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Sept 23, 2003 My mother told me one time that everybody should have to work with the public. I never knew why until I started working with the public and I have to admit it does change your perspective. I can't explain to you the frustration of trying to help a woman find a book that her sister recommended and can only be described as red and "over there" only to find out after an hour of searching that her sister still has it out. That frustration is compounded further by the letter that she sends to the director of the library complaining about the amount of time that I took and the fact that she left the library unsatisfied. Actually the preceding account is largely fictionalized but you get the picture. Working with the public and dealing with such people does change your outlook in regards to what constitutes good and bad service and it also changes the way that you deal with those people who are assisting you in a store or restaurant. When you've been on their side of the stick you're more apt to be more polite than you would normally. Still how many of us, show of hands, have been dissatisfied with the service they received and took the time to call a manager or maybe write a letter or an email to complain? Okay next question. How many of us have gone to the same lengths to report good service or to praise an establishment or individual who assisted us? So now I get to the gritty nitty of my article. Why is it so much easier and why do we go to such greater lengths to do something that could possibly cause somebody some grief over making their life a little bit easier. I'll give you an example. A few years ago, in this area, two teenagers threw a 60 pound rock off an overpass. The rock ended up crashing through the windshield of a pregnant woman and killing her. My question is this. How hard do you think it was for those two kids to roll, carry, push or pull a rock that big up onto that over pass and throw it off? And do you think that those two delinquents would have worked that hard if their goal was something more constructive than endangering and possible killing someone, which in that end they succeeded. One thing that I've sort of been keeping up with in the news is magician David Blaine's latest stunt. For those of you who don't know who Blaine is, he's the weirdo that encased himself in ice and buried himself under Time's Square. His latest stunt is to stay in a box which is in turn suspended from the tower bridge in London for 44 days subsisting on nothing but water and having nothing but a diary to keep the time. It seems that not everybody wants him there. Since the beginning of Blaine's isolation he's been heckled, various objects have been thrown at his cell, messages have been projected on the bridge nearby where he's hanging and women have bared their breasts and dropped their pants, show me the downside of that one! One guy was able to climb the scaffolding that was helping to support Blaine's cell, pulled on some support ropes, causing the cell to rock violently and tried to cut his water supply. First off why are they protesting? Sure it's stupid, but you don't have to stand there and look at him if you don't want to. Go back in the pub and have another pint! Again how hard do you think it was for that bloke to climb up that scaffolding just to give David Blaine who isn't really hurting anybody a hard time. Do you think that he would have done the same thing if he liked Blaine? Do you think that he's ever worked that hard in his life? Do you think he even has a real job? Now let's talk about flag burning. My whole opinion over this particular issue is that, okay maybe it is free speech but it's also the most tasteless disrespectful act that I can think of. It’s right up there with kicking a puppy and pulling for the Dallas Cowboys, and if you’re the kind of person who would do this I don't want anything to do with you. My question would be that if the U.S. is so hellishly bad that you would take the time to destroy and make a mockery of its most beloved symbol why are you still here? From what I hear they love flag burning in the Middle East so move there. Getting back to the subject at hand. Have you ever wondered how much trouble it is to stage a flag burning. First you have to get the flag. Then you have to get a lighter, matches or some fire producing implement and I would think that you would need kerosene or lighter fluid to get the fire going. You probably have to get a permit of some sort, then you have to find an adequate place to tick off the highest number of people possible. Then you have to get together a crowd of other pinkos who share your warped views of what it means to be an American and have the right to voice your views and opinions. I also have a feeling that with the popular view of patriotism and the flag that it would be a lot of work to fight off the mobs and successfully keep your flag lit. Now let's face it. Most of the people who get out and burn the flag, march and protest something, whether it be the war in Iraq or David Blaine most likely are in college somewhere. Their also not paying their own way, or spend most of their time chatting with other lefties over the internet from their bedroom in their parents basement. Do you think that the majority of these people have done any sort of community service, voluntary that is? Do you think that they've volunteered through their church? Do you think any of these people have ever been in a church? Have they ever worked through a civic organization? Have they ever given money, or items to charity, dropped a dollar in Santa's pot at Christmas or gave a bum a quarter? I doubt it. That would take too much effort and it wouldn't get them on television. I remember hearing that during the W.T.O. riots in Seattle a couple of years back that a good many of the protestors had nothing to protest. They were there just to cause damages, make a lot of trouble for a lot of people and make idiots out of themselves on national TV I guess the main reason that most people put more into making jerks out of themselves than doing good is because the motivations are easier. It's far simpler to get yourself out on the street to harass cops or throw a brick through a Starbucks window than in a car, driving through the snow to take hot meals to shut-ins. It's like Yoda told Luke Skywalker about the dark side of the force. It's not necessarily more powerful but it's easier and more seductive. I guess in Christianity the good road, or the high road, isn't called the straight and narrow for nothing. It's easier to stray off of it than to stay your course. Okay so it's easier to be a pain, but does that mean that we should be that way? Like everything else worth while being nice, and being productive takes work, a lot more work that being a complete jerk, but like all those other things, after awhile it gets easier and if everybody made the effort the rewards are definitely be worth it. ------------ About the author: Jonathan Farlow is a frustrated writer/librarian and lives in Archdale, NC with his wife Kathy and daughter Sara. Visit his web site. You can read some of his stories there. Feedback is welcomed. Email: jonathan-farlow@excite.com Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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