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Joining the ranks of retirees - voluntary or otherwise?
© by Mike Keenan 
Have you noticed? People seem to be joining the ranks of us retirees at unprecedented rates. Some prematurely. That's the way it looks.
Dennis Reid, curator and second-highest paid employee of the Art Gallery of Ontario was recently forced into early retirement, causing some intrigue in the Canadian art community. And this guy won the Order of Canada. Bigger news yet was civil servant Munir Sheikh, head of Statistics Canada, who retired/resigned over the census and the fact that Conservatives were deliberately shorting it. A census acquires important information about the population often used in connection with items such as housing, agriculture, business, and traffic. You may recall that the term originated with the Romans who liked to kept track of all adult males fit for military service. The first census in the Old Testament is in the fourth book of Moses called Numbers, chapter 26 verse 1. Because a census was conducted, the book is called the book of Numbers. Contemporary census data is used for research, business marketing and planning. In some countries, census data is used to apportion electoral representation. The Conservative message is that the less we know, the better off we will all be. Or as my parents would say, "Never let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." This equates with the ostrich, head-in-the-sand form of government wherein the top dog, utilizing a unique and privileged sense of scent, tells the pack what to do and when. The pack willingly obliges, knowing its place. Historically, we have been advised by power brokers and reminded constantly that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It's true. Whenever some tin-pot, ruthless dictator such as Pol Pot takes over a country, the first people to be purged are the educated because they might pose a question or two and oppose the wise leader's choices. Which brings me to the next big retirement, that of Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu, now 79. Tutu is one of my heroes. He was apartheid's fierce opponent in South Africa. And in the late 1990s, he headed the amazing "Truth and Reconciliation Commission," where many who were guilty of horrible crimes under apartheid confessed and publicly repented in return for amnesty. This incredible peaceful example of contrition, for all of the world to witness, was truly a remarkable undertaking. Just think of the degree of outrage involved and the latent violence held in check. Tutu recently spelled out his hopes for South Africa. He longs for a country where everyone feels that they matter, even the poor and powerless - a dream inspired by a wave of national unity during the recent World Cup. "More than anything else I long so much that we will become the country that we have it in us to become . . . one where every single South African actually feels they matter. Even when they are poor, they know they matter." "And we do have the capacity. We've shown we have the capacity. We can ensure that we can build decent homes for everybody. But it is more than that. I will go to my grave happily when I see us become what we have it in us to become. Caring. Compassionate. Gentle. Sharing." Amen and please substitute the word "Canada" for South Africa, and we will have something to aim for thanks to this gentle man who opposition leader Helen Zille called the country's "moral compass." "He has become an international icon of fearless integrity, who has taken a stand against power abuse throughout his long public life," she said. "He has paid a high price for it at times, but always triumphed through his blend of faith and self-deprecating humour." Tutu responded in turn by listing a few items that he would like to work on in retirement including, "...maybe somebody might tell me what it is like to be tall." Always the grin; always the self-deprecating sense of humour. Quite a person! Someone retirees can be proud to have join their ranks. |
