There’s a
rising trend amongst people (myself included more often than I’d like to admit)
in remaining comfortably where they are.
We do not seek to expand our minds or to change the world around us;
instead of reaching further yet, we find ourselves sitting contentedly on the
shoulders of the giants that came before us.
You’ve
likely worked with the new model of “worker” that is produced by this trend of
ease, and you’ve likely formed either the opinion that they are poor workers or
you have joined with them in their lackluster work ethic. Any motivation they find buried deep within
themselves arises from the desire for bigger and better things personally. There is no mindset of working as a company,
simply working for one. “Team” is
becoming less and less defined as there is an ever more apparent “I” in it. We seek for the temporary pleasure rather than
planning ahead for the future. We find
ourselves gesticulating wildly when we reach higher points on the giants only
to silently find our way back down when no one is looking.
Evidence of
what I say can be found in every aspect of life in the U.S. Politics is the easiest field to display,
because it is in everyone’s view and is everyone’s matter. The mess of legislation that has been passed
in recent years looks really good for the people of now (or even simply the
“then” of when they were passed). We ask
the government to take care of us, but fail to consider the longevity of this
task. What’s worse is that the
generation of “I” is unwilling to open their minds to the opposing viewpoints
(because they are obviously right) and either side finds itself so far
from their original point that nothing good comes from either’s plan. We’ve too long been shouting at each other
from opposite shoulders that we forgot the meaning of any of it.
We no longer think critically about
what is really “wrong with this country,” instead we are quick to say “they”
are the problem. I wince every time I go
on Facebook, ready for nigh-endless flow of anti-Obama posts that emerge as if
from an open hydrant. I steel myself for
the merciless onslaught of insults pointed at the numerous groups I represent. What does any of this accomplish? Nothing.
We wage a war of simple words while the accomplishments of mankind
diminish in the realm of time.
So what does all this mean? I’m not asking you to be a better worker, nor
to be a die-hard patriot. I don’t even
ask that you become a better person. I
ask you to be a better nation; to be a better company; to be a team. I ask you to strive forward with whomever you
belong and reach for the stars. Ben
Franklin said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang
separately.” Our nation’s forefathers
hardly all agreed on what should be done, but they united and formed what would
be one of the greatest nations in the world.
So, what does reaching from the shoulders of giants look like
today? It looks like this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-l-windmeyer/dan-cathy-chick-fil-a_b_2564379.html
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