Initial thoughts I penned December 7, 2017. They still apply.

“Ideally, the genesis of an international Rule of Law “development” project should entail the meetings of the minds between the donor and the beneficiary.  Some of us like to say that there has to be “buy-in” from the host government as well as the individual host organizations that might be involved in the project.  This would show the cooperative efforts of all concerned towards what could be the key goals of the mission:  strengthening of the rule of law and the fostering of  accountability and transparency.  For example, a specific justice sector program’s mission might be to build the capacity of the host country’s criminal justice sector institutions through improving the ability of their professional staff to deliver fair and effective justice services to citizens.  Sometimes, the initial focus is to help a country build its police and prosecutorial capacity through formal training programs of academic instruction.

What I have discovered is that what the donor organization (which may include the program implementer as well) wants to see happen may not necessarily be best suited to the way the project should be carried out.  One does not become an international development practitioner overnight.  While an expatriate technical advisor may have stellar credentials from his or her prosecutorial days in their particular state or country, they may have never lived in a different environment other than their own.  This can lead to disastrous results because there is a lack of understanding of, and maybe a lack of empathy for, the recipient of the technical advice.

A long time ago, I witnessed a foreign “expert” deliver a lecture on American jurisprudence and individual rights to an academic group in a socialist country.  The audience was barely curious and did not seem to engage.  What the “expert” did not realize was the group’s lack of understanding of what he believed were common concepts, until someone asked “what is the right to privacy?”  Once it became obvious that there had been such a gulf between the lecturer and the trainees, the “expert” was able to correct the situation and begin to provide examples that the local nationals could finally relate to!

I was at the very beginning of my professional “Rule of Law” work, and it was a fine lesson for me too:  borrowing from the Spaniards, there are many “Ruperto el Experto” types, but few that meet the “experto crede Ruperto”  standard.”

I just came across a little blurb I had written 10 years ago, and had to laugh. First of all, how time flies! I probably was staring at a bunch of pot pourri, thinking “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Our Lives.” Also, I was probably contemplating hurling that pot pourri into the compost heap of oblivion, which I eventually did, when I moved to Maine!

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ON GETTING OLD

Between the ages of 20 and 48, we feel we can do anything, but the reality is that around 48 those under that age see us as “old”.

The Aging Rose (by me).

Aging is like a rose:
A calyx embraced by its sepals
A bud in a vase
An emerging corolla
A blossom
A bursting perianth…
Should it be nipped in the bloom,
A desiccated flower with all its beauty, color, and fragrance suspended in time.

Come to think of it, some would consider the desiccated blossoms dust collectors… (I have many of those!).

I love learning something new every day… and I do. Some of my best teachers are my children and the young people I work with.

When I was a kid growing up, my Mother always had a saying : “He who laughs last laughs best”. As time has passed me by, I realize how true it is. Though, it does take some time for this proverb to kick in. Or, as my Mother also said… “The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind …”.

Little did I know that “He who laughs last laughs best” came from the French author, Florian, and his fables (“Rira bien qui rira le dernier”). One of my anthropomorphising heros. He almost lost his head to the guillotine in 1793.

I just came across Florian’s fable about a lawsuit between 2 foxes. Although I think the bad reputation lawyers have nowadays is unfair, I recognize that there are some who give us all a bad name…not because they defend their clients’ claims zealously (as they should), but because they sometimes twist the truth worse than a pretzel.

So, for all those who care about lawyers and lawsuits, here is Florian in all his wisdom:

THE LAWSUIT BETWEEN TWO FOXES

Oh how I hate that pedant art, So captious and so very smart, Which of a thing as clear as light, Makes all obscure and dark as night; Makes error right, and proves to you That truth itself must be untrue!

Th’ invention of this art belongs To folks once skill’d in all such wrongs, The subtle Greeks, who may they get All the reward for’t due them yet!

This art an old fox once profess’d Its perfect master stood confess’d. He kept a school to teach the way, And took fat pullets for his pay. One of his pupils aim’d to be A lawyer of the first degree, And for tuition did agree Of case first gain’d to give the fee. In legal form the two compact; Sign’d, seal’d, deliver’d is the act. But when the course of study’s done, The pupil for injunction sues; Declares he owes his master none Of all the pullets claim’d for dues. The leopard, learned in the laws, Presides as judge to hear the cause. “May’t please the court,” the pupil cried, “If my case’s gain’d, I need not pay; For so your honor will decide; And we the sentence must obey. And if I lose, why, nothing’s due, For the conditions plainly say, ‘Tis only if I win I pay. Such is the law I apprehend; I would not, truly, wrong my friend.”

“Nay, nay, not so,” the master said, “The law is clear upon that head; For should the case against you go, Then you should pay the debt you owe. And if you win, why, then indeed You must pay up, as you agreed.”

Here rested counsel its defense. The leopard sat in mute suspense; And by the workings of his face He seem’d confounded with the case. But finally he silence broke, And thus his sentence briefly spoke: “In this sharp case the court must rule The master no more keeps his school; And to the pupil this award, From future practice he’s debar’d.”