A lawyer friend many years back was talking about his practice. It was a partnership. He said partnerships are great until one side or the other feels like they are being screwed. Then it should be disbanded immediately for no good will come of it. Seemed to make sense at the  time  but I wonder?

As I ponder it is amazing that we get involved in so many partnerships. It could be our marriage, affiliations, religion, business, or pickleball. We are together like it or not for a short or long period of time. We join a club or live in a community or even country. The depth and duration of that relationship relies on many factors. 

Let’s start off easy and talk about marriage Ha! It is the topic de jour in many ways today. If one goes back in time the reasons for tying the know were more mercenary and strategic.

People had a lot of kids because that meant more avenues of income or at least hands to work in the family business. Families joined because it was advantageous to expand wealth or land ownership. Love had very little to do with it despite what the poets said. 

Then the rebels appeared. Dowries and alliances not withstanding, people wanted to look at things in a different way. Genealogy and background checks gave way to a scary thought. I just might want spend my whole life with someone because they were fun to be around. We had mutual interests, beliefs and goals. We might want to have kids not to pad the bankroll but because they added a wonderful dimension to our life. What were we thinking?

The different roles in marriage became less traditional. Men felt threatened that there might be more than one breadwinner. Women wanted their freedom from household chores and childbearing. Some sought out mates of the same sex. Single parents chose to do so. Therein lay the subtle but vital change. People thought about themselves for better or for worse. 

Partnerships in business are sometimes relegated to law firms, accounting outfits and of course the financial canyons of Wall Street. To be chosen is to be anointed. You were vetted for rep and spunk. If you knew how to attract clients and make money, welcome to the family. If not, you were sent off to ply your trade elsewhere. I have often wondered if an obnoxious so and so who could bring in mega millions would be admitted to that inner sanctum? It’s only business, you know. 

Sometimes partnerships on the world stage are purely a matter of accommodation. Deep down our cultures have nothing in common, but I need your weaponry. I will trade with you but not with them…until the other side has more to offer. Or perhaps you just want to avoid them getting in bed with your adversary. Note the recent state dinner for the president of Kenya. Back slapping and toasts while the cue cards are held up so you don’t forget names. I love you man!

Partnerships require work and a crazy thing called trust. If I am really good at it, I am worrying about the other side. How can I help them? How can I look out for their needs? In a totally ridiculous moment I might put their interests above mine. But in our screwy society we are going the other way. It is dog eat dog. We crave the serenity of solitude. We want our space. We want our freedom. 

Some might call this evolution and maybe it is. Or maybe it makes no sense at all. For the most part we are urban societies. We have left the farms and burbs to seek out fortune. The city offers a melange of restaurants, museums and watering holes. The anonymity belies hit and run. Hookups and relationships have to fit the moment and the need. You can be random and without roots. And we wonder why a great young man or woman can’t find the right person? Deep down I think they really want to. 

When I worked on Wall Street the trading room was large. You exchanged ideas and emotions. Now all you have to have is a Bloomberg machine and a chunk of capital. You are a millionaire at 30 and cock sure you don’t need anyone else. I don’t need anyone but me. I have it all. Really? Ditto so many other walks of life. 

The biggest partnership of all is our little old planet earth, or at least it should be. By all outward appearances this ain’t going to happen anytime soon. We clean up oceans and let others pollute theirs. We are oh so righteous but will buy anything made by slave labor because the price is right or the margin so much better. We are nationalists in every corner. We don’t want to spoil the blood line. That is true in every little burgh, big state or nation. We want freedom from the tiniest care. We want everything provided. We are entitled! 

I have had a great partnership with the lovely Kathy for 53 years. We have a wonderful family of kids and grandkids. Has it been hard at times? Of course but we have had a lot of fun. Are we perfect? No way. But we have worked at it and in the end you can look back and say we have done good. Above all we have just shared experiences and life. Not a bad way to fly. It would really be no fun to do it alone. 

As Always 

Ted The Great 

Countries have formed alliances since 500 BC. The Pelopennisian cities of Greece and the early Latin Leagues were for commerce and defense. Today there are 60 such groupings throughout the world with a vast majority involving mutual defense. 

A good partnership from marriage to business to nations requires constant change and innovation. The world changes. We have to adapt. 

NATO was formed in 1949 with 12 countries. Now there are 32. It invoked Article 5 Military Commitment for the first time after 9/11

Divorces are trending downward. So are marriages