Assessing our own Death Row in Life

Having worked death row inside a prison since 1985 and as recent as April, 2010, it was a most intriguing place to work since it was for sole designed to imprison and contain those souls incarcerated there and awaiting their execution the end of the road. Pending successful appeals or an executive commutation of their death sentence, these men and women are subject to a long and torturous journey that will climax in the inner chambers of the death house when their time on earth has come to an end. Never forgetting that most who sit here are guilty [so we must believe for they were giving their due process by society] and no longer judged to be fit to coexist among those in our living world, we have to wonder how this impacts their last days on earth and if there are comparisons that can be drawn from those mortals not sitting on death row and those free in society.

Commonalities can be found in both the free world and death row. In our communities we have multitudes of people seeking relief from the despair of loneliness and being forgotten by men and family. Although one maybe innocent of crimes and the other pictured to be a beast or monster for the pain and harm imposed on their victim and their families, the both share the common goal of death. They also share the despair of solitude as many of us age and become older in their lives separate from others as well within their social circles once practices and enjoyed. One does not need to be placed on death row to experience solitude nor do they have to be physically alone to experience the feelings of such coldness. Throughout our lives we learn to prepare ourselves for a better life. We prepare for a better education, we prepare ourselves for a better career, we prepare ourselves for marriage and retirement but we never prepare ourselves for death.

Whether you are living in a house full of people, an elder community home for the disposed family member or the frozen wastelands of our prisons, the fact remains, loneliness and solitude go hand in hand with death for many persons at the end of their lives. Preserving our sanity with attempts to be still useful to a society that has already cast us in the wind of death, we struggle to maintain a sense of dignity and self-respect as we are nearing our ultimate fate, death.
Our fate is filled with human emotions that capture the essence of death and separation of life. Our fate is loneliness, periods of solitude, silenced suffering and unavoidable sorrow. It is also fate that determines how we die and where we die. Persons young and old may die in an unforeseen automobile accident or an injury on the job without warning. Prior to death, one may lay there in a hospital room in pain, suffering and wondering if death is staring them right there in their faces as the grim reaper approaches their presence and warns them of the eventual event after birth…... death.

Our lives have been extended with science and better living but nothing has prevented the moment of death from knocking on your door. Society, riddled with the cancer, other fatal diseases as well as crime within our streets, has mandated death to be the ultimate price to be paid for birth, no exceptions. This lifelong episode of struggling to remain alive whether fighting a in a war or battling the cancer or other life threatening events began the moment you born from within your mother’s womb and fighting hard to possess any weaknesses that may cause you to die prematurely as your destiny has not yet been filled as a child or young person. Seeking better healthcare and trying to beat the human race to the finish line still results in a most undesired result…. Death.
The reason many men and women become Christians while on death row is because they know one thing is certain. They will die whether by lethal injection or electrocution or other legal means to execute, they will die. There preparation for death is no different than those mortals in the free world who also recognize the fact that one day, they will certainly die.

Death is without a class or without a title. Death is death. Whether rich, poor, middle class or living in poverty forever, when you are dead, you become a victim of the very essence of life – death. A time when the body becomes numb of all feelings and becomes equal to all those other mortal men and women who have died before you and share the eternal mystery of what happens after death.

California Sunsets

Sunsets in California are unlike many I have seen in my life as I have traveled through many countries and many states. There is something special about a California sunset that is hard to capture into words and only images can capture the picturesque scenery that will forever remain in your memory until the day you die.
The swaying palm trees set in motion a mesmerizing thought that carries with it a breeze of peaceful feelings. The palm leaves rustling in a gentle sway tell you the sun is going down but the air is pleasant to hang out in and as you settle down in the shade of the tall palm trees that give you cover from the setting sun, you can feel the ocean breeze coming inland and cooling down the heated sand on the beaches of the stretched out west coast shore.

The sky turns into a pale pinkish essence as the clouds darken from a light blue hue to a darkened blackish color telling everyone the sun will be gone in about a moment or two settling in the far west horizon starting a new day somewhere else. Green turns to black and ripples of oranges streak the skyline showing all the natural glory of earth and its beauty.

