I Had a Very Strong Work Ethic. The Problem was My Ethics in Work.

What up? It's been a couple of weeks since I last rapped at you all and I'm sure that the anticipation has been growing among you as you've desperately waited for your next "Webby Files" installment (said with A TON of sarcasm), so I thought I'd spit something at you today to end your pain and anguish.

Oh...before I forget, sorry about my little April Fool's joke in my last entry entitled "When did You Get the CD Player, Wayne? When We Got the Money." I'm well aware that that was pretty cruel. In fact, I think I received more emails/texts/general disgusted responses from that entry than my last three or four entries combined, but that's what April Fool's Day is all about folks. You didn't think that I would just order a couple of pizzas to your house, did you? I didn't think so. Again...sorry 'bout that.

When I sat down at my trusty little computer to type this thing today, I wasn't sure what journey my keyboard would take me on. It's not that there's nothing to talk about...believe me, there is. Whether you're referring to the volcano in Iceland, or the trouble that's staring the Pope in the face, Goldman Sachs, the NBA playoffs, etc., etc. The news is in abundance and we could go in any number of directions, but that's not what we do here on this little page of words. You know that. We don't just comment on the headlines. We try to dig a little deeper on the WF, and maybe from an angle that very few are looking at. That's what makes this blog (in my opinion) a lot more fun than most. Do we all agree 100% of the time? Of course not (just take a look at my Facebook page after every single entry I post) to see that. What we do have is (mostly) constructive discourse between all sides of an issue until we resolve (agree to disagree) our disputes and then cyberly "have a beer" and resume our various friendships. Agreement isn't what I'm looking for here, nor should it be. If we all agreed on everything, there'd never be anything to talk about (which is why you should NEVER only hang out with people that are just like you [another topic for another post] and agree with/like/do all of the same things that you dig yourself). Pretty boring if you ask me, and we ain't boring around these parts.

I guess that brings me to my topic for today. There IS at least one thing that we should all agree on, yet just by reading a newspaper, you'll see that every single day there seems to be an ENORMOUS amount of people that just can't come to grips with this simple principle. I don't think that this can be debated, yet it's debated (by actions) on a daily basis in this country (and around the world). We've got some major "me first" issues, folks.

Why do we (as a people) feel the need to only cater to OUR best interests in spite of the cost(s) to others?

Why are we so selfish?

Why are we so greedy?

Now please don't take this as me talking down to anyone. Admittedly, I've acted in this manner (on a smaller level) a numerous amount of times as I'm sure you have. It certainly doesn't make it right, however, and it's now something that I truly try to avoid at all costs.

I don't know if certain people are just wired differently than me, but I'll never understand any of the following solutions that were literally decided on by influential people in high ranking positions in spite of the obvious repercussions. Decisions that ruined others' lives and that were only decided upon to further THEIR own personal gain.

Determinations such as these:

Let's send Father Shanahan to a Parish in Lincoln, NE and sweep the fact that he's molested over 75 little boys in his tenure as Priest under the rug. It's for the universal greater good of the Church, so we don't have a choice...

-OR-

Let's recommend to our clients that they invest their life savings into this particular opportunity, and then we'll bet on the other side of it and when it crashes, WE'LL reap all of the benefits. This will ensure that our company has a greater bottom line, allowing us to pay out HUGE dividends to our share holders...

-OR-

Let's take a life insurance policy out on Bill because he said that he was having chest pains the other day. If he dies, we could make a fortune...much more than his actual productivity...

-OR-

Let's pretend that we had no idea that our acceleration pedals were flawed, even though by ignoring the obvious mechanical defect, we're putting millions of motorists' lives at risk. We can't afford to have a multi-billion dollar recall...

-OR-

I'll never support ANY option for free health care to the poor. I have to pay for MY benefits, why should THEY get any help?!...

-OR-

SCREW THOSE FAGS!!! Marriage is between a man and a woman and I'll never allow them to have the same equal opportunities/tax credits, etc. as me...

-OR-

Even though we're still showing billions of dollars worth of profit, we must present growth for this quarter, so let's lay off another 2,000 workers...

This list could go on and on and on and on...and even though I've covered greedy CEO's, and the Catholic Church, and Toyota, and Goldman Sachs, and Anti-Gays (all people from different walks of life), the common theme is all the same. It's individuals putting personal greed in front of everything else, in spite of the obvious consequences that result from their actions. Period.

There are people that woke up this morning, showered, shaved, ate some breakfast while reading the paper. Put on their suit and tie and then drove into work. Sat down in their office and uttered a phrase identical to one of the examples that I've listed above. There is no doubt in my mind. These conversations have been had by someone today, and that someone will then go home at 5:00pm and coach his son's baseball team and be considered a respectable/law abiding/tax paying citizen. That is what disgusts me so much.

Last week (Thursday night heading into Friday morning) in Chicago, 22 people were shot (7 dead) in a 12 hour period. All separate instances of meaningless gang violence in our city. It's disgusting that it happened and I hope (as we all do) that the shooters will immediately be caught and sent to rot in jail or be executed, (I'm no tree-hugging, anti-death penalty queer :)). No one would argue that if you shoot somebody in cold blood, you deserve the consequences that come with taking a life.

Here's my problem, however:

The Pope, the CEO of Toyota, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, people who continue to repress those who are different than themselves (whether they hate gays, blacks, hispanics, the poor or all of the above) and so on, harm millions of lives. MILLIONS. Not just one. They're not just shooting another gang banger on the South side. They're stealing from/sexually assaulting/murdering MILLIONS of regular people like you and me EVERY SINGLE DAY and they'll NEVER see a second of jail time! Not ONE second! Yet, where is the outrage?!?!?

The Pope should be executed for his knowledge and protection of sexual abusers, the CEO of Toyota should be executed (not fined, which is what has happened) for killing and harming his customers, the CEO of Goldman should be executed for knowingly robbing millions from his clients and if you openly prevent equal opportunity for others just because of your own personal prejudices, YOU TOO should be executed (or at least sent to jail)! I'm sorry but something has to change. White collar crime is in many ways WORSE than the liquor store robbery that you read about in your town, yet they always seem to get off with a minor fine or probation. It's mind boggling.

My question to you is how can we convince these mis-wired individuals throughout this great world of ours to open up their eyes and think of those who truly feel the consequences from their actions? Only if/when this happens, will our planet become a better place. End of story. If we considered the poor/less fortunate/vulnerable every once in awhile, instead of just the bottom line when making our day to day decisions, OR if we actually thought about how a particular decision affects others instead of only how it affects ourselves, maybe we'd completely eliminate that sector of our society (both the lower class AND the white collar criminals). Think about it, if you can do away with the white collar criminals and shrink the number of individuals living in poverty in the process, you'd shrink the headlines as well. Not just the Goldman Sachs/Pope/Toyota headlines either, but the 22 shot in 12 hours headline too. Can you imagine? People thinking of the greater good instead of just how to fill their own pockets?

I can't either, but I guess that's MY American dream. Make it yours too...

Sorry Gordy, greed ain't good.

Hit me up on Facebook or in the comments section of my blog. I've added a new song to "The Skyfall" page http://www.facebook.com/theskyfallmusic called "My September Storm" (old song, freshly recorded). Check it out. Drink of choice: I've been on a vodka and soda kick. It's like a vodka tonic, but without all the gay. Talk to ya...

Ghost town,
Webby