When does ageism begin?

It is funny that most people associate ageism with the 50-70 year old demographic, but I read a recent article that mentioned that this malfeasant 'ism' is now extending to a younger age group, namely the 40-50 year-old bracket---my group! It is hard to accept this, really. I just turned 40 a couple of months, ago and I am good health, I feel young, I have a strong positive outlook on life and I am very competent at the work I do. I even "get along very well with people," which is the catch phrase running rampant on cover letters, resumes and company letterheads. But it is still a shock to even contemplate that I might be a victim of ageism. Until recently, that is.

I have been unemployed for far longer than I would like to admit, but for the most part I have been very positive about it. Recently, I learned that a position I had applied for --Assistant Director of Study Abroad--at a college in Massachusetts, was offered to a young 28-ish year-old woman who has never in her life worked in the field. She is in the process of writing her doctoral thesis (which is another issue, but I will not go into that here) and that may have been one of the factors that led to her hiring. However, I think her youth played a significant role. The committee clearly thought that it would be more financially feasible to hire a 'newbie' who can learn on the job, instead of paying a higher salary to a more established and experienced candidate. Yikes! I did not think this would happen to me, but now I am beginning to take a much harder look at ageism and see that, like racism, it does not discriminate against one particular section of the population. That really is disturbing. What to do now? Make sure my curriculum vitae does not tip off my age. I am good at adapting to something new, if nothing else, and I am ready for this challenge.

ambassadorial ethnocentrism

It is sad that some people still espouse ethnocentric values in today's globalized world. It is even more disconcerting when that person is someone who used to hold an ambassadorial position. Check out what John Miller, former ambassador, recently wrote:


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/opinion/03miller.html

The return of El Clasico

On Sunday, November 29 two great teams will meet once again in one of the most enduring and heated rivalries in the world. The Yankees-Red Sox rivlary pales in comparison to the emotions inspired by the Real Madrid-Barcelona matches. In what promises to be a no-holds barred encounter featuring some of the best players in the world, this game is sure to hold the attention of the world. I enjoyed Thanksgiving yesterday and now await El Clasico. It doesn't get better than this.

Thanksgiving (1956) by e.e. cummings

THANKSGIVING (1956)

a monstering horror swallows
this unworld me by you
as the god of our fathers' fathers bows
to a which that walks like a who

but the voice-with-a-smile of democracy
announces night & day
"all poor little peoples that want to be free
just trust in the u s a"

suddenly uprose hungary
and she gave a terrible cry
"no slave's unlife shall murder me
for i will freely die"

she cried so high thermopylae
heard her and marathon
and all prehuman history
and finally The UN

"be quiet little hungary
and do as you are bid
a good kind bear is angary
we fear for the quo pro quid"

uncle sam shrugs his pretty
pink shoulders you know how
and he twitches a liberal titty
and lisps "i'm busy right now"

so rah-rah-rah- democracy
let's all be thankful as hell
and bury the statue of liberty
(because it begins to smell)

Thanksgiving Day Prayer by e.e. cummings

Thanksgiving Prayer

Father we thank thee for this food
for health, strength, and all
things good. May others all these blessings
share, and hearts be grateful
everywhere.
I thank you God for most this amazing day;
for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky;
and for everything which is infinite which is yet.

- E. E. Cummings

Samoud

Samoud is the Arabic word for 'steadfastness' and has been interpreted as the 'third way' of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It is not violent, but it does not acquiesce readily to proposals demands made to a people who hold samoud to be one of its most cherished principles.

Tunnel Vision in Detroit

I always enjoy travelling through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. It is a clean and very efficient operation. But the part I like the best is walking through 'The Tunnel' that connects the concourses. In an incredible architectural accomplishment, the designers created a passageway with elongated transparent glass panels on the sides. The light from the panels constantly changes, while New Age music is played and you look ahead through different hues of red, green, blue and purple. For me, the experience never gets tired and it always makes me smile. If you have not been to Detroit, you might have to go just to see this!