“These are the best of times, and the worst of times.”
Recognize those words?
In not, they belong to poet Charles Dickens at the beginning of his 1859 classic “Tale of Two Cities.” Well, if we consider the times we exist in these days, particularly your current life situation (and perhaps what you’ve been, eh, “imbibing” lately) you’ll check yourself on one end of the “best/worst times” spectrum or the other. Or maybe somewhere in between on a given day or experience.
But first, imagine that you (or a family member) are a federal employee in the US. Let’s say that you’re close to paying off your car loan or mortgage. Let’s say that you’re just a few years away from retirement. Let’s say that you have years of college tuition for a son or daughter ahead of you.
Okay, now let’s say that during a recent weekend of well-deserved rest and relaxation you receive an email instructing you to put together a list of your 5 accomplishments over the past week and – help me Lord- face termination if you don’t comply by end of day Monday.
Not exactly a pleasant thought, huh?
Well in case you haven’t heard or were vacationing on Mars, what I’ve just described was the reality for thousands of federal workers. Which brings us to today’s topic, “Chainsaws,” that’s been in the news lately, and not for all the right reasons.
But first, due to several days of heavy rain that saturated the ground recently, a huge tree fell across and blocked the driveway at a house next door to me. But thanks to my good neighbor, “Dr. Jim,” who rushed to the scene with his chainsaw, before the day was done the driveway was cleared. So yes, by design, chainsaws serve a useful purpose.
But back to the hellacious weekend interrupting email I asked to imagine a few lines ago, imagine the sheer callousness of that edict in that it gave no time for recipients to consult with family members, evaluate their financial situation, let alone seek alternative employment. The inhumanness of how this played out is surreal and mind blowing.
Like millions, I was angered by the sickening image of a chainsaw wielding, sunglass – wearing (unelected and non-US born) Elon Musk, the mandate’s initiator, dancing like a buffoon across the stage at a conference. While he danced and his audience cheered, I couldn’t shake the image of federal workers sent packing into a future of pain, hardship and uncertainty.
This whole thing conjured up a strikingly similar years ago story of Al “chainsaw” Dunlap and his acts of awfulness, callousness and arrogance. For those who may not know or remember, Albert Dunlap was an American corporate executive known as a turnaround management specialist and downsizer. The mass layoffs at his companies earned him the nicknames “Chainsaw Al” and “Rambo in Pinstripes,” after he posed for a photo wearing an ammo belt across his chest.
Dunlap is on the lists of “Worst CEOs of All Time” by several business publications. Fast Company noted that Dunlap “might score impressively on the Corporate Psychopathy checklist” and in an interview, Dunlap freely admitted to possessing many of the traits of a psychopath, but considered them positive traits such as leadership and decisiveness.
So, I ask myself (and you, readers) this: When will this madness end? What’s the path forward? One’s immediate impulse is to retreat into silence and inaction, to sequester all this into the far reaches of the mind hoping that this too will pass. Well, sorry but the truth is that without change and despite waking up with that hope, the nightmare will still there and growing with every new act of out of control shamelessness. Wishful thinking, hello, is just that – wishful thinking!
But what about those of us who are outraged? Do we pack our suitcases and head to the nearest airport for one-way tickets to some tropical island (praying that our plane won’t meet the same disastrous fate as others have recently due to – again, please help me Lord – DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion)?
As The Beautiful Mess author John Pavlovitz puts it, “there’s no expiration date on your outrage.” Unattended to, I’ll grows However, as yours truly puts it, there is an expiration in our silence, inaction and lip service if we want to change the dangerous trajectory that threatens to dismantle a democracy and a nation we desire it to be for generations to come.
Positive cultural change today, stresses Palvovitz, is about leveraging your life where you are by doing small, measurable daily acts of decency, of protest, of advocacy, of collaboration. No one, he says, is situated in the precise community where we live, with the circle of influence we have, with the connections we’ve made, with the knowledge we have.
In the end, don’t allow yourself to accept these challenging times as the way it has to be. Take stock of what’s occurring around you. Keep a watchful eye on the lives and wellbeing of others. Turn off depressing media news (and people) and turn on stress lowering programs (and people) that make you laugh uncontrollably.
Here’s a list for you to consider, share with others and, even better, expand upon:
– Join something and join forces. There’s strength in numbers.
– Show up and shout out at town hall meetings. Remember that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
– Push back on hypocrisy, cowardice, lip service and spinelessness on the part of those who should know better.
– Do fewer social media meetings and more face-to-face meetings with real people.
– Learn from those who have encountered difficult times. Their histories can help and instruct.
– Think seriously about what you need to do more of, less of, stop doing altogether or start anew within your circle of influence and sphere of control.
Okay, since I began this narrative with a quote, it makes sense to end with one to drive my point home: “You move a mountain one stone at a time.” -William Faulkner
Now what’s your stone?
Terry Howard is an award-winning writer. He is a contributing writer with the Chattanooga News Chronicle, The American Diversity Report, The Douglas County Sentinel, Blackmarket.com, The Augusta County Historical Bulletin and recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, and third place winner of the Georgia Press Award.
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