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From:  Indigo Nights <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To:  Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
To:  [log in to unmask]
Subject:  Putting Things Into Perspective
Date:  Fri, 26 Aug 2005 11:21:55 -0700
>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
>[log in to unmask]
>
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