1922: Why I Quit Being So Accommodating | Mike Cane’s xBlog. Update: See this post for a free ePub eBook version of this long post. A very odd essay from a 1922 issue of The American Magazine that seems to go against the general grain of most of the articles published then. There is also no name attached to it. Why I Quit Being So Accommodating Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of my retirement from the business of being a Good Fellow. Five years ago yesterday it was, at two o’clock in the morning; I am not likely to forget the place or the hour. “You are thirty-five years old,” I said to myself. It was in that solemn morning hour, as I have said, that I formally retired from the business of being Everybody’s Friend.
Surely, if life means anything at all, it means that each of us is entrusted with a certain irreplaceable fund of hours and weeks and years. Some of us are born good-natured, some acquire good-nature, and some have good-nature thrust upon us. Why is it that everybody imposes upon the hapless proprietor of a drug store? The elegant secret to self-discipline. Despite my lofty ethical and financial aspirations, I developed a tragic ice cream habit during the summer.
There are all kinds of long- and short-term problems with this: it’s bad for my health, morally dubious to say the least, and totally anti-frugal — a big no-no for my new career as a tightfisted writer. My justification was always pretty lame. I would explain to myself that I’m about to stop doing this, therefore it doesn’t matter if I do it right now.
The Devil on my shoulder would only have to say, “But it’s just for now. Enjoy!” And I would already be on an unstoppable march to Safeway. If I had given the angel on the other shoulder a chance to rebut, she would have explained the foolish tradeoff I was making. Only a fool would choose the first option, but when faced with certain frozen desserts, or other present-moment incentives I often become a fool, and maybe you do too. Self-discipline is time travel I have a beautiful banana sitting beside my laptop right now. An interview with The Man. Last Tuesday, between my late dinner and early bedtime, I was able to catch up with The Man, best known for being the head of The Establishment, and the developed world’s biggest employer. Millions of people work for The Man, and many complain about his managerial practices and his indifference to the plight of workers.
I sat down with him to get his side of the story, and he was very candid. David: You are an authority figure in all sorts of spheres: government, religion, culture, politics — but today we’re focusing specifically on business and work. A lot of people work for you, and you don’t have the best reputation. The thing people say most about you is that you “Keep them down.” Is that how you see it? The Man: No, not at all. DC: If it is ultimately voluntary for people to work for you, why do they do it? TM: Well it’s the normal thing to do, and I give them money to do it. DC: You don’t take any responsibility for the condition of your employee’s lives?
They’re free to do this.