All Work Has Value

All work has value. It seems like a simple statement but it's also something that a lot of people sometimes forget. What people seem to remember the most is that their work has value and usually they think it's undervalued. It doesn't matter if you're at the top or at the very bottom - the common belief is that your work is undervalued. Oh if we could only see the other persons' point of view. Perhaps many things would change.

My main point, however, is that all work does have value and sometimes, unless we stop to see it, we miss that very point. Not all of us can write or paint or dance. Those who can, perform an important task for the rest of us and yes, it's their work and we value it. The clerical worker makes sure things - paper, people and ideas - flow. It's a big job and should be appreciated. The production worker or support personnel are responsible for the product or service that the salesperson sells and that the customer wants. Their work has to be appreciated. The driver, the baker, the restaurant worker, the dishwasher all have important and critical jobs and work to perform. Managers have lots of responsibilities and work too. Making sure things keep moving, that there are enough people and material for things to get done. What about administrators and executives? Their work also is important and needs to be valued - fighting systems and meeting regulatory challenges and making sure capital and infastructure is available. Yup. All work has value.

These few examples help me realize how much people's work means in the larger scheme of things. And down deep I know that different tasks will be valued differently. Some people will make more and some people will make less. I think most folks can live with that. Most people understand that they have to fit somewhere along the way - bottom, middle, top. We all strive to keep moving in the upward direction. Some make it more quickly and easily then others. But that minimum wage has to be a living wage and I think we all know that too.

Let me be clear about something else too. It's hard work to be poor or without a job. It's hard work to keep a family fed, sheltered and clothed. None of that is easy and that work should be valued along with everything else.

So every once in awhile as we criticize the poor or the big shot at the top we ought to rethink how we value work and remember that it is important to value all of it and to also stop along the way and help each other out.

And a few more thoughts.......

What we all really do seem to hate is that fairly small segment of our society who really don't work and never have. I'm not talking here about people who are down and out, because as stated previously, living that life is work. No, I'm talking about the privileged class who had nothing to do with their good fortune or wealth - not even the hard work of choosing their parents. This is the class that has their wealth due to privilege. Now this group can, and in many cases throughout history has, done what I would consider the right thing. They have become major philanthropists, giving regularly and greatly to charitable causes. Well done - and it should always continue as a fact of their life. Secondly, there are many examples of people in this class who have committed to and become heavily involved in public service. Both of these things are examples of their work that, as with others, should be respected and valued.

But for those few who do nothing with their wealth and good fortune.....they should be judged by those actions and all of us should try to educate them on ways that their work could be valued, just like the rest of us.

Bad Government Policy Doesn't Require Party Affiliation

This shouldn't be any surprise to people, but bad policy comes from every political corner. If you're an ideologue this is harder to accept. Liberal or conservative positions are always right - right? No. The reality is that nothing is that concrete, infallible, infinite or whatever other word you want to use. Issues and people are much more complex then that.

In New York State we have a Democratic Governor who has been touted as a liberal, a progressive, a nouveau mix of compassionate liberal/conservative and so on. He is also, whether he admits it or not, interested in the 2016 Presidential nomination. That interest, in the muddled water of national politics, requires positions that appeal to many different forces and factions.

The mood of the average taxpayer makes it imperative to cut taxes, which in turn means cutting expenses and reducing services. Very seldom is the revenue side of anything viewed as a major part of the equation. It is less seldom that the human impact of policy decisions are measured carefully once the public relations aspect of a policy move kicks in.

A great example of all of this right now revolves around mental health and what some refer to as behavioral health issues. What's interesting, is that these issues and decisions have both national and local impacts. The Governor, in an effort to reduce expenses, has proposed the closure of a substantial number of psychiatric centers and developmental centers across the state of NY. From a number of progressive or liberal positions, that seems initially great. People shouldn't have to endure institutional care in any form. It's dehumanizing and ineffective. It's also expensive, so cuts will certainly please the more conservative among us. Seems like a win/win. But it's not. You see, this is where bad policy can come from - making decisions that will supposedly please all sides and ultimately doing it for your own benefit.

One of the problems we have is that mental health is, as it should be, in the forefront of very serious discussions about violence in this country. In that discussion there is and can be a lot of misinformation, confusion and jumping to conclusions, an example being that all people with mental illness can be or are violent. Or that people with intellectual or developmental disabilities are mentally ill and therefore could be violent. Or that those people can't have a mental illness in addition. There are scores of things that need to be sorted out in these discussions and there are some very responsible media reports dealing with these issues. There are also irresponsible and inaccurate reports.