From New York to New Mexico, from Asia to the continent of Europe and from Washington state to Florida, no other image can conquer the mystic of a California sunset as we live our lives from day to day and enjoy the beauty God gave us out of his own personal coloring book blessed with many inner peaceful feelings.

Early Morning Dew

Getting up early in the morning gives me time to enjoy the most beautiful part of the day, the daybreak. Patiently enjoying the day as it passes like the sun does over the house where we are living, I am anxious to see the second most beautiful part of the day, the sunset with its air so cool, you want to sleep with your windows open and turn off all the air conditioning in the house.

Seemingly uninterested qualities of life when I was working, I dreaded getting up at the break of dawn in order to conduct my daily ritual of showering, getting dressed and facing the reality that this was just another manic day in what appeared to be a permanent episode in my life. Drudging my life over and over to carry through with the heavy chores of making ends meet and streaming through life’s trials and tribulations has finally come down to this part of my life, retirement.

Retirement did not come easy nor will it likely become a permanent structure in my life. Feeling yet young enough to keep working, I have taken a hiatus from life’s rat race to enjoy the natural beauty of life itself and all its glory. Running the treadmill every workday for the past fifty years has worn out some limbs, some joints and even some hair loss but with my focus on staying healthy. I continue to walk a few miles every day to enjoy the strength exercises of my aging muscles and bones. Sometimes the wife and I walk in the morning while other times we do so at night. On some occasions we do both to get as much fresh air possible for staying in the house is now a difficult option to deal with as a retiree launched before a television and a couch to deal with daily.

The early morning dew is always there on the green grass in the front of the house so plentiful the neighborhood lop eared rabbit comes over twice a day to chew on its stems. Sitting there and enjoying the green grass wet with morning dew makes me think of the early childhood days when grass was plentiful and animals were running free as if designed by nature to be that way. The sun, still hiding behind the tall hills some call mountains will likely warm the day up so that the ground and the air will glow to a nice ambient temperature desired by many as ideal. The weather here is not too hot and certainly not too cold. In fact, the air has been cool in both night and early morn where live can start fresh with a kick in the pants to get up out of bed and do the walk.

City living is not as much fun as country living for the sounds around you are not as pleasant as country living for they differ so much as it adds the stress of living in such a place. The city noises resemble fire engines roaring or police cruisers flying down the streets with light and siren on to awaken all that are asleep. There are no roosters to crow and no birds to sing for all you hear and see are bumper to bumper cars honking their horns and traveling down the main thoroughfares to find a way to work and make a living.

Visibility in the city is a few miles to say at best. Also missing is the fresh country air where you can take a deep breath of air and not choke on the pollutants around you. Rural living gives you a chance to see for miles and miles until the horizon ends. This city air, filled with manmade pollution forming a cloudy haze that limits your view to a couple of miles at best, is Given my druthers, I am happy where I am at because when I was young, I learned quickly that heaven is what you make it and peace is how you deal with your surroundings. Needless to say, I am in heaven or very close to it. Peace.

Arizona is Playing with fire

Arizona, my friend, I have never seen you looking so bleak
Is it because your mouth is taped and you cannot speak
Your lips are moving but your words are without a sound
It is like a code of silence that you are forbidden to talk and bound
Bound and gagged and kept into the darkness
Your world burns deep inside your heart with sadness
Feeling the heat but disregarding the signs of lives expired
Nobody has told you that you are playing with fire.

I never seen you looking so bad my friend, you look so sad
Your honor is blemished as you deal with the bad
It will take time to heal the pain as your world falls apart
The ones who promised you wealth and fortune aren’t looking too smart
As you tell me your mind is fine and your heart is intact
Deep inside your conscious you know it’s time to act
The demons are knocking at your door, you cannot ignore
That tomorrow will come and they won’t be there any more
I can tell you all I know: where to go and what to do.
You can run out to the light but you can't hide from what's inside of you.

