Polymnia here. As I am working on three commissioned sacred hymns today, I’ve entrusted my most faithful servant, Raven, to respond. Rules?🧐 When reasonable and balanced, applied with neither fear nor favor, and applicable to all, they serve a useful purpose. A community without order will soon cease to exist.
Personal responsibility may be viewed as it pertains to my own conduct. In a broader sense, my responsibility is to my fellows as well. I’m responsible for keeping an open mind and having the willingness to use it, both for my personal growth and that of my fellow humans and all of Zeus’ creations - air, all plants and animals, the land and the seas - that we may live in harmony. This latter point touches on my second category, responsibility to my fellows. Being my brothers’ keeper lifts us both to a higher level of humanity.
And so proclaims Polymnia via her dedicated servant, Raven. 🎺
You work on commission? And you have a servant named Raven?!
"neither fear nor favor" 🤔 The (my) human mind is having a real tennis match with those words and their wide range of interpretations.
Somebody once shared a video with me about traffic without "rules of the road". It showed respectful and considerate driving. I was... and continue to be skeptical. 🤷🏻♀️
Your thoughts on personal responsibility are close to my own. Where we might benefit from more conversation is on the idea of "brothers' keeper". Care to say more?
I’ll start “brother’s keeper” with what was once commonplace with the vast majority of folks living in rural America. A neighbor’s barn burned down? That community would hold a barn raising, often including the materials to do so. No red tape, insurance adjusters, and corporate profit motives. Socialists? Hardly.
Let’s consider an instance in which a parent suddenly falls ill and there are children to feed and get off to school. Meals would be brought in, neighbors would take turns with the laundry and simple housecleaning. Those rural folks were quite unlikely to have maids, and knew a house doesn’t take care of itself. Bake sales (with goods baked by the neighbors) were held to raise money. Utilities, medical costs, a car repair. During the Great Depression, my mom’s family lived very close to US Route 322 and owned a small farm. “Bums - those with no home, family, or resources,” would check side roads for any help they could obtain. Panhandling. So my mom’s family would sometimes be called on and in turn would offer food. No vetting to see if they “really” were hungry.
There’s a saying to the effect “From each according to their means to others according to their needs.” The dramatic shift from rural to urban living has played a huge part in how we decide who our neighbors are. Folks from a suburban street? Folks from the 4th floor of a tenement structure? The homeless camp on city property? The more like them we are the more inclined to help.
Living circumstances today for so many are precarious. “One paycheck away from homelessness” refers to how easy it is to lose our home base that helps keeps us centered. Losing that anchor sets folks adrift.
If minimum wage had kept up with inflation since 1968, it would have been $24 per hour today. Income inequity seems to grow by the month! But the homeless, estranged people who just got arrested for “being homeless” (a perfect illustration of prior restraint - when an arrest is based on something that hasn’t happened yet…) hold little sway in law making bodies.
Had Jeff Bezos paid Amazon employees the $24/hr and other benefits, his net worth today would be a few billion shy of his present $170 billion plus. He had the nerve to criticize his ex-wife for using her own wealth for the benefit of charities!
Finland uses an approach to homelessness, drug addiction, and mental illness called “Housing First.” Those in such a program pay a share as their physical and mental health improves. Being bathed and dressed properly goes a long way in building self-esteem. Finland’s Constitution says it is the country’s responsibility to its citizens to ensure they are housed and cared for. The rate of homelessness is dropping there. The cost per homeless person in Finland has dropped 15,000 € since 2008. Smart money. Open hearts.
US is not Finland. Entrenched thinking and corresponding government policies are such a barrier. I’m certain bake sales won’t be the solution here. I could go on. Sorry for this short essay.
No apologies needed! Thank you for sharing all of that Gary. I’ve both read about and heard about the challenges of alleviating homelessness — from one of Malcolm Gladwell’s books to my BIL’s experiences in law enforcement to the program I volunteered with last summer.
A note from LoveLetterist:
4th Muses: Will you share your thoughts on rules and personal responsibility?
Good day, LoveLetterist!
