News | September 17th, 2006

Leave it to a lawyer! Oh my… I know that’s stereotypical. And to be fair, in principal, being a lawyer is one of the most noble professions there is. Yet, in our positionary world, many if not most lawyers, especially trial lawyers, simply waste their times creating and defending positions–at everyone’s expense.

Here’s the story of a lawyer, who, well-trained in the art of position-taking has sat in jail for 11 years to defend his position. Again, to be fair, this man may be telling the truth–that he has no power to access his money, but it is more plausible that he’s simply defending this position (his pseudo-pride).

I am sharing this not to attack or prejudge this man, but to offer yet another example of our positionary world. Supposing this man is playing his position game, what values are most important to him? Even if he holds his financial wealth as a higher value than his personal freedom, it’s quite arguable that being a free man for the last 11 years would have earned him more financial wealth than sitting in jail and hanging onto what he’s got.

We see this all the time in divorces, don’t we? A net destruction of values in order to preserve an illusion of being right or better than the other. We’d rather defeat our opponent, someone we’ve shared a lot of our lives and dreams with–and often even children, than do what’s in our best interest. Many times we’d rather die than give up our position.
Is it not time to evolve from positionary to visionary? Who’s ready to lead the way in their life? What’s worth standing for to give up your position?
Post your comments below.

One comment

  1. Earl M.

    Sep 18th, 2006

    Positional statement? Whats 20,000 lawyers beneath the sea?
    Ans. A good start!
    I liked the one about the bookstore that refused to supply the government with printouts of what books their customers were buying from them, and was ready to face jail for YOUR freedom to read what YOU want to WITHOUT being SPYED upon by big brother. Most people have no idea just how fragile our freedoms are and how many are nipping away at them. A lawyer who is willing to stand aginst the rising tide of friendly fascism is a rare bird indeed, because when they become jailbirds, it’s kind of hard for them to sing!

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