Sometimes a Man needs Cool Change

Living in Arizona for the past six years has brought something to my attention that had completely escaped my mind. For the longest time I was wondering what I was missing since my arrival in this beautiful Grand Canyon state. Spending many times alone driving the long and barren desert highways, I often thought of my favorite place to visit, the harbor places of San Diego. Dreaming of sailing the ocean and bright clear ocean waters, I thought of those peaceful delightful feelings you get when staring at the billions of bright stars in the desert or on a boat with the full moon reflecting off the deep blue waters. My mind, often drifting into places to give me inspiration and motivation to dream about the good things in life is aging and longing for a cool change.

Racing through time and taking many different roads to multiple destinations has worn out this aging traveling man. He knows it’s time for a cool change. Thanking God for all the blessings provided to me along the ways of a life that is no doubt pre-arranged with a particular destiny in mind, I know my heart longs for a cool change. Waking up in the arid desert region of the phoenix east valley area, the temperatures hover into the high 80’s during the middle of the night. Even the monsoon rains have abandoned the valley of the sun the past several months as the dust storms fill the air with brownish or rusty colored blinding whoever is in the way of the mighty dust storm. The hot scorching southwest sun, baking the black asphalt jungle to surface temperatures of 115 or more for weeks at a time, gives me relief from the hotness with no shaded terrain available leaving me thirsting for a cool change.

So as I sit here quietly in my east valley dwelling, watching the sun rise over the Superstition Mountains I decided that it was time to pack it up, move along down the concrete interstate highways and start looking for a cool change. The morning heat, shimmering off the asphalts that never cool down below barefoot walking temperature is begging me along to find a cooler and calmer place to settle down. I have met a lot of friendly people and I have been to many pleasant places but I have always been attracted by the signs of the sea and being out on the long exposed piers or boats alone. It appears this is where your heart knows its full contentment and happiness as your breathe the fresh ocean air and watches the sea gulls fly above telling you have found your place for a cool change.

A reflection of Abu Ghraib, a torturous journey

The Department of Justice appears to be taking hands off attitude regarding these numerous deaths as if they are either supporting or condoning this type of culture to exist and manage their prisons in a manner similar to those found inside another prison they once investigated in Iraq back in 2006. Comparing certain state prisons to the U.S. Army’s Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq may appear to be extreme to many but if you examine these comparisons closely you will seen Abu Ghraib DNA in the manner and practice of the prison system leadership. A system that condones the kind of rationalization to continue such practices even though it is contrary to all modern day penology methods and sound correctional practices. Very few realize that Abu Ghraib was just the tip of the iceberg as it ignored the fact that these practices exist and are condoned elsewhere throughout the United States.

It appears that today, state officials and it public leaders are turning a blind eye to something that is very wrong inside their own states. Today, there are hundreds and hundreds of people dying inside certain state prisons that nobody seems to care about except those who have family and friends inside these penitentiaries and who know just how bad conditions are creating a sense of hopelessness and frustration that our public leaders are condoning such horrifying conditions to exist in a modern world and in states that are competing to be one of the best places to live in the United States

Beginning with the existence of these solitary confinement units known as the Special Management Units or maximum custody, there are isolated cases of waterboarding, sleep deprivation, stress positions and insects placed in a confinement box although they may be explainable as many admit that these conditions are rare but actually happening. When the story broke about Abu Ghraib, the American people were shocked and disgusted about the treatment of Iraqi citizens or prisoners and demanded a federal investigation into the entire episode that resulted in thorough investigations, interviews and disciplinary to many of those involved either directly or indirectly with the cruel and most unusual methods used to control prisoner control there. The pentagon “claimed we were damaging national security by publishing such inflammatory images” found inside this prison yet the current conditions inside some prisons draw no such attention to such discontent as the prison administration continues to deal with prisoners in a most draconic manner to save money and spare cost in the management of such criminals regardless of established civil rights and humane treatment standards imposed to protect those who can’t protect themselves especially the mentally ill prisoners.

