Policing or Protecting?

Many times as I wrote the paper for my chosen intellectual freedom challenge, I found my self asking "is this protecting some freedom or policing to make sure that my idea of what's right aligns with the patron's?" ACK! None of this can be taken lightly. James LaRue's real-life explanations in the Understanding and Managing Intellectual Freedom Challenges supplemental text have helped me greatly. Until he mentioned the history behind several generations of modern America, I never would've have seen such a profound correlation between my generation (at 30) and my parents' generation (at 60). We value different principles! Those elements MUST be considered when interacting across generational lines. In an era where respect for authority doesn't always start at home, nor does the presence of any institutional class hold water, recognizing and responding to these ideological clashes is more important than ever!

Reading LaRue's timeline of the last generations and the names attributed to them like: Builders, the Silent, Boomers, Generation X and the Millennials helped me contextualize each era name and time period with people I know. Having context and then using those clue s to consider the outcome increases the likelihood that my work in a sticky situation might end well for all parties. Even when I cannot identify with a particular concern, knowing enough history to listen respectfully and see the story in its full can't be a bad thing...