The Elder Statesman: stirring the pot

Stirring the pot is an old expression. I found an online explanation of the phrase that I really like at www.phrases.org.uk. It reads like this:

"Picture a pot of soup. A lot of ingredients have settled to the bottom, out of sight, until stirred. Metaphorically, a lot of issues/resentments/obligations can drop out of sight when nobody mentions them. One can "stir the pot" to bring issues to the surface, sometimes merely to create awareness and effect change. Deliberately provocative, yes, but not necessarily maliciously."

Knowing when to stir the pot and when to leave it alone is a challenging decision. Knowing when to smile and say "thank you" when you really want to say "screw you" is something we learn over time. Now, I'm closer to age 65 than I am to 25, so you would think by now I'd have a pretty good idea of the appropriate response for most situations I find myself in. Apparently, I don't.

If you've been reading my columns with any amount of attention, you know I'm always attempting to provide insight and perspective that can only come from experience. Read on and learn. It appears my last two columns have stirred the pot way more than I really intended or my experience told me to expect.

What I've learned is the immense power of perspective. Life is often about about developing an appreciation for the perspective and environment of others. It's making sure you understand that you will continue learning and respecting alternative points of view as you go through life no matter what your age.

I was sitting in the Down Under last week staring at the young faces around me, (and the pizza on my table), when I realized sharing this perspective may save you from making similar mistakes. That mistake could mean losing your job or even ending your career. Put my experience in your mental archive and you will be able to decide for yourself whether stirring the pot is the right thing to do when something comes up.

We all make mistakes. It's what we do after we make them that defines our character. I'm taking the high road. Two of my recent columns ("To Give or Not To Give" and "Reality Takes a Sabbatical") dealt with issues unique to university life. In "To give or not to give", I was attempting to create a strong awareness for the importance of everyone to give to the university, not just a handful of heavy hitters with big money and big buidlings to show for it. I was trying to grow the endowment and increase donations but have now realized I apparently stirred the pot way too much. Oops! Didn't mean for that to happen! Live and learn.

In my "Sabbatical" story I was pointing out that sabbaticals are common and expected in academic life, but almost non-existent outside academia. The mere suggestion to your boss outside academia could be career ending. Well, I was having a conversation with one a college dean last week when I realized I had stirred the pot way too much with that coumn as well. Apparently a number of administrators and faculty took offense to the way I expressed my perspective.

The lesson? Don't stir the pot unless your experience dictates it's the right thing to do. I've been outside academia for better than a quarter-century. I've been in journalism where stirring the pot and asking tough questions is a way of life. Where confrontation often leads to a positive, productive result. Not the case here. Good news is, now I know that.

I've come back to get my master's degree so I can teach in the Communications Department here at Whitewater. Stirring the pot the way I did doesn't appear to have been the best way of making that happen anytime soon.

While I've gained a much stronger perspective from the academic side on each of these issues, the big question is, has anyone on the academic side stepped outside the box and learned anything from the non-academic side?

I guess we'll see if my writing is a conduit for discussion, advancement of critical thought and an invitation to appreciate an alternative perspective, or if I'm just stirring the pot all over again.