Sparing the finger pointing and the name calling regarding the blame game and who is really the culprit of such a mentality and brutal treatment, it must be stated that if the DOJ were to conduct an internal investigation of these horrific conditions, it would find the flaws of ideology and penology in the administration and not at the operational levels of subordinate staff following ill advised and equipped managers who are following the ideas of men and women who serve and assist in the creation of correctional programs in this Iraqi prison. Hired and contracted to work there, they all had awful human rights records as it appears that their ideology is propagation for similar contempt and disregard for human rights and humane treatment inside certain prisons.

Launching a probe into the obscured levels of prison management would reveal the true causes for the numerous deaths that have occurred in the past three years under the present administration. If the DOJ were to summon videos of the hundreds of cases where use of force was used in cell extractions and other events such as assaults on staff and other prisoners, these videos would reveal the true nature of the needless torture and suffering of many prisoners who are helplessly being punished as they are restrained and denied proper medical care after these incidents due to callous and inconsiderate treatment by medical staff who vent their workplace frustrations out on the prisoner, a practice that is followed by others as well.

There would be no doubt a human rights scandal of gigantic proportions if such journey was to be taken inside such a prison located in some states. There would be no doubt that if the DOJ published these videos or pictures found of these victims it would introduce to the world the subculture of an “Abu Ghraib” mentality among the wardens and deputy wardens as they are being directed, coached or delegated the privilege of operating their own prisons in the manner best suited to match their personal pleasures and designated correctional practices with no interference by chief executive officials unless the media catches wind of a misdeed and threatens to expose their mishandling or criminal neglect and then the hammer comes down on them with intentions to show a zero tolerance to a practice that is in fact condoned by the higher ups. Needless to say, if caught, these individuals must take the heat and blame for the game has rules that explicitly state you are on your own if caught.

To clarify these statements, it must be made clear that you won’t find hooded prisoners but you will find naked prisoners. You will find deliberate examples of humiliation and abuse as they are stripped of their clothing to be ‘examined by medical” and left uncovered on the gurney waiting for medical to see them at their own pace. Videos would reveal a gathering of staff both male and female during such examinations and warrant no administrative analysis to remove any of them for the sake of security.

A decontamination of chemical agents used on prisoners will reveal some are doused with water hoses instead of being allowed to wash their faces and cleanse their eyes as the procedure calls for at the flush stations or appropriate wash basins. Some of these occur outside the cell blocks when the weather is frigid and the prisoner is exposed. Fires started inside a cell are extinguished with water hoses rather than fire extinguishers soaking both the prisoner and all his property in the process. Although staff knows better than to use the water dousing method, it can be said that if a good supervisor is present, the decontamination process will be handled correctly instead of just pouring water over the prisoner’s head to flush the eyes from the irritant sprayed moments before. Cell extraction videos will reveal the force used to subdue a prisoner whether he is compliant or not. Good supervisors allow the prisoner to decide to surrender rather than fight but if a bad supervisor is presents, the likelihood of a struggle is imminent as poor leadership qualities send staff into hostile territory in most unnecessary incidents that could have been resolved without force. Ironically the Iraqi prison Abu Ghraib was shut down by the Bush administration and closes that chapter of abuse and torture. No matter what is done afterwards, the images of those horrific images continue to haunt Americans as we are all ashamed of what happened there by our military forces but yet we close our eyes to our own prisons and allow such conduct to exist with tacit approval and no conscious guidance by our public leaders.

Why is there no interest in asking questions about what is happening inside some prisons? Why the silence and lack of will to open an investigation to pursue additional information that will confirm these allegations? Why after being on board as the new prison director did he order the re-instatement of prison dog handlers and cell extraction K 9 dogs that were used in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal?

Witnessing a K 9 cell extraction inside a SMU about a year ago, I was not impressed by the manner these dogs act or perform to extract a non compliant and violent person out of the cell by constantly biting and dragging the single prisoner out of their cell and causing them extreme pain to subdue to the verbal commands to be restrained. Based on my own training and experience, this prisoner could have been removed by the use of conventional use of chemical agents or a stun gun. I suspect the purpose of the K9 was to instill a new fear level that such tools will be used if prisoners resist the commands to exit the cell. The policy and the practice serves no correctional practice other than to introduce violence into the environment to declare who is in control and what will happen to a prisoner if he resists the commands to come out of their cell. Where there more prisoners involved and weapons clearly present, then the use of these dogs would have been more appropriate. Regardless, all within the guidelines of the policy, these dogs are instruments provided to intimate and show force to other prisoners who may refuse to come out of their cell when ordered to do so by staff. What reason was given for implementing dog use policies approved by those in power when there were other means available including the use of chemical agents, electronic stun guns and shields and pepper ball guns that are most effective in removing a hostile prisoner. I suspect the implementation was to send a message to staff and prisoners that the dogs represent power and control over the prison population.

