Angelina's Garden

Slice of Life 2019: Day 24

This is a depressing post about human nature and agendas.

Dictionary.com defines agenda as a list, plan, outline or the like, of things to be done. Right now I’ve got an agenda of things that need completing before spring break:

finish the laundry

find a pet sitter

get the instruments dropped off at the music store for annual tune up

finish getting gifts together for people I’m seeing while on break

finish reading Acts 3 & 4 of Romeo and Juliet

get materials ready for service project to complete in 12 year old class

make a bank deposit

There’s a second type of agenda. This is the type where a person or group of people has something to accomplish. For example, you may show up at the city council meeting wanting to express your dislike of a property being rezoned in your area. You make a speech at the meeting hoping to influence the council members about the negatives of the rezoning. Your agenda is to stop the rezoning affecting you in your neighborhood.

Both of the above agendas are worthy and necessary.

But there is a third type of agenda, one that is more sinister. This is when a person or group of people has something to accomplish and they use you or avoid you to accomplish it. Oftentimes, you aren’t even aware that you are being used or avoided until its too late. For example, you are a leader in a group. Another person has an agenda to gain control of your group, leaving you in the leadership position, as it were. So, he or she chums up to you, lavishes you with praise, buys you gifts and deceives you into thinking that you are really special to him or her. Then, that person tells you what to think and how to lead and you do it because you trusted him or her. This person had an agenda to control and they used you to gain that control.

I have seen all three of these agendas in action today. I told you this was going to be depressing. I feel better now though. Thank you.