Islamophobia – Defined

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Frank SAPAA

This may end up being a wrong turn at Albuquerque but I see that Mississauga-Erin Mills Liberal MP Iqra Khalid is proposing a private members bill M-103 to address ‘Islamophobia’. I thought I would contribute to the democratic process by providing some definitions and examples of what Islamophobia should mean.

A Little Constitutional Reminder

The Canadian constitution reads as follows: 2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:

(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
(d) freedom of association.

As a result, under the constitution, the following statements are equally protected:

The Pope is God’s Vicar here on earth.
Mohamed is God (Allah’s) last prophet.
Joseph Smith received golden plates from God.
Ones actions should be mindful of Karma.
All the above is superstitious nonsense not worthy of a rational person.

Superstitious Nonsense & the Belief instinct

To number five above, the likes of Richard Dawkins would take this as their belief protected by the constitution. Where atheists can fall down is not recognizing the enormous evolutionary advantage religion has given humanity in being a successful species, the importance of the ‘Belief Instinct‘.

Religion has allowed us to create larger organizational units by applying the mortar of group cohesion across individuals. This has not been without its costs. The Crusades, the oppression of women under Sharia Law or polygamy under early Mormonism are all examples where religion has gone wrong. While it is easy to spin and wish to re-write the past, it is more important to recognize the following:

Religion is a fundamental instinct of humanity and will manifest itself with or without a formal outlet.
Religion, like other primal urges, needs to be directed to the betterment of society.
Religion must evolve as societies do so, while there are some universal truths, such as though shall not kill, there is no universal or ‘right’ religion.
Without religious evolution, humanity risks reaping the worst from the belief instinct while losing the benefits it can provide.
Canada can be a guiding light of helping individuals, communities and religion evolve to accommodate new social and cultural norms.

A Suggested Addendum to the Private Member’s Bill

To help Ms. Khalid to navigate the tricky waters of religion, I would suggest the following revision to private member’s bill M-103 (written in non-legal speak):

Whereas the people of Canada:

hold core values, such as the freedom of religion, above all others,
recognize the role of faith and the belief instinct in personal matters and social cohesion,
recognize the value religion has conveyed and inflicted on humanity,
recognize the values of equality of all people and equality of all before a common law.

Whereas the people of Canada acknowledge the Arabic word Islam to mean ‘acceptance’ and therefore Islamophobia means an irrational fear of acceptance. We the people thus condemn Islamophobia which is defined as any religion or systematic or personal belief system that:

Seeks to enrich individuals who hold position of religious-authority through corruption, personal gain of power or actions contrary to the law or Canadian norms;
Has tenants and implicit/explicit actions that are contrary to the law and fabric of historical Canadian values including those of justice, freedom of religion, equality, personal responsibility and reasonable inclusion of people of all faiths and perspectives;
Seeks to do harm to Canadian society through either direct or indirect action including encouraging actions contrary to the laws of good government;
Seeks to forcibly convert or impose its views on individuals who chosen to have alternative views including a non (atheist) view of religion; and
Fails to evolve with the changing nature of society, for example the changing role of personal beliefs in contrast with the original tenants of the religion.

To reduce Islamophobia, we ask all Canadians to not only look into their respective minds and souls but to also reach out to others who do not share their beliefs and state:

‘I don’t believe in your God or religious view-point, but first and foremost I will do everything in my power here on earth to protect your right to hold your beliefs as a Canadian‘.

Acceptance-philia

In a small way hopefully the above can lead to Islamophilia or a love of acceptance. Acceptance that religion is a human instinct to be managed, that religion must evolve to meet cultural changes. Ultimately our time here on earth is short – let’s all make the best of it before we meet our respective maker.

Monetizing Being a Public Servant

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Frank SAPAA

Early season snow storms are dangerous things. Not only for driving but also when you take a long walk and your brain slips into thought experiments. For example, when you are walking along and your brain says – hey you could potentially retire in a few years and do something outside the public service where you currently work.

