CHALLENGING THE DEVIL

RECENTLY I attended a Forum about housing for seniors in the City of Maple Ridge. It was well organized and well attended, and I got a lot out of it for future reference should my current life circumstances require a change.

At the same time, however, I got a lot more out of it than I expected. I picked up a brochure entitled AGEISM and it peaked my curiosity. I figured it was just a new way to reference the reality of growing old. As I read on I realized that ageism is a human rights issue much like hate speech, sexism and racism. People draw automatic conclusions about your being because of your age. It has become the most socially accepted and tolerated form of discrimination, negatively impacting self esteem, as well as physical and mental well being. The brochure goes on to say that stereotype ageist attitudes ignore the diversity of aging.

By reflecting on that notion, I started to think about our diverse society where, quite frankly, the word ‘main’ in ‘mainstream’ has become an oxymoron. ‘Main’ means majority. With our world now coming to the realization that people from all walks of life, from a diversity of lifestyles, life choices, and a richness of colours, shapes, sizes, genders, religions, affiliations, abilities, socio-economic divisions, far surpass the word ‘main’. It has become a devilling challenge to some of those who have lost their formerly ‘main’ status, but not for all of them.

The cardinal sins of prejudging, isolating, scorning, segregating, scaring and scarring, dismissing and compartmentalizing people who are trying their best to live comfortable lives in their own skin, have unintentionally become the ‘main’ creators or champions of modern day society. “Live and let live” is streaming through all mediums. Attitudes and thoughts have become more balanced, informed and accepting than ever before. 

Although discrimination, anxiety, fear, concern, worry, sadness, loneliness, anger and animosity still exist to a degree, challenging the devil has not been for nought. More people are working towards creating a new kind of mainstream. It is time for the new "main" — one where there is comfort, care and love for all, and in which they can all live harmoniously, throughout a lifespan, feeling at peace and proud.