I know someone [obviously, I'm hiding their identity here...]
who does not have a high school diploma.
This person started at the bottom in a certain privately owned
store.
Over about 15 years, they worked themself up to a very high
position, both in the store and also, in some measure, in the
"industry" (holding positions in professional
organizations, etc.).
Then the owners of the store sold out to a CorpCo. They
"cashed out" and are now sailing around the Crabean on their
sailboat, etc.
Under the private owners, the store had sold "the best". It was
a quality operation.
Under CorpCo., the store becames just another profit center.
The person I knew was not directly swept out the door,
but rather given a job at CorpCoWorldHQ as a marketing
director, where the responsibilities had to do with
jerking numbers around, not maintaining quality standards
or coming up with neat new things to appeal to the
customers.
The person was way over their head, but, once again,
they seemed to be making it.
Then a new VP came in and brought in his "people", and
the person I know was unceremoniously fired. I believe that
the person was able to get 6 months' severance after
enlisting the aid of a lawyer.
The person is currently "wandering around in the fog",
some 2 years later.
The person may yet "land on their feet" again as the person
has amazingly done many times in their life, but even a
cat has only 9 lives to give to "progress"....
--
The person I knew did nothing wrong. The person served
the private store very well (including making money for
the owners). But the person was just an EMPLOYEE (even
with a "title" of Vice President). And when the
owners cashed out, i.e., sold out (in the sense of selling one's
soul), both the customers were betrayed and the person
I knew got nothing for their work.
--
So I get back to my idea of stewardship. The "owners" should
not have had the freedom to sell out. They betrayed their
stewardship and they should have been dealt with
like any person who assumes a
position of trust who misuses that fiduciary trust for
personal gain (as opposed to receiving a fair fee
for services rendered to the benefit of the beneficiaries of
the trust).
--
I would once again urge everyone to see the film
"Mon Oncle d'Amerique" (not "Mon Oncle"!!!), which
tells the same story, except that the protagonist
has already committed suicide by the end of the
film, whereas the person I know is still flopping around
like the proverbial fish which was deprived of its
water.
--
Could the person I know have made better choices in their
life so that they would not be flopping around today?
*I* think so. But that assumes they would have
been willing to stay in the business where they were
traitored, and who would I be to
self-righteously say a person should stay
in their place or else "suffer the consequences"?
I think "the consequences" are not being appropriately
allocated. If The Invisible Hand can be trained to
allocate consequences more equitably and more productively,
then maybe capitalism could earn the right to
govern us (i.e., maybe it can assume a
role of stewardship). If not, then, like any other
tyrant or embezzler, Sic semper....
\brad mccormick
--
Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16)
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
<![%THINK;[SGML+APL]]> Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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