Audio Tidbits

Are you prejudiced? It won’t be surprising if you quickly say that you are not. But what is prejudice? It is Being biased or having a belief or attitude formed beforehand. It is to pre-judge.

 

I think the reality is that we are all prejudiced about some things and about some people. Actually I doubt if it is possible to grow up in a particular society at a particular time without developing prejudices about some people or groups of people in particular. We have opinions about people in our family, in our community, people in proximity to us. In turn we have opinions about people outside of our direct experience. The truth is that it would be very difficult if not impossible to function without these prejudices. Were it not for these pre-formed opinions about people, we would have to start from scratch every time we interact with someone new.

 

The problem comes in when we have negative or pejorative opinions of and attitudes toward groups of people simply because of their membership in a group different than ours. This is especially true when the individuals have no real choice about membership in the group. They are members of group X and we have subconsciously made prejudicial judgments about group X.

 

I suspect our list of personal prejudices would be fairly long for most of us. Having those prejudices is not all that much of an issue. They come with life and living. The issue is keeping the prejudices, not examining them, not making rational decisions about whether or not to maintain the prejudices we have naturally come to have.

 

In this episode of the Audio Tidbits Podcast, I explore the elements of prejudice and suggest some strategies we can implement to minimize how much they control our thinking, our behavior, our interactions with other people. With time and effort we can move away from judging people more or less exclusively based on which group they belong to and mostly on what they do, what they believe, how they relate to and interact with the rest of us.

In this episode of the Audio Tidbits Podcast, Peter shares his perspective on character and virtue. Our choice boils down to a commitment to doing right or to doing wrong. As Peter concludes, when you get down to it, it’s not much of a choice. The key is consistently sticking to our choice. Please listen and see if you come to the same conclusion. I think you will.

Experience is what you suddenly have at the moment you understand that what you just did probably was not your best choice. Yes indeed. Nothing succeeds like experience. If you are saying, “Ain’t it the truth,” you will likely enjoy this episode of the Audio Tidbits Podcast. If you don’t know what all the fuss is about, you should not go another day without listening to the message in this episode and taking it to heart.

I think I can so I will. There is not much more to say about this episode of the Audio Tidbits Podcast. Please listen and decide whether you can too.

“Children are our most important resource.” I picked up a book about #ChildWelfare practice today that started with this interesting assertion. It was simply presented as a given, with no further justification or explanation. That is not surprising since I have heard it so many times that it is nearly a cliché.

 

I would like to be able to say that I questioned the assertion the first time I heard it but unfortunately I did not. It sounded right so I took it for granted that it was right. For some reason I don’t understand, the concept struck me as very odd when I read it today. Instead of glossing over the assertion and getting to the real content of the book, I was stuck. I could not get past the idea that children are a resource and especially the notion that they are our most important resource.

 

In this episode of the Audio Tidbits Podcast, I explore this generally held belief and question whether it is true. Spoiler: I don’t think it is. Please listen and see what you think.

This episode focuses on child welfare practice and is a deviation from the usual content of the Audio Tidbits Podcast. I was recently discussing child protection practice with some friends who are still practicing. Although I have not practiced for a few years, I was struck by their commitment to family centered practice.

 

When I retired from practice, I was convinced that a child centered model best served the interest of abused and neglected children. Even then that was a minority point of view. In the conversation with my friends, their perspective was still not persuasive for me.

 

I have thus retrieved a paper I wrote about ten years ago and am sharing it here. As I reconsider the paper, I continue to think that all things considered, a child centered approach to protecting abused and neglected children is still preferable to the family centered model as I understand it.

 

If you find this type of discussion interesting, I leave it to you to come to your own conclusion. If it is not of interest to you, be assured that the next episode of the Audio Tidbits Podcast will return to the type of content you have come to enjoy.

The podcast team has an interesting take on gripes, arrogance and the wisdom of Dr. Seuss and others. They also touch on not getting too big for your britches and on the value of the suggestions of others who would have you different than you are. Please listen to the podcast and see if you agree. Also, please consider subscribing to The Audio Tidbits Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

I have told you before about Denny, the world’s 16th greatest guide dog. Well, Denny was with me for over ten years but the day finally came for him to retire. I won’t go into the details but Denny’s health had gotten to the point where being a guide dog was no longer possible.

 

Yes, it was very sad. He was unable to work anymore but his heart was still very much up to doing what he had done for over a decade. On his last day, he came to have his harness put on and so wanted to go with me again. It was not to happen but his spirit was ever willing.

 

Now I have Oliver. He is a twenty month old black lab and is eager to be my guide dog. We spent two weeks training together at Pilot Dogs after his six months of guide dog training. The two weeks were for the two of us to begin to bond and get used to working together. Oliver is home now and learning about his new environment and responsibilities. So far, things are going quite well.

 

To remember Denny and the five other Pilot dogs that came before Oliver, I am re-posting a podcast about my first six Pilot dogs. It will be a while before I am ready to update the podcast to include Oliver but his day in that spotlight is out there on the far horizon. He is Pilot dog seven for me and I expect we will have as satisfying a journey as with each of his six predecessors.

 

For now, join me in remembering Dr. Pepper, Fellow, Blacky, Ben, Quincy, and Professor Denny. Oliver has big paws to follow but is, I am sure, totally up to the challenge.

Are you a thinker? It seems that most of us are not. As it turns out, if we were to actually think twice a month, we would move into the thinker elite.

 

The Audio Tidbits Podcast team shares their perspective on thinking, what it means to think, and why thinking is a good thing. What is the meaning of life, how do we tell right from wrong, and where is the value in a sunny day? These and more think-worthy considerations are in the podcast for us. Please listen and give it a good think.

This is a special episode for those of you who like to think deep thoughts. Please listen to see if the podcasting team catches your attention and interest. Finding a few minutes for a deep thought or two can't be a bad thing. The episode includes a cameo deep thought from Marissa Crow. That is reason enough to listen.