Safety & Accountability vs. Civil Rights & Privacy

          Politicians' unethical, immoral, or even illegal behaviors become exposed through potical scandals. Trusted, well-respected people in postions of trust, even doctors, teachers, or sports coaches, often shock us when we learn about their acts of abuse or exploitation of those whom they are supposed to protect and serve. Employees, over and over, are discovering that their lies, thefts, and other nonviolent and violent crimes continually surface through background checks or through being caught in the act on the job. Corruption and ethics violations abound among those in higher-level postions of prestige and power, including among CEO's. Corporate greed has become so institutionalized for so long that many people, fed up with it, have formed "Occupy" movements to voice their displeasure and disgust with it all. Volunteers, over and over, find themselves being caught in acts of abuse, exploitation, ethics violations, or other crimes, often through background checks. And, thanks to all forms of media where we can get our news, we continue to hear, constantly, about murders, rapes, abuse, expoitation, greed, and about a host of other nonviolent and violent crimes. Today, those of us raising or caring for minor children must be hypervigilant in protecting them, not only from bullies who run rampant and do their dirty work not only in schools and communities, but also on social networks. We cannot relax our guard in  keeping our minor children safe from predators not only in-person but also online. Thanks to all of this, we can count on security cameras and other devices monitoring our every move, as all forms of evil and crime get worse and worse and become more exposed via media outlets.
          What does all of this add up to? Because we live in a so-called "post September 11 era," thanks to our heightened concern and awareness about terrorism, and because media outlets and technology enable crimes of all kinds to become exposed, we are all being watched more carefully. This is true whether we are aware of it or not. Because of this, we are a little safer as there is much more awareness and advocacy about terrorism, nonviolent and violent crime and all forms of abuse. People in positions of power and prestige are being held accountable for their actions. Criminals are finding it harder and harder to hide.
          I remember even before Sept. 11, that I was doing a school assignment for a class and interviewing someone in a local pregnancy help center which helped girls and women facing crisis pregnancies. As I was talking to the woman I was assigned to and we walked by the room that held maternity clothes and other items for clients, I could not miss how she guarded the front of the maternity room from me as though she was certain that I would enter it and help myself to some of the items for myself. I was offended and hurt at being treated like a potential thief, guilty until proven innocent. But in a culture where stealing abounded and where this woman, not knowing me or my character, was worried about these donated goods and acted on her feelings.
          This is one example of how all of the heightened monitoring and surveillance can border on being intrusive, heavy-handed and intimidationg. Since so much of our lives is now documented and on online records, our past mistakes can come back to haunt us if we look for a apply for employment, a loan, entrance to higher education, an apartment, to buy a home or to seek to volunteer our services to nonprofits. Today, anyone who runs for elected office in politics or who has celebrity status can count on one thing: Most things of a questionable nature in their pasts are probably going to come out for exposure at some point. For better or worse, people are being emboldened to "come forward" with allegations of crime or abuse by  the famous or the powerful, and I realize that many of these accusations are legitimate and are coming from true victims/survivors. But too many people have brought false accusations, also. Also, we have become a very litigious society, suing even our own family members; so many today file frivolous lawsuits having nothing to do with loss of life, health, or substantial financial or other serious losses. Because of all this and more, we live in an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust. Much of it is justified but it just means that, in essence, we are guilty until proven innocent. This saddens me.
          Because of all this and because of our heightened safety and security awareness, when we want to rent an apartment, secure a loan, apply to college or graduate school, find a job, buy a home, or serve as a volunteer through a nonprofit, we can count on getting background checks and screenings and on those checks and screenings becoming more and more thorough. Because dishonesty is so commonplace, our identities and what we say on applications and at interviews are no longer taken at face value. I realize the immense value of background checks and screening in safeguarding the best interests for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations, their own personnel, their clients and the general public. Background checks and screening serve as deterrents to predators and other harmful people; therefore we can count on them becoming more and more a part of our culture in our free world.
          As for social networking, because online bullies, scams, and other online evils and crimes are so commonplace, to survive and keep our families and ourselves safe, we cannot take anyone's identity or word at face value anymre but must verify these if we can. If you and I are in the same social network, for example, but we do not know each other outside the context of social network sites, it is hard for either of us to prove to the other that we are the honest, true people that we know ourselves to be and which those we know face-to-face know us to be. For many predators and criminals  have a way of mixing in with all the good, true people online and can be very tough to identify the bad, harmful people. Accountability is catching up with the Internet.
          We should be thankful for for our ever-increasing accountability, though few of us want this "gift," as through it we all become safer. But many of us are concerned that accountability not be taken too far, intrude too much on privacy rights or restrict our civil liberties too much. As more and more crimes and scandals surface, and more and more legislation tends to be proposed. Maybe what may be needed is to improve existing legislation. We do not want to become a police state where government does not trust us to handle our daily affairs.
           It is called trust but verify.

