Archive for February, 2020
A political parable
Saturday, February 8th, 2020
I know of a guy who decided to pursue a very important job at his company. He was opinionated and abrasive (some would say he was “plain-spoken”) and seemed like a long-shot. Several other people were interested in the position, but eventually one challenger surpassed the others and it became a two-person race. To everyone’s surprise, he won the job.
On the very day that his victory was revealed, half of his future co-workers announced that they hated him. Further, they declared that his selection was illegitimate, even though the standard procedures had been followed. They immediately announced their intention to get him fired and promised to stop at nothing.
They spent the next three years badgering him and trying to find a reason to get rid of him. For two years, they tried to prove that he had persuaded a competing company to interfere with the selection process on his behalf. That came to nothing, so they kept trying. This time, instead of casting doubt on the selection process, they would carefully scrutinize his every move, hoping to find some evidence or rumor of wrongdoing.
After another year they finally came up with a list of two things they thought he had done wrong. After dithering and stalling for a month, they took their list to the Board of Directors, demanding that they fire him.
Almost half the Board were among those who hated him and had wanted him fired from the start. Several of that faction had even launched their own efforts to get his job. But once again they were frustrated when the Board decided to keep him on.
A few of his opponents announced that they would keep trying to get him fired. Others just hurled more insults. Not being a turn-the-other-cheek kind of guy, he hurled some back, which enraged them even more.
Now the hate him/fire him crowd are back at work, vowing to get rid of him and undo everything he has accomplished – while simultaneously denying that he has accomplished anything! Hatred is a terrible thing. It shrinks the heart and corrodes the mind. Unfortunately, hatred has become a major driving force in American politics.
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