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The Wheel That Doesn’t Squeak
Most people do the right thing. Most people work. Most people pay their bills. Most people do a pretty good job of raising their kids. Most folks are fairly kind and charitable and do the best they can with the information they have. As tough as I am on people, I believe that folks are basically good somewhere down deep in their hearts. They may do stupid things from time to time, but they are good folks at a core level. At least I hope so.
But there are no headlines for these folks. The headlines and the news stories go to the few, not the many. The attention goes to the few who make the most noise, the squeaky wheels of society. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and the grease is attention. And sadly attention only makes the wheel squeak louder and seems to create even more squeaky wheels.
Every group from the NRA to the Tea Party Movement to the women’s groups and gay and lesbian associations, churches, most professional associations and organizations, from animal rights to civil rights – right down to both the Republican and Democratic parties. All have extremist faction that steal the attention from the people in the middle that the organization was intended to represent. Every group.
Every business has policies that punish the many because of the stupid actions of the few. Very few people write bad checks or return stuff after it’s been used and on and on but businesses write policies that will effect the 97% in a negative way simply because the 3% is stupid.
The TSA punishes the many, including those who are obviously no threat to anyone, to find the few who might possibly blow up a plane with 4 ounces of shampoo. Or baby food. Or arthritis ointment.
10% Unemployed, yet 90% employed.
20% chance of rain, yet 80% chance of sunshine.
12% in default on their mortgages, 88% making their payments.
The extremists and the radicals get the attention. Not the calm, reasonable, responsible folks.
Beck, Hannity, Olberman, Maddow, Rush, Sharpton, Pelosi (this list could go on a while so I’ll stop now); these folks get all the face time and the attention and the headlines. Want a reasonable exchange of ideas from the bulk of the people who make up the middle eighty percent? Won’t happen. The extreme 10% on both ends of an idea are going to yell and blame and name call and a camera and a reporter will be right there in the middle of it to keep us all informed of every extreme idea. All while the thoughtful middle gets left behind.
Lindsay Lohan, the Jersey Shore Idiots, the Housewives of who-gives-a-crap, the Bachelor/Bachelorette, the Tools of Tool Academy and all the other idiots get the media and not the solid happily married, fully-functioning “celebrities” who live quiet lives and do their job (act) and stay out of the limelight.
Of course, there is a lot going wrong in business, government, among individuals, etc. and I am the first to point it out. And I see great value in pointing out the stupidity of it all in order to show what should NOT be done. That is my style: figure out what you are doing that’s stupid and stop doing it. (Remember, People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It) However, when it comes to the media, there is a lot going right that also deserves some attention. Some attention of the idiots is to be expected and I even enjoy a bit of it. But there are a lot of folks who ARE employed and paying their bills and their mortgages and are working hard at being the best version of themselves they can be using what they’ve got in the midst of tough times. I’d just like to see some attention go to that point every once in a while: the folks who don’t squeak.
The solution? I’m not sure. Seriously, I don’t have a great answer but it ticks me off that the idiots get ALL of the attention. No lesson to be learned here and no solutions. Sorry, I wish I had more for you but I just don’t. Therefore this is just a rant.
So right, media attention goes to the extremists. Sometimes, the mainstream media is full of crap. I suppose it is our job to separate the crap from the sugar………
Awesome rant Larry! I’ve added another sentence to “The squeaky wheel get’s the oil” I’ve added “or it gets removed!” Perhaps it’s time we, as a nation, start to remove the squeaky wheel(s) and create a machine that doesn’t make a much noise but is smooth running and efficient.
Again, great post.
Great thought provoking piece! Do you think that the number of people who normally wouldn’t take advantage of the system would begin to take advantage if there weren’t any of those laws that “punish the few”? I agree too that generally people are good at the core. But being good doesn’t mean that most wouldn’t take advantage of a situation / or opportunity if one presented itself. Every thought about cutting in the front of a long line when you’re in a hurry or jaywalking?
I agree. I think it has to do, in part, with the media perception that if it isn’t bad, it isn’t news. We need a Good News Network, where only good news is reported. There we could hear about the 90% hard working people who take responsibility and meet their obligations, those that give to support worthy causes, etc.
There really is more good stuff happening than bad, it just doesn’t make the news.
There is no solution..and Im not sure I would want there to b….the wheels that don’t squeak are for the most part happy with what they are doing and don’t need the attention for themselves or they wouldn’t be who they are.
Now, the folks who are “giving back” to society with donating their time and in general truly care for their fellow man, they are the “unsqueaky” heroes that I would want to receive the attention they deserve that they might encourage others.
Larry as always, more than a little honesty from you.
Can I suggest you make a visit to the UK soon, you are needed here.
Richard
Hey Larry! I found your “rant” to be quite true. But to answer your question about finding a solution, I suggest that we “become the change we wish to see”. If we band together with a common cause and make enough noise, then we can change the “system” just the way others have.
Want to give some praise and exposure to someone you believe deserves it? Highlight that person on your website, give him/her a “shout-out” in one of your videos, feature their bio or cause in one of your email blasts or speeches, or “tag” them in a note on your facebook page.
These may be small acts, but I believe we should each take responsibility by using the resources we have been blessed with to create the change we wish to see. The rest of the world may just take note!
I like your rants. You make sense. It’s terribly unfortunate that the Idiots that NEED to hear this/read this are too wrapped up in themselves and their “cause” to get a common sense wake-up call. Thanks for stsnding with the “middle folk”. We appreciate you.
Like the rant Larry…my only solution is to push the off button…wish that I could do that in the real world too. Keep it up guy!
Excellent rant! It’s too easy for well-meaning folk to get caught up in the negativity. The internet is the place to highlight the good news – the msm will never do it because they can’t sell it!