Thank you, God

Thank you, my God, that because of the many ways that You have blessed each and every one of us, whatever troubles we endure or needs we have, every day can be thanksgiving;

Thank you, my God, for without You and Your goodness we could not observe even one official Thanksgiving Day;

Thank you, my God, that You were there long before I was conceived in my 15-old young mother;

Thank you that You were there when the news of my conception was met, not with joy, but with heartbreak and anger;

Thank you for Your goodness and Your wisdom in planning me, though I was unplanned; thank you that You love and bless every person regardless of the circumstances of our conception;

Thank you for being You, good, holy and loving;

Thank you for being there during my childhood years when my cluster of neurobiological problems caused others in my life to often react to me with frustration, confusion, and even anger; thank You that You are not limited by our pasts to bless us so we can bless others;

Thank You that You were there when my devoted, well-meaning but overwhelmed and uneducated young mother was not given the resources and support she needed to understand me and teach me as I needed;

Thank You for You for the current scientific discoveries and for the minds You have given to those who have made them, so now I'm able to make sense of the senseless;

Thank You for being You, good, holy and loving;

Thank You that You were there when  I was led to believe that attending worship services was more a matter of looking good and avoiding any appearance of difference, rather than attending and participating out of a deep sense of need for You and love for You;

Thank You that You were there when much ignorance flourished when it came to addressing the special needs of the many children in my generation; thank You for all the discoveries, awareness and advocacy of those who have done so much to undo this ignorance;;

Thank You  that because of this, the children of this generation, and future generations, will benefit from what we have been learning;

Thank you for being You, good, holy and loving;

Thank You that You were there when my differences in thinking, behavior and learning causes the bullies in my school and neighborhood to do their thing with me, repeatedly;

Thank You that You were there when my bullying experiences were met with adult ignorance, insensitivity and indifference; thank you for my parents who did try, all to no avail, to get help;

Thank You that You possess the grace and the power to redeem any experience, at any time in our lives, so that we can serve You and bless others;

Thank You for being You, good, holy and loving;

Thank You that You were there when I tried to connect with You and to understand Your ways but did not have any understanding of Your grace;

Thank You for Your tireless efforts to reach me through the devout adults You placed in my life, especially my wonderful, loving, late grandmother;

Thank You that long before I ever sought You, You were seeking me; thank You that long before any of us ever reach out to You, it is only because You have been seeking us first;

Thank You for being You, good, holy and loving;

Thank You that You were there when I was internalizing my life experiences and believing that I was basically bad, lacking, and without options or hope;

Thank You that You were there when my emotional baggage kept me from understanding Your grace, Your wisdom and Your ways and from reaching out to others;

Thank You for Your peerless grace to me and to each one of us;

Thank you for being You, good, holy and loving;

Thank You that You were there, even when I reached the breaking point in coping and I reacted defensively;

Thank You for Your grace and Your forgiveness even when inappropriate drug therapy and my other addictions caused me to act out in ways which to this day make me cringe;

Thank You for graciously putting in my life a few people who modeled Your grace and Your love;

Thank You for being You, good, holy and loving;

