Sunday, August 15, 2004

Why Johnny Don't Vote

Do you hate being forced, told, to do something you really don’t want to do?  I know I do.  In fact I despise it.  The act of voting is just such forcing, a telling someone to do this or that because I said so.

It’s funny, a year or so ago, I had to ask a friend what the acronym VOPA stood for.  What’s really funny, though, is I always understood what it meant.

Posted by John Venlet on 08/15 at 03:05 PM
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Grab a Tiger by the Tail

Back on July 19th, I mentioned that I had recently undertaken a new business venture.  Though this undertaking bears a slight mark of expediency, the opportunity presented offered rewards which meld nicely with the way I choose to live my life.  That choice being, work my keister off for a period of five years, or so, and then sell high, in a manner of speaking, in order to maximize my profits and then pursue other, more leisurely and intellectual, endeavors.

I grabbed the tiger’s tail on June 1st, and as of today, August 15th, I’ve sunk my hands deep into the tiger’s hindquarters as I maneuver to obtain its back.  By the end of this year, 2004, I shall have mounted the tiger’s back and broken it to the saddle, in order to command it to answer to my slightest whim, and to perform ferociously under my hand.

I grabbed this tiger’s tail, though, with some misgivings.  These include laboring in a highly, government regulated industry, for a large corporate entity, with certain individuals who, at times, confuse avarice with actual success and a job done in a first rate manner.  Also, I am raising up other individuals, within this industry, to levels of compensation they may previously have only dreamed of, which causes me some regret as it feeds the beast which preys on all of us.

The most interesting, and disheartening, matter I have discovered since beginning this endeavor, is the CYA culture that seems to be so prevalent within the organization.  This is disheartening, because the CYA culture is a culture where individuals typically become afraid to make decisions, or perform certain functions, because “It’s not my job.” Bah, what a loser type attitude.

I will do very well in this organization, and CYA culture, as I am unafraid of making decisions and, more importantly, I already know more about every individual’s job above me, and below me, than those individuals know themselves, though I’m fairly certain riding the tiger will not leave me unscathed.

Posted by John Venlet on 08/15 at 02:07 PM
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