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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

A Person's a Person No Matter How Small (the paycheck)

When do you jump the rungs and tell the Big People what all the Little People need them to know?

I know that when you're a Big and Powerful working person, you rely on Medium People to tell you what is what: what you can skimp on when the funds run low, what it will take to bring in more revenue, how to avoid a storm of angry Little People, how to keep up appearances, whether the job can still get done. And then, I reckon, Medium People decide to either work with the Big People to protect themselves and believing it also protects the Little People, or they decide to work against  the Big People.

I have a feeling I'm still a Little Person because I would work against the Big People, if not rub very loudly and abrasively all around them.

Which is funny, because the Medium Person who tells me what to do likes to tell me I should be a Big Person.

Very recently I got to stand up in front of a lot of Big People to honor someone who had spent an entire career as a Medium Person making a real difference in people's lives. At the heart of her work was the indisputable fact that she was in the business of making memories for people who were often marginalized in the majority of society. Of course, I didn't think to say it quite that simply, so I don't know if the Big People heard it. So now I am fairly sure it needs to be said again.

Only this time, not only do I wish all the Big People to take a break from their dizzying schedules and social reviews to remember what got them to be big in the public sector in the first place, I want them to think about making sure Little People get to become Big People. And how Little People do a lot of work that make Big People happy when they no longer have to work. And how Little People do a lot more work when they can't find the money to pay the Medium People to do it anymore. And how the Little People won't really get to have Big People kind of happy and health care and retire one day.

But mostly, isn't it just a bit off that the Little People can't afford not to do it?

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