In time, if the DOJ finds these videos and graphic images of prison abuse in some states are legitimate and valid; it might join a growing chorus of Abu Ghraib haters and begin to point the finger to the higher command structure for allowing this to happen in an American prison. The DOJ needs to closely examine the need to launch this project to cleanse these prisons from this poison and return the penitentiaries to the standards that are approved to be in compliance with correctional standards and state laws.

In addition, the DOJ might want to draw unpublished testimony from both staff and prisoners who have witnessed such atrocities within their own command or work place. The DOJ should do the same as they did in the Abu Ghraib case and grant immunity to those willing to come forward to show that these acts are of a small number employees rather than the masses but include those who are in command positions that influence the performance of others. Perhaps, the DOJ will go as far as closely examining every “natural death” that has occurred inside some prisons and draw their own conclusions whether the person’s individual rights were violated, neglected or even ignored under the current rules for custodial responsibilities.


It is suggested the DOJ acquire every forensic report of every death listed since January 2009. It is also suggested that the DOJ pull every use of force incident since 2009 and include what happened at the prison: dates, times, places, cameras and, in some though not all cases, identities of those involved in those cases that identify abuse.

I suspect there will be findings of similarities that illustrate how out of control these prisons really are and how they are managed. It is with certainty that they will find situations that include forced nudity, the use of dogs to terrorize prisoners, keeping prisoners in stress positions -- physically uncomfortable containment -- for many hours, and varieties of sleep deprivation. They will find understaffing that caused horrible living conditions and deprivation of recreation and shower activities. They might even disclose violations of medical care standards and mentally ill treatment provisions that deny a disabled the opportunity to do time in a most humane manner. Perhaps, if the DOJ looks closely enough, they will find the apparent “green light” on how to operate these prisons by their own cultural standards and set of rules.

The longer the DOJ waits the more this matter will fester. There is no end in sight as the mentality provided by those in charge endorses such conduct unless caught and then, they are punished lightly to make a point not to get caught. Inaction only encourages more abuse and reinforces the practices in place and already used. Procrastination will only delay further investigations and accountability of what is happening in some of our prisons.

Today, many citizens can honestly say they do not know that there are some egregious abuses going on inside the prisons. Right now they must not think that whatever is revealed is not the typical manner or running a prison but that these abuses do occur in isolated but disturbing events. Many prisons are dangerous places and the need to maintain control is a priority but the tools for such control must be lawful and legitimate practices already approved by various correctional establishments that often accredited these prisons for compliance. Some have no such practice and leaves it up to the individual wardens how to run their prisons much like they did in Iraq when they failed to properly operate the U.S. prison called Abu Ghraib.

Finally, it is critical to understand and recognize that these allegations are only a snapshot of what happens inside some prisons. It is hard to believe this is really happening inside some of our prisons throughout the United States. I can honestly say there is no legitimate reason for these abuses to exist like they do. It must be examined closely by the DOJ and decide which cases were handled lawfully and which one violated the laws set by the Constitution and state statutes designed to protect and preserve life of American citizens incarcerated but none the less human being deserving to be treated fairly, humanely and lawfully.