Thank You that You were there through my early adult years as I entered the world of typical people, most unprepared to relate to them and to understand a world I did not feel a part of;

Thank You that You were there as I was trying to "pass as normal," and to find my place in a world where for those of us who were differently-wired there was no place;

Thank You that You have a place and a plan for each and every one of us no matter who we are or where we have been;

Thank You for being You, good, holy and loving;

Thank You for meeting me as as I came to realize Your grace to me in that in Your Son Jesus You have made me right with you, as is Your way with all of us who come to believe in and love You;

Thank You that because of what You did in Christ through giving Your life on a cross and returning back to life, You can treat me as though I had lived Your life and You, mine;

Thank You offer Your grace and Your salvation to every person;

Thank You for being You, good, holy and loving;

Thank You that You are with me today today even as stress, interpersonal conflict and perceived or real hurts cause me to easily withdraw;

Thank You for Your grace to me even when past experience causes me to distrust people, even Your people, this very day;

Thank You for what You are making of me and will make of me;

Thank You for being You, good, holy and loving.

Stigma

          There are some things we just don't talk about, sometimes not even with our own families. When these things are mentioned, we tend to get uncomfortable, cringe, sidestep these issues by calling them other names or changing the subject or skirting these issues altogether. It is called stigma and is defined as as possessing a personal trait that society doesn't value, discredits or even despises. Stigma results in  codes of silence that allow secrets to fester and that allow many of out social problems to continue. It results in the stigmatized individuals often keeping silent out of shame and fear and believing lies.
          In the past, cancer used to be stigmatized and was not talked about, but thanks to courageous celebrities and others who began talking about their own battles with various cancers, we talk about it openly and this has opened the door to reaching out to cancer victims/survivors and fundraising and other efforts to prevent/end cancer. Today, we feel free to say the word cancer and to talk about our own experiences with it. Teen pregnany used to carry a horrible stigma, and teen mothers were forced to go into hiding and secretly make adoption plans for their unborn children. Or if they chose to parent their children, as my mother did (she was 16 when she gave birth to me), they faced many hardships and their children often grew up fighting differences in learning, behavior, and other differences and often were tracked into lives of lasting disadvantage. But thanks to efforts to set up pregnancy services to those facing unplanned pregnancies and through laws making adoption more attractive to such people as well as to prospective adoptive parents, such a stigma has much decreased. And the outcomes of people with unplanned pregnancies and their children today are much better than they were for my mom and for me in the 1960s!
          The stigma remains against HIV AIDS, though through awareness and advocacy, society has come to realize the origins of this condition and that it can happen to anyone. But much more needs to be done in this area and with reduced stigma and contined advocacy and awareness, we have much more of a chance to prevent/end HIV AIDS. And much more needs to be done for HIV AIDS prevention worldwide and for many children who have so tragically lost their parents to AIDS. And the stigma contines for epilepsy, even though it has lessoned a little. However, because of the continued stigma and the code of silence in talking about it, advocacy and fundraising efforts are being hindered as well as the attitudes of the public. Efforts continue and advances and scientific discoveries continue to be made. In an earlier blog post, I discussed my experience with epilepsy and stigma; I know many others can tell similar stories. If you want to include obesity (being over 20 perecent overweight) as a medical condition under this discussion, we all know there is definitely a stigma against anyone who is obese in many different ways and in society's attitudes toward the obese person. (No, I do advocate that if people have it in their power to prevent/end obesity, they need to do so, for the sake of their own health, as obesity carries many health risks.)  Often people do "eat themselves" into this condition, but many others are obese for complex reasons, including medication side effects, glandular conditions, especially of the thyroid, certain medical conditions and more. As people come to see that the causes of obesity are often complex, the stigma of obesity should keep decreasing.
