A Most Destructive Fallacy

The Q.F. on inadequacies leading to the demise of the following equation.

The Equation

Hard work + Loyalty = Rewards (Retirement, Benefits, Vacations, Liveable Wage, Personal Time, House Ownership, Equitable Treatment, Ability to be True to Onself within the context of Societal Rules and so on)


Translated into terminology suited to laypeoples "comprehension levels": Effort and faithfully following the "rules" will get you more of what you want than exhibiting such characteristics as laziness and greed.

The original theories-presented by The Council and deemed credible by all the Great Minds of the Time-presented motivational methods intended to ensure task completion by humans. It was certainy recognized by humans that one needed to apply oneself to the accomplishing of the various tasks-food acquisition, housing, procreation, mental and physical stimulation and rejuvenation-but accomplishing these tasks without being reduced to conflicts proved impossible. A workable system flexible enought to accommodate differences in personality, upbringing, genetic makeup, socio-economic conditions and the inevitable "advancements" that humans insists upon subjecting themselves to (if it ain't broke don't fix it seems to be only a placebo statement as far as we a can ascertain) needed to be instituted. The system put into effect just prior to that time period described by Earthlings living ins ome of the more "advanced" countries as the "Industrial Revolution" seemed, initially at least, to be a success. For those unfamiliar with these Earthlings predilection for having many and sometimes contradictory definitions for the same word, revolution in this phrase was't a revolt or war, but changes brought about by some of those "advancements" mentioned earlier. In this particular case, humans discoverd industry.
Several generations reaped the rewards of giving their loyalty and hard work to one company their entire working lives. Over time, however, the weaknesses in the system's infrastructure made themselves apparent.
The Forum will only be presenting one case history's commentary in detail here since all the participants relate nearly identical reviews on what they consider to be a scam of monumental proportions. For those of you interested in reading other reports we ask you to log onto uew.morefallacies4u.aagh. Inhabitants of planets not yet Universal Encompassing WEb cmpatible, your libraries should have computers with the special UE adapter necessary to connect with the uew.
The following case study was written by a woman in her late 40's during the first part of the 21st Century.

