Recently it was the centennial of women being able to vote. It is fascinating to follow the jerky history of inclusivity across the world when making decisions. In fits and starts, the circle of leadership has contracted and expanded across such illusive divides as gender and race, economic status and literacy.

 

There was a West Wing episode in which a young boy challenged the age for voting. He asserted, rather concisely, that while young people are hugely impacted by laws such as the national debt and climate change, they have no say. The argument caught Toby's consideration, which is noteworthy given the man's allergy to children. Toby went so far as to steer the president to hear the boy's questions. 

 

Thirty two years ago I took a class on infant massage, and one of the things the instructor had us do was to ask our baby's permission to touch her. It was tender, to look into my daughter's face and treat her with respect. She never refused me, but it was a significant moment in my journey of crafting safe boundaries. I still remember it, from a time in my life when I had four young children and could barely get meals on the table. 

 

A hundred years. One can hope that such an expanse of time would afford us great leaps of progress. What will our circumstance be like in 2120?