On My Soap Box Again!! Do Not Run Yet!!

Please read through this before you decide that I have lost my mind. I will get to my point eventually. I will; I promise!! Before I start; a statement of my involvement  with the restaurant industry. I no longer hold any interest in any company that owns or operates restaurants. This is not a defense of the restaurant industry; although if you do not read the entire piece you may well think it is a defense.

I believe that every business has a right to exist as long as it is a legal entity. I believe that the goal of every corporation is the is to maximize profits for its shareholders. That is the course of Free Enterprise and I fully support it. Capitalism, given that it has many faults and is taken advantage of by the less than scrupulous, is the best way to have a growing and thriving economy.

McDonald's is no different. But all over the world it is held up as a symbol of what is wrong with the United States or our way of life. It is bashed by many as a symbol of the global take over by Corporate America. Even here in the USA it is attacked as being solely responsible for obesity.

This is the image many activists want you all to picture when you think of McDonald's; or, in reality, any Fast Food Restaurant. Some cities, San Francisco being the most prominent, have even banned Happy Meal Toys because they have determined that the toys attract children to eat unhealthy foods. The motives are many for this behavior. I personally believe that there will always be a segment of society that wants to tear down other peoples accomplishments because they can not deal with their own failures.

Lets get you Imagination Hats on and follow along with this train of thought. Here I am at McDonalds. Imagine me a child of lets say 8 years old. I drive myself to McDonalds for lunch everyday; leaving school without permission. I come into the restaurant and the very first place I go is to the stand advertising the toys that are available to me. Then I rush to the counter to order. I pull out a $10 bill; that I just received when I cashed my paycheck at the bank on my way here. I order a Happy Meal so I get that wonderful toy. A yummy cheeseburger, fries and a coke. Now that TEENAGE girl, who is taking my order, tells me about the healthy substitutes that are available; apples, milk or maybe a parfait. But I am a kid. My choices are my purgative. I take my meal; rush to a table and rip open my toy. I am happy, getting fat and my own person. Then I jump back into my car and drive back to school. Sneak in through the gym while no one is looking and head to class.

An absurd story is it not.  But this is the image that Fast Food opponents are asking you to believe. It is the picture that they want to pop into your head each time you drive past McDonalds or Wendys. It is also a picture that lacks two things that we all seem to toss aside when listening to these people talk.

First, and most important, is the lack of Parental Guidance and Responsibility that is displayed in my absurd story and in the stories of those that vilify these restaurants. Because of the Governmental Idea of We Will Take Care Of All Your Problems; we have ceded our Personal Responsibility. Sadly this attitude has permeated every aspect of our lives.

Secondly; we have stopped applying the Rule Of Common Sense to the arguments laid before us. We see a statement about some facet of our lives and we fall in line like sheep; believing these statements, without checking the facts, because some reputable sounding organization has uttered them.

I believe that our Personal Responsibility and our application of Common Sense; are keys to attaining a meaningful life. Letting others make decisions for you or letting them set the path that your life will take is an abomination to this existence that God has gifted to us. Will you make mistakes? Of course you will. Making mistakes is part of what makes you a higher functioning being.


RELATED STORY

OK! What started my ranting today. For one thing; I believe what I have written.  But what really got me going is the way many fast food restaurant employees are treated. This problem, I believe, is pandemic to the restaurant world. But is especially rampart in fast food restaurants.

Look back to my story about the visit to McDonalds and note that I have hiligthed the word TEENAGE.  I did that because they are the ones that have their futures still ahead of them. But in reality this problem is true for many fast food employees.

When a system of compensation, is set up, that rewards those in charge for the work performed by those they manage, without reward for the hard work of those being managed; an atmosphere of abuse is more than possible. When managers bonus pay is based entirely on the bottom line; holding down the salaries of the workers or limiting their work hours will be a desired result for those managers.

My point here, to the Teenage worker just starting out, is that working in fast food is a starting point not an end point. Unless you have the desire and the ambition to become a manager; the goals of working for any fast food restaurant, or any employer at this age, is to gain some work place knowledge and experience. It is a way to start to lay a foundation of Personal Responsibility in you life. A way to learn to use Common Sense to assist in building your future.

I have now stepped off my soap box.

Love ya,
Night

PS......No politicians, restaurant managers or restaurant owners were educated by this blog today because frankly they do not give a rats ass. Hopefully a future citizen has seen a little light and maybe grasped a little knowledge.