00:08 - 24.05.05
Grace
No offense dear diary, but I think tonight's entry will be short. I'd rather read out loud with my youngest and the cats for an audience. The past month has been rather disorienting and it is what I need to do to feel centered again. One interesting outcome from the reading has been the literary efforts in which my youngest has been involved. He is part of an on-line community that writes stories interactively. From reading some of the entries, it appears most are young adults, like him, who favour the fantasy genre. Some of their work is very good and quite insightful.
I was talking with Miss Graycie - so-called because of her dark grey, velvety coat - this afternoon. She is our tomboy girl cat; she prefers spending time with the males, because they are more fun to play with. If they try to mate with her, she tries to hurt them. Assertive, but not lacking in the feminine graces, she gets along well with her sisters too. The question was about ethics. If a company offered a person working for someone else a higher paying job with more freedom to pursue their interests and showed that they respected and valued them, when the other company instead used put downs and pressure as their best management tools, is it wrong for them to accept the offer? In some ways that is what happened in my last change of assignment. The wage is the same, but I am treated with respect. I'm often told that my work is valued. It is also demonstrated, by care for my physical health and comfort, that I am valued for myself. I'm supported and encouraged to pursue lines of inquiry that go beyond the basic assignment in a way that gives a value add to both me and the company. I am also encouraged to be involved, in a meaningful way, in the culture and activities of the company. It is obvious that any pursuit of learning is also valued. Graycie said only a fool would choose to stay in a negative or abusive situation, especially if something better was offered elsewhere. She pointed out that most people jump at the chance of promotion or better working conditions and it is a cause of celebration among their family and friends. So I read the articles in the newspaper about the female who changed from one political party to the other for the same reasons. Graycie said that the comments made by the people in the group who were left behind just confirmed that they had been exploitive in their treatment of the person who left. They were just angry that they couldn't make use of her any more.
Two e-zines brought me information that cast a positive light this weekend. One was the astronomical features for this week - full moon, and much more, visible to the naked eye. Beautiful photos to boot. The other story was about the power of prayer. I've always loved Leo Tolstoy's writing. I recall reading this piece many years ago in high school in a course where we were studying classical Russian literature. To me, Tolstoy is Russia's equivalent to Charles Dickens in England and Victor Hugo in France. I'd forgotten how powerful this piece he wrote was. Anna Karenina is still my favorite novel by him though.
There were a couple of stories tonight that made me concerned about the wisdom of some political decisions. Canada is host country for the broader application of the Cartegena Accord that has been developed to deal with GM agriculture - Franken foods if you will. Apparently a visa has been denied to one expert out of Africa because he is not toeing the Canadian position. He is likely the one person we should listen to, I think. The other article was about the source of famine for most of the world hungry. No surprise there. It's hard to grow or maintain crops when soldiers keep churning them up or destroying them for tactical advantage, now isn't it? It was part of the discussion that I had with my supervisor on Friday. She lived in different parts of Africa growing up and finds the lack of understanding of the issue here as much of a danger to the populations struggling to survive as the conflicts themselves. It is hard to develop good foreign policy or spend available resources most effectively if one is only addressing the symptoms instead of the underlying causes.
Right now Graycie and her sisters are making it clear they want their turn to play while the boys sleep, so I'd better go keep the family happy, so that story time is not disrupted by our restive natives.
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