Thomas Lunde:
>It is I who must apologize for being so sanctimonious, I was out of line.
>After I sent it, I later re-read it, to late to retract it.
>
>I have reviewed my last four or five posts and its time for a reality check
>- idealism is fine, self righteousness is out of line.
No need for an apology. I was quite deliberately rude in return. I
actually enjoy being rude, and will take the opportunity if it comes.
Besides, your posting kind of hit home. If this is how I'm perceived,
perhaps this is what I've become.
I have been extremely lucky in my life. I was born to dirt-poor parents who
came to Canada from eastern Europe when the Great Depression began. My
parents experienced grinding poverty when I was a young child. But by the
time I reached adulthood, World War II had come and gone and had created an
era of seemingly boundless opportunity. You want a job? All you need to do
is apply. You want to go to university? All you need to do is get your
credits and away you go. There's plenty of work during summer break and
even over the Christmas holidays to keep you there. When I graduated with a
baccalaureate I had no less than six firm job offers in hand and could have
had more if I had wanted them. I picked a job, did a graduate degree
part-time, pursued a career in and out of government for thirty years, quit
that, then pursued work as a consultant for the past ten years and am now,
probably, mostly retired. And yes, I go to church and pay my bills (though
rarely on time).
I recognize that the world is now a very different place from the one I
entered as a young adult. I have three adult kids, all well educated. They
work, but it would be misleading to say that they are 'pursuing careers' in
the same sense as I was when I was their age. There is almost no
opportunity for upward mobility in their jobs, nor are they sure of having
an adequate income when they retire. As adults, their standard of living is
lower than it was when they were children and lived in a nice suburban home
complete with a backyard swimming pool. I have a twelve year old daughter
by a second marriage. She is a dreamy, impractical child whose real world
exists among bugs under rocks in our backyard. I wonder what will become of
her in a world that is hardening into something that is less than humane.
I look at the hardening world and wonder what I can do about it. What can
I, who has been so fortunate, give back? I am too old to enter into
perpetual rants like the Maude Barlows of this world, and besides ranting
has always held little appeal for me. Whether because of temperament or
training, I cannot help seeing all issues as being multi-faceted and
consisting of both goods and bads. I will continue to analyze and try to
understand the world, but I must now recognize that I can make only a small
contribution and that there are many people who are better at it than I am.
I can be of direct service, and this is the route I am increasingly taking.
I'm under no illusion that this will make a major difference, but it could
help a little.
Best regards,
Ed Weick