In other words the snow and my brain conspired to ponder the question, ‘How do you monetize your career as a public servant?’.

Monetizing the Problem

First a definition, what is monetization? There are a swack of definitions but they all generally boil down to trying to convert something to ready cash. The following extract from Wikipedia’s definition provides a good example:

… attempting to make money on goods or services that were previously unprofitable or had been considered to have the potential to earn profits.

So, what exactly are we monetizing in this context? How to have a career post public service that commands a similar level of pay, respect and respect. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but public servants have a (not)/justifiable reputation of being unemployable post government.

The Obvious Methods

So, after a career of say 25, 30 or more years, how do you convert that experience into a second career or even part-time income? The obvious answers that came to me include:

Maximize a Public Sector Pension and/or Semi-Retirement
Gain Unique Experience of Value to Someone
Retire from a Senior Position that has Cache and Contacts
Keep Your Toe in the Real World

Maximize a Public Sector Pension and/or Semi-Retirement

This is the most obvious method is that you enjoy the government backed annuity otherwise known as a public sector pension. Sure, maybe you will do some greeting at Wal-Mart or try to convert a hobby into a paying proposition – but generally you don’t monetize the experience.

There is of course a cliché here that public servants have gold-plated pensions and to certain extent it is true (to learn more about this subject, see the post-conference notes on public sector retirement by the FMI). The other side of this cliché of course is the lack of stock options, bonus and other non-monetary factors related to be a public servant. Nevertheless, a thirty-five year pension is a pretty sweet bit of monetization!

Gain Unique Experience of Value to Someone

The fellow who spent his career as a spot-mountain-frog-lip-taster-technician may discover that he has a very unique skill set. Governments do things that business and organizations don’t so this is definitely a consideration for monetization – assuming there is a market for the specialization – and there is the rub. No other organization may want to pay for (thus monetize) frog-lip-tasting. However there are some less obvious examples of converting experience into post-retirement careers.

If you work in an administrative function, likely the experience can be monetized – to a point. A human resource consultant, accounting clerk or procurement specialist can find (if they want) post-retirement employment. Unfortunately, the more senior the public sector experience the less likely of making a lateral leap. As an accountant, I have managed to avoid dealing with taxes, shareholder accounting and the like because I have focused on budgets, systems and governance. As a result, most controller roles are closed to me because I lack this basic for-profit experience. The same examples can be made for other administrative functions in human resources, procurement, etc.

Retire from a Senior Position that has Cache

Retiring as a Deputy Minister or City Manager may open up future opportunities. Think of the senior politicians, for example, who have gone back into law firms or think tanks. Alas often the value you can bring to an organization are the contacts and systems knowledge of the recently departed government. This knowledge is perishable in the extreme, particularly if there is a subsequent change in government or significant re-organization.

Mandatory cooling off periods may further diminish the relative value of recent experience if one needs to wait six to twenty-four months before cashing in. Nevertheless, if you got to be a senior civil servant, you probably have skills of value beyond a government context.

Keep Your Toe in the Real World

One method of ensuring the ability to work in the real world post public service is to not really ever leave it. A toe in may range from owning real estate property, working part-time (e.g. doing taxes if you are an accountant) or teaching courses. In this way you have non-government experience to point to. A further upside is having additional income of doing some or all of these things. A downside is working more than one job during your career.

Monetization May Mean More than Money

If you are willing to stretch the definition of monetization, there is more to life than a second (third, fourth or fifth) career. You can also use your experience in a volunteer capacity helping our or other societies. For example Canadian Executive Services Overseas takes retired executives and places them globally and here at home (e.g helping first nation communities). Churches, non-profit boards and community leagues are other potential beneficiaries of a life time in the service of the public.

Not all of these will pay the bills if one’s pension is not fully maximized. However if money is not a primary driver (hey, you did take a government job after all), then you may be paid in post-retirement experiences!

