I have found that trying to convince a right or left wing person to change
is nearly impossible when you talk about the surface issues. The issues
that are screamed about on the television every day are not issues people
can really talk about. We argue over abortion we argue over religion and
the whole time the rich are still taking advantage of the poor.
I would suggest readjusting your debates to include more talk of equality.
Most everyone has been or is angry about the way corporate America treats
them. I can barely stand talking to a customer service person at any
company I use. The lack of care for people is one of the problems. If you
have ever lost a job while a company is posting record profits you probably
understand. In people lies hope. We just can't keep fighting with others
about moral issues and preserve the environment and/or stop a war.
So let's try again to focus on what is really keeping us down as a people.
The people who have most of the power are rich and will do just about
anything to keep the current system in place. Those of us who make less
then 1.2 million a year are in the lower class of this global society. From
looking around my fairly successful neighborhood, I don't think any of us are
making 1.2 million a year. We are the majority, lets act like it.
Joshua Peace Seeker
I have noticed a disturbing change in corporate society. No longer does anyone employ people who think outside the box, who are willing to challenge bureaucratic decisions.
In the early nineties I was employed as an accountant by a fairly sizable manufacturing concern in Melbourne. An employee of some years had recently been sacked because she was not "a team player". Actually I believe it was because she had a foreign accent. The short time she worked within the accounts area I had no complaints. It was also suggested that she did not have the "right skills" (such as typing) but there was no suggestion to retrain her. I went against "Company Policy" and arranged for a written reference which fortunately she found another job.
However rumors abounded the office, morale plummeted and the general atmosphere worsened. Eventually I stormed into the Plant Manager's office and told him that his action could have serious concequences. My immediate boss was stunned to say the least. Whether it did anything I do not know but at least I tried. I am no longer employed as an accountant but prefer being a casual primary school teacher, less pay but much more recognition and influence on the world.
I believe the situation is becoming worse. No one is willing to challenge, to see the human side, to stop and say "hey, there's something wrong here."
Recently due to harsh and bureaucratic rules not one but three Australians have been seriously affected. If only one person within our immigration department had questioned and investigated further an Australian citizen with a German Accent would not have in detention for months on end without her family's knowledge, an Australian citizen would not nave been deported even though she had family including her own children here and a young boy who recently died because bureaucrats just dumped their family into a flat without the knowledge of language, use of telephones in an emergency and any medical backup would still be alive.
Australia has turned into a society where we just make sure noone can blame us for anything that might go wrong (I would often say "don't find a solution, find someone to blame"). It is the same mentality that saw people locked down below on the Titanic, that sees people lying on the side of the road injured for days and nobody stops and where a church worker and a priest delibrately pretended not to see the beaten up man on the side of the road (fortunately the man from Samaria didn't).
The world needs more people of compassion, more willingness to stand up and take a few shots in the name of justice. It will not come from political leaders or highly paid TV journalists and presenters but from people like Rosa Parks. Heroes come from the most humble backgrounds.
Posted by: Tony Miller | December 29, 2005 at 12:47 PM