Leading the Horse to Water

Been There Done That 

Hello Son, I was plastering the Bathroom and as mindless labor tends to provoke my thoughts, they were turned towards Annie and you (my two sailors). It got me remembering what it was like going to school in the Navy.
Some things it brought to mind was how the "group think" affected the people in my Division. I remember how hard it was to get people to advance and take on more responsibility. About that same time I had been reading an article in Proceedings about Oscar Wilde, why they had an article on him I don't recall,but some thing he said has never left my mind." The group has the tendency to make men equal, by cutting off the heads of those who rise above it." I had heard it in many other forms before  "Strait is the gate and narrow the way"," It's lonely at the top."" Misery loves company," Birds of a feather flock together"but this one seemed to resonate. Out of all these sayings it was Wildes' that answered my man power problem the best. So I asked myself, why would a person do himself the disservice of failing on purpose. The answer was an easy one, To fit in. To be a part of a group whose membership required nothing of them "do as little as possible". This made sense that the gang of non achievers had found a way to justify their " Band of Loafers" by ganging up on a fellow if he had been rewarded by his seniors for his hard work . With the 'all in good fun comments' first to his face like "Suck Up!" "Brown Nose!" and worse. Most times this was met with a embarrassed look and a denial to the gang that he was not one of those guys, 'believe me!'. Perhaps because he had been guilty of it himself. And he didn't want to look like a hypocrite. Or maybe the peer group attraction was to strong or he may have just been a dumb jackass. For what ever reason, it was clear the gang was more important to them than their own success. But this reluctance to merit a reward didn't mean that they wouldn't like the pay,rank and 4.0 eval. ( If you gave it to them.) There may have been some insecurity about leaving their friends behind . May be even some guilt. But one thing was certain he had 'sold out' and there fore was not welcome in the club any more.
Now what do you think a man with that herd character is going to do when spurned by the Bust ass, Hard charging Mr. Goody Two Shoes?
That's right "talk trash" back stab" and "criticize". That's how they will compete for the job but that's the lazy way to compete.
They are not the ones that make the decision to pay you more and assign you a higher position. Or select you for a great duty assignment.
So as I saw with my own eyes. I had to almost drag them kicking and screaming to get qualified (their Dolphins) take the rating exam and get a raise. That need to hang with the gang is strong. You will find this out when you have to get people to do some thing for there own good.

Just thinking , Love Dad