Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves

I often discuss with a good buddy of mine in Seattle the distinct possibility that all liberal democracies like ours have a built-in self-destruction mechanism.

The best way I can explain this is with the micro-example of a family. A parable, which was told to me by an economist, is known as "The Story of Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves" :

1. The first generation couple comes to America penniless, often not speaking English. But they work hard in blue collar jobs or perhaps starting their own small business, making sure their kids get a great education. By the time they pass away they likely have saved up a few hundred thousand dollars in equity, often in the form of a house, the mortgage of which was completely paid off.

2. The kids of this couple are instilled a good work ethic by their parents. They work hard in school and then work hard in their white collar professions. But they also want their own children to have a better & easier life than they did. So they start giving their kids things and more things and more things. What they don't realize is that in doing so, they're destroying the work ethic of their children.

3. By the time the kids - now the 3rd generation - graduate from high school, they have been handed everything and don't have a care in the world other than where to find the next party. Their work ethic throughout college, which they might not even make it to, is questionable. Ditto for when they enter the workforce. Implicitly they know that they will inherit everything from their parents, who have become very successful in their work lives, so their motivation to achieve anything on their own is muted.

4. The 3rd generation stumbles through life, not at all clear about what's important. Even the term "strong work ethic" sounds square and irrelevant. All they care about is vacation time and getting high, be it from alcohol or drugs or sex. When they have kids, these youngsters have little to no moral guidance and no memory of who their great-grandparents were or how they struggled to provide for the generations below them. So when these kids graduate from high school, if they even do that, they're back to working in blue collar jobs, just like their ancestors who first came to America.

It's clearly a generalization, but I think it's quite profound. In the larger picture of North America I think it speaks volumes about the predicament we're in. Too many in our society, having been given so much, seem to have lost track of the notion that it's the inherent duty of each of us to give more back to our communities and our nations than we should ever expect to get in return.

Once this mindset becomes too widespread then society will have reached a tipping point from which it will be exceedingly impossible to recover.

This is my fear for the future.

A Contrast of Values

Two seemingly unrelated events occurred today that I just have to share. My mom & I took the bus out to Ladner to visit her older brother who recently moved into an assisted living facility. When we got to the Ladner Bus Exchange, a man came to the front door and said to the driver, "Hey man, I don't have any change, can I get a ride to the KFC?" Rather than point out to him that there was a McDonald's half a block away to get some change, instead the driver let him on, though warning him that there was a $75 fine if he got caught. Mr. Freeloader hopped on, saying that he would risk it. He then added that after lunch he was going to pick up his "EI" (Employment Insurance) cheque.

A woman, who clearly didn't know this guy, insisted that she would pay for him. There were no protestations of pride or self-respect on his part. What did come out of his mouth next was this, "I'm a child of God and this is a blessing. It's a sin to turn down a blessing, isn't it?!" I almost threw up.

The bus got rolling and Mr. EI-KFC got off about 6 blocks later. Oh, you may be interested to know that he about 25 years old and white.

Fast forward a few hours. At lunch, we were served by an Indian woman in her late 30's. We learned that though she was not born here, her 5 children were. In addition to this job waiting and cleaning tables, she also works part-time at the Post Office. Her husband builds townhouses in Burnaby and also runs a blueberry farm that they just bought in Ladner.

When people say that we should stop all immigration to Canada I just laugh and think, "Stop new immigrants from coming here?!? The vast majority of them are the ones setting the examples for the rest of us!!!"