"Get with the program!" "Yer either fer us or agin us." "You're either part of the problem or part of the solution." "Either get on board or get left at the station." "You're either in or out." "If you think you cannot handle the heat, get out of the kitchen."
All of these idiomatic expressions leave you with one thought, don't they? "Get with the program!" Well, what if I do not like the program? People cannot and will not "get with" programs they do not agree with nor cannot buy in to. So, what is the recourse?
I have been associated with a group that, for well over thirty adult years, has a source of refuge, solace, joy, creativity, and motivation. Suddenly, I am finding myself surrounded by autocratic decisions, with seemingly little desire for input from people like me - the "little" people. Perhaps this group is becoming to large, too unwieldy, too unable to connect with us insignificant folk who have neither millions nor influential jobs.
Really, I am trying desperately to "like" the program, so I can "get with it" but until my force-feeding ceases, until I am convinced that my voice, and the voices of others like me, will be heard and not just given a perfunctory nodding acknowledgement followed by blatant dismissal, I will be unable to buy into the program. If voices are not going to be listened to, then give us the courtesy of letting us know right up front.
I am looking for the exit sign from the kitchen.
Ancora disenfranchised imparo