Loyalty in the Workplace

“If you work for a man, in heavens name work for him. If he pays you wages which supply you bread and butter, work for him; speak well of him; stand by him, and stand by the institution he represents. If put to a pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. If you must vilify, condemn, and eternally disparage, resign your position, and when you are outside, damn to your heart's content, but as long as you are part of the institution do not condemn it. If you do that, you are loosening the tendrils that are holding you to the institution, and at the first high wind that comes along, you will be uprooted and blown away, and will probably never know the reason why.” (Elbert Hubbard) Defined as a feeling of devotion, faithfulness and trustworthiness, this word is slung around like the crap it exists in. A confidant must exhibit these qualities and many more to be considered for such a prestigious position as a confidant to the supervisor. Sad to say, the opposite effect is not true as there are no expectations for the supervisor to be loyal to his or her confidant or assistant at hand. Herein lays a paradox of words and actions that conflict with every step they take as correctional professionals. The traditional practice of loyalty has been compromised with a modern version of loyalty as has altered the meaning of such words as respect, integrity and ethical conduct. It has been my belief now for many years we have destroyed the original meaning of being loyal and substituted it for actions contrary to its defined meaning in the dictionary as conventional morality has taken a turn for the worst.

Many ingredients of convention morality such as religion, individualism, common sense and logic are becoming values of the past and replaced by other words and actions. It has been said that loyal members of an organization contribute directly towards it success and development. It has also been said that when it is all said and done, loyalty has no direct factor in the success or the productivity of the organization thus it’s impact is somewhat measured on a questionable stick used by either side to promote or discount the ingredient of loyalty within their own organization.

A workforce is greatly divided when morale is suffering and the attitude of the organization appears to be apathetic to their needs and concerns. An organization, seeking allegiance to their cause must reciprocate those same feelings if it is to benefit from the emotion and reality that this is a two way proposition. With the economy suffering and organizations suffering as well, the employees are not very confident they will keep their jobs thus they offer nothing in return to the cause of strengthen their workplace. Traditional loyalty values are easy to describe as the rules are very clear and non-compromising. In return for a good job, management gave the employee a sense of worth and treated them like family thus they didn’t mind carrying the extra load or working the extra hour. More so, they gave up their right to accept things as they were and not question anyone or anything regarding changes in the operation or the way the job was done. Having faith the company or agency did it for the right reasons, they allowed the change to occur without protest or challenge keeping the faith that it was all for the good of many.
Proud to wear the brand they were working for, they tucked their shirts in and kept themselves groomed to fit the profile of a professional and representative of the company they worked for. Bureaucratic orders were followed through and without a peep.

Precisely the opposite today, we are experiencing these principles do no longer apply. No longer confident they will have their jobs tomorrow as politicians are trying to sell their prisons they work in to private contractors to save money and no longer sure the changes are in their best behalf as departmental priorities have overridden safety concerns and placed the employee in harm’s way with expansion of beds and less staffing as the calendar year elapses to another year of fiscal shortages and staff furloughs. Change in values, traditional to say the least, has impacted a new attitude that will be hard to reverse. Skeptical work force with a different set of expectations and demand, there is more conflict at the workplace today than ever. Unions suffer membership as division among them has split the wealth as well and trust is no longer a variable in communication and negotiations. The fear of short term employment has caused great anxiety among workers and puts them in a defensive stance whenever a change is implemented or suggests making things better. Cautious approaches in asking for stability in their environment, the organization has come up with empty promises to make it better. The issue of career succession training or development has drawn criticism as the number of applicants and candidates dwindle as they see that nepotism and favoritism stands in their way of making a successful move to be promoted with integrity and fairness.
Instead of the organization leading the employees in their career paths, the employees, in the fear of being left behind, have implemented and guided their own career paths that may not always include an option to remain with the organization or firm. Job hopping is now an acceptable practice while five years ago, it was a taboo on the resume showing immaturity and poor reliability. Sticking with a firm career path has now been divided into three or four career paths not benefiting the current employer one bit and causing them fear of losing good prospects for their own needs. Sensing this movement to the dark side, companies need to create realistic plans and guidelines that provide mutual conditions for employees to buy in the concept that the organization cares about their wellness and welfare and open up new opportunities to increase their commitment into the service product required to maintain essential services. Returning to old adage that loyalty is emotion, this can be used to tap into staff’s own commitment to do the job and do it better. Mutual respect, and timely responses to their individual needs carry far and send a strong message that “we care” about you and your personal as well as professional needs.

