The Work Ethic

Today I am reflecting upon the status of the work ethic in our society. This spurred from an incident that occurred yesterday at my home. We were in our living room when there came a ring of the doorbell. When I answered it there were two men, one in his 40's and the other probably in his early 20's. The older man was apparently training the younger guy so he did all the talking. He held a cardboard box of what looked like cleaning solutions and began into a high speed, aggressive presentation of his pitch. I didn't let him go but a few seconds and stopped him, telling him that I was not interested, that I do not buy from door-to-door salesmen, and that I would not allow him in my house to demonstrate his magic elixir. Well, this seemed to set him off and he got more aggressive, questioning why I wouldn't support someone trying to earn a living rather than living on the dole. I suggested that he get a real job rather than try to foist upon the public some snake oil that they didn't need or want. This set him off and I told him to go away, which he did.

The thing that strikes me in reflecting back on the incident is how our definition of work has changed. As I was growing up I was taught that you work hard to provide for yourself and family. You did this in honest work and people that made their living by ripping off others were reviled by society. The honest used car salesmen had to live down their nefarious brethren in the business. Somewhere it changed but nowadays that work ethic has changed. Many in society believe that however they come by money is okay, regardless of the ethics of the way they get it. Honesty and integrity seem to be only incidental anymore. For example, we all encounter people in the larger cities begging for money with there signs at major intersections. Most profess to be homeless, hungry, or traveling somewhere. When did this behavior become acceptable in our society and not a shameful display of lack of self respect? Many of these people are not homeless but this is how they make their living. Goodhearted people feeling sorry for them get ripped off. These bums see nothing wrong with it because they feel the means justifies the ends.

With the downturn in the economy expect to see more of these folks around, telling you they would work a regular job but there are none. I refuse to support this type of behavior and encourage you to do the same.