Reflections By
David E.A. Carson
(excepts from Bow Tie Banker Book)

AMERICA TODAY: "A free society is not about gobbling up everyone and running a monopoly. A free society is about continuous ease of entry so that people can compete on the basis of their skills. The so-called level playing field is recreated every day. It’s never wholly level; it’s played on in different ways. Sometimes it’s uphill and sometimes very smooth. One thing that is sure in an American society is that it will change tomorrow even as it’s changing today."

EARLY EDUCATION: In the education system, what isn’t level is the fact that every child who enters the public school system in kindergarten is not equally prepared to achieve. It’s not level because some parents have the ability and means to provide preschool while others do not. How do you make that level? You lobby for state funding for preschool so that all people have a means to have their children enter on a level playing field.

WORKING WITH THE NEWS MEDIA: "Some people have knowledge but do not know how to communicate. As a businessperson making your case to the public, or an elected official, you must learn to communicate without fear. A lot of business people curl up with fear when that television camera shows us up in their office and they don’t want to talk. You had better learn how to talk to them."

MANAGING THE ENVIRONMENT: We work in this society with a mixture of freedom and constraint. Unedited freedom is anarchy. The process of deciding what is constrained, and what isn’t, is a continuous work in progress. If you’re going to say that you do not want the environment polluted, then you have to regulate the industry so you cannot cut corners on disposing waste. The tradeoff is that we give up some freedoms after debating what is right, but the people who engage in that debate become the leaders of our society.

HAPPINESS: “I would like to suggest that is it not the achievement of material goals that will bring the days of great joy to your lives. No, the days of great joy come when your accomplishments are shared and sustained with business associates, the community where you live, your friends, and perhaps most importantly, with your families.”
College commencement speech by David E. A. Carson