- it forms a coating of
corrosion-resistant zinc which prevents corrosive substances from reaching
the more delicate metal
- the zinc serves as a sacrificial anode (electrolysis) so that even if the coating is scratched, the exposed steel will still be protected by the remaining zinc.
The term is derived
via French from the name of Italian scientist Luigi Galvani. Originally, galvanization was the
administration of electric shocks, in the 19th century also termed Faradism. This sense is the origin of the meaning of the metaphorical galvanize
into action referring to suddenly stimulating a complacent person or group to
take action.” [Wikipedia]
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * *
At some point in our lives – if we ever hope to make a full
distance run, we need to get “Galvanized”.
The “metal” that’s in us needs to acquire some thick skin
and it could use some sacrificial armor – most of which is provided early on by
parents and by the extended fabric of the gratuitous community-at-large.
But this early armor is friable and evanescent –
“sacrificiality”, by definition, having its innate limitations.
Those who develop effective, internally regenerative galvanization fare
best, overall.
Independently generated galvanization usually happens by the
“hot-dip” method in the wake of a calamitous Defining Moment – a “Moment of
Truth” … a point beyond which we never-so-much-too-soon realize “life will
never be the same again” (as if it ever WAS!)
Unlikely Champions generally get their life-defining Moments
of Truth early. Through imperfections at
birth, abject poverty, severely compromising accidents, or not-so-mere
discrimination – or, in some cases, through catastrophic combinations – such individuals
come face-to-face with the reality that their lives will never follow a
perceived “normal” progression. Yet
astonishing numbers continue to rise well “beyond their station”.
[NOTE: The “galvanization” of Unlikely Champions also serves as a “lightening rod” for
infusions of energy and support from substantially significant others.]
War Cry of the
Unlikely Champion
“I’m not going to make it unless I give it everything I’ve got …
and, even then, it’s not guaranteed …
but I’m willing to die trying!”
A preferred alternative “Galvanization” method is to
cultivate a larger-than-life (as we currently know it) DREAM, MISSION, PURPOSE
… dare we say CRAVING.
What galvanized “The Greatest Generation” (Tom Brokaw) was
the desire – the NEED, in most cases – to “better their own
circumstances”. After the horrendous
nightmares of WWI and the Great Depression, which essentially lasted to and
through WWII, they had little more than desperation to drive them onward and
thin shards of hope to pull them through.
Through the rear-view mirror of the “Roaring 20s”, through multiple experiences
of winning against imponderable odds with more-than-equally imponderable
sacrifice, through the resulting conviction that they had it within themselves
to create a better day, and through the lens of burgeoning opportunity, they saw
a “Promised Land” of possibilities they would not be denied.
“When we were growing up, we didn’t have a steady supply of food on the
table or a reliable roof over our heads, never mind a room of our own or a
television. And five kids had to share
one bike and a bathroom. Now that’s
motivation!”
[Reference lost]
Future generations, who became accustomed to the unprecedented
fruits of such effort being readily and almost universally available – as presumptive
“entitlements” – considered the effort excessive, unreasonable and
unnecessary.
Unfortunately, momentum requires constant reinforcement. Even well-oiled machines need a source of
energy. Steam engines need steam, steam boilers
need fire, and fire requires fuel.
The Second Law
“Any system left to itself will tend toward the state of greatest
disorder.”
We need to restore “order”. Let's get “GALVANIZED”!
“I’m HERE and this is NOW!
What can I do HERE and NOW
to keep NEXT from running off the tracks?”
Quartermaster
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