The Competent Man

Given what I believe is coming in the form of a complete meltdown of the American economy — and with it the nation, and right behind it civilization in general — perhaps it is time to ponder what it really means to be competent.

A few weeks ago I posted Rudyard Kipling’s profound poem “IF” which to me in many ways describes what it means to be a man, today I turn to another sage, Robert A. Heinlein, to explain to us what competence really is.

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”