I recently wrote a short blurb about (American) society’s inability to overcome the problem of identity politics that leaves politics in an us vs. them situation. Continued reading brought this article to my attention not very long after writing the blurb. Appropriately, it is entitled Us vs. them. This article actually covers one of the questions that I always ponder in my mind when reading of or hearing about revolution – what is the society that you wish to create? One of the simplest ideas to communicate is what one doesn’t want – however, the way forward seems to lie in the details of what one does want. Conversations abound right now around the 99% and the 1% and the role that capitalism plays in the inequality we are currently seeing in the United States. However, what does the blueprint for going forward look like? I’m as guilty as the next person (I think) in that I can get caught up in the dissension among groups that leads to severe fragmentation when confronting the coalescence of power that the 1% achieved. Yet, if I were to step away from the “don’t want that” mindset, a simplistic statement of the society I would want to create is dominated by a term introduced at the end of the article – rehumanization. Rehumanization of healthcare so that it is not an option for only the employed, nor a better option for some than others as different companies provide different levels of health insurance coverage. Losing one’s job should not entail losing precious medical coverage. Changing jobs, thus healthcare plans, should not expose a person to variations in coverage. Nor should it be so exorbitantly expensive on one hand, while on the other hand managing to pay for nothing. Health is the foundation to any endeavor. However, for so many, access to healthcare is not a part of everyday reality. Rehumanization of how we view each other in relation to the work we do. I’ve worked in a corporation that had a laid-back approach to hierarchies and in that environment everyone was encouraged to professionally develop themselves for the next level or to increase their current skill level. No executive was out of reach, as evidenced by the CEO of the company having quarterly lunches with the executive assistants. There were times where I considered myself “just” the executive assistant but was still encouraged to pursue activities beyond the scope of my executive assistant duties. Years later, I worked for another corporation that had the strictest hierarchical structure I’ve ever seen. I was reprimanded and chastised because I was going to call a vice president of the company direct because his assistant had not responded to my emails or returned my phone calls regarding an upcoming critical deadline involving her boss. As I listened to the person explain to me why it was “not done” at that company to call a vice president direct, all I could think was how did I manage to slip down THIS rabbit hole? It was as if I were in an alternate reality. Somehow, my being just an executive assistant didn’t allow me the humanity to be able to make a one-minute phone call to ask a business-related question for which I was under increasing pressure to get an answer. Rehumanization of the work environment.