Tomorrow I go back to my civilian job in Silly Cone Valley. I wish I could say I was happy to be going back. I’m really feeling pretty depressed. I would really like to remain involved in the efforts in Iraq. As I have mentioned many times in this weblog, I believe in what we’re doing in Iraq. I think a showdown with Saddam Hussein was inevitable and even right and justified though not necessarily as President Bush presented it.
I like the military life. I like the uniform, the discipline, even the pomp and circumstance that is often integral with military service. All things considered, military life — at least active duty military life — involves less of the bull**** that permeates corporate life. This is not to say there aren’t idiots and jerks in the military. The military just provides better ways of coping with them. Moreover, no matter how bad any given situation might be, you will be leaving in 24 months or less due to the normal duty rotation.
I’ve had about six weeks to spend with my family. I spent a lot of time getting to know my wife again. I spent a lot of time getting reacquainted with my children. Learning about what happened and how they dealt with my being gone for so long. Now, as I face the necessity to return to a work a day world where the majority of my waking hours are spent in efforts to build the fortunes of a corporate entity that, in the end, cares only nominally about the employees, I find that this is not the way I want to spend my time. I am really no longer interested in spending 8, 10 or 12 hours away from my family in the name of earning a living. I think earning a living is getting in the way of my life.
None of this is a direct commentary on my current employer. My current employer has been outstanding in supporting me and my family while I was on active duty. My current employer is a leader in taking care of its employees. If I have to work in corporate America I want to work for my current employer. My issue is with corporate America, the whole thing.
I’ll go back to work tomorrow. I’ll leave my family and my community to participate in the increasing of my employers wealth. Me and the other employees there will excite ourselves with talk of how we’re working on exciting things that are going to change the world. In fact, the little trinkets we work on will be known to less than one percent of the world’s population. Meanwhile, the men and women serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom will continue to write history. Whatever the outcome of the United States involvement in Iraq, it will be in the history books across the world. The efforts of most of the corporations of Silly Cone Valley will for the most part be forgotten by everyone except those who dwell in Silly Cone Valley.
This geek is still looking for a way to climb back out of the looking glass.
Aloha