Two sites I can recommend are happynews.com and doonenicething.com (I’m sure there are others, too…)
Ordinary people doing powerful good stuff!
Have a great day everyone.
It’s too bad that we have to put a filter on the news and what we hear to get the real story. It seems to me that this focus on the negative leads people to think pessimistically – and also leads them to think in a victim-like way. And to not look for solutions as they’re caught up in the perceived problems.
Glad you’re telling it how it REALLY is Larry.
There are two kinds of squeaky wheels. The ones as you have discussed and the others who are really trying to fix problems or have innovations. Sometimes the bad squeaky wheel takes over and has themselves in a position of power. So the squeaky wheel of improvement is squashed and not allowed to have a voice.
I often quote my grandfather, “the squeaky wheel gets replaced.” Too many times, those of us in the middle 80% feel some obligation to listen to the squeaky wheels in life, only to be sucked dry of all productive energy we have. So I agree with G. Swanson May 17. The trick is to learn to tell the different between the person who squeaks because with a little oil, in the form of support, would do great things and the person who needs to be taken out of the machinery so others can shine.
Larry-
Thank you for your rant. It’s a shame that common sense isn’t so common anymore. The sad thing is that in today’s society the 10% that complain and don’t fulfill their obligations are the ones that get all the press.
When is it our turn?
I enjoyed ‘No Time for Tact’. You and I differ only on one day…December 10th. I believe you can ‘create desire’ in another person, by setting a superalitive example.
Larry,
I have never had cable television, I don’t have children, I am single, I am educated, I am a former ward of the state of Michigan, I am female, I have never been married (an educated woman from the wrong side of the tracks isn’t a prize), I am 44, I own my old car, I have an upper admin position, I must repay my student loans, I do have credit cards but I have not gone to town on them, I am self sufficient, I have never received one penny of support from anyone, and I struggle to starve from one pay check to the next.
-GinaB
I have just read your book, People Are Idiots And I can Prove It! Thank you it was the best 50 cents I’ve ever spent at a garage sale!
You are the best, and I enjoy all of your writing, including your rants. Waking people up is key to changing their destinies, and you are a master. 🙂
There ARE lessons here, though, and a couple of important ones at that, such as
* Forget the general media; it’s full of drivel, does little or nothing to help us accomplish our goals, and keeps us focused on negative minutiae. When we stop listening, we get a huge return in time and energy.
* Be the change you want to see, as Dawn (commenter, above) so wisely said. Stand up for what you believe in, speak out, highlight and pass along inspiring and uplifting info. and work, and generally be vocal. Change things for the better!
Just wanted to say hello, Larry, and thank you for all that you do. Wish you’d blog more often!
~ Shauna
Larry, I’m a huge fan, and I love your work. I love it so much that I want to buy more of it. Here’s my problem though; it seems as if some of your work is a rehash of previous work. I’m thinking the audio CD’s of ‘It’s called work for a reason’ and ‘ Your success is your own damn fault’. I understand there may be some overlap here and there across your ideas, but it seems a bit much.
I’m not looking to be a smart ass, or trying to get your goat. In this article you said that most people do the right thing, which I believe you certainly do. I just don’t understand how rehashing material squares away with the sense of service and integrity you mention in your work, and like a concerned customer, I was hoping you could explain.
Larry,
In your rant, you stated, “Every business has policies that punish the many because of the stupid actions of the few.” Well, I would like to tell you that the company that I work for had policies that are for the good of the customers, but we still have a few that make stupid actions. See, I work for a video rental company that started in my hometown of Springfield, IL, and I have always loved it! I think our polices are great, and before I even started working with this company I was a customer for over a decade! Now, I know that these are “bad words,” but I’m going to say them nonetheless: our company policy is that we don’t take credit card information from our customers. Never have, never will. If our customers get late balances, we politely ask them to pay them, but if for some reason they cannot, we work out a payment plan with them, or even in some cases, wipe the late balance off completely! One customer in particular that I encountered during my work here had a late balance of well over $100, and he refused to pay it when he came in (we know that he rented the movies, because he was a regular customer at our store). Despite the fact that he refused to pay off the late balances, we continued to let him rent anyway until his balance reached an amount too high to ignore anymore.
One night this customer came in while I was working and he brought up some movies he wanted to rent. I pulled up his account and he had a note on the account from my manager’s manager that he had to either pay off the late balance, or we had to work out some kind of deal with him to get it paid off. When I informed him of this, he started yelling at me saying he didn’t even rent the movies, his son did (which as I mention earlier, we all knew to be a lie). So I apologized to him and said that we could put a “check I.D.” on the account so that only he or someone he gave his I.D. to could rent on the account. He started yelling louder that this was bullshit and he didn’t want that on his account, he just wanted the late balance taken off. I told him that I was sorry, but there was a not from my manager saying that he had to pay it off, but I would happily call her to find out what he could do. He again yelled some more saying that he was going to take his business elsewhere. I politely informed him that we didn’t want to do that, because we valued his business, and also that if he did open an account at any of our competition’s stores, that they would require his credit card information so that if he had a late balance there, they could just charge it to his credit card. He yelled some more, and I offered to have him pay just $20 on his late balance, and that I would take off the rest, so that we could start on a clean slate. He finally got fed up and walked out of the store, yelling that he didn’t want to have to pay any f*#cking late balance at all, that he was just going to go elsewhere. I found out later that he also came in when some of my other coworkers were there and I wasn’t, and tried to rent with the same result, he got angry again, and tried to walk out, munching on some of our ice cream that he didn’t even pay for.
I guess my point is that it’s not always the customer service that’s bad, sometimes it is the customer!