Privileged - but not Biased

New dad Jon (my grandson)with
new born Rylie (my great granddaughter)

Grandpa Jason (my youngest son) with Rylie
just a couple of weeks later

While standing still and completing my ironing this morning, privilege was the thought that rolled around as my iron passed back and forth to smooth any wrinkles. Privilege, in its social context, is not particularly popular! It is often used sarcastically, sardonically and with just a hint of derision. Years ago, my son Jeff (now a Great Uncle) suggested to me that owning a car was a privilege. He did not say that with any note of derision. At the time, I had only been about six months without a vehicle. My faithful old car of over twenty years had been donated to the Kidney Foundation for parts. It really was a sad loss for me, losing this convenient and costly privilege.

Privilege has gained layers over the years. A couple of those layers are economic status and educational status. If anything interferes with one’s ability to achieve a high tax bracket or even one educational degree, people are shunted aside to form a queue - and it best be orderly. However, that is only if we accept that privilege comes with lots of money or formal education. I must admit I give into both of those things on days when I’m certain that there is an insurmountable lack of something or someone in my life.

But there is a greater privilege that transcends any amount of money or any number of degrees of education. It is that of being a new member of a family. That privilege is offered to all of us the day we are born and throughout life. Unfortunately, for some, this is not a blessing that many of us are given. Even if families have started out with most of the right stuff, the vagaries of life may change it all. Being appreciative of a loving but imperfect privilege, grateful for what we have been entered into and never taking it for granted is a challenge. A challenge when we are so focussed on social privilege. A challenge to maintain loving relationships within our families, no matter any unfortunate circumstance. It is, however, my opinion that family, parents, children are the base of anything else - cars, dollars or education with a capital E. This foundational layer of privilege has been stressed to me in this past month by the birth of my Great Granddaughter and the gathering of family around that beautiful soul. 

“Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.”

~ Michael J. Fox