Recently I was making fun of Wisconsin’s “springtime of tomfoolery”.
You may recall the bevy of protests sparked when the governor tried to rein in spending? Cliff notes version: he got most of what he wanted and the protesters (in my humble opinion) looked like spoiled whiny punks.
During the kerfuffle I laid low; leaving the press to wallow in it. Now that it’s over I keep chuckling to myself. What were they thinking? Who protests over job pay and benefits? (I’m looking at you Greece!)
I might do lots of things when my job sucks but protesting isn’t my style. Who thinks adults should stomp around waving signs and chanting slogans?
Free men don’t have to protest. If things go too far, find a better job. American workers are free to leave any time. If you can rise to the occasion, walk out the door with a smile and a swagger.
We’ve even got a theme song:
The corollary to this is that if you can’t find a better job, it’s time to practice humility. Suck it up for the short term and start adapting for a better long term. (It isn’t easy but the real world never is.)
For fun I wanted to juxtapose real heroes with real reasons to protest with the Wisconsin folks. I picked Lech Walesa out of a hat. Now there’s a man who has earned respect!
…it was a fine show. Teachers with megaphones barking insults at a recently and fairly elected governor standing on solid legal ground? You have to hand it to the folks at Madison, they really thought a wage reduction for state employees was like Lech Walesa standing up to the Soviets.
Overcoming Soviet domination takes balls. Bitching about your retirement fund contributions does not.
And then, because I’m a busy man, I forgot all about Wisconsin and their goofy protests. Until today…
Maggies Farm pointed me to Bizzy Blog who noted that Lech Walesa recently declined to meet with Obama. I hadn’t noticed it because I’d mentally filed the whole trip away as Obama running a few irrelevant “distraction laps” through Europe.
Apparently Walesa had the same opinion. Money quote:
Ouch!
Nothing smarts like a poser meeting the real thing. Walesa has earned respect facing off against the Soviets in a Cold War test of wills that could have gone very very badly. A coddled community organizing egghead doesn’t belong in the same league. Politely declining allows Walesa to avoid becoming a prop for another Obama photo op. Well done sir!
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P.S. When your job sucks I recommend taking the high road (“find a better job and take it”) but Johnny Cash has a different solution:
