I find it interesting, we are currently having people being arrested in New York and Boston for getting in the way of traffic in the “Occupy Wall Street” or what is also being called the “Days of Rage”.
I look at this with great interest because I have never seen this work out in anyone’s favor in the long run.
I find it interesting because it is an attempt to turn over a system that works quite well for those who want to work with in the system. But for those that feel that they should just get things…. BECAUSE, I have never understood that type of thinking and I probably, never will.
Whenever you try to cause others to change, you end up finding yourself very disappointed, especially if you hang your happiness on the other person changing.
Unions do it, political activists do it, groups like Code Pink do it.
I just don’t get it…
What do you deserve?
What do I deserve?
What does anyone deserve?
To address this, let’s start with the definition of deserve.
The Merriam-Webster says “to be worthy of”.
The origin of the word comes the Latin word, deservire, which means “to serve”.
In what way are the people at these rallies, doing to serve others. And is anyone willing to pay for the service that they are providing. It seems to me like all they are doing is causing unnecessary chaos.
The unions have demanded higher wages for the employees in the union, but how are these companies doing now? It seems to me that GM and Chrysler has had to get bailouts from the government to stay in business. It doesn’t seem to me to have been the right move.
Not only do they negotiate the wages their members receive, they also limit what their members can receive. It appears the only people who benefit from any of this are the union leadership, who will sell their members down the river when it suits them.
It is also apparent to me that a lot of the union jobs have been shipped south of the border and overseas. I am not quite sure how that demanding philosophy has helped anyone.
We have college students at these rallies who do not think that they should have to pay their student loans back. And they seem to be blaming the banks, why are they not protesting the colleges for the outrageous fees that they are demanding of the students?
The Philosophy of DEMAND has never worked and it never will.
God has put together a system that works for anyone who wants to work the system.
It’s called sowing and reaping and it has worked since the beginning of time and will work for as long as this planet is in existence.
What are these groups sowing?
I would be curious to hear your opinion.
As Always, Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,
God Bless You,
John Clark
John,
Sometimes it seems that demanding change is the only thing that does work. If it were not for a group of concerned citizens demanding change, where would we be in America, let alone the rest of the world? Slavery was abolished because people said “no more”. Women received the right to vote because people said “no more”. We gained our very independence as a nation because we demanded it.
Also, please don’t be so quick to throw all of the people who are rising with the occupy protest in the same bucket. To broadly characterize them as being people who just want handouts is very dangerous and it does not advance us in anyway.
One of my guiding mantras is “Seek first to understand then to be understood” from Stephen Covery’s 7 Habits. Before you dismiss the entire movement, consider dedicating time to really trying to understand why these people are showing up in mass.
They might not have all of the answers but so many are walking around feeling that there’s just something not quite right about what’s happening with our economy and our livelihood. For example, I’m certain that for most people, it’s not that they don’t want to pay back their student loans, they just want decent jobs that will allow them to do that and still live. Most people don’t want handouts, they want to work and provide for themselves. It’s how we’re wired.
I could go on and on but I’ll stop here. Again, I implore you. . . please dig deeper and try to understand.
I have no interest in engaging in an egoic battle, but if you would like to have some genuine heart based dialogue, I am open and available.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
Monica
Monica,
Thank you for your insightful comment.
When I make a post about things like this, I look at it from a “what values are the people doing the marching trying to advance” viewpoint.
And when it involves not living up to a decision that you made, such as taking student loans, or a mortgage for a home that you couldn’t have afforded in the first place, I don’t see where that is a good thing.
You commented, “For example, I’m certain that for most people, it’s not that they don’t want to pay back their student loans, they just want decent jobs that will allow them to do that and still live. Most people don’t want handouts, they want to work and provide for themselves. It’s how we’re wired.”
Decent jobs come by serving others. It shouldn’t come from government regulation or by demand. It should come by applying skills that you have learned in order to serve others. And if there is no demand for the skills that a person has they should go back to school and learn another skill that is in demand.
This is not an easy thing, but it takes a mindset of personal responsibility. Not one of demand.
We see this happening in the Gay Rights movement. I personally do not agree with that life decision, but if someone decides that is the life they want to live, that is up to them, I will not try to jam my thoughts about it down their throats.
But I do not feel the opposite is true, meaning that it is constantly being jammed down the throats with all the parades and media coverage. Thankfully I have an on and off switch on my television.
I like that you quoted from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habit’s, I have found that book to be quite a blessing in my life.
And that book has to be viewed on the total as well, meaning that we have to exercise all of the habits.
And one of the best chapters is the one regarding the Circle of Concern and the Circle of Influence. And it is my opinion that we spend far to much time in the circle of concern and very little in the circle of influence.
And if we were a little more proactive and spent more time paying the price up front, these banks, companies and even our government wouldn’t have any where near as much power as they have.
Thank you for your comments,
God Bless You,
JC