…today’s secret…Misfits matter.
Until just a few decades ago the word ‘marginalized’ meant handwritten book margins.
Now it refers to individuals who are in the drainage ditch of an ordered society…or something like that.
Semantic change in language has been fluid throughout world history. In the 1500s ‘bully’ meant sweetheart and ‘nice’ meant silly. Go figure.
In ancient and medieval times the name didn’t really matter. To the ruling elites everyone under their control were either weak, poor, oppressed, lowly, downtrodden, or illiterate. The masses lived to follow and do the work.
Kings, lords, nobles, and priests could always keep their inferior elements down through intimidation. Their real problem was those pesky intellectuals…those poets, writers, scholars, philosophers, teachers, and artists who talked a lot and did no work that mattered.
These upstart wise ups demanded a piece of the governing action. “How dare they?” asked the Pharaoh.
But, in the end, the aristocracy caved and allied with these wannabes against the masses because they needed scribes to keep the numbers and record the elites’ greatness. See ancient Egypt. Greece. Rome.
Modern day Marxist regimes love their brainy civil servants who believe themselves to be above the common folk of the state. See Russia. China.
Enter America. America was built by undesirables from other lands. It spit in the face of this historical alliance between the upper crust and the all knowing.
“People first,” said the new Americans. The intellectuals stayed home in Europe. They said, “It’s nicer here.”
America began forging its values, righting its wrongs, and establishing a societal order run by the people for the people without any major interference from the intellectuals – there were just too few of them at the start.
It took a little over a century and a half for America to home-grow enough intellectuals for them to rise up and try and take their rightful place in world history.
“Smarty pants first. People second.” This is the way it has always been and the way it should be now.
The fight is on. (History repeats itself so much)
America is unique in many ways. It has ingrained faith in human regeneration. Man is not a captive of his past, of his heredity, or his habits. He is created equal and capable of being the best he can be.
Your work with the ‘marginalized’ is critical in this fight. We must do more than give them hope. We must give them the technical and social skills which enable them to get bread by their own efforts. Survive AND thrive.
By whatever name we call our fellow neighbors, we must help them help themselves where we can. That’s how we change the course of history and force the intellectuals to become champions of the masses, not rulers over them.
Misfits matter in America. Your work with misfits really matter.
If not, we will become marginal notes in a very boooring history book.
Right Time’s PAS® adds the voice of your marginalized participant to your intervention which means you can improve your decision making, achieve quicker rapport, gain marketplace advantage, and, maybe, increase your funding. How much of their voice do you need? $4. $8. $14.
P.S. Don’t you just love how you can condense thousands of world history years into a handful of sentences?