Society, behavour, responsibility

We are lead to believe that getting through life is all about behaviour, personal responsibility, and endeavour. I happen to think that is also about what you choose not to do as, with the freedom to choose, comes the responsibility to not do those things that harm others or otherwise compromise the promise of the endeavours of others. But this is in a world where ambition, profit, even survival often fight against those other socially responsible ideals and so often show them up to be aspirations but frequently nothing more. For example the call for the Big Society was meant to fire us up to uphold those higher ideals and especially get people going the extra mile in terms of voluntary work or aspiration. Sadly there are examples where that desire is met with contempt by those in charge, who select weasel words of supposed support to mask the very opposite intention. 

One museum I know of got the money they had long campaigned for to improve the place and provide better exhibits and facilities, and all agreed the proposals were necessary and right, so no problem there. As well as the main part of the museum there were private collections which were quirky and not necessarily related to the main theme of the museum, it had long been so. These collections were the property of some of the volunteers and had helped keep the place afloat and attractive to visitors as the main theme struggled financially and logistically as it grew through the years. But the crucial point in terms of the visitor experience was that they enjoyed them and would get angry if they happened to be closed on the day of their visit. But with the new improvements management decided that the private collections had to go as they they were off message and detracted from the modernization of the place and its aspirations to be a 'world class' museum. Space was not an issue as there are plenty of vacant buildings in the grounds, many in decent condition, so the collections could have been kept on and not been in the way of the new works, so the reasons for getting them removed or drastically altered seem too narrow minded, unnecessary, and particularly thoughtless when you think how they had helped keep the place afloat during all the preceding years. As well as the private collection owners affected by the new regime were volunteers who acted as stewards and guides. They were/are the public interface of the place, management is rarely seen. Over the years the volunteers had developed their own styles, around the core story of the place, of communicating a complex story in digestible ways. But the same ruthless and disciplinarian straight jacket was forced on them. The guides were not allowed to use their own style in responding to the audiences. Parts of the history were cut as they were deemed irrelevant to the 'core story.' Consultations were promoted but all they did was not what it said on the label, but act as an opportunity for management to hammer home their expectations and demand adherence or else. So the private collections are leaving and volunteer stewards and guides walking out. Even if the changes were deemed necessary to the collections and volunteers they were forced home with the military style message of "shape up or get out." This to those many of whom had not only kept the place going but rescued and created it in the first place. 

There are a series of points being made here, the duplicity of intent in the name of progress and improvement, how do you complain effectively and moderate/change the situation without doing damage to what you are trying to protect, how do, and should you, respect the commitment and endeavours of others when your plan means they have to go and, even if you handle that well, are you not still sacrificing the past and its proven value on the dubious alter of the uncertain future.

This may seem a bit of a obscure swipe at the hazards of progress and personal responsibility but I have seen it up close and experienced the pain, anger and helplessness that those of good heart face when in such situations.