One of the indulgences that I enjoy occasionally is watching an old movie. I recently caught a favorite of mine; Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca”. The black and white cinematography, the actors that smoked continually and the tense background of a world in conflict all make it impossible to hit the channel button to pass over it. I’m drawn in each time.
The scene playing when I stumbled in was the maitre’de chatting with an older couple leaving war-torn Europe to start a new life in America. The lady told him in a thick accent that she and her husband only spoke English now; so they would feel at home in America.
Although I watched that scene a hundred times, it really came alive to me this time. Maybe because it is so unlike everything we hear today. The couple was excited and felt blessed to be in America soon. They couldn’t wait to get here. The opportunities, freedom and lack of tyrants filled them with anticipation and impatience. How refreshing to get something positive about our country.
Probably what made the contrast so stunning was the book I read recently. It was a college writing book that I picked up at a rummage sale. Some young, broke college student may have paid $75 for it. I picked it up for a buck since the art of writing has changed so dramatically in the last three months since a new edition came out. (By the way, that was sarcasm, and a slam to the book publishers).
I was reading the essay examples and various writing styles that the book used to educate that semester’s crop of young, impressionable minds.
I read about how a lesbian was made to feel in a group of non-lesbians; the way black people couldn’t identify with white co-workers, and a hard-hearted Neanderthal that was some student’s father.
No one is able to be a part of the society at large because they are different. Therefore, they are excluded and outsiders. Oh, the plight of these poor souls who don’t get a standing ovation when they walk into a room full of strangers. The isolation that they must feel when no one rolls a red carpet out because they are gay, black, Latino, single parents or have green eyes, or whatever perceived trait that the world should stop and recognize. My heart bleeds for the pathetic victims of… what? Life? The world at large? Boo Hoo! Welcome to the club! Now do something or get out of the way! Either way, stop the whining, since there have been real victims of real oppression over the years that have overcame huge obstacles.
My confusion comes when you listen to the people of these various groups that claim their life is so radically different from everyone else’s. They say that all they really want is to just exist alongside their neighbors and not be anything than part of the crowd. They want to live life just like everybody else.
But when they speak, the only thing they can talk about is how they’re different and need special handling and compassion.
One can discuss the weather, and somehow their group’s plight will come up. “Well, yes, but rain is really wet when you’re a gay, black Buddhist that speaks Vietnamese.”
Really? You really think that the whole world glides through life without resistance or problems and it is only you that struggles with issues, personalities or authority figures that don’t appreciate you? Please!
Getting back to the European couple, I long for the country that was known as the melting pot. We all arrive and bring along any talents, differences or quirks we have to the party. We may all benefit, suffer or both. But it is what it is. The dynamic is the mindset that we’re all on the same side. You may be a little weird, but you’re on our team! It is what made this nation great. You are part of the reason for our success. It shouldn’t make anyone angry. One doesn’t get that impression when people focus on the things that separate them from everyone else.
Instead of a Diversity Board, how about a Unity Council? Why not be a part of our society before listing everything that separates you from all of us? Try being an American first and then all the shades of nuance as an afterthought.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
The Bully and the Little Guy
One day last week I struck up a conversation with a man I cross paths with occasionally. He works as a security guard and although it’s not a great job, he still keeps a great attitude. He told me how he was negotiating with the Internal Revenue Service since his taxes were in arrears. The agent wanted him to commit to $45 a month until it was paid. The man explained that at this time, it was impossible to pay that much. His wife was underemployed and their budget was stretched to the limit.
The IRS person was incredulous that anyone couldn’t afford such a small amount. The guard repeated his situation to the dull agent and again was diminished as either a liar or a loser.
The ironies in that story makes my head spin. For one, the man speaking with the condescending tone works for an organization famous for flushing billions of dollars down a hole. The Federal Government has never been known for spending money wisely. We have all heard of grants for ridiculous projects like treadmills for shrimp, or studies to understand why people smoke marijuana. I once heard of a $700,000 jet engine part being sold at an auction for $50. The buyer had to figure out what he bought.
The security guard, on the other hand, has every dollar accounted for on paper. He knows how much he can spend on which area and what his limit is. If he overspends in one area, he will come up short in another. If he spends too much on groceries, a utility bill won’t get paid. The resources available dictates how much can be spent. Unlike the Government, he doesn’t have a press to print more notes should he run short. Obviously, it’s a lot less money to manage, but it is being handled with care and frugality.
The money that this man will earn in a year is less than a rounding error for one budget for one department.
Another irony is the government gets its’ money from the citizens. It does nothing for it but stick its’ hand out. The guard must go out and earn every dime of his.
I was reminded of this when the gasoline prices spiked a few years ago. The media was all abuzz about the oil companies gouging the public. Oil companies explore, find, drill, refine and get it to the corner filling station for 5% profit or less per gallon. Conversely, depending on the state, government taxes add on forty to fifty cents per gallon. Every gallon, every day. They get fifty cents a gallon for… what? Letting you put it in your tank? Yes, there is gouging going on, but everyone is looking in the wrong direction.
The other paradox is the fact the drone in the cubicle works for the American public, including the security guard. How many of us would like to deliver our boss a good slap down and get away with it, to brutally speak our mind to some issue but we can’t because we want to come to work tomorrow? That’s what the IRS agent did. He has power behind him that allows him to disrespect the citizen that pays him without concern for recourse.
Ronald Reagan’s understanding of this is why he’s the greatest President of our lifetime. He said: “Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”
The IRS person was incredulous that anyone couldn’t afford such a small amount. The guard repeated his situation to the dull agent and again was diminished as either a liar or a loser.
The ironies in that story makes my head spin. For one, the man speaking with the condescending tone works for an organization famous for flushing billions of dollars down a hole. The Federal Government has never been known for spending money wisely. We have all heard of grants for ridiculous projects like treadmills for shrimp, or studies to understand why people smoke marijuana. I once heard of a $700,000 jet engine part being sold at an auction for $50. The buyer had to figure out what he bought.
The security guard, on the other hand, has every dollar accounted for on paper. He knows how much he can spend on which area and what his limit is. If he overspends in one area, he will come up short in another. If he spends too much on groceries, a utility bill won’t get paid. The resources available dictates how much can be spent. Unlike the Government, he doesn’t have a press to print more notes should he run short. Obviously, it’s a lot less money to manage, but it is being handled with care and frugality.
The money that this man will earn in a year is less than a rounding error for one budget for one department.
Another irony is the government gets its’ money from the citizens. It does nothing for it but stick its’ hand out. The guard must go out and earn every dime of his.
I was reminded of this when the gasoline prices spiked a few years ago. The media was all abuzz about the oil companies gouging the public. Oil companies explore, find, drill, refine and get it to the corner filling station for 5% profit or less per gallon. Conversely, depending on the state, government taxes add on forty to fifty cents per gallon. Every gallon, every day. They get fifty cents a gallon for… what? Letting you put it in your tank? Yes, there is gouging going on, but everyone is looking in the wrong direction.
The other paradox is the fact the drone in the cubicle works for the American public, including the security guard. How many of us would like to deliver our boss a good slap down and get away with it, to brutally speak our mind to some issue but we can’t because we want to come to work tomorrow? That’s what the IRS agent did. He has power behind him that allows him to disrespect the citizen that pays him without concern for recourse.
Ronald Reagan’s understanding of this is why he’s the greatest President of our lifetime. He said: “Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”
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