Option And Choice

 We live in an age of options.

I can go to a restaurant and thanks to the wonders of technology can have one of 65 flavors of soft drink (vanilla being my favorite, of course).  I can watch any number of different media types streamed directly into my home via streaming services (and that does not count the endless variety of things on the InterWeb).  I can order literally anything from almost anywhere, and have it delivered in a week.

But in the course of our rush to optionality - which apparently has become our birthright - we have come to view people in the same sort of way.  It matters because how we treat people is ultimately how we form and manage society.

The reality is that organizations have come to the same conclusion and now view the individual in the same way:  something to be called upon if needed, and ignored if not.

If necessary, of course, organizations will make "allowances".  For example, every year many organizations through a fund raising campaign.  In my past history in churches (mostly mainline Protestant denominations), the older members are the vast majority of the givers.  To make sure that they stay engaged, churches will often try to hold a traditional service, while their time and energy (and new things) are funneled elsewhere.  "We have a traditional church option" they crow (as if the traditions of one's beliefs is a major accomplishment).  And having raised the money, they move that segment to the back burner of importance and move on.

Other organizations are not immune, of course.  Political parties create programs and want money and votes; charitable organizations declare "Founder's Day" to elicit tradition; distant acquaintances in need of a moving buddy or a resource suddenly "befriend" us on social media.  And once the money or votes or support comes in, they immediately revert to type and move on with their agendas, not those of the people that gave their time and money and effort.

In other words - and to the point of the picture - people and organizations often treat those from whom they need something but whom they do not really agree with as optional.

We, in turn, need to start treating them as a choice - and acting accordingly.

The reality - right or wrong - is that people and organizations always treat us exactly how they actually feel about us, whether they realize it or not.

So we get to make a choice - no, we have the power to make a choice.

To simply walk away.

To withdraw support.

To move on to more productive exploits.

Yes, I know this is not "vigorous" enough for some folks.  They demand great actions, Thunder and Lightning, calling down the wrath of the gods.  And perhaps there is a time and place for that.

But often the greatest  damage - or change - to a structure, edifice, organization, or relationship happens slowly over time, as the supports and binding things wear away unrealized, until the moment comes when the thing collapses or ends.  Everyone is usually surprised by this - "How could this happen?" when in point of fact it was happening as people made choices or wind and weather worked their slowly, steady magic.

It is only ever a surprise to those who treated such things optionally.