Thank you snow storm for helping me clear my thoughts whilst walking… now back to work because I am not quite at the point of being able to start monetizing….

Guts, Gory and the Organization

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Frank SAPAA

Giulia Enders has written a delightful book on our Guts. If the title was not sufficient the sub-title describes it all: Gut: The Inside Story of Our Bodys Most Underrated Organ.

Gut is a good read for anyone who digests food (which pretty much covers everyone living) and is a potential lesson for organizations that there is more complexity in a system then we can ever imagine.

Have Some Guts, Read Gut

Gut is a pretty easy read. Enders presents the physiology of the Gut in a very accessible manner and explains the key functions of the major organs (e.g. stomach, small/large intestines, liver, etc.). Originally published in German, the English translation has great cheek and humour. In fact, Gut would make an excellent text-book for junior or senior high school biology given its easy accessibility.

As a microbiologist, Enders delves into the other organ of our body, the microbiota of the gut. Based on current research, Enders makes the case that the dividing line between where our cells start and bacteria and other germs end is not as clear cut as we may think. For example:

Children born via Caesarean section are not endowed with the bugs found within their mothers’ birth canal. As a result they must source their bugs from the environment and these may not be the most beneficial. These children take months or years to develop a healthy gut microbiota. They are also at a risk of developing asthma or allergies.
Breast feeding has a similar impact on allergies and the like. Mothers milk not only feeds the baby but also contains nutrients galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) to feed the child’s gut.
The gut’s bacteria helps to train our immune system to not only recognize threats but to also not over-react to them. As a result, this reduces allergies, asthma and potentially juvenile diabetes.
We periodically wipe out all or portions of our microbiota through the use of antibiotics, poor diet and stress. When the good bugs depart their spots can be replaced by the less than desirable who then can be difficult to displace.
The appendix is not a slacker who does not realize its time has passed. Current research indicates that the appendix is a store house of good bacteria that can repopulate the gut if the intestines have been flushed due to diarrhea.

Organization’s Need Guts

Ender has not only written a very accessible book that discusses such delicate matters as what our poop should look like, she has reminded us that perceptions of systems are based on best available information at a point in time. For the gut, bacteria are necessary to not only break down food but to also stress the immune system so it does not over or under react. Structures such as appendices may appear useless but turn out to be vital to our long term health.

The gut can be used as an analog for organizations. Poop jokes aside, a healthy organization is more complex and mysterious then it first appears. While we may be inclined to oversimplify them, organizations have interactions and systems that may not be immediately apparent.

Elevators are Like Guts – They Mix and Separate

Here is one small example: riding elevators. In my building a new system has replaced the traditional ‘up’ button with destination buttons. Rather then jumping on the first elevator going up, you select your floor and proceed to that lift going exactly to that floor plus perhaps a few floors above and below yours.

This system has dramatically improved the speed by which people are carried to their floors – and it has cut the accidental and random interactions of people. Previously who you got on with was chance. As a result, there was an opportunity to interact with a variety of people who you may only see intermittently. Now the elevator ride is much more homogenous – you ride with people from one floor above or below.

More efficient, yes – beneficial to the organization – not necessarily. In as much as good bacteria trains our immune system and a diverse flora is better for us, random interactions and non-sterile organizational mixing is also of value. Good organizations need slight agitation, a diverse culture and some randomness to be effective and healthy – just like a good gut. In addition, organizations should recognize that individuals who may not seem to be part of a main structures may in fact have a disproportionate impact on the health of the culture. Introducing the occasional disruptive employees/contractors, the mail room clerk who is a clearing house of information across many floors or a cafeteria that promotes chance encounters vertically and horizontally across the organization.

Embrace your Internal and Organizational Micro-biota

The gut is more complex than we ever imagined and has a stronger influence well beyond converting food to energy and nutrition. In the same way, organizations are more complex then we can imagine and elements we may think of being without use can turn out to be instrumental to its health. Enjoy Enders’ gut and good luck with your biotas – both the micro and organizational varieties.