The Entitlement Mentality Versus The Work Ethic

with all the debate lately about "undocumented" workers, one issue continues to hover on the periphery of the debate. this issue, i think, is at least as compelling as the various amnesty programs that have been proposed, but it seems to be the pink elephant in the room that nobody wants to deal with. over and over again, you hear about "mexicans taking the jobs americans don't want," or illegal workers begin paid such a pittance that any self-respecting american would scoff at the offer. but today i heard something that gave me an "aha!" moment. a man called in to one of the trillion radio shows i listen to and said that he owns a business. (heard this before? yep- check) he employs a bunch of guys who he assumes are probably illegal (check). he tried, at one time, to get rid of the illegals and hire americans (check again). but he found that american workers, even thoug hthey were paid more, just didn't have the same work ethic as his mexican workers. (huh? stop the tape...) when the host came back with the predictable, "well, maybe you didn't pay them enough more. maybe if you offered an even higher wage, you would have attracted a better class of workers, or at least the workers you had would do better..." the man said, "no, you don't understand. you can't pay someone to have attention to detail. you can't pay someone to care about something they genuinely don't care about. it's not a money issue; it's an issue of work ethic." wow- lightbulb moment for me!

that epiphany ties in to so many other things that i think are wrong with society. there's a whole entitlement mentality here that pervades/invades/infects every aspect of our society, from cutting people off in traffic, to sitting on welfare when you're perfectly able (albeit perfectly unwilling) to work, to having petition drives to not let people even vote to end affirmative action. having a society of entitled people has produced the laziest, most good-for-nothing generation in history. children that have everything handed to them become not beneficent philanthropists, but stingy, self-involved narcissists. the beneficiaries of many (not all) social programs become not grateful patriotic citizens, but often criminals- petty or otherwise- and victimizers of others in society. from cheating on SAT tests to suing everyone for everything, this priveledged nation of entitled people has become the most whining, manipulating, conniving, out for #1 group of people in the universe. things that start as a legitimate leg-up, or even a way to assuage guilt have become out-of-control monsters that people now feel entitled to, whether they are deserving or not. i heard that a certain prestigious university is now planning to require that students sign a contract that they will attend classes and do assigned work. apparently the university is afraid of lawsuits from students who get low grades (or heaven forbid, fail...) even though they did not attend classes or do the work.

back in the dark ages, when i was in high school, people actually got summer jobs (and sometimes even-gasp- worked during the school year!). yeah, it was nerdy, but it was expected and accepted. okay, so we started at minimum wage, but anyone who was at a job for more than about 2 weeks got periodic raises. we actually flipped burgers and scooped ice cream and cut lawns, and, miraculously, we all survived. in college, many of us needed part-time, entry-level jobs to pay for extras like books and highlighters. again, with that crazy job thing! one friend worked in a deli. one worked for the post office. one, particularly cute blond (no, not me- but thanks...) waitressed in a bar and made amazing tips. one friend, a brilliant english lit. type, even worked as a garbage man in the suffocating heat of florida because the money was so good.

why did we do it? because we had to. because there was no state grant to sit on our rear ends and watch soap operas. there was no option to hold out for the better, higher-paying jobs, because, quite frankly, we had neither the time to wait around nor the skills needed to get those better jobs. and as we added to our work histories, and took one step at a time, and got a bit better job, and a bit more schooling, we did (most of us, at least) end up with better, more satisfying jobs. all except for me- i married into money (hahaha- that is a total joke! i married the brit because he was and still is awesome in every single way!!!) the point is, that where there is no option not to work, you work.

so, back to the illegal workers, who are the supposed backbone of our society. what happened to the high school students, and college students, and high school drop outs, and soldiers returning from overseas, and out of work actors, and tennis players with carpel tunnel, and laid off factory workers? don't even start ranting about how the jobs mexicans do will not pay a living wage- there is no way to convince me that $0 is more per hour than even $5 an hour- which i think is lower than the actual minimum wage. i refuse to believe that a person in an entry level job, which probably will not support his family, will never get a raise or a promotion if he works to his best ability and tries hard and is reliable. it is insanity to believe that anyone is better off on unemployment or welfare than getting a job that makes them feel like a productive member of society instead of a parasite.

whether i am in favor of immigration or guest workers or amnesty is beside the point. what i am in favor of is people getting off their underworked, overstuffed, big, lazy, entitled behinds and giving the rest of us a break.

vamanos!