First of all, I am not saying what you may think I’m saying. This has nothing to with our political system and how we handle the problem of poverty and inequity. What I’m thinking about is a culture where constructive criticism and honest competition are seen as destructive, and where telling the truth, even in a gracious way, is unacceptable.

Let me make a disclaimer. The video below has a four-letter word in it that I don’t condone. (The “s” word.) I don’t use it, and I hope its use in this context won’t offend you. (Please don’t watch the video if you know it will.)

What I love about this video, however, is the way Brandon Marsalis speaks the brutal truth about the way we coddle each other, instead of challenging one another to excel. (This speaks powerfully to me, since I am pathologically positive.) He wants us to be honest with the naked emperor, which can be both dangerous and lonely.

If you’re okay with it, take a look at the video and let me know what you think…