Tag Archives: public policy

The Road to Diamond, Day 187: Detached

2
Posted by on in collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 3, 2025- The little card acknowledged what I myself realized, upon returning to Sportage, after exercising and picking up a couple of Tuesday Tacos at El Gordo: “You’re parked like an idiot”. The “gentle reminder” card, inserted by private security in various parking lots around the country, uses mildly caustic humour to help usually conscientious drivers remember that there is no holiday from courtesy. So, going forward, I am reminded to take the time to park properly-just as I remind myself to brush my teeth twice a day, make sure my shoes are tied and stay hydrated.

Age brings either heightened irritation with oneself and/or the doings of others, or a knowing acceptance of those behaviours and events that, in and of themselves, do no harm to self and others. Parking hurriedly, in a largely empty lot, is one of those one-offs that I can accept from myself-or from someone else, once in a blue moon. We all get tired, need to refocus and regroup, every so often.

Making decisions that immediately affect other people is another matter. “Big picture” folks often miss that aspect. Large scale decisions, from public budgeting to long-term construction projects cannot go without a reasonable (30-60 day) period of public input. Conversely, the public would do well to exercise the right to give input on these matters, by first looking at the proposal, then taking time to consider various ways in which an individual, her/his family and community will be affected-both short and long-term. The person then will be able to offer input, in a meaningful way.

Institutions, like their individual members, can get tired and need time to refresh and regroup. It is best that this is done from within-as revolutions, being often emotion-driven solutions of last resort, tend to overlook the small, but necessary, cogs and wheels that made the institution effective in the first place. This is one lesson I drew from study of the French and Russian Revolutions. Our own, having been more measured, has lasted longer, precisely because of the processes of amendment and regular public input.

It helps both individuals and institutions to remain emotionally detached from criticism, thus being open to what the critic is actually trying to convey.

The Road to 65, Mile 15: Validation and Respect

4
Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

December 13, 2014, Prescott- I watch my favourite television shows on my laptop, a day after they are aired on TV.   This evening, I  watched a segment of “Blue Bloods”, in which one of the issues was respect between a husband and wife.  Validation of  a woman’s goals and aspirations was a matter of  personal growth for men of my father’s generation.  My mother did that for which she was trained, hairdressing and cosmetology, working out of her kitchen, as part of putting food on the table.  Dad respected that choice, and valued her efforts.

It was a no-brainer for me, that Penny would work at what she loved best, and at what she excelled.  We worked a few times in the same schools, and her efforts often exceeded my own.  I learned to be sensitive, to avoid small acts or statements which could be misconstrued as disrespect for her work, or for her thoughts, goals, dreams.  There is a lot of subliminal sensitivity among Baby Boomers, stemming from our place as a transitional generation, one of whose tasks was to establish a true equality between genders.

Society is not there yet.  Women, by and large, do get validated, in terms of their aspirations- up to a point.  There remains the Glass Ceiling.  There still exists the disparity in salaries, between genders.  Both genders, to a large extent, regard rape as a victim-initiated crime- even, among some on the far right, a contrived crime, either instigated by the woman, or made up by her-for various reasons.

To be sure, there are those who use rape as a cudgel.  Such women, though, are a very small percentage of the total post-pubescent female populace.  Their acts should neither define public policy nor be the determinant of society’s attitude towards the vast majority of victims of sexual assault- female or male.

As an educator, as an uncle and as a friend, I regard the aspirations, the efforts and the boundless intellectual and ergonomic gifts of women and men on an equal level.  As a fellow human, I regard a person’s body, space and well-being as inviolable.  Each of us has had to struggle with emotional and spiritual baggage.  I have disposed of much of my own, especially in the past dozen years.  I have imparted to our son, the imperative of being at eye level with any woman he wishes to bring into his life.

Being in the world, living a complete life, means extending that right to all others.  Slowly, and steadily, the human race will realize that gender equality brooks no leeway.