The Rise and Fall of the American Work Ethic

Gary Callahan

• Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781647534813
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Personal Success

This book will make you feel like you're not alone. The onset of political correctness and government intervention has literally ruined our work environment. This book tells you how it happened and what we can do about it. No longer can we tolerate giving praise and rewards for a job not well done. It's time to get angry and let people know that they don't compare one bit to the workers of the past. It's time to let us (the ones who have paid our dues) bombard the slovenly, lazy workers with the truth. This book should get you fired up to do just that.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE “GOOD LIFE”?

The year was I954. I was three years old. I remember looking at the car ads in magazines. Brand new, shiny, very modern looking all for less than $2000 give or take. My mother worked for Bill Jack’s division of Lockheed near San Diego. I have no memory of how much money she made, but it seemed to be enough to get us by. “Us” would include my older brother, my mother, and myself. We lived in a little rental house with a living room, a bedroom, a bath, a kitchen, and a washroom (actually an enclosed back porch). That was my room.

I never thought that we were poor or low income. It seemed that we had everything we needed. My grandmother and grandfather and my aunt and uncle all lived in the same town. My older brother and I spent a lot of time at my grandmother’s and grandfather’s. We went there every day after school. My grandfather was retired from the railroad. They had a nice little house that they moved into right after his retirement. My uncle owned the largest furniture store in town. He was well known, and served as the President of the Chamber of Commerce. Later, he worked in semi-retirement as a stockbroker.

In many ways, I felt that we were special. I can remember riding in my grandfather’s car (which my mother used quite a bit), looking out the window and thinking that those people out there don’t even realize that it is “me” sitting in this back seat. I knew that the other people out there were just like us, but I took pride in who I was. It didn’t have anything to do with my race, creed, color, or any of that crap. It had to do with me and who I knew I was. Actually, if you would have to categorize us, I guess we were a typical American family. Our roots were from all over. I never thought of anyone being any different, no matter what color they were. I believed we all wanted the same thing out of life ... success and happiness.

We spent nearly every Thanksgiving and Christmas at my aunt and uncle’s house. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends would all show up and we all had a very good time. I eventually came to realize that my aunt and uncle were better off than many, including my mother, brother, and I. They obviously had money. You could see it in their house and the furnishings. They drove nice cars and traveled. I remember thinking ... if you have a choice, you would be foolish not to want the type of life that they had. I also saw how it took hard work, perseverance, and intelligence to get to where they were. My mother and grandmother taught me about responsibility and quality in doing any job at a very young age. Sayings like, “If you’re going to do something, do it right.” or, “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” was constantly being said. I listened to those sayings, and I believed them. Times when I tried to rush, and didn’t do a good job in what I was doing would usually cause my mother to have me start over and do the whole job again. This happened at least once when I did the dishes to less than perfect results. I was nine years old.

School continued to teach me the right way to live and work. Back then, you would actually get an “F” if you did poorly. Beyond school grades, my teachers taught me that the education that I was getting was the best available anywhere in the world. This is where I also learned about how to treat others with respect and courtesy. My competitive nature developed because I wanted to be recognized for being better than others. I wanted to get the best grades, run faster, play better, and be a leader. I don’t think I was alone. In fact, I felt that everyone was just as competitive. Even in school, I learned about good work habits. I liked to stay after school to help the teacher clean up. I came up with innovative ideas to help build displays for the school. I remember our 2nd grade class doing a display titled, “Where Butter Comes From”. It started with a cow eating grain. The display had a paper cow eating from a bowl. We had some grain, but it was not enough to see when it was put into the bowl. My idea saved the day. We simply wrapped the bowl in foil, which draped across the bowl, and we put the grain on top of the foil. The reason for mentioning this is to make the point that nobody paid me to come up with these ideas or to help the teacher after school. I was compelled to do this because I wanted to do a good job. Again, I wasn’t the only one. Everybody seemed to want to be involved. I believe that was the competitive nature of everyone.

When I was 7 years old, my mother met someone. I remember the first evening that he came to visit. My mother asked my older brother and I to do the dishes. We had never done the dishes before, so we thought it was an honor, and we thought it would be fun. The very next night, this person came to visit again. This time, he said, “Ain’t you kids supposed to be doin’ the dishes?” Well, I’m not sure now how I felt having him tell us to do anything, but we went in the kitchen and did them anyway. I think this had a life-long effect on me as a worker. If the task originated with someone who had no authority over me, my attitude toward the task was not the same. This man eventually became my stepfather.

When I was 8 years old, my younger brother was born, and later, two more brothers followed. Somehow, I got the job of baby-sitter. My older brother was the rebel of the family, refusing to do much more than mow the lawn. He ended up getting into many fights with my stepfather, and going to the hospital a few times as a result. I, on the other hand, did as I was told just to keep out of trouble (and out of the hospital). Neither of us got any allowance or pay for the “chores” that we did. Still, I did my very best. I figured, if I had to do the job, it was easier to do it right the first time and not have to do the job over.

Life continued pretty much the same up to the point where I got my very first “real” job at the age of I7. My best friend’s brother was quitting his job and he recommended me to his boss. I became a shoe salesman. Mostly what I learned from the experience was “personal hygiene”. I also learned how to run a cash register and count back change to the customers. Many times I handled the whole store by myself. This continued to teach me to be responsible. I never thought, not once, that I would remain a shoe salesman for the rest of my life, and that I will eventually retire with a big pension! I knew that this was a “kid’s” job, and that it was temporary. Management is different, but a shoe salesman is a kid’s job. Sorry if I am offending those of you who are shoe salesmen, but I speak the truth! This job was not meant to feed a family or put a roof over anyone’s head. This job was meant for me to put gas in my car and a Taco Bell burrito in my mouth when I could afford it. I made a whopping $I.50 per hour and I was happy with the money I made. I worked my hardest and never thought that the degree of my efforts was limited by the amount of money they paid me. After all, I felt that I had worked hard at home all of my life and never got paid anything for that.

Of course, my first job didn’t last. I worked hard and did everything I was asked to do. For some reason, the boss liked someone else more than me and there was no need for two sales persons. Hey, nobody ever said life was fair. Perhaps I should have been more of a friend than an employee. Anyway, this was to serve as part of a lesson that I would have to revisit again in the future. For those of you who haven’t found out yet, this is how life is ... You can be fired for any reason at all. Your boss doesn’t like you, YOU’RE FIRED! Your boss wants you to work I6 hours a day and you don’t want to, YOU’RE FIRED! You don’t get your boss coffee when he asks, YOU’RE FIRED! The law will only protect you if you are fired because of race, creed, color, origin, sex, etc. For all of you whom have screamed discrimination, guess what, you may have been fired because you didn’t do your job, or possibly because your boss didn’t like you. Don’t jump to the conclusion that it had to do with race, color, religion, or whatever. There’s a good chance that it did not.

“A man goes in for an interview for a job. He tells the interviewer that he is gay. The man didn’t have the qualifications for the job, so he wasn’t hired. Upon realizing that he did not get the job, he files a lawsuit against the company claiming discrimination against gays. The company settles by offering the man the job he applied for at a better rate of pay even though the man is not qualified”. “Another man goes in for an interview for a job. He tells the interviewer that he loves having sex with his wife. The man is very qualified for the position, but because he mentioned a subject that w...