James Fox

The recent action taken lately to eliminate government mandated positive results has more than a few Americans concerned. I'm referring to what has been known as "Affirmative Action." Affirmative Action is and was a well meaning attempt to make everything fair and equal for everybody. A nice dream, but in the real world it belongs on the same list as all the other, "The Way it Oughta Be"s.

The emotional conflict brought on by two diverse beliefs coexisting within a single individual can be very destructive. An excellent example is Jack London, one of our more famous authors. Jack's writings were influenced by the philosophy of Herbert Spencer's Social Darwinism (the survival of the fittest), and the style of Rudyard Kipling. London believed simultaneously in a Marxist, classless society and the necessity for the fittest to survive. Many, who knew him, and had read his autobiographical novel, Martin Eden (1909), believed he had lost his will to live because of the torment created by two, diametrically opposed, philosophical beliefs.

In this real world of 2003 there are some basic truths that our society must face and acknowledge, especially the youth. I will try to present reality in the following paragraphs and, at the same time, outline a formula for survival -- even success for the willing individual. First a look at "The Way It IS":

Existence on this planet can be likened to an upward climb on a giant downward traveling escalator. Each passing year triggers an increase in the speed of the escalator. Maintaining position or "status Quo" requires ever increasing effort. Those willing and capable of this ever increasing effort, do maintain position and thereby, by definition, become successful survivors and role models for those who are upwardly mobile.

Those who are not willing or who are not able slide rapidly down into that pile of historical failures. This is, I believe, a natural law.

In the past, this struggle and the harsh penalties of losing was more subtle because the speed of the escalator was very slow. We created a name for this game of constant change. We called it Evolution and thought that it happened to every species except humanity. That concept was patently wrong, the damn escalator has gone mad, and the pile at the bottom is becoming a mountain.

The only way that we as a society can reduce the pile at the bottom is to prepare ourselves individually for the climb. In a socialistic society the pile at the bottom is spread out so that it appears flat. There is no escalator to climb; therefore, there is no incentive to climb or produce. As we have seen in the last five years, the Communist countries were economic failures in the world market, and their governments collapsed.

If we acknowledge that there is no free ride up the escalator, we rule out the diversity of social philosophy. There is only one way up:

Forget about the Federal Government, the State, the County, Educational grants, and all of those other entitlements. Help from those sources will soon disappear. The only tools that you can depend upon to insure your survival and your chance to make it up that damn escalator are:

1. Your dedication to being the best that you can be, in everything you do.

2. Your dependability.

3. Your personal appearance and the image you project.

4. Your diversity

5. Your willingness to work, to study on your own time to improve your job knowledge, and your knowledge and understanding of the entire business. In other words, your trade.

There are priority prerequisites to survival. They are in priority order:

1. Your Health -- it effects survival and performance.

2. Your Job -- this one is the most important thing in your life until you have prepared yourself for the next step up; then the next job takes on the same status.

3. Your Family -- if you have one -- sounds cold to be number 3, but we are outlining YOUR survival.

4. Your Hobby or active Sport -- avoid team sports or hobbies. Practice, practice, practice -- work at it until you are as proficient as you are capable then drop it as soon as it stops being fun. Trying beyond your capacity is not good for your mental health. Always have a new interest to go to before you discontinue your last sport. This keeps you in a continuous improvement state of mind.

5. Sleep a minimum of 6 hours each night -- 8 is preferable. Your work performance will suffer if your body and mind are not rested. Eating at the same time each day is equally important.

Sound like you're training for a championship fight? You bet your LIFE you are!

Finally, in conclusion, when you go out into the job market, and you feel that you are fully prepared and are sure that you are the very best at what you do; don't be afraid to fight for that job. Offer to work for a week without pay just for the opportunity to show them just how "Damn Good" you are. If they don't believe, after a week, that you're the best giget maker in the world, then to heck with them. Go try someone else.

Personally, I believe that if you are really prepared, you'll never be out of work again. You may only get half way up the escalator and maintain "status Quo" in that position. Hardly anyone makes it to the top, but you'll never slide back down and contribute to that stack of failures who were too negatively conditioned to even try.

You are probably wondering what this has to do with the current state of the State? Basic arithmetic, the whole is equal to the sum of it's parts. The parts of the State are it's people. The mental, emotional, and physical condition of those parts are reflected in the performance of the parts and the survival of the whole.