Perhaps it is the chaos caused by COVID. Perhaps it is the growing discontent and political divide existing in our country. Perhaps it is the mounting societal changes that seek to throw time-honored traditions to the curb as if they were rotting garbage. Most likely, the malaise is a combination of all three, but it seems whatever circles individuals are associated with the grumbling complaints are constant companions.
Complainers have been in our midst since Moses was a pup, and most all of us have been guilty of engaging in the same over the years. Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz was once quoted as saying, “Never tell your problems to anyone, 20% of the people don’t care, and the other 80% are glad you have them.”
In the newspaper business, two of the most popular pages are the obituaries and the letters to the editor. People are glad to know they are not included in the former and like to read what people are b*tching about in the latter. Quite often, those letters feature the same writers constantly seeking to bombard us with their own held opinions. A few weeks ago, when perusing local letters to the editor, I was struck with what I viewed as common sense opinions that are affecting the lives of all of us these days.
One was written by a woman referencing the frustrations encountered when making a telephone call seeking services and getting nothing but automated instructions on the other end of the line. In part, she wrote, “Recently I made four phone calls and spent about three hours on hold. I was unable to get a live person and truly feel no one cares,” something we’ve all experienced. Customer service is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Another asked, “I would like someone to explain how it is that I, as an American citizen, have to show an ID and a vax card to get on a plane in my own country, and yet an illegal immigrant can get on a plane or bus and go anywhere in the U.S. Taxpayers are then required to house, feed and take care of their health care and education while trying to pay for our own mortgages, monthly bills and put food on the table.”
A third wrote, “As the ball dropped at midnight on New Year’s Eve, our state lawmakers quietly received a record $5,000 increase in their pay for doing nothing, bumping their taxpayer-funded salaries very close to $100,000 per year. This will be their 23rd pay raise in the last 25 years, while a lot of people are suffering and are paying record prices at the pump.”
Complaints indeed, but all three raise very valid questions and issues.
Former American motivational writer William A. Ward once penned, “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sail.”
Where are the realists among us? How do we adjust the sail to respond to the questions of those three-letter writers? Is our country better off with less customer service personalization, a different set of rules for those illegally entering our country, and full-time legislators seemingly separating themselves from the realities being faced by their constituents?
It matters not whether your preferred political animal is a donkey, elephant, or non-descript independent; everyone does have a dog in this fight. Taxation without representation was the battle cry at the Boston Tea Party, and yes, we are all still paying taxes.
Speaking of which, I paid a considerable sum to good old Uncle Sam last April in Income Taxes. Two weeks ago, I received a letter from the IRS explaining they had received my check (and cashed in last April), but they hadn’t received my Income Tax forms. How is that possible, since both were mailed in the same envelope? Their instructions were to resubmit copies of all my tax documentation or risk losing the tax credit payment I had already submitted, and they admitted they received it.
I followed up by calling the customer service number they provided. Following 15 minutes of pushing various phone buttons, I received a recorded message that “due to a high volume of calls, no one was available to assist me.” The message then suggested I should call again later.
Luckily, my very efficient tax preparer was later able to solve the mystery but had to wait more than an hour and a half to get a real person to help her.
Add me to that list of complainers, but for the sake of all of us in this great land, hopefully, our leaders will get back to serving the people as opposed to the other way around.
