On The Mark. . .

Being on the mark is at times positive and at other times troubling.

Though inadvertently, the contents of Beyond Discouragement Creativity is constantly (if not daily)being sited in the media. . . Today is  quite a heavy case in point.

•   UK School Cracks Down On Bad Manners - National Post. Since over time we have gone from excessive demands of proper behaviour to none at all in this past century - balancing out the requirements of good communal living seems to demand an excessive amount of control in the guise of zero tolerance. We reap what we sow. I think something in that vein is mentioned in my book. . .
•   Brains Show Political Differences - (Andrew Duffy) Ottawa Citizen. It seems that more conservative brains revolve around fear issues - either taking them in, sublimating them or imposing them on others whereas liberal minded types are more able to handle uncertainty and intangibles.No mater how we look at it, both sides affect creativity and the capacity to think and flower independently. If I'm not wrong, Beyond Discouragement - Creativity deals with the fear and independence factors abundantly.
• School Trustees Don't Know What's What - (Cathy Curry) Ottawa Citizen. Now, I am definitely busting a gut. . . School Board and trustee issues are definitely a part of Beyond Discouragement - Creativity.
• Risk, Urge, Desire, Danger - (Susan Krashinsky) The Globe and Mail. The power of marketing and advertising . . .  Once again Beyond Discouragement -Creativity deals with this issue in spades!!!
• Just Call Me Mrs - (Deanna Wong) The Globe And Mail. This is an issue which has its underlying current in the need for today's parents and teachers to be friends with their children rather than responsible adult guides and mentors - a crucial topic in the Beyond Discouragement - Creativity eassy.  It speaks to the inordinate need of individual members of a society to democratize communication to the point of lowest common denominator, if not oblivion. Elders are more aware of this imposition of familiarity than are younger generations. Respect of strangers has given way to fear of strangers and therefore we claim each other as friends  in order to feel safer as victimized entities. We display familiarity whether the other wishes it or not.                                                                                                                                                          Actually, the problem is rather a simple one to solve - Let's stop calling each other by our first name when we are not family or friend. Historically, it is a practice which was meant to BELITTLE. First names only (when not used between family and friends) date back to slavery connotations where indentured servants and slaves were nothing more than possessions. As such, they were perceived to have no families and therefore no family names - just a first name. . . Once, young people called themselves by their family names out of respect and deference ( a usual college or workplace trait). Today, they call themselves by their first names in order to be democratic - to be equal to each other - to eliminate a trait which causes fear. . .  the dreaded being different. They also call us oldsters (or ask for our first name) in order to "put us in our place" - to render us not more important or empowered than they are. In other words - a contemporary first name basis society - uses excessive doses of democracy (out of fear and anxiety) in order to establish a (safe) norm which eliminates anything which smacks of creative individuality - i.e.: adventure, difference, daring, excitement, innovation, bravery, etc.   Today, we seek what is normal (i.e.: what there is the most of. . .) Ironically (!) Beyond Discouragement - Creativity talks about that too. Sometimes it is humbling to be on the mark. . . At other times it is quite invigorating! Ha!