communities and our nation.

When I came to Tucson 24 years ago I had several mentors that poured in to my life in different ways. There were 2 broadcasters that helped me a great deal; Dennis Behan and Jim Slone. Dennis owned KWFM and KCEE at the time; he also was our landlord for the KVOI tower site. After I had been here a few months he called to say he was raising our rent, (we had a month to month lease). I went to see him the next day and explained that we could not afford the increase. We were working our way out of IRS liens and payables stretching back 3 years. He told me that I had no lease and had no leverage, “what are you going to do, beg me?” he said. I told him that if I had to I would get down on my knees and do just that. He laughed and told me he wasn’t going to raise my rent, “but you should never have a radio station without a rock solid lease or owning the site”. He later showed me how to buy the tower site after he sold the site and his stations to American Media.

Jim Slone gave me a great example of integrity. He refused to play songs that had cussing in them, even if it was the number one song on the country charts. His example gave me the confidence to stick with our values and not be swayed by public opinion. Now I am of the age where I should be a mentor to younger business leaders trying to find there way in this difficult economy. How about you? Are you blessed with life experiences, failures and successes that have shaped your life and values? Or have the challenges and disappointments in life made you bitter instead of better? In every life a little rain is going to fall. There is a verse of scripture that goes like this “praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who comforts us when we go through various trials that we might be a comfort to others”. We can be a mentor and a comfort to others; this should be our priority and not the pursuit of our own happiness.

The Greatest Generation was racist?

I got a call from a listener concerning what I said about the Greatest Generation. He said that the Greatest Generation was also a generation of racial prejudice and greed, that they didn’t raise their children well and that led to the radical sixties generation. Certainly there is some truth to that, but is that the whole truth? With the passing of the great Paul Harvey we may all reflect on how he made broadcast news what it is today and was famous for his “rest of the story” comments. Let’s examine the rest of the story.

Implicit in the callers comments is that we are more enlightened today than the Greatest Generation was, what with their racial prejudice, desire to keep up with the Jones’ not to mention that they followed the ill-fated advice of Dr. Spock. No matter how much good we see in people, we are all flawed. The ultimate example for us is God, but you can see a glimpse of God in humanity if you look for it. But, when you look deeper beneath the surface you will see the essence of man, which is fallen. The Greatest Generation exemplified self sacrifice, honor, and the spirit of giving. But when you get below the surface their humanity is evident.

Let’s examine the present generation. We have come a long way baby in uncovering and changing hearts in regards to racial prejudice. Perhaps we are even a color blind society in many respects, in example the election of President Obama. As a culture we also are concerned about the health and welfare of people within our society and have endeavored to have an egalitarian approach to meeting the needs of everyone regardless of their financial situation or position. But, I would also say that we are worthy of the scriptural admonishment in 2 Timothy where it says “they have a form of godliness, but deny the power. Have nothing to do with them.” Scratch the surface on the present generation and you will find a denial of the power (God).

David Plotz, a contributor to Slate, has written a book “Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible". Through reading the Bible he discovers many interesting things, like the “I have a Dream” speech by Dr. King was crowned with quotations from the book of Amos. But, his conclusion was that he started out as a Jewish agnostic that was indifferent and became a Jewish agnostic that was angry with God if He exists. What caused this anger? Plotz could not understand why God would judge people so harshly for “minor” shortcomings and outright disagreement with what God considers sin. His Jewish friends told him “you can’t know the mind of God” and his Christian friends told him to read the New Testament and understand God’s grace and love. Is God schizophrenic? Not hardly.

What is apparent is that the modern generation does not understand the holiness of God and what God’s standard is for righteousness. Though we have the form of godliness, we deny His power. Could you imagine in the heat of WW II a national debate occurring about same sex marriage? Why are we so afraid today to acknowledge what the Bible says about homosexuality, adultery, sexual promiscuity or pornography? Because our standard is no longer God’s standard. My fear is that we have lost our moral compass, even though we have great form.