Polymnia here. As I am working on three commissioned sacred hymns today, I’ve entrusted my most faithful servant, Raven, to respond. Rules?🧐 When reasonable and balanced, applied with neither fear nor favor, and applicable to all, they serve a useful purpose. A community without order will soon cease to exist.
Personal responsibility may be viewed as it pertains to my own conduct. In a broader sense, my responsibility is to my fellows as well. I’m responsible for keeping an open mind and having the willingness to use it, both for my personal growth and that of my fellow humans and all of Zeus’ creations - air, all plants and animals, the land and the seas - that we may live in harmony. This latter point touches on my second category, responsibility to my fellows. Being my brothers’ keeper lifts us both to a higher level of humanity.
And so proclaims Polymnia via her dedicated servant, Raven. 🎺
Hi Poly!
You work on commission? And you have a servant named Raven?!
"neither fear nor favor" 🤔 The (my) human mind is having a real tennis match with those words and their wide range of interpretations.
Somebody once shared a video with me about traffic without "rules of the road". It showed respectful and considerate driving. I was... and continue to be skeptical. 🤷🏻♀️
Your thoughts on personal responsibility are close to my own. Where we might benefit from more conversation is on the idea of "brothers' keeper". Care to say more?
I’ll start “brother’s keeper” with what was once commonplace with the vast majority of folks living in rural America. A neighbor’s barn burned down? That community would hold a barn raising, often including the materials to do so. No red tape, insurance adjusters, and corporate profit motives. Socialists? Hardly.
Let’s consider an instance in which a parent suddenly falls ill and there are children to feed and get off to school. Meals would be brought in, neighbors would take turns with the laundry and simple housecleaning. Those rural folks were quite unlikely to have maids, and knew a house doesn’t take care of itself. Bake sales (with goods baked by the neighbors) were held to raise money. Utilities, medical costs, a car repair. During the Great Depression, my mom’s family lived very close to US Route 322 and owned a small farm. “Bums - those with no home, family, or resources,” would check side roads for any help they could obtain. Panhandling. So my mom’s family would sometimes be called on and in turn would offer food. No vetting to see if they “really” were hungry.
There’s a saying to the effect “From each according to their means to others according to their needs.” The dramatic shift from rural to urban living has played a huge part in how we decide who our neighbors are. Folks from a suburban street? Folks from the 4th floor of a tenement structure? The homeless camp on city property? The more like them we are the more inclined to help.
Living circumstances today for so many are precarious. “One paycheck away from homelessness” refers to how easy it is to lose our home base that helps keeps us centered. Losing that anchor sets folks adrift.
If minimum wage had kept up with inflation since 1968, it would have been $24 per hour today. Income inequity seems to grow by the month! But the homeless, estranged people who just got arrested for “being homeless” (a perfect illustration of prior restraint - when an arrest is based on something that hasn’t happened yet…) hold little sway in law making bodies.
Had Jeff Bezos paid Amazon employees the $24/hr and other benefits, his net worth today would be a few billion shy of his present $170 billion plus. He had the nerve to criticize his ex-wife for using her own wealth for the benefit of charities!
Finland uses an approach to homelessness, drug addiction, and mental illness called “Housing First.” Those in such a program pay a share as their physical and mental health improves. Being bathed and dressed properly goes a long way in building self-esteem. Finland’s Constitution says it is the country’s responsibility to its citizens to ensure they are housed and cared for. The rate of homelessness is dropping there. The cost per homeless person in Finland has dropped 15,000 € since 2008. Smart money. Open hearts.
US is not Finland. Entrenched thinking and corresponding government policies are such a barrier. I’m certain bake sales won’t be the solution here. I could go on. Sorry for this short essay.
No apologies needed! Thank you for sharing all of that Gary. I’ve both read about and heard about the challenges of alleviating homelessness — from one of Malcolm Gladwell’s books to my BIL’s experiences in law enforcement to the program I volunteered with last summer.
Many facets for sure!
My #1 RULE!
“When writing the story of your life, don’t let anyone else hold the pen.”
~Harley Davidson
AND
The Greatest Accomplishment!
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
~Emerson
Serenity & Scribe~
Wise words from those who came before.
Thanks Bobby!