Time is of the essence: For all time, In the Nick of Time, Time is on my side, Times Up!
I have found myself musing about idiomatic representations of time, lately. It must be an age thing. With the reversal of the age pyramid and the aging of the population, time and its passage have received new found prominence in the current zeitgeist. Almost as if we are getting a collective wake-up call that Time is Running Out!
Time limits have always been an effective tool in expediting the achievement of personal and social goals. After all, if you have forever, you are under no pressure to behave with any sense of immediacy.
In the United States, change generally happens incrementally. And then we suddenly experience transformative events such as the War on Poverty and Civil Rights legislation, Medicare and Medicaid, an end to the Cold War or enactment of Roe versus Wade. More recent examples can be found in the wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East, the Dobbs decision, and threats to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Yes, the pendulum swings back and forth and there is no guarantee of any particular outcome, other than that we live in a constantly changing political and social environment. In fact, the only thing one can count on is continual change.
It is compounding quantitative changes that result in qualitative differences in our cultural experience, such as what we are experiencing at this point -in -time. You might have noticed that these transformative events are happening at an increasingly faster rate.
You might not think of the Caregiving Crisis as fitting in with other more dramatic transmuting experiences. Caregiving may seem inconsequential to many in the context of threats to our democracy, freedom, even lives. After avidly researching this phenomenon, I have concluded that caregiving has qualitatively transformed more lives than perhaps any other crisis with which we are confronted, including, climate, or gun control or even war – from which many of us are still insulated.
I think about how we can take control of a situation that has taken on a momentum of its own.
In the US, where strategic planning seems to take a back seat to incremental change, based on the relative influence of competing special interests, is there anything we can do to promote a rational agenda — especially in our deeply partisan political and social environment?
I am not an expert in world affairs; and so I will leave world peace and climate control to those who are qualified to render possible solutions. But I know about Health Care and Caregiving. And so, what can we do to facilitate planning in this area?
We can try to find the common ground: Caregiving issues tend to receive bipartisan support
We can take charge of our own destinies by planning strategically for our increased longevity.
Businesses and organizations can provide caregiving support for caregiver-employees
Professionals can coalesce around a mutual health reform agenda.
Time limits have always been an effective tool in expediting the achievement of personal and social goals. After all, if you have forever, you are under no pressure to behave with any sense of immediacy.We can advocate for health and caregiving reform. We have elections. We can vote.
Community groups have been principal in influencing policy change; and, health equity — which should include a focus on the care economy — has always represented an area of popular concern across the usual divisions in our society.
But one thing that is certain is that we need strategic planning to tame the beast of incremental change. Sitting back and letting the powerhouses of Big Medicine, Big Pharma, Big Insurance, continue to exert their undeniable impact, will not produce the kind of results that will serve the common good.
We need to have our voices heard and quickly. We need to take actions to change the ways in which we experience everyday life. That can be achieved by creating caring cultures at work, at school, in religious settings, finding new ways of doing things that support our personal and professional interests. When we change the way “we do business” or perform our service, we “change” our institutions. We do not have to wait for the legislators to act. Or for proprietary interests to impose their collective will on us.
I am fortunate to have teamed up with outstanding individuals, who are proactively involved in facilitating a better aging experience for caregivers and care recipients alike. These caring professionals and business people are referenced on this website and I urge you to check them out.
I am growing older along with my Baby Boom age group. We never expected to get older. But we can use our advancing age to motivate us to work faster to achieve our goals. Time limits are good. We could wait for incrementalism to do its thing. In the past, we had all the time in the world. Not sure the world can any longer wait for change to happen by degrees. All of us need to push the envelope, test the limits, take the initiative. But, NOT take our time!
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