The Fight's the Thing

Over the years I’ve developed a reputation as being a pessimist. A grumpy old man, if you will. While I do not consider this a bad thing, entirely, I find it overly simplistic and lacking any understanding of the underlying motives.

First of all, I’m more of a realist than anything else. Forty years in aviation may have well created this mindset. To paint a rosy picture while your airplane is coming apart around you is no more desirable than simply folding your arms in surrender. Optimists and pessimists operate in those realms. I’m also a firm believer in Murphy’s Law and never celebrate an effort going well until it is completed. Regardless, under my seemingly rough exterior beats a hopeful, almost Quixotic, heart. A conundrum of extreme proportions at first glance, but I believe such an outlook would serve us all well.

Vince Lombardi is widely known for his philosophy on winning: it’s not everything...it’s the only thing. To put it another way, why try if success is out of the question? In the sporting world, of course, success is never out of the question, but in the world that most of us deal with daily there are endeavors that seem doomed before we begin. Fighting City Hall, for instance. Or bad customer service. Or the inevitable delay, be it in traffic or any one of a sundry of projects lined up for a given day.

When faced with these scenarios, many of us simply shrug our shoulders, scuff the sidewalk with our shoes, and say (or think), “What’s the use? I guess it could be worse.” And with nary a figurative shot fired, we’ve surrendered to the powers that be. Our expectations, in other words, have fallen so low that almost everything is acceptable despite the level of repulsion.

I would suggest that it is past time to lift our eyes a little higher to the horizon and start tilting at some of these windmills. We must raise our expectations and communicate our frustration when those expectations are not met. Talk to your elected officials, get the store manager, ask for a supervisor. Let those powers that be know you’re not happy and they will not be happy should the conditions continue. Will you see an instantaneous change in your environment? No, but as our expectations are raised and we begin to express our unhappiness at the status quo you can bet that, slowly yet surely, our quality of life will also rise.

The “what good will it do” mentality is the ultimate in pessimism. It, and the associated thoughts of “it could be worse” or “at least a have a (whatever)”, is the language of defeat and the furthest from my mind as I stir the pot and expect more from those around me.

Case in point: several months ago my wife suffered a severe reaction to a prescribed medication. An ambulance was required to transport her to the local hospital. (Yes, she’s fully recovered. Thank you for asking.) The ambulance bill included a $200 “night charge”. I inquired as to the rationale behind this charge. Are the drivers paid more for night work? (No) Are there other additional costs to warrant this increase? (Apparently not) I paid the bill, less the $200 dollars, and included a letter explaining my reluctance to simply pay the up-charge based on their ability to charge rather than the need.

The check has been cashed and I’ve yet to hear back from the ambulance folks. That doesn’t mean I won’t, though. If that comes to pass, I’ll reiterate my position and ask them to send another bill with an explanation for the charge. If they do, I’ll then go my nearest television station with a consumer reporter and see if there is any interest in a story. If not, I’ll probably pay the $200. My insurance did cover the entire charge and they’ve no interest in my refunding the difference back to them (bookkeeping problems, I guess) so I’d probably end this thing. But the main point is the questioning of the charge based solely on it’s legitimacy. Whether I end up paying or not is secondary to the question. In other words, the fight is more important than the victory.

Speak up...speak out...tilt at a windmill or two: raise your expectations. They represent a powerful force and lifting them a bit allows each of us to feel more empowered and perhaps leads us all to a better day. Tp paraphrase “The Man of LaMancha”: spend less time seeing life as it is and more as it should be.”  Hardly words from a grumpy old man, huh?