| |
Subject: |
Give Me A Perfect Life...Or I'll Kill You |
| Date: |
2009-10-26
|
|
Give Me A Perfect
Life...Or I'll Kill You
By Cliff Ennico
www.creators.com
Is it just me, or are people getting awfully touchy
these days?
Within the past week I have received calls from
three consultants and other professionals who had received screaming
phone calls from their clients threatening lawsuits for things they
absolutely weren’t responsible for. Without getting into
specifics, here’s what the clients said:
- "I did something stupid and
it’s your fault because you kept distracting me with e-mails that
required me to think";
- "Even though you pointed out
several reasons why this was a bad deal, and I ignored your advice and
went ahead with the deal anyway, you are liable for anything that
happens because you didn’t do enough to prevent me from going forward";
- "I know I authorized you to
agree to certain things with the other side but I’ve changed my mind
now and I want you to undo this deal and get me my money back, or else".
It would be a
simple matter to just dismiss these people as cranks, crazies or people
with anger management issues, but I think it's symptomatic of a much
bigger problem in American society today . . . one that affects all
business owners.
People today – at least in the United States – are a
lot different than they were when the Greatest Generation ruled
society. Fifty years ago people were inundated with moral and
ethical training from their diapers – they belonged to churches,
synagogues and other religious bodies (and actually went to them
regularly). They attended religious schools that drilled civil
behavior and personal responsibility into them. Shared community
values were rigorously and fearlessly enforced by clergypeople,
teachers and others whose authority in such matters was not
questioned.
Also, the Greatest Generation knew what true
deprivation was – they had survived the Great Depression in the 1930s,
World War II in the 1940s, and the Cold War in the 1950s – and
remembered times when they lied awake at night wondering if there would
be food on the table, or if The Bomb would drop. They were a lot
tougher than we are, folks, but they simply couldn't be rude or uncivil
to anyone that had shared the "common causes" of those days with them.
Obviously, things are a lot different today.
Many people think it's better now than it was back then, and they
certainly are right about some things. We are a much more
inclusive society now than we were in the 1950s – women,
African-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Asian-Americans, gays and other
ethnic minorities have a lot more clout today (politically, legally and
socially) than they did back then. Also, when was the last time
you truly worried about when your next meal came from?
Yet, in a curious paradox, the more egalitarian,
pluralistic and prosperous our society has become, the less civil,
courteous and respectful our society has become. There are few if
any shared values that keep us tied together as citizens of a
commonwealth anymore. The maxims "if it feels good, do it" and
"live for today" that were drilled into our heads during the 1960s and
1970s have become our guiding credos today.
The decline of authority and shared community values
is, of course, not a novel topic. But I don't think a lot of
people recognize the root causes of today's ruthless, neurotic,
decency-challenged American society. Here they are:
- fifty years of unparalleled
peace and prosperity in America – three generations of Americans who
(except for the minority who have actually served in the U.S. military)
have never experienced war, pestilence or famine firsthand – when you
aren't used to bad things happening in your life, even extremely minor
bad things can easily be blown way out of proportion;
- the rise of a secular,
multiethnic society that places individual freedom and "liberation"
over everything else, and that offers little if any consensus or
"top-down" direction on ethical matters and social etiquette (yes, a
lot of those "middle class bourgeois American values" the Greatest
Generation held dear were B.S., but they were B.S. that held us
together as a society and therefore served a useful function); and
- frankly, the worst economic
recession in over 50 years – people are scared, and scared people say
and do crazy things sometimes.
It is not an
exaggeration to say that many if not most Americans today are spoiled
children (what author Christopher Noxon calls "rejuveniles") who expect
a perfect, unblemished life as a natural right of mankind. They
cannot accept adversity of any kind, no matter how slight, because they
never have been exposed to it and cannot accept it as just a natural
part of life. When something bad happens to somebody, it's
somebody else's fault, and Damn It, those sons-of-whatever are going to
pay!
Fifty years ago and earlier, if something bad
happened to someone (even if caused by other people, such as a doctor's
negligence or being laid off by a failing employer), it was viewed as
fate, Kismet or "God working in mysterious ways". Religion taught
acceptance, forgiveness, personal responsibility and moving on with
your life. Today, if someone has a bad experience, it becomes a
knock-out, drag-out fight with lawsuits threatened and people afraid of
doing their jobs for fear of getting sued and losing their homes.
Everywhere I go I see bumper stickers saying "question
authority". It's time to stop questioning authority, stop talking
about "rights" and start talking about "duties", "responsibilities",
and - yes - "sins". If we don't, authority may well be questioned
out of existence altogether, and there will be nothing holding us
together as a civil society except our creaking, out-of-date legal
system.
Cliff Ennico (cennico@legalcareer.com)
is a syndicated columnist, author and former host of the PBS television
series 'Money Hunt'. This column is no substitute for legal, tax or
financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified
professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff
Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our
Web page at www.creators.com
or visit succeedinginyourbusiness.com.
COPYRIGHT 2009 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE,
INC. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.
Back
|
|
