We are coming out of one of the greatest pandemics the modern world has known, and one of the consequences, at least here in the United States, is the Great Recession. The older generations think that all these people quitting their job have no work ethic, while the people quitting believe their work ethics aren't being adequately compensated.
Working in a restaurant during this time has really opened my eyes to things. It's helped me to understand that most restaurant patrons know nothing about how things work, from what it takes to make hundreds of meals in an hour to how to attempt proper dinner manners in public. It's given me sympathy for other services, like teaching and nursing for example, who are in similar situations, barely making enough money to scrape by while simultaneously being trusted with the very lives of the people using their services, often accompanied with criticism over gratitude.
The common flaw in most of these situations is higher management, like the hospital CEO making seven figures and golfing while the doctors are buried in student loan debt and nurses are working crazy hours and dealing with hostile patients and their families who will likely be set back months financially for whatever is going on just for being there. Same goes for the superintendents of schools or the CEO of a fast food chain or a big box grocer.
Money doesn't corrupt everyone, and there are individuals who are swinging their particular hammers at what they deem appropriate. Some billionaires are building revolutionary new technologies, others are helping give groundbreaking access to vaccinations. But everyday people are drifting away from empathy, seeking the prize of monetary consumption, and not understanding that overconsumption is usually deemed a disease.
Be mindful when you are spending your money, not only where you're spending it but how.
