Today is My Birthday

I’ve had this framed quotation from Leroy “Satchel” Paige displayed in my bathroom for more years than I will admit. I like seeing it every morning. Funny, as the years pass, it makes more and more sense.

Birthdays are a good time to reflect on the past – how I got to where I am – and to think about the future I’d like to see.

Today, as I look back to the recent past and beyond, I ask – can you believe there was a time when…

• Corporations would treat our rivers, lakes and public land like rubbish bins and toilets
• People thought nothing of smoking in office buildings, government buildings, stores, restaurants, public transportation, airports and airplanes, and other people’s cars and homes
• Women and Blacks were hired to do the same job as white men but paid less for their work
• Abortion was illegal
• Homosexuality was outlawed
• The government would collect taxes from African Americans for services, accommodations and benefits but then deny them of the services because they were Black
• Women and Blacks who studied to be lawyers and doctors were considered to be taking places away from white men
• African Americans who served in the military during WWII received education benefits from the G.I. bill but couldn’t enroll in Universities because they were Black. 
• Some men couldn’t vote because they were Black.
• All women couldn’t vote because they were women

In my lifetime, I hope to someday look back and ask…can you believe there was a time when…

• People holding high elected positions in the U.S. would not accept the results of elections
• Corporations operated as if their sole purpose was to maximize profits to shareholders
• CEOs were paid at a rate of hundreds times the average worker
• Victims of harassment and abuse at their workplace were blamed, penalized and mistreated if they spoke up 
• Privilege was not acknowledged as a factor in access to opportunity
• Women and Blacks were hired to do the same job as white men but paid less for their work
• Abortion was illegal

I hope to have enough birthdays to see this list become a reality.