Seeking internal acceptance for their loyalty, it must be re-instated in such a manner where the employee can feel the change and connect with it on a most emotional level comparable to bonding, association / affiliation and trust by all involved in the process. So how do you bond or build a closer association or affiliation you might ask yourself. Well, the truth is you must resort back to some old traditional mannerisms that were acceptable many years that include a truthful and consistent loyalty statement to them focusing on the allegiance unconditionally.
This statement must display or demonstrate emotional connections of faithfulness, devotion, obligation and duty to help and care for another person or entity as it is applied for the good of not just one but the good for many. Extending this compact or agreement should be done in such a way it is highly visible to others and measurable so that honesty can pass through a transparent envelope of trust showing significant improvement are being made and trust is re-instilled by both parties. This pact can be set to outline written expectations of loyalty behaviors that illustrate practical conduct as well as mutual respect. This transparency will allow the fostering of new commitments and more loyal followers to enhance the work place and renew their obligation to their employers. Loyalty pacts are common across the country and formulate successes in many different industries and a culture since corrections is a global market. This new reflection of common and mutual interests of the organization will reap rewards both internally and externally. Companies or entities must be careful not to over commit to this new relationship for leaner economic times require leaner commitments. In the process of establish these pacts, both parties must agree to continue to seek improvements for both today and tomorrow as conditions beyond their control may effect or disrupt their original pact and require a contingency plan that includes continued frankness, aggressive research and development for new ideas and technologies, meaningful dialogue on working conditions and participation in the business growth meaning as the financial conditions improve, so should the employees be fairly recognized to be worthy of a benefit improvement or shared contributions towards those benefits.

Participation should be voluntary and frequent; a seamless partnership should exist to avoid territorial squabbles and misunderstandings. The pact should focus on training, learning, development, rewards, recognition, career and growth opportunities and a balance in considerations. Flexibility for time off and care related to work / home issues. Entities should become aware that it is not the size of the assets that is important but rather it is the intensity of the employees that sets the pace for improvements and motivation for better working conditions. Honesty is still the best policy. Honest communication from both parties is essential in growth and meeting the challenges of professional development and opportunities.

Tangible benefits, something they can touch or feel are better than promises unreachable or hardly ever delivered when expressed. Herein we start discussing where loyalty begins and where it ends. Coping with the concepts written here it has become clear that loyalty is a two way street no matter whether it is between a group and an entity or individual on individual. The ingredients are the same and the levels should match commitment to the promises made. Loyalty is directly related to the organizational health and wellness... in addition to its own wellness, it must have an amicable culture associated with their treatment of the diversity that exists and treat people well, putting a strong pressure on their career growth possibilities as well as providing ample opportunities to provide such growth.

Speaking with truth and commitment are the key elements of making this happen as this will directly result the retention of good men and women who have worked hard to improve the workplace while employers and supervisors take steps to improve the attraction not only retaining the best but attracting the best as well. This retention and attraction phase of loyalty is the basis for many decisions made by frustrated and deceived employees in corrections. Respecting the organization as the organization respects the individual, this is where the weakness of the strongest link exists. Thus to some degree, an equality must co-exist for the bond to work. When the employees feel you disrespected them it impacts their personal progress and organizational worth. Employees, having the feeling that nobody cares about them causes hopelessness as well as lackadaisical attitudes that often results in poor performance or poor attendance. Good work deserves great recognition. Poor work deserves training and tutoring with individuals who know how to motivate and develop others to a higher level of commitment and productivity.

Discipline is a last resort and should be used sparingly to not discourage others in trying to improve their own skills or productivity. It is imperative a system is in place that can track and show improvements on the job so that the proper care and recognition can be given to the appropriate places and individuals. The void of such agreements or commitments results in people leaving the agency and doing their eight and out the gate philosophy which is very prevalent today inside the prison walls where morale is suffering and dedication and commitment are teetering on breaking lose and creating a super mishap where people are bound to be hurt seriously.
As you can gather, this is mostly a socially compelling interest in being in harmony with God’s rule of doing for others as they would do to you. But first, you must calm the restlessness inside your own heart to determine your own will and then follow the logic or emotion. After all, it is your duty to find out who you are and what you are willing to stand for as you accept new responsibilities and challenges. Herein you experience both desire and pain. The pain is a clear obstacle to desire and will attempt to bring you down to thwart your progress or advance on the desired qualities involved in the search for success. Thus pain is evil. But to experience success without pain would be a non-learning event thus sometimes; pain is the necessary element to work harder.

