By Steve Beseke, beseke1@earthlink.net
Last week was a tough one for civility, doing the right thing and the art of simple life resiliency.
We heard the unemployment rate is still nearly 10 percent and more than 8 million Americans are continuing to look for their next great work adventure. Experts also said U.S. employment projections don’t hint at “normalcy” before 2012.
This has forced many of us to rethink and reinvent our careers – and work doubly hard to support our families. We have been burning the midnight oil – sometimes seven-days-a-week – to stay resiliently healthy.
So when two U.S. senators stood in front of cameras last week to basically sucker punch those of us staying resilient, I was deeply saddened and angry. What did they say or do?
A retiring Kentucky senator waged a nearly one-man crusade to twice block the extension of jobless benefits for those who may have nowhere else to turn for a bit of financial help. Members from both sides of the political aisle were aghast and disgusted with his insensitivity and sheer disdain for his fellow Americans in need.
Then, even worse, an Arizona senator had the gall to say extending unemployment benefits would perpetuate the laziness of those unemployed or underemployed. This statement was the ultimate embarrassment – to him.
I typically write exclusively about resiliency topics, but having two very influential politicians out-of-touch with the resiliency of Americans deserved a special comment this week.
Unemployment benefits have helped me retool my career interrupted by this tragic economy. An economy unfortunately still in disarray because both sides of the aisle are not willing to give a little for the common good.
I have very humbly become an internationally-known speaker and writer about career and life resiliency. It’s been a true blessing for a guy who has resiliently adapted to a lifelong physical disability (Cerebral Palsy) – and a lay off from my 25-year corporate communications executive career.
Without the unemployment benefits, however, my road would have been much harder and challenging.
I purposely don’t mention the senators’ names or party affiliations because they should not matter. Whether Democrats, Republicans, Independents or a reincarnation from the Whig party, this is not the time to play with the lives and resiliency of good people trying to make it through another day.
By the end of last week, both senators felt intense pressure to moderate their positions and the unemployment benefit package passed overwhelmingly.
The common-sense point: With so many still desperately looking for work with little success, this extension gives folks some additional financial relief for the sort-term future. Last week, sadly, an additional 34,000 workers lost their jobs nationwide.
While government cannot fund everything, these additional benefits may allow a few more families to stave off foreclosure, dust themselves off, stay resilient and get back on their feet again.
Government should never hold the lives and well being of any of us in the balance for unnecessary and ill-conceived political purposes.
Fortunately as America and other parts of the world have done for so long, cooler and more resilient minds finally saw the light on the 29th day of a 30-day cycle. Thank goodness!
I, again, appreciate your constant support of my free resiliency advice web site. Until next week…