Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / July 30, 1981, edition 1 / Page 11
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r 0 . f$ 80 9 n IIU JUU 00 L IL J KJ Li iQlicli zii V 7 tttl m B f - 1 (U&i& By JOHN DRESCHER A friend of mine is a business major hera He hates it He has virtually no interest in the classes he takes. He doesn't really want to get into business and it shows. Naturally, he's not too excited about the job he'll get after college. . Unfortunately, there's a trend toward pessimism con cerning employment that seems to be affecting a great many American youths. And ifs not just lower class youths either ifs frequently middle and upper-middle class kids, the kind who make up a vast majority of students at a state university like UNC. Caught in a tightening economy, many young people have chosen to seek what they call a "practical" job, in other words, one that would bring them more money than they would really like to have. My friend likes horti culture, but thinks he'll make a lot more money in business. He may be right But that he will be working with an attitude of despair makes it difficult for me to believe that he can excel at a job he really doesn't like. And do people who aren't good at a job really make bundles of money? I doubt it f Do people who aren't good at a job really make bundles of money? The economic problems of the '70s changed attitudes towards jobs. "As our national bird is the eagle, our na tional direction is forward," wrote Barbara Carson in Newsweek. "Every generation does better than its parents. At least thaf s what I grew up believing. Yet as I look around, children...seem to be moving in any strange ly un-American directions;" ' Those un-American directions Carson spoke of involve the pessimistic attitude toward work so many of us have today. "Young people of every class seem to be losing net only status and income, but also skill, joy and hope," Carson wrote. America, the land of hope and opportunity, was the land so marry immigrants flocked to because they could improve their lives, and subsequently their children's lives, through good jobs. '' America's .reputation as a land of opportunity rested on its claim that the destruction of hereditary obstacles to advancement had created conditions in which social mobility depended on individual advancement alone," wrote Christopher;, Lasch in The Culture of Narcissism. "He lived for the future." If one worked, one improved his lot in the world so those after him could have a good job a job they wanted. But something happened a few years ago. Inflation, Vietnam, OPEC and other factors "beyond our control" stifled red, white and blue optimism. "The nation that was was once the world's most famous optimist began to shuffle around in a bathrobe, feeling mediocre and depleted, listening to threnodies by the Club of Rome," wrote Time's Lance Morrow. "Americans developed a moral inferiority complex of historic proportions; where once they hubristically viewed themselves as the world's best many came to see America as the worst" What happened to the fresh start, the future in which anything is possible? Children who grew up in the '60s and '70s matured in an environment of. the pessimistic America; Your job may not be what your immigrant grandparents wanted for you, but what you deem necessary to make enough money to live on, even if you ' don't like the job. That wasn't the way the Puritans, those overachievers famous for their dogged approach to work, looked at their jobs. The Puritans worked not to accumulate money but to provide their best services to the community. Each Christian had a "general" calling to serve Cod and a "personal" calling to serve their community with their best talent whatever that may have been. You may say that was fine for the 1 700s but wit h 20th century living conditions you need a certain amount of money. True. But as stated before, one excels at what one likes best Considering all facets of job satisfaction, including money, one is going to make a better and more enjoyable living doing what one excels at. Good job morale leads to high productivity. Bad job morale leads to low productivity. The state of the economy relies on many complex variables, but can the economy improve with a pessimistic work attitude and decreasing productivity? ''Morale, the condition of the spirit is more important than materialist Americans like to admit" Lance Morrow "Morale, the condition of the spirit" Morrow wrote, "is more important than materialist Americans like to admit" My friend will take his business courses, graduate and get a job in business. But I wonder if he can be productive over a long period in a field he doesn't like? I doubt it "Virtue pays in the 18th century version of the work ethic, but what it pays cannot be measured simply in money." Lasch wrote. "The real reward of virtue is to have little to apoligize-for or to repent of at the end of your life." lohn Drescher, a senior journalism and history major from Raleigh, is associate editor for Ths Tar Heel. Casey hangs on Don't mess with Al Medical milestone Despite calls from Senate leaders to resign and weakening support from the White House, CIA Director William J. Casey is fighting to retain his position. After reports of shady business dealings in the past political leaders from all sides have pres sured the director to leave his' post But Casey has asked for a full Senate hearing, which is within his rights, to prove that he is capable of running the CIA. In another development reports that Casey presented a plan to the House In telligence Committee to undermine Libyan leader Muammar Kaddafi were confirmed. Newsweek magazine called the goal of the covert action "ultimate" removal. Ultimate removal is interpretated as assassination. Merger mani C4 The bidding wars for Conoco Inc. con tinued this week. Three companies, Du Pont Co., Seagram Co. Ltd. and Mobil Corp., esca lated their bids to purchase 51 percent of Conoco's stock and gain control of the cor poration. The merger, as it is being termed, will be the largest in business history. Mobil offered $8.2 billion on Monday to pressure the other two companies to raise their bids. While the Mobil bid is the largest it also raises the most suspicion of antitrust The question centers around whether the Justice Department would allow the combi nation of Mobil, the second largest oil com pany, and Conoco, the ninth-largest. Robert C. Neumann, the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, has been fired, according to informed State Department sources. Although reports annonced that Neu mann was resigning due to an illness suf fered by his wife, several sources who re quested anonymity said that he had run afoul of Secretary of State Alexander Haig. Neumann, who is in Washginton, D.C., lob bying for the sale of radar planes to Saudi Arabia, was quoted in a Saudi publication as being critical of Haig and the administration for light stands taken against Israef and its raids of an Iraqi nuclear power plant and Palestinian guerrilla headquarters. Such re marks go against administration policy which calls for an end to condemnation of Israel . for its .actions while working for a cease-fire. as - Reports of the first successful surgery to an unborn fetus were released this week from Sari Francisco. The operation involved the use of a catheter to remove a potentially fatal build-up of fluid in -the urinary tract The procedure was complicated because the fetus was accompanied in the womb by a normally developing twin. Although the surgery was performed in side the womb with needles and hollow tubes, doctors say that this is the first step toward open-womb surgery. . Perils of pot More and more warnings on the dangers of smoking marijuana are being issued. The American . Medical Association released v f 4 i A findings from recent studies that lend evidence to the claims that THC, the active ingredient in the drug, may pose a threat to vital organscause bronchitis or emphysema and lead to psychological problems. Researchers have also proposed that long term usage may impair sexual functioning. The study showed that immediately after use, sexual desire is increased, but chronic use caused a decline in activity. The study was performed with white mice using stan dards which' serve as good models for hu man beings. Competition In Houston, a company hoping to offer the nation's first commercial satellite launching service raised its rocket on a launch pad Monday. The company. Space Services Inc., plans engine testa this week and hopes to launch its first flight on August 12. Trie flight is be ing used to establish credibility for potential investors. In order to carry out plans. Space Services Inc. must receive a waiver from the Federal Aviation Association rule that prohibits un manned rocket flight in controlled air space. Such a waiver would allow the company to be a potential competitor with NASA. !liak ttlemcnt Israel and Lebanon reached a tentative cease-fire over their recent border depute. The pact was violated several times fay Pal estinian guerrilla groups that refused to ac knowledge the agreement Special envoy Philip Mabib continues to work for a more lasting agreement Kevin Khk , . Jbuncjay; JuJjr 3Q lS31tTl?efTar Heel11
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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July 30, 1981, edition 1
11
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