Embracing change
After living in many other cities such as Chicago, Washington, D.C., Juneau, Princeton, and most recently in the charming town of Dunedin, Florida, I have now returned to my adopted home of Wheeling.
I had been following some of the changes which had been happening in Wheeling since I left two years ago: Preparation for the offices of The Health Plan, apartments in the old Stone building, reclaiming the Boury building and the ongoing revival of the Center Market area. I had also heard about the new mayor and many new city council members. All of these changes joined the gems of Wheeling such as the Wheeling Symphony, the amazing number of talented artists, and the foresight and energy of such individuals as Susan and Bill Hogan. There are also the new indoor tennis courts at Wheeling Park and the ongoing beauty and many attractions of Oglebay.
Further, I noted, with much relief, that finally the Human Rights Commission seems to have gotten more determined to push the city to add the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) part of the community to the protected group of people. I was, at first, discouraged to hear that the mayor and some council members are promising to move slowly with the wording of such a change. My first impulse was to say, “Really. What is there to study? Many cities have had such inclusive protection in place for many years. They have worked out the wording. Goggle some of them and just copy what has proven to work legally and morally. This is not difficult in 2016. Wheeling does not have to wait on the state to acknowledge that the LGTBT community is a significant part of the economic and creative heart of the city. Not only is it the right thing to do, one cannot claim to want economic progress while passively endorsing discrimination. Do you people really not know that the LGBT community is not going to continue to contribute their money and talent to the community without an open declaration that the city of Wheeling is committed to being inclusive? Yes, we realize that the public stance against racism has not always proven effective, but that may be because it often did not feel as if the heart of the city “leaders’ was behind this commitment. Let’s get with it Wheeling. Either we are inclusive or we are not.”
I did not say that. I am well aware that many of us, even when we know change has to come, are fearful of change. We know that change often forces us to look at many parts of ourselves and not just the single issue being currently addressed. The cocoons in which we try to live may be an illusion, but it feels safer to hold on to them than it does to open to the possibility that much of what we considered to be sacred truths are not, after all, sacred. Whether in the field of physics, astronomy, medicine religion or business, we are increasingly invited to move outside our comfort zone. While we may applaud some changes such as the exciting research into treatment for blindness and other chronic diseases we thought to be incurable or untreatable, we also know that opening those possibilities opens up other possibilities. Nothing is what it seemed to be. It does not matter that it was the Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus who reminded us that “You cannot step into the same river twice.” and that change is inevitable. In the case of cities, change is either in the direction of furthering death or opening to a new concept of village. Like it or not, all around the world humans are discovering or rediscovering an old truth: Our lives are much improved when we live as a village celebrating our differences while embracing our ability to take care of each other.
We must help to soothe the pain of change while moving forward. Formally acknowledging that Wheeling cannot move forward without the support and participation of the LGBT community, women, people of color, people of all religious beliefs, people of all ages, all abilities and all degrees of mental health is a moral and economic imperative.
written October 9, 2016
After living in many other cities such as Chicago, Washington, D.C., Juneau, Princeton, and most recently in the charming town of Dunedin, Florida, I have now returned to my adopted home of Wheeling.
I had been following some of the changes which had been happening in Wheeling since I left two years ago: Preparation for the offices of The Health Plan, apartments in the old Stone building, reclaiming the Boury building and the ongoing revival of the Center Market area. I had also heard about the new mayor and many new city council members. All of these changes joined the gems of Wheeling such as the Wheeling Symphony, the amazing number of talented artists, and the foresight and energy of such individuals as Susan and Bill Hogan. There are also the new indoor tennis courts at Wheeling Park and the ongoing beauty and many attractions of Oglebay.
Further, I noted, with much relief, that finally the Human Rights Commission seems to have gotten more determined to push the city to add the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) part of the community to the protected group of people. I was, at first, discouraged to hear that the mayor and some council members are promising to move slowly with the wording of such a change. My first impulse was to say, “Really. What is there to study? Many cities have had such inclusive protection in place for many years. They have worked out the wording. Goggle some of them and just copy what has proven to work legally and morally. This is not difficult in 2016. Wheeling does not have to wait on the state to acknowledge that the LGTBT community is a significant part of the economic and creative heart of the city. Not only is it the right thing to do, one cannot claim to want economic progress while passively endorsing discrimination. Do you people really not know that the LGBT community is not going to continue to contribute their money and talent to the community without an open declaration that the city of Wheeling is committed to being inclusive? Yes, we realize that the public stance against racism has not always proven effective, but that may be because it often did not feel as if the heart of the city “leaders’ was behind this commitment. Let’s get with it Wheeling. Either we are inclusive or we are not.”
I did not say that. I am well aware that many of us, even when we know change has to come, are fearful of change. We know that change often forces us to look at many parts of ourselves and not just the single issue being currently addressed. The cocoons in which we try to live may be an illusion, but it feels safer to hold on to them than it does to open to the possibility that much of what we considered to be sacred truths are not, after all, sacred. Whether in the field of physics, astronomy, medicine religion or business, we are increasingly invited to move outside our comfort zone. While we may applaud some changes such as the exciting research into treatment for blindness and other chronic diseases we thought to be incurable or untreatable, we also know that opening those possibilities opens up other possibilities. Nothing is what it seemed to be. It does not matter that it was the Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus who reminded us that “You cannot step into the same river twice.” and that change is inevitable. In the case of cities, change is either in the direction of furthering death or opening to a new concept of village. Like it or not, all around the world humans are discovering or rediscovering an old truth: Our lives are much improved when we live as a village celebrating our differences while embracing our ability to take care of each other.
We must help to soothe the pain of change while moving forward. Formally acknowledging that Wheeling cannot move forward without the support and participation of the LGBT community, women, people of color, people of all religious beliefs, people of all ages, all abilities and all degrees of mental health is a moral and economic imperative.
written October 9, 2016
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