          Mental illness definiely carries stigma; its stigma may not be quite as bad as in the past, thanks to the fundraising efforts and advocacy of brave individuals who have come forward to talk about their experiences with different forms of mental illness. But the stigma remains. The "insanity defense" and the high-profile true crime cases which have involved criminals with suspected (or actual) mental illness, have worsened this stigma. Though I realize the need to expose such crime cases and others to society to keep us safe, the media need to present these cases in such a way so as not to prepetuate the myth that most people with mental illnesses are dangers to society. Actually, most people with mental illness are more dangerous to themselves than they are to society; most of them are harmless. It's true that when people with certain mental illnesses don't take their medications or are not diagnosed properly, they as individuals may become dangers to others. But in most cases, most need to be protected from themselves rather than need society protected from them. In my first blog post, I mention my experience with misdiagnosis and being ""treated" with psychiatric medications which actually resulted in my becoming psychotic. I entered the world of those with mental illness for months; it was awful and traumatic!
          Abuse or crime, especially domestic violence in any form and sexual abuse, carry stigma even though many brave survivors and advocates have come out with their stories and this has lessoned the stigma somewhat. Witness how difficult it is for us to bring up the topic of sexual abuse with our children, while we know that we must do this to empower them to protect themselves. There is a wealth of resources for victims/survivors of various forms of abuse or crime; however, more needs to be done and I predict it will keep being done as we see victims/survivors of abuse or crime keep sharing their stories, and advocating. The same holds true for various addictions from substance abuse to eating disorders to harding to other addictions; as people keep coming forward to share their stories, we can talk about these things and people will be empowered to, over time, overcome their addictions.
          There is a stigma attached to neurological conditions like autism, Asperger's Syndrome (and to a lesser degree, to general learning disorders, ADD, ADHD, Tourette's Syndrome, among others). In one of my first blog posts, called "What is Autism?" I have told about my own lifetime experience with this and with being wrongly diagnosed, given treatments I did not need and often being sent to schools that added to my stigma. And I discuss much of the anguish I have suffered, how it has affected my quality of life and its effects on me to this day. I'm thankful that special education and education, in general, as well as scientific discoveries, have much improved since my childhood, teen years and young adulthood. But there remains a hidden, "lost generation" of people with undiagnosed conditions who today languish in jails or prisons, remain unemployed, or exists on the fringes of society, including among the homeless. Some fortunate individuals have been able to get diagnosed properly as adults and have carved out niches for themselves (ex., Liane Willey-Holliday and Stephen Shores) but most are not so blessed. Much more needs to be done to bring healing and hope this this "lost generation" through advocacy and research.
          The stigma of suicide is well-known. Sadly, I have known of pastors who have stated that they would not conduct funerals of families of loved ones who have ended their lives or who will not grant families assurance abut the eternal fates of their loved ones. My position is that God, while He is indeed infinitely holy, is also infinitely loving and merciful and that He does not see things the way that humans do. And the stigma affects families of troops or veterans in the US who have ended their lives, as for many years, they have not even received letters of condolence from the US government.
(Thankfully, the government is addressing this). Thanks survivors telling their own stories and to the advocacy of groups and organizations, the stigma of suicide is decreasing. But it is still there and more needs to be done. 
          The stigma of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transsexual is well-known. Whatever our own fellings about sexual orientation and what religious convictions we have that affect how we see homosexuality, those with different sexual orientations from the norms are human beings with the same rights as any of the rest of us. Even those with religious convictions about God's plan for our sexuality must see that He, in His infinite holiness, sees sins of jugmentalism, self-righteousness, hate, prejudice, bigotry, and other "respectable" sins with the same sadness and displeasue as He does sexual sins, which are well-known and do not need mentioning here. Sin is sin and when we see that God treats us all the same, stigmatizing because of sexual orientation is just as evil as stigmatizing for any other reason. Another reason we must end this stigma is because of the many people who silently struggle with same-sex thoughts even in churches, even against their convictions. The last things such people need is to be lectured or judged! They need safety and support and this will never happen as long as this stigma remains. This issue needs to keep being talked about.
          I can go on and on about stigma, but it is the reason so many of our social problems which we deplore, continue. It is because people "don't talk about these things" in the hope that by ignoring these issues, they soomehow will go away on their own. But there are many wounds that no amount of time will heal. We must talk about them and we must deal with them.