Are you an Ostrich, Chicken-Little, or the Wise Old Owl?

Jim Harbison

We are all familiar with the children’s stories about the above “birds”. Each describes a particular type of behavior that characterizes of much of society today. We are fortunate to live in a nation whose Constitution allows the individual to think freely and participate in society without significant constraints. Intellectually and socially, we are not prohibited from drawing any conclusion and expressing it freely and often we do so at peril to our reputation and credibility.
Our political system encourages public participation. What each of us thinks and does can impact political decisions across the nation. How you choose to participate is a personal decision but it does have consequences. In my opinion you can be either part of the problem or part of the solution. I view lack of participation as part of the problem. I choose to be part of the solution. Some people choose to emulate the “ostrich” by burying their heads in the sand as a method of avoiding social, political, and personal responsibility.

After all they can’t be responsible if they were unaware of it. They choose to hide from reality and thus are uninformed and unaware of the many factors that impact their daily lives. They do not have to take unpopular positions or make difficult decisions. They allow others will make decisions for them. They will never be leaders or policy makers but are simply followers. Their apathy and inability to accept responsibility prevents them from getting involved in political solutions anywhere along the political continuum.

Nancy Pelosi



The “Chicken Little” types jump to conclusions and run around proclaiming “the sky is falling, the sky is falling” without fully evaluating the facts. They fail to investigate or do adequate research into what caused the event and form conclusions that often has no relationship to the actual facts. Their proclamations make them feel good or sound important but are not based on significant factual evidence. It is like some of our current scientific conclusions that are based on consensus rather than empirical data, research, and clearly demonstratable repetitive results. This group is more problematic because they are not afraid of jumping into the political process and advocating policies that cannot be substantiated by proven research techniques. 

Spotted Owl

They often make policy decisions based on “feel good” emotional issues and social factors rather than quantitative factual information. Their often reach “pie in the sky” solutions that are unrealistic and economically infeasible. Their solutions do not consider any social-economic equilibrium and historically have not solved the root cause of the problem they are trying to mitigate or resolve.

The “wise old owl” represents someone who diligently watches his area to determine the best possible alternatives. They are astute and cognizant of their surroundings. They do not make rash decisions or jump to false or inaccurate conclusions.

Fortunately, there are individuals of all political persuasions who have the wisdom and insight and emulate the wise owl. We need wise counsel all along the political spectrum to insure the decisions we reach are responsible, realistic, and fact based. Our Constitution provides an unprecedented level of freedoms not enjoyed anywhere else in the world. The Constitutional framers recognized that there cannot be absolute freedom because it can become anarchy. They constructed the Constitution so that we could enjoy the maximum levels of freedom as long as it did not adversely impact the freedom of others. It’s time for you to decide if you are an Ostrich, Chicken Little, or Wise Old Owl when it comes to protecting your Constitutional rights and freedoms?

Are you an Ostrich, Chicken-Little, or the Wise Old Owl?