I always worked hard, sometimes holding down as many as three jobs at a time. The work hard all your life and you will "Get Somewhere" acquire the "Great American Dream" whichever euphemistic phrase you wish to use has been my credo. This mind set having been instilled from my first moments of awareness on this planet, I was surrounded by it. The apartment where I Lived with my mother and father fairly reeked of the ideology. Of course the inexact location of "somewhere" and the fact that dreams are something even our eminent experts on the mind seem incapable of explaiing, were ignored aspects of this mindset.
Anyway, I grew up steeping in the comforting, predictable atmosphere pervaded with the notion that hard work and loyalty being given will thus be received inkind, resulting in a worthwhile, commendable and by the way, comfortable life, leading to a well deserved and bountiful retirement.
My father being one of the last of a generation for whom this philosophy held true-what I now realize to be a fallacy of huge proportions, perpetrated by those who don't work hard, to get those who will to provide them with "somewhere' and the "Dream"-has enjoyed a pleasant, financially viable retirement for twenty-eight years. He went to college, did his military duty, attended an Ivy League University to get his Masters, joined a firm where he arrived promptly each AM for the rest of his working life, before bowing gracefully out to a chosen early retirement. In those days the phrase, early retirmement, meant that you were a fortunate son of a gun, not as the insinuation is nowadays, that the company was downsizing and decided that you be included in the mass exodus they were unfortunately "forced" to institute. He hasn't had to work a day since to support himself and still drawing those reliably deposited checks he enjoys a vigorous, healthy, elderly life.
These days most people who, several decades ago, began their working careers, under the delusion that they would put in their full working lives in one business have experienced the horror of downsizing. For some a much more serious eventuality occurred-they've seen their retirement money vanish from the stock market after having been persuaded that accounts like 401k's were the way to go. Then of course there are the corrupt CEO's and other people who feel that the money should go into their pockets and somehow always get away with it! Even when they're caught they never seem to descend into poverty, their "loyal" employees who trusted them (and oh by the way, worked hard) do.
I always wanted to a unique individual and in many ways I ahve achieved just that. I also realize that I sound very bitter. That's because I've learned too late the ways to get "somewhere" in the crumbled mess that are the ethics of today's working world. I've learned them but I don't like them, they include being loyal to no one but yourself, being dehumanized and never giving more effort than is absolutely necessary. If the world is falling apart around you and there's something you can do to fix it, but it's not in your job description, take no action. Reaching out of your assigned niche to correct a problem or help someone else will be viewed as a weakness and taken advantage off.
I think the idea of treating people with respect flew away with the last of the now extinct carrier pigeons. And sometimes I wish I could be with them. The land of opportunity is not so for all its people. Many in the Intermediate Generation feel as though they've fallen through the cracks, we're probably losing Social Security even though we've been paying into the system all our working lives, private industry can't seem to provide a decent wage, and/or cover it's employees with insurance, the diea of retirmement is more and more thought of as a 'working' proposition, yet the middle classes are continually being squeezed out of their slot into the realm of the poor, because of the great fallacy that hard work and loyalty will get you "somewhere" desirable. I have no idea what will happen to me. How many greeters can Wal-Mart hire for whatever pittance they pay them?
The equations have changed and those of us in the Intermediate Generation are paying the price. Those in their twenties and just barely into their thirties don't suffer from any delusions. They've watched their parents and in some cases their grandparents suffer through layoffs, money loss, possession loss and perhaps themost devastating of all the loss of a sense of personal worth. They watched people who worked hard, gave up personal time to work if they got 'the call" and who expected tor eceive what their parents did-rewards-get nothing but...well actually nothing at all. Why go the route of anguish and heartache, why not get all they can while it's available, then move on. The attitude of today's young people while frightening is eminently understandable. They've learned to hold anyting that's dear close and not allow ajob to invade their personal space. While they amy spend most of the time away from the office unbilically attached via cell phone, the ocmpany they are talking to today may be the company that they are doing their best to see fail miserably tomorrow. There is no loyalty. After all, who knows when the trapdoor in the floor will open and with pink slip in hand, down the chute the victim will disappear.
I am fully convinced that resumes sent to the multitudes of firms expressing interest in hiring people never reach their intended destination. Instead they are pulled into a black hole. How else can one explain the many resumes that myslef, friends and acquaintainces send out onwhat is sometimes a daily basis that area abviously never received? There is a phrase that describes a type of silence we have all experienced, "the silence is deafening", well in this case the response speaks volumes in its silence. Are these firms advertising as some form of cruel joke? Is the government attempting to keep the public under the impression that there are jobs out there in order to keep from holding them responsible for the high cost of living and a shortage of jobs? Perhaps moving to a third world country and applying for these jobs form there might elicit some response from these firms.
Unfortunately as one of the Intermediate Generation I realize that I wasted years being loyal and working hard and I have accured nothing in the ways that, these days, keeps a roof over my head and food on the table. I am a knowledgeable, multi-talented, responsible person who listened to the words of my parents and am now paying the price. Loyalty, doing the 'right' thing-something that seems to change depending on the region of the country inhabited and governemental mood swings-working hard, for longer and longer hours, and getting something tangible as a result, all seems to have become a cute, antiquated notion. Unfortunately by the time those of my generation realized the fallacy of their ways switching to a different way of life, that of the younger generations, wasn't feasible. All our 'freedoms" seem to entangle us beyond redemption.
A word of warning-or more accurately several-to the younger people reading what I'm sure seem to them the ramblings of some "old" and therefore mentally deficient person. Everything goes in cycles and everything changes, just because you may be sitting high on the hog now (another highly descriptive, fun, antiquated saying) doesn't mean that there won't be several massive and to ou life shattering upheavals during your long lives. You will never be "set" for the rest of your lives. Just keep that rollig around in the bakc of your minds and let it roll forward every so often...just to keep you humble.
The Forum for Quizzical Minds is always interested when they come across groups such as these humans-so bent ontheir own destruction. This particular group has several rather ironic phrases-learning from the pst, not making the same mistake twice, and learning lessons from previous mistake-that are referred to with frequency but again, as with others we've mention, these seem to be more placeboes. They weren't take to heart by the majority of humans by the majority of humans on this planet.