Summary: When an individual no longer had the ability to make a determination on what they would do with their lives as far as being self-sufficient they simply felt their only choice was to become someone’s servant in the workplace – apathy was the result and it affects all areas of society today.
He was a rancher and he subcontracted to be a stagecoach driver in the late 1800’s. He had four sons and they all served in the military because that’s what America’s sons did as a way of expressing gratitude for the freedom to pursue life.
As the man aged he found it more difficult to manage a ranch on his own so he leased the land for farming and he became a railroad engineer and later a police officer after his wife passed away.
But when he talked about what he loved best it was always ranching. He would recall the days riding fence or rescuing cattle after a blizzard. He always recalled these as the hardest years of his life, but the most rewarding and his eyes twinkled as he spoke.
His story is echoed across an aging population. They felt most alive when they called the shots – when they controlled their destiny.
As industrialization swept the country and as a second wage earner was required to make ends meet many people abandoned the notion that they could ever own a business so they simply went to work wherever they could find it, and this, I contend was the beginning of widespread apathy in America.
When an individual no longer had the ability to make a determination on what they would do with their lives as far as being self-sufficient they simply felt their only choice was to become someone’s servant and life was drained from living.
As time marched on new generations simply looked to the future and saw college as their means of finding the best job they could. Most college graduates today are not contemplating job creation they are only contemplating job offers.
Perhaps the apathy that is pervasive in the world today has to do with the feeling that there is no destiny to control, no decisions to make and no future to get excited about.
This idea runs parallel with statistics that show a steady decline in job satisfaction among America’s workforce.
There would certainly be a problem if today’s workforce were to simply leave the workforce and attempt to develop their own business. There are so many service industries today and each of them require a steady supply of willing workers, but the idea of a home-based business is appealing to those who had grandparents and great grandparents who once knew the joy of business ownership.
There are many reasons cited for apathy in America. I contend the prevailing feeling that we are not in control of our own destiny and that our choices are few are the feelings that leads many to simply work for the weekend without being able to see something better five years down the road or remember something better in the past.
Home-based business could be a positive answer for negative apathy for many who have a dream they have been hiding for far too long.