When I was younger, during a period of...shall we say.....career success, I was asked to join a union.
Now, you all know where I'm from; I'm from the land of Unions. So, you'd think I would have a soft spot for an organization that would be looking out for my best interests, while taking just a small portion of my hard earned wages.
I didn't join the union; largely because I had found in that period of...shall we say....career success, that by taking the Union card, I would for all intents and purposes be cutting myself off of about two-thirds of the work I had just finished.....and I'd be paying for that right.
It seemed.....shall we say....suicidal.
And, knowing myself as I do, I knew that I was not a unique entity. There were a hundred or more in the Union just like me. It didn't make sense to limit my job opportunities, and give myself extra competition, and pay for that opportunity.
After a while, I realized what the point of Unions were: the object of a Union is to keep people OUT of the Union.
And then, I began to see that some of the people around me began to see the Union as some kind of Holy Grail. And they thought I was crazy for NOT wanting to be in the Union. And that, somehow, not being in the Union was like walking down LaFayette Blvd after dark with several thousand dollars taped to your clothing, singing, "I cannot run very fast, and I don't see no cops around, do dah, do dah".
Union=Happiness. No Union=Death and Despair.
It's that attitude that keeps me from Organized Religion, as well. When the billboards go up, stating that I'm going to Hell without some Church's blessing...well.
I carry my adornments 'pon my soul. My Faith is not a flag to be flown, a statue on a mantelpiece to be cooed over and envied. And RELIGION.....
in the words of Bertram Cates*: "Religion is supposed to comfort people, not scare them to death."
Did you ever notice that I start out with one topic, and end with another?
Can you imagine what it's like to LIVE in this SKULL?
*Bertram Cates is a fictional character, and the focus of the trail in INHERIT THE WIND.
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3 comments:
I can't speak for that union, bro, but I'm a proud member of AFSCME, which is constantly working to add more members, more staff to a badly understaffed department, and contributing to the community with sponsorship and volunteerism. In other words, it's what a union is supposed to be. Religions, on the other hand...as Lenny Bruce said, "Every day more and more people are turning away from the church and going back to God."
I haven't worked since I joined that union. Oh, a "showcase" with a "stipend." But that's it.
Josie works with the Union. What can I say? I can't really say anything for fear of him or me winding up like Jimmy Hoffa. I've heard tales of them hanging peoples cat in garages around here.
What once was a terrific thing.... Norma Rae... Slaughterhouse Five... protection of the worker in the workplace, workers rights...
has become a machine that uses its "power" for evil.
Did I say to much?
If I disappear...
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