As institutional settings are eliminated, the very real need for and where a discussion should take place, is about what community supports will replace those institutional settings. In addition, it should be recognized right off the bat, that 'community supports' includes the state's responsibility for continued involvement. Otherwise we have the ultimate bad government policy of just shifting responsibility from one place to another.

Community supports for people in behavioral crisis are absolutely necessary and their existence in NYS today varies widely. Ask hospital administrators, emergency room doctors or social service agencies if they are prepared to deal with people in crises in local communities today. Ask sheriffs or other police agencies if they deal with these crises and if they feel they are prepared. In many cases, you'll find that our jails have become the new institutional setting for people with mental health issues. And what about the person with Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy or Down Syndrome? Can they have a mental health problem in addition to that primary disability? Of course they can.

Shifting costs and shifting responsibilities without proper planning or supports is the height of irresponsibility and has the potential of leading to real human tragedy. Clearly Democrats as well as Republicans can make bad public policy. But another question remains. Where are the advocates - self advocates, family member advocates, non-profit advocates, etc.? Where are the people saying hold on, let's do this the right way. Let's plan and combine resources and supports. In the end people with mental health issues and communities will suffer and a tragedy will have to happen to get our attention once again. Bad government policy has no party affiliation.

Nelson Mandela - Thank You Brother!

This is a re-posting of an earlier entry on Nelson Mandela who died today at 95.

"In my country we go to prison first and then become President."
Nelson Mandela

Twenty-seven years in prison. Twenty-seven years - a lifetime for some.

You fathered many over that period, as fathers do, with strength and pride.
Many saw your strength and your struggle and watched in wonderment, learning along the way like sons and daughters do.

You once said "prison is hard no matter how good they may treat you".
Not many would understand that simple but complex statement.
Twenty-seven years - a lifetime for sure.

And then we watched you return - a humble and noble prince, a chief.
The leader of many clans in Africa and around the world.
A man of principle, a man of peace.

You tried to teach reconciliation and forgiveness. Yes, you tried your best.
As you raised your fists and arms to greet the masses that smile persisted.
That smile - impish, innocent, humble and knowing, all at once.

A proud African man wearing the colors of his continent bright and vibrant.
Some watched in awe, some no doubt in anger or with jealousy and some perhaps
in fear. Twenty-seven years - a lifetime I'm sure.

You have guided us for so long.
Some have listened, some have ignored your grace and wisdom.
Their loss, not yours. You have done your job well.

It is hard for many to understand the loss of time and space caused by imprisonment.
It's hard for people to understand control by others and the loss of freedom.
But we are brothers. Twenty-seven years. You are my elder.

Peace Nelson Mandela.
Thank you brother.
Lead on and always be free. We wish you well.

Wanted For Sedition

Many, many years ago a poster hung in my apartment in New York City. The poster was done by Art Young, I believe in 1917. It was promoted and carried around by one of the great radicals that I knew and admired, Ammon Hennacy. The poster is below and depicts Jesus as being wanted for his strange and at times radical beliefs, for hanging out with the poor and down and outs, for agitating.

I was reminded of this poster as I listened to and watched a tape of Rush Limbaugh criticizing Pope Francis as a Marxist and for questioning an economy that leaves many suffering. Francis talked about the idolatry of money, etc. What he said really wasn't that radical, but he said it pretty clearly and with passion.

Art Young, the cartoonist, writer and artist started out as a republican but became a well known socialist writing for The Masses and other leftist publications.

Drug Testing for Congress and Legislature?

Now I'm not a proponent of laws, new or old. Government tends not to be able to fix much of anything. People and communities fix things through personal responsibility. We tend to create laws due to or for the irresponsible. Having said that there's some new information that indicates that about 78% of Americans support drug testing of Congress. Interesting, wouldn't you say?

Of course this comes on the heels of a Congressman from Florida recently being arrested  for cocaine possession and entering a drug treatment program. There's also a long history of lawmakers enjoying a few drugs and alcohol to excess that has gotten them into other difficulties.

These are the same folks who mandate drug testing for welfare and food stamp recipients. The same folks, federal and state, who make it hard for people and organizations to provide services to needy populations with over regulation and oversight thinking that more paperwork will solve the problem. These are the folks who don't realize how crazy and stupid it is to pay caregivers, drivers and other support personnel minimum wage or a bit higher.

People elect these people thinking that they are going to do the task of legislating well, or that they are going to recognize and deal with some of their constituents' most troubling concerns. These people are trusted implicitly with those votes by people who still believe that their vote counts for something. It's fun to at least think about making sure they will have to pee in a cup or have a blood test before they vote on significant issues. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.