On Looking

I have written often about a need that I believe exists in the education community to turn conversations about the value of creative expression on their heads – much more heavily emphasizing the value of process over artifact.

But I feel the same principle may apply to a seeming current tendency to dismiss genuinely-held beliefs in others – seeking, it would seem, to shame or discredit, rather than inform and engage.

On Seeing

No one has ever defined for me what it means to be woke, but it seems to me that to be woke is to be awake and alert to the goodness of others – regardless of their present shortcomings – and, certainly, regardless of fixed characteristics over which they have no control.

It would mean being willing to recognize that others’ good qualities as weightier than honest errors while maintaining a willingness to point out those errors toward the end of helping.

But, to the degree that the increasingly judgmental seem to be getting into the habit of exposing others’ faults, either with a rushed assumption of bad faith on the part of targets or, worse, a desire to eliminate competition in their own lives, it would appear everyone involved may benefit from conversations about how opportunity expansion – rather than only rotation – may be helpful.

(Of course, there are, certainly, very many times when intentional wrongdoing needs to be exposed and addressed.)

On Perspective

While, many times, experiences of adversity do qualify one to speak with authority about problems in need of solution – and I believe this is an incredibly important right that should not be denied – this is not necessarily any kind of permanent standing but, rather, could be considered more like an at-bat in solution proposal.

Traumas, and certainly shortcomings, while by no means need to be hidden, are certainly to be avoided and seem to me inappropriate topics for listing like items on a resumé. Otherwise, wouldn’t people begin to seek victimhood?

It isn’t that this does not continue to be an important time to acknowledge obstacles, especially where they look insurmountable. There is no question that it is unhelpful to look only at the absolute value of a person’s accomplishments. (In talking with a group of Mount Everest climbers, it would be worth noting if one started her journey at the bottom of the ocean, another endured being used for target practice on the way up and yet a third rode an escalator.)

But, just as it makes sense, in selecting mentors, to consider not just where they are but how far they have come, it also makes sense to recognize the degree to which they have dedicated themselves to inspiring, nurturing and protecting others in order to help give them a collective head start, so to speak. Especially as we endeavor to see one another in higher definition, I wonder whether it is possible to put this all together.

I am not sure we will make progress before we also emphasize the work of inspirers, nurturers, and protectors – all essential workers who help light the way forward to our real selves from what can appear to be impossible problems.

On Insight

To the degree that victimhood – rather than a dedication to contributing – seems to be celebrated more and more – it feels increasingly important to be intentional about expressing gratitude to those who inspire, nurture, and protect.

It at least seems to me that thanklessness for such practices is one reason that it appears many professional protectors – including legitimate journalists and even police officers – have felt tempted to literally stop doing their jobs in an appearances-based information ecosystem.

Those who have persisted deserve to be commended.

On Foresight

It has long seemed to me that a problematic tendency to seek either approval or permission from others as a means of finding validation affects the ways in which news is delivered.

Although we all should arguably be making decisions without regard to the approval of others – be that in the form of a “like” or even emotion-fueled ratings – I believe it is worth asking: how is it possible to tell, given how much praise was, for a time, bestowed upon truth-tellers, and how much criticism on protectors, when such reception is correct and where it might be adjusted?

On Realizing

I do believe that one important approach may simply be to consider the fruits that truth-telling, inspiration, nurturing, and protection bear.

I can say that, as painful as feeling unheard during the women’s movement in journalism was, the fact that so many women were heard made a profound impact on my life, helping me feel less alone and even, to a degree, supported. This, to me, is evidence that many, if not all, of these women were expressing sacrificial love. Although I continue to believe that, should new ideas for a more inclusive informational infrastructure have been allowed to be heard, many painful disclosures could have been made more privately, many of these women do seem to me to have been following their hearts, and the fruits of this were substantive.

On Binocularity

Our government was designed to support two primary functions – the preservation of the concept of human equality and the fair processes by which this is accomplished. I believe that, as these functions are scaled, adapted, and translated, it is important that they remain in balance.

Ensuring they are may enable us to better see what seemed invisible before.