Outrage has finally set in.
I am appalled by the number of people who really don't want a job. I'm not talking about people who turn down the job offer -- I'm talking about people who get hired, start the job, and then behave with such arrogance and laziness that they cannot remain employed.
In short, people who will not accept responsibility for their own actions.
Some of the best advice ever given to the people of my generation was "keep your head down and your mouth shut." I've done that with every new job I ever had, coupled with working as hard as I could, doing what I was asked to do and then going beyond that. Gradually I'd earn the trust of the employer and the right to begin speaking my mind, gaining respect through my hard work and eagerness to oblige.
The new business that my husband I started is finding employees who can (technically) drive a truck like nobody's business but who can't manage any other aspect of a job -- basic stuff like showing up on time, reporting hours honestly and accurately, cleaning up the equipment, staying on the job for the full shift, not squandering resources, not doing personal stuff on company time, not making racist or belligerent remarks to other employees. It's incredible to me that there are this many people in the world who seemingly do not know how to work hard or how to get along in a collegial and respectful way.
No wonder the jobless rate is so freakin' high!
I believe there are people in this world who deserve a break. I believe there really are those who deserve a helping hand. But if you come to work, screw up, and get yourself fired -- I believe any government assistance you might be thinking of applying for should be non-existent, bucko. No welfare. No food stamps. You should live with the consequences of your actions. And while you're at it, pull yourself up by your bootstraps and teach yourself how to hold down a job.
I don't know where to lay the blame for this awful development in our culture. The mass media for promoting narcissism in our culture, or the education system that dumbs down the curriculum and refuses to fail those students who pull an "F." What about the parents who identify so strongly with their children that they can't bear for their child to learn consequences, instead rushing in to defend their child's idiocy and poor choices at every turn.
If I got into trouble at school or anywhere else, I was in even more trouble at home. Depend on it. I was held accountable and I learned consequences. My parents did not bail me out.
What has happened to this world?
And how will we ever get it back? How can we ever look forward again to a robust nation, a sense of community, a sense of responsibility for ourselves AND each other?
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.
I think I hear Nero fiddling now ....
- Catherine
