HomeCommentaryGender expression and making your own choice

Gender expression and making your own choice

By: John Hancock

Date:

June 24, 2016

Related stories

Our Sponsors

Flickr photo by J.H. Fearless

By John Hancock

“Happiness is the free play of the instincts,” Will Durant, in his final essays “Fallen Leaves,” at age 95.

In my mind, civilizing conformity, whether political, cultural, or religious, has as its goal the packaging of individuals into neat, predictable, dutiful drones. But the deeper individualism we’re all born with is the real secret to progress, inspiration, and discovery. When the defined society danger of all sorts are suppressed, all feelings are submerged in the soup.

We humans deserve the respect needed to encourage our own choices among the good, bad, and ugly. Take your leap, and take your medicine. Both extremes are required to be fully alive.

John Hancock

John Hancock had a first career as a symphony orchestra musician and was a faculty member at University of Michigan. He has advanced degrees in music performance from Boston University and U.M. Arts management was his way of problem-solving and expanding the public participation. He was orchestra manager of the Toledo Symphony, executive director of the Spokane Symphony and the Pasadena Pops and chief operating officer of the Milwaukee Symphony. Currently he’s an Eagle Scout, a Rotarian, a liberal libertarian of an Iowa small-town self-sufficiency and was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. A childhood Methodist, he now instead pursues ideas of commonality among religions and philosophies. Volunteerism in civic, political and social services work draws him to town from his forest home outside Spokane. Since 2006, his Deep Creek Consulting has aided non-profit organizations in grantwriting and strengthbuilding.

Our Sponsors