Rank hath its duties; and the troubled conscience of a New Progressive

A few thoughts this morning -- except it's actually published this evening because the Mattel computer system at No. 3 is acting strangely.

I got to No. 3 by 6, worked in the quiet with the eastern horizon slowly reddening for an hour, which was peaceful and pleasant, and then took LaElu up to the local hospital for an MRI. (She has those periodically to monitor a benign tumor on the pituitary, which is not a very operable place.) I served on the board of directors of that hospital for several years (an interesting experience, particularly for one coming out of one phase of healthcare), so I know many of the people there. While waiting for LaElu to get done, I wandered into the executive/administrative offices to talk to a couple of people about a thought I had which might slightly benefit the hospital, and also to do the general networking thing. At 7:15, there were several administrative staffers there, but none of the "bosses." That isn't right. If a "boss" is so damn important, s/he needs to be at work before the other folks. An administrtor also shouldn't need a reserved parking spot -- s/he should get there so damn early that the lot is nearly empty. I am reminded of a quote, and I had to look in my Commonplace Book to find it:
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If high authority appoints you to an office, know this: Every step upward on the ladder of offices is not a step into freedom, but into bondage. The higher the office, the tighter the bondage. The greater the power of the office, the stricter the service. The stronger the personality, the less self-will.
The Glass Bead Game (Das Glasperlenspiel), by Herman Hesse
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A worker who happens to be higher on the organizational chart says “Go on.” A leader says “Come on.” There IS a difference. That is becoming more important to me as the years flow by, and I still haven’t totally got it. I’m hardly a total practitioner of the take-responsibility thing, but I think I’m trying to improve.
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This is MLK day.
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I hate the term “politically correct.” It is routinely applied to progressives (“liberals”) by reactionaries (“conservatives”) to connote that it’s an irrational and intolerant expectation by “liberals” that all others conform to a belief that at least some folks don’t support. Pick a descriptive noun - conservative, liberal, white, Methodist, doctor, union rep, woman, student, gun-owner, athlete, and on and on - and you can find lots of members of that group who are intolerant. Everyone seems to want to show that ALL of those to whom a particular descriptive noun applies are intolerant because of the actions of very few, also known as proof by limited example. The status of the Martin Luther King legacy is one of the subjects of so-called political correctness. That’s sad, because it clouds what is to me a valid discussion of who we honor and how we honor them.

Taking 4/10th of one percent of the available traditional work days to honor an individual seems idolatrous to me. That applies to King. And Columbus. And Washington. How many thousands of people who have done things that matter can we find in American and world history? How many deserve honor? Some of the lesser known:

Dr. R. Adams Cowley - The “inventor” of modern trauma care

Dr. Ingo Petrykus and Dr. Peter Beyer - The inventors of “golden rice,” which has a vitamin A content and which will save literally millions of lives (mostly children) in the coming years.

Count Claus Graf von Stauffenberg - Risked (and lost) his life in a bid to kill you-know-who.

George Washington Carver - Researcher/inventor who made huge strides in food crop production.

Mohandas Ghandhi

Senator Edmund G. Ross - Lost his seat because he sided with Andrew Johnson and his non-punitive Reconstruction plan.

Johannes Gutenberg - I really hope you recognize his name and contribution.

Leo Szilard - The one who originally thought of bringing nuclear research to the U.S. president’s attention, and got Albert Einstein involved because everybody knew Einstein.

These are examples right off the top of my head.

King said “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.” Does that strike you as hopeful and true? It does me. And it would be equally hopeful and true, no matter who said it. Again, we are finding proof in limited examples. Lots and lots of people have said lots of true things. That Commonplace Book contains a ton of them. We cannot honor them all with a day off. We can honor them by getting off our collective asses and taking action consistent with our - and their - beliefs and examples. Talk is cheap. Tokenism is cheap. Action matters, results matter.

I’ll be at No. 3 all day. And Columbus day. And Good Friday. And President’s day. And so forth.

Mizpah.

R