Accentuate the Positive...

Whilst we're on the subject of hings which piss me off - excessive positivity. It seems to be all the rage in the workplace these days that you aren't seen to be 'too negative'. Indeed, accusing someone of 'negativity' is seen as a worse criticism than pointing out that they're incompetent. In fact, avoiding 'negativity' currently seems to be far more important than competence when it comes to succeeding in your job. What this means,in practice, is the effective stifling of any criticism of half-arsed, ill-though out, management plans, unrealistic targets or poor managerial performance. It doesn't matter how constructive and insightful your critique, you will be immediately shouted down foe being 'too negative' - it's like an accusation of witchcraft in the 16th century. It seems that rather than trying to pint out the obvious flaws in schemes put forward by those grinning imbeciles who pass for management these days, we should be 'positive' about them, focusing on the good aspects which, inevitably we're told, outweigh the bad.

Personally, I think we should apply this same approach to the study of history - a more 'positive' reappraisal of the Third Reich is surely long overdue. I mean, everybody focuses on those last few years, when it all went wrong. Before that it was all good - let's not forget that Hitler took Germany from virtual bankruptcy in the aftermath of the Great War and Great Depression to being the most powerful nation in the world. Their economy was so strong that German industry didn't have to switch to a complete war setting until 1943. People respected Germany under Hitler. But does anybody look at these positive aspects? Oh no, they just want to concentrate on the military defeat, the concentration camps and so-called 'final solution'. For God's sake, it was only two or three years out of nearly ten! Let's look at the positives, people! Let's not forget the VW Beetle, the development of the jet engine, amazing advances in rocketry and poison gas technology! Mind you, now I come to think of it - isn't this the line neo-Nazis and revisionist 'historians' have been taking for years? Have they moved into providing management consultancy services?