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Working
Together . Tough
Jobs As the towers began to collapse and word began to spread about how many police, EMT's, and firefighters might have been lost at the World Trade Center, the initial shock and sadness were fairly quickly followed by an almost unanimous declaration of their heroism, and of appreciation for the difficult work they do.
But, as with any job that calls for dedication, the work of firefighters, too, comes up against the practical realities; and whatever appreciation there may have been takes a back seat to other considerations. Thus, less than two months after the attacks, with rescue efforts still going on, the firefighters clashed with the police, with whom, up to that point, they'd been working side-by-side. Mayor Giuliani and The City had decided it was time to call it quits when it came to recovering the still-undiscovered bodies of those who'd died that day. The firefighters became incensed -- some, because they had dedicated themselves to finding whatever remains they could, of whomever was still buried there, others, because among those still buried beneath the rubble were their own fallen comrades. What was the reason for the Mayor's decision? Money. ... By the time Mayor Giuliani had made the announcement, The City had already spent more than $11 billion on the rescue, relief, and clean-up efforts. Sure, a good portion of it will have been covered by federal disaster funds. But that's not really the point. The point is, somewhere, someone was crunching the numbers, and those numbers would become the basis for the decision which, in its own way, may have been as difficult for the Mayor to make as it obviously was for the firefighters to follow.
There was, is, and probably always will be, a tremendous gulf between those who feel they have to make decisions based on practicalities and calculations, and those who are in it for more personal reasons. And the closer those reasons are to the kind of dedication which the firefighters felt, the wider that gulf will be. The reaction of the firefighters came about, in large part I suspect, because they felt they were being betrayed. They had been dedicated to an ideal -- whether the larger ideal of recovering as many bodies of as many victims as possible, or the more narrow but more intensely personal ideal of recovering the remains of their fallen comrades -- and now that ideal was being sacrificed to financial considerations. And insofar as they understood that the decision they were being asked to abide by was to a lesser and not a higher goal, to that extent it can only have exacerbated their sense of betrayal. Although in a much greater and, in some sense, more tragic way, then, the sense of betrayal which the firefighters felt is not uncommon in what has become of the American workplace. When decisions are made on the basis of the bottom line -- which, let us face it squarely, they must sometimes be -- there is bound to be ill-feeling and, often enough, a sense of betrayal. But sacrifices sometimes need to be made; and sometimes, one good has to be subordinated to another. If a company placed itself in genuine jeopardy by not making the difficult decisions -- the ones that often require such a sacrifice, of one good for a higher good -- to that extent, the company is being irresponsible. This is true for operations both large and small. But keep in mind that such an equation begs at least as many questions as it answers. Many workers realize that a very large number of decisions -- decisions which result in job loss or, as in the case of the firefighters, the subordination of the very meaning of their jobs -- are not always made in a spirit of sacrificing one good for another good that is higher, even though many of these decisions are dressed up and masqueraded as such. Rather, they are often made for what may, quite rightfully, be seen as lesser goods. And in some cases, they are not made for a good at all, but for much baser reasons. To the extent, then, that Mayor Giuliani was facing the kind of fiscal constraints that might have placed the welfare of The City in jeopardy had he not ceased recovery operations, to that extent he was justified in calling it quits. Such decisions are tough decisions to make. But we are all better off when someone is there to make them who knows how. Yet, for all that, we should make no mistake: His decision to subordinate the dedication of the firefighters in their recovery efforts does not mean that the firefighters were wrong when they opposed the Mayor's decision, much less that they failed to see 'the big picture'. The fact is, The City requires precisely the kind of dedication to their mission that its firefighters showed. After all, these are men and women whose job it is to risk their lives. And that is not something that can or should be subordinated, not ever, to merely practical considerations. Why? ... Simple. ...
Unlike altogether too many of the jobs available these days, the work of firefighter, or cop, of EMT or G.I., brings with it at least the possibility for that kind of dedication and meaning. These are people whose job very often entails risking their lives for the sake of others. That is, at least in part, what gives these jobs much of their meaning. And that is what America saw and responded to the day of the attacks. These are tough jobs, then. But so, too, even if in a different way, are the jobs of those who have to make the difficult decisions of sacrificing one good to a higher good; at least potentially. Except for the more callous souls, who may take these decisions lightly, with no genuine regard for the difficulties or pains or hardships, or even the loss of life which might result, it is impossible to make the difficult decisions while ignoring the fact that one is, indeed, sacrificing something good in the process. And, in the final analysis, it could easily turn out that the decision one made had disastrous consequences. I've heard of at least one former fireman in New York who used to have to make the difficult decisions, and who seriously questioned -- not after the fact, but before it -- the decision that was made to send the firefighters in to the Trade Center in the wake of the attacks. From where he sat that day, like so many of us, watching helplessly, but with his knowledge of years of service in the department and his years on experience on the job, he knew in his bones they'd never make it. To him, it was "like sheep to the slaughter." But, some may say, what about the people who were caught inside? What if they might've been able to rescue at least more of them? Such questions are valid, of course. But there it is: The job of making the difficult decisions, the ones that affect the lives of others, is never easy. ... At least it shouldn't be. The calculus of such decisions is never exact, is always an approximation. One weighs the pro's & con's, all the while knowing that the scale itself is always shifting. But the very least to be expected of those who make such decisions is that they take on their responsibilities with at least as much dedication as that shown by those whose lives their decisions will affect. ... And if there are going to be sacrifices to be made, let's pray, in fact, let's demand, that they will be made only to those things that truly represent a higher good. Without knowing, then, whether Mayor Giuliani's decision was made because of the very real prospect that continuing the recovery effort would place The City in financial jeopardy, it is impossible to say whether that decision actually sacrificed one good for a higher good. And, even if that was the case, it probably should have been more fully explained than it was. But if Mayor Giuliani did made his decision because he believed that not doing so would have placed The City in jeopardy, and if he kept in mind all the while that not recovering the remains of both the firefighters and civilians who are still buried there would cause additional grief and pain for many who are probably already feeling more grief and pain than they can bear, then let's admit it: If gone at in this way, such decisions are probably the toughest job of all. ... . lmc . ******* ******* If you would like to submit something for our Working Together section, don't hesitate to let us know. Simply e-mail us at work@downstreetmagazine.com. The e-mail should contain your name, address, and a phone number where we can reach you. You may also send a copy of your proposed article. The text can either be included in the body of the e-mail, or you can send it as an attachment in just about any word processing format. If your piece is accepted, we will pay a small honorarium for your interest & your time. [See Freelancers Wanted for more details.] ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* *******
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