Having loyalty and giving loyalty is a paradoxical situation to say the least. One is divided by its own personal pleasures and those of the person you choose to be loyal to. Determining factors include those elements of my plan versus those elements of the bosses’ plans. We both received specific training that allows up to co-exist yet one has to be on top and one must submit. This has to be one of your greatest human undertakings as it tears your soul apart. Deciding to be true to one’s self or to another, a decision must be made and based on my instinct to survive and be better; I must succumb to another man’s pleasure of seeking and attaining the top position. Thus it is suggested we grow up on a social order we all agree upon as we chose to travel this journey. Social conformity gives us social power. As this social power grows you become more aware of your own will and needs. Concerned about the perception of my duty, I am torn between two social standards I cannot deny.

What is my will and what will my future be if I choose to remain subordinate to those who are not superior to me but due to my social order, I must refrain from competing with them for more social power and recognition. In a hopeless circular way, I struggle with this event and seek wisdom every time an opportunity arises that would allow me to express my desires. Morally perplexed I chose to give in to the inferior individual again to allow the social order to stand and retain its existence giving me more pain that my success has been stifled only by my reluctance to gain on the one individual I choose to be loyal to. Ignoring what I believed to be best for me, I chose to be second in status to remain loyal and true. It appears I have let my social training decide to follow the teachings of other people. Sensing my own will tell me to rebel against this social training I have received, I await for the right time and place to make such a desire to be on top presentable to those in power when the opportunity comes up in the near future. So far the process has been turbulent to say the least. Now, with the desire so much closer to my heart and soul, it is imperative I start to make plans to be eligible for such consideration when the time comes. Swimming in this stream of human frustration and inherited human passion, I clamor for the opportunity to demonstrate my abilities and knowledge. In the meantime, I sense an opposition to my human desire to achieve my pinnacle of success and become somewhat aggravated concerning the treatment given to me from the social order that controls my destiny.

Awakened in pride, my ego gets in the way of logic and spouts off at the mouth some things best left unsaid. Not realizing this might be a passing circumstance, I refuse to wait for results and call it quits. Taking a war like spirit, I now feel the agency does not want me nor need me so I extend the right to resign and go my own way. Honoring my submission to my emotions and desire to no longer function in the social order I was trained in, my heart deflates as my ego takes a break from the reality and goes to sleep. Honor now means submission. Clearing my head, I realize this action has taken me to cross roads that make it clear that my submission has made me realize two things.

One is that I should intensify my desire or make it obvious that this action I have taken has no purpose and is just a part of the social order I was trained in. Thus my loyalty to the social order has again established my future and destiny to be content with what I have and not what I want. Admitting my chaotic lifestyle has filled me with extreme passion; I accept this as the will of the social order and move on. Now, in my absence other people noticed the absence of my loyalty and professional demeanor thus they question my departure from the agency and ask others where I went. Having demonstrated the high levels of confidence and trustworthy performance free from moral doubts and demonstrating the possession of strong scruples, I was given special consideration by a man to return to the agency intact and still in consideration for achieving my desire to reach what I have been working so hard for my entire professional career.

A justified consideration for promotional opportunities within the agency based on my abilities and willingness to do the job and do it well.Taking those words of the poet Hubbard to heart, I found myself in conflict with the boss of the agency and how he conducted his business. I found myself questioning his ethics, his motives and his intentions of mistreating and misguiding employees deliberately and wanted no part of such a partnership. Tempted to say things and spout off to others about my feelings, I decided to best keep it to myself and resign [2010] my position so I could voice and say what I wanted to say without a conflict of interest or a tone of disloyalty to the man who I worked for. Words don’t mean a thing, if the action behind them is not consistent with your message.