Plenty of times, especially from my older friends and family, I hear, “Things are not like they used to be…” or, “I remember back in the day…things were much simpler…real…”, yadayda..and so forth and so on…
I used to laugh, nod and sympathize…since I wasn’t there, how the heck would I know?, Right?
Now…the here and now…
I’m starting to feel like some of those family and friends I just eluded to. Sometimes you just don’t know why things happen, or definitely the timing of them, but they still happen, nonetheless. And so, I spontaneously sit at my keyboard, my day totally disrupted by the events of the past few hours, thinking out loud as I type this…
Is there loyalty anymore?
More-so, is there loyalty between people?
Work force?
Someone you love?
Someone you respect?
Seldom do I actually “watch” the nightly news. When I do, I see plenty as I’m sure you do. Most of it spun (and that’s why I don’t watch…I READ from many different sources and then try and glean what the hell is ACTUALLY going on….even then, it’s hard to decipher…)…
Things that pertain to what I’m talking about…”so and so company has just laid off 200 workers”…so and so just resigned as promotional secretary of computers for the US Department of Electronics after he allegedly kicked his couch while skyping with his children…he’s very sorry”. There just doesn’t seem to be any loyalty anymore…just a whole lot of people getting thrown under the bus. Economics? I think not.
I think it’s something much more cynical.
Public sentiment runs our conscious. Whether it is on a large scale, ie a presidential public opinion poll, or what your coworkers think about your decision to shave your beard. It really is powerful. “What will they think?” OMG! Scandalous! Indeed.
Get over yourselves!
The truth is there is no damn loyalty. Corporate America has been proving this for at least 20 years…maybe it was actually brought to light by a fictitious (only in name) character in a movie documenting corporate greed called, “Wall Street“. Mr. Gekko, played by Michael Douglas with his hair slicked back and all decked out in his 1000 dollar suits (hey! That was a lot of dough back then!!), smooth talking and swindling people out of their jobs and retirements all the way to the bank. Sound familiar? Get my point? That movie was in 1987!!
I find it interesting when I scratch the surface and find any employee at a company longer than ten years. It seems like 10 is the magic number. It’s like the 7 year itch for a relationship…I guess it takes longer in Corporateville. Except in this case, you get a text saying “Sianara”…no “thank you”…just an escort out of the building. You think that stuff doesn’t happen…LOL…well it does!
Even when when one works for a company for 10 years. What do you get? A phone call? A thank you letter from the bossman? I bet not. Just another day at the office. Wait, maybe you’ll get that call when you hit your 15th…if you’re there that long…remember 10 years?
We all seem to be expendable. Here one day, gone the next.
If you’re a well-known CEO…like the ones that continuously blow up companies then get their golden parachute, take shareholders dividends, smile with no escort out of the building, get into their corporate-paid vehicle, move on to the next company and do the same exact thing, I would say, “nice racket” and “you’re immune to what I’m saying”.
I write this to not right the wrongs but to reveal the ridiculousness of your pining for the good-old days. They are never coming back.
JA
The Amazing Waiters