Is Business Our Religion Now?
In today’s world it seems that, in the UK at least, an atheist or agnostic view of religion is now the prevalent viewpoint among the majority of the population. Fair enough but where are these people finding solace when it comes to that occasional deep emotional crunch? Obviously friends and family are the first to be turned to yet sometimes they may not fully understand certain pains or problems being experienced. When there’s no one around who understands, including even such saints as the Samaritans, then what are you left with? Before it was religion but this is now no longer considered and generally seen only as an excuse for violence. The result of this view whether correct or not is the slow removal of the only significant source of faith and moral guidance available for many in today’s society.
In search of answers the average person looks to the messages those with access to such forms of communication as the television or radio may be sending and this leads into the world of business through the ever-present advertising that dominates. Obviously commerce and business are now central to society operating and therefore should be preserved but where perversions develop they need to be addressed. Examples abound daily in our places of work where crime and morally dubious action take place under the well-worn banners of ‘well, this is a business’ or ‘I’m not running a charity here’ etc. Watch any episode of The Apprentice and all is on display to see in an entirely un-self-conscious and consequently hilarious fashion. The sliminess of all involved and the utter subservience to the dictator-like Alan Sugar that the contestants put themselves through is horrifying yet compelling. One is forced to wonder what else these people would subject themselves to for money and ‘success’ past this torturous process?
The credit that this is acceptable television nowadays must go to our government however. Tony has finally been caught out with the cash-for-peerages scandal and the full scale of his party’s policy of running a country as a business is beginning to make itself clear. As if this all wasn’t enough our local newsagent, and potential landlord for next year, has failed to reveal the number of complaints lodged against him by previous tenants to the council and Student Accommodation Services. But not before relieving us of a significant amount of deposit money. This loss has hurt, especially with some of us not originating from financially secure backgrounds and not helped by said newsagent’s product pricing policy brought about by his monopoly in the area. Crescent Hall residents boycott this shop!
The moral breakdown that business being first and foremost in our minds brings is all around and needs to be tempered with an equal acknowledgement of the importance of our emotional, spiritual and moral side. When faced with loss of hope the business mentality of ‘deal with it and get on’ simply doesn’t cut it and people are suffering as a result.
In search of answers the average person looks to the messages those with access to such forms of communication as the television or radio may be sending and this leads into the world of business through the ever-present advertising that dominates. Obviously commerce and business are now central to society operating and therefore should be preserved but where perversions develop they need to be addressed. Examples abound daily in our places of work where crime and morally dubious action take place under the well-worn banners of ‘well, this is a business’ or ‘I’m not running a charity here’ etc. Watch any episode of The Apprentice and all is on display to see in an entirely un-self-conscious and consequently hilarious fashion. The sliminess of all involved and the utter subservience to the dictator-like Alan Sugar that the contestants put themselves through is horrifying yet compelling. One is forced to wonder what else these people would subject themselves to for money and ‘success’ past this torturous process?
The credit that this is acceptable television nowadays must go to our government however. Tony has finally been caught out with the cash-for-peerages scandal and the full scale of his party’s policy of running a country as a business is beginning to make itself clear. As if this all wasn’t enough our local newsagent, and potential landlord for next year, has failed to reveal the number of complaints lodged against him by previous tenants to the council and Student Accommodation Services. But not before relieving us of a significant amount of deposit money. This loss has hurt, especially with some of us not originating from financially secure backgrounds and not helped by said newsagent’s product pricing policy brought about by his monopoly in the area. Crescent Hall residents boycott this shop!
The moral breakdown that business being first and foremost in our minds brings is all around and needs to be tempered with an equal acknowledgement of the importance of our emotional, spiritual and moral side. When faced with loss of hope the business mentality of ‘deal with it and get on’ simply doesn’t cut it and people are suffering as a result.
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