Departures

I learned yesterday that the long-time drummer for my favorite band, America, had suddenly left.  There was no announcement from the band , just a change in lineup on their webpage and the rumor mill began immediately.  Was Wil sick?  What happened?  Details are sketchy, but the most persistent rumor is that he was "let go"  WHAT?  After 41 years, it's "Sorry this isn't working out'?  There are more questions than answers.

It got me thinking about the current "corporate culture"  where employees are commodities to be traded or discarded as befits the Corporation.  It's what happens when "Corporations" are legal defined as "people"  It's hard to bring a sense of loyalty to any endeavor when you know you can be jettisoned on a whim. That happened recently in the City, where there were layoffs and people showed up to work only to be met by the supervisor and told they had 15 minutes to get their things and leave.  This was an HR decision and I know that some supervisors were in agony about how it was handled.  When there was a change in leadership in the Foundation, they fired almost all of the former director's employees and they had Security escort them out.  That was cruel in my opinion; as if these people were any kind of threat.  Shameful behavior.

I wonder if this isn't a product of the "Me Generation" mindset.  We raised children to believe that they were the most important beings on the planet, forgetting to instill in them a sense of Community and relationships.  Were we so busy getting them "Things" we forgot to get them what really mattered?  Chasing the almighty dollar and forgetting to feed the soul?    I put a good deal of energy into Non-profit work, that supports my Community and I do see kids and parents coming, but the kids are being dragged there and I think it isn't something they would seek out on their own.  I wonder as we "Baby Boomers" age, what the state of non-profits will become.

On a side note, I went to the opening of the photo exhibit "Defining their Identity" at Central Library this week.  It's a fascinating exhibit, culled from photos of the Valley Times, a newspaper based in the San Fernando Valley, which folded in the early 70's. The speaker, former Councilwoman Joy Picus, said something that bothered me.  She was talking about Baby Boomers and how woman were tricked into giving up their jobs to become homemakers and mothers.  Here's how I feel about it.  After the war, when the men came home, they had seen terrible things.  They wanted children, because children are hope for the future.  Having children gave us hope that we would continue.  I don't think having children subjugates women. I don't think women of my mother's generation were "tricked" into having them.  Women had fought the war at home and wanted children for the same reasons the men did.  Hope. 

Go see the exhibit.  It's at Central in the History Department.  They are in the process of digitizing the entire collection, which has a lot of amazing photographs.  I am sure there will be more exhibits to come!