A Cat 2 Hurricane is wreaking havoc over Florida. 
Most probably, some of the brother- and sisterhood of
museum folk are wondering what kind of damage they're
going to find when they get back to work and how
they're going to save what they have been charged with
caring for.

It's hotter than blazes in some parts of the US, and
severe weather in parts where the hurricane is not
happening.  Power tripped off the 500 kV DC last night
in California, causing rolling blackouts, which may
have affected the humidity in some institutions that
conceivably can't afford a back-up generator.  Those
institutions are probably wondering today what
measures they can take for "the next time" to avoid
these woes.

The school season is starting, and folks are going
back to college wondering where the tuition is going
to come from to even get them a job--that's not going
to pay down the college debt any time soon.

A war (good/bad/otherwise) is raging that stands to
destroy antiquities in the bed of some parts of the
world's civilization.  Are there none here with inputs
or concerns about preservation therefor?

While folks here have to go without because they've
chosen a profession that doesn't pay "enough," or have
to do something else until they can land a job in this
field that still won't pay "enough," there are people
out there who can find no jobs at all, whose careers
have been pushed offshore, and they never have
"enough" to eat.  There's a whole continent with a
rich, oft ignored history, that doesn't have enough
food to eat, and many thereon are dying of AIDS.

Why would one presume that there's anything about this
list that requires one only read it from work?  That's
a little narcisstic.  There aren't a lot of us on the
weekends, but there are still plenty who work full
time during the week, volunteer their time, or are
going to school and still read/participate. Time is a
relative thing. Again, I will say that you MAKE the
time for things that are important.

So why am I wasting your time with another post?
Because it has been suggested to me that, perhaps,
this list needs a moderator, one who can censor.  That
is not me, and has never been--not on this list.  I'm
a card-carrying member of the ACLU (yes, I didn't vote
for him EITHER), and I'm not real keen on censorship.
It's not a role I would want.

What I am keen on is civility and putting things into
perspective.  Don't attack THE PERSON; attack the IDEA
(after you have weighed it and sifted out your own
biases in the weighing; be no less scientific than you
would in your work when you filter what you read
offered here).  

If we got paid for the amount of rancor that went by
this list of late, we'd all be a lot richer.  Is it
possible we could attempt to invoke a little civility
while we preserve the history of our civilization? 
Could we possibly be a little less elitist and a
little more understanding?  Can the group think
outside the box, or will the lines be drawn so narrow
as to close in and close down in a culture that is
shifting?

Here, we may be red, blue, or purple, but we come
together for a common reason (and let's not discount
our brothers and sisters in Europe who look at the
silly Americans and think, thank God, they left) and
that is for the promotion of the institutions, the
professions, and the art and artifacts one finds in a
museum world.  We didn't come here to see who could be
the most pissy!

History fans will remember the Hot August Watts Riots
of 1965, followed by the LA Riots of 1994.  Think
Rodney King and remember his words, "Can't we all just
get along?"

It's time to kiss and makeup and get back to museums.

After all, there is no I in museums, but there is a
lot of muse. Let's get back to the fun and the work at hand!

Indigo Nights
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