These Are the Good Old Days

We tend to get a bit nostalgic about the "good old days" when people were kinder and more generous in outlook. Three unrelated and yet strongly connected announcements two days ago reminded me that in some ways we have improved over time.

David Onley (above), a television journalist, was named as the next lieutenant governor of the province of Ontario. Because of childhood polio he became dependent on a cane, first of all, then his scooter. His brain works just fine, and he will be a positive example for those who live with disabilities.

The same day we were told that a new Olympic quarter will be minted in Canada featuring a paralympic athlete. Would that have been a possibility, even a decade ago? Then the announcement that the double-amputee athlete, Oscar Pistorius, who runs on carbon fibre lower legs will compete against "abled" sprinters.

In earlier generations there would have been neither the opportunity nor the encouragement for these individuals to excel. Often those living with disabilities were kept in the shadows, an embarassment to their families. Now they consistently prove the stereotypes to be wrong.

Scripture tells us that we are made in God's image and Jesus had a persistent habit of acknowledging those were otherwise invisible in his culture. That image and worthiness doesn't have much to do with outward appearances, and it seems we are slowly learning.

Carly Simon sang a song years ago with a line in the chorus "these are the good old days." Maybe so.