Is it just me, or are people getting awfully touchy these days?
Within the past week, I have received calls from three
consultants and other professionals who had received screaming phone calls
from their clients threatening lawsuits for things they absolutely weren't
responsible for. Without getting into specifics, here's what the clients
said:
"I did something stupid and it's your fault because you kept
distracting me with e-mails that required me to think";
"Even though you pointed out several reasons why this was a bad
deal, and I ignored your advice and went ahead with the deal anyway, you are
liable for anything that happens because you didn't do enough to prevent me
from going forward";
 "I know I authorized you to agree to certain things with the
other side, but I've changed my mind now and I want you to undo this deal
and get me my money back, or else."
It would be a simple matter to just dismiss these people as
cranks, crazies or people with anger management issues, but I think it's
symptomatic of a much bigger problem in American society today ... one that
affects all business owners.
People today -- at least in the United States -- are a lot
different than they were when the Greatest Generation ruled society. Fifty
years ago, people were inundated with moral and ethical training from their
diapers -- they belonged to churches, synagogues and other religious bodies
(and actually went to them regularly). They attended religious schools that
drilled civil behavior and personal responsibility into them. Shared
community values were rigorously and fearlessly enforced by clergypeople,
teachers and others whose authority in such matters was not questioned.
Also, the Greatest Generation knew what true deprivation was --
they had survived the Great Depression in the 1930s, World War II in the
1940s, and the Cold War in the 1950s -- and remembered times when they lied
awake at night wondering if there would be food on the table, or if The Bomb
would drop. They were a lot tougher than we are, folks, but they simply
couldn't be rude or uncivil to anyone that had shared the "common causes" of
those days with them. Obviously, things are a lot different today. Many
people think it's better now than it was back then, and they certainly are
right about some things. We are a much more inclusive society now than we
were in the 1950s -- women, African-Americans, Jewish-Americans,
Asian-Americans, gays and other ethnic minorities have a lot more clout
today (politically, legally and socially) than they did back then. Also,
when was the last time you truly worried about when your next meal came
from?
Yet, in a curious paradox, the more egalitarian, pluralistic and
prosperous our society has become, the less civil, courteous and respectful
our society has become. There are few if any shared values that keep us tied
together as citizens of a commonwealth anymore. The maxims "if it feels
good, do it" and "live for today" that were drilled into our heads during
the 1960s and 1970s have become our guiding credos today.
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