Verhovayak Lapja, 1947 (30. évfolyam, 1-24. szám)
1947 / Verhovay Journal
MARCH 2^ 1947 Verhovay Journal PAGE 7 LAURELS FOR EVERYONE ! ! “How vainly men themselves amaze To win the palm, the oak or bays!” (Andrew Marvell) The happy ending of a successful banquet, dance, party, campaign or any other social event marks the beginning of a most painful and persevering headache for the committee chairman and his associates. One should think that all their troubles are over once the arrangements had been completed, the affair brought to a successful conclusion, the last plate rinsed and dried, the last apron safely tucked away and the last penny faithfully accounted for. After all, everything was fine, the soloists were excellent, the speakers brief and to the point, the food gorgeous, the crowd responsive, the workers enthusiastic and the financial results surpassing all expectations, Actually, however, this is not the happy ending but the beginning of a very sad story. A peaceful BOWLING I— SCORES —J (Continued from page 6.) March 14, 1947. M. Freshley 131156 156 443 T. Toth 141174 173 488 B. Steinhoffer135 160 131 426 VI. Hesler134 141 165 440 H. Vaghy124 147 188 459 Totals 6fe5778 813 2256 G. Smith 136167 133 436 I. Nagy 155153 114 422 M. Stull 155118 152 425 M. Mezzei 172129 170 471 B. Barany 164162 168 494 Totals 782729 737 2248 BetteBarany, Capt. YOUNGSTOWN, Ö. February 27, 1947. Nemeth 191170 201 562 Gregory 204154 159 517 Blasko 206147 178 531 Tullis 191172 142 505 Miglets 183163 155 501 Totals 975806 835 2616 Galanti 170181 246 597 Policy 178159 159 496 Hoffman 170165 164 499 Reese 160180 191 531 Milano 210 186188 584 Totals 888 871948 2708 Sf »rch 6,1947. Nemeth 199199 193 589 Gregory 190150 213 553 Barkó 149158 165 472 Tullis 152191 160 503 Miglets 177191 199 667 Totals 865889 930 2684 H. Kam 201 179 200 580 Palkovic 194172 183 549 Pangiall 204145 150 499 Frazzini 171178 183 532 Aolisio 168208 200 576 Totals 938882 910 2736 intermezzo of a few days separates the happy ending from the sad beginning. That, however, is not the happy calm of restful satisfaction but the ominous silence preceding the outbreak of a violent storm. The peaceful interval is the period during which sore feet are soaked in Epsom salt, wounds received in the course of previous skirmishes are licked and forces are regrouped for greater battles to come. Then comes the last moment of silence, supercharged with vengeful expectation, that has a strangely shrinking effect on the experienced committee-man who is only too well aware of the alarming significance of immobilized tongues, frozen faces and glittering eyes. The experienced committee-man knows perfectly well that he is living on borrowed time and from past experience is able to foretell the exact date of its expiration and if he is as smart as experienced, he will pack up and leave town at least one hour before the weekly local newspaper appears on the stands, for exactly 15 minutes afterwards the deluge will start . . . Woe unto the committee-man who decides to brave the unleashed fury of affronted humanity! Woe unto him if he is found at home, the most dangerous place under such circumstances! Woe unto him if in his devil-may-care recklessness he dares lift the telephone, open the door, pick up his mail or show his face at the window ... Unless he has ears of asbestos, they are doomed to burn by the fiery invectives poured into them at the rate of thousand words per minute . . . Un less he wears black glasses, his eyes will burn to a hollow shell from the poisonous messages addressed to him by mail . . . And unless he has Topper’s capacity to disappear at will, he will be torn apart the moment he exposes himself to physical attack . , The following are official excerpts of printable quotations most frequently used at such occasions (leaders stand for unprintable phrases.): “I see, my name has been omitted , . knew you will play a . . . dirty trick . . . Well, you can wait hundred years before 171 help you again with your ... affairs . . . !” “What’s the idea of leaving MY name out? Didn’t I drive to the farm to pick up the chickens for the banquet? Well, let me tell YOU something ...!’* “I have worked in the kitchen for 48 hours . . . Last night they had to call a doctor because I collapsed . . . And you haven’t even MENTIONED my name in the paper . . . Why, I . . . !” A letter to the chairman: “Dear Mr. Chairman — For fifteen years I have faithfully and loyally served our organization. No matter when and how and why, I always was ready to serve in whatever position. I don’t know anyone who had worked as much during the last campaign as I did. I don’t want to throw it up to you, but if you look it up in the records you will find that I was one among those who had done the most for our club. Everybody knows that the eminently successful drive of last week was MY idea. But as soon as I brought it up, you pushed Frank Molnár, Br. Mgr. me in the background and acted thing. You are perfectly welcome to all the glory you are usurping. But I still believe that I would have deserved at least as much as having MY NAME appear in the paper. You have given credit to people, who had done nothing but gossiping while we worked ourselves sick, but not one word was said about what I have done. Ever since the paper came out, my phone keeps ringing and everybody asks why you have omitted my name. Under the circumstances I deem it best to ask you to omit my name from your membership records, too. You are just a bunch of dirty politicians. You let others do the dirty work for you, but you are right out in front when it comes to taking credit for whatever has been achieved. Well, I am certainly not willing to help you attain your selfish ends. If you want all the credit, you can do all the work yourself. Good bye!” Scores of letters, hundreds of phone calls and innumerable personal visits turn the home of the committee chairman into a mad house. Crushed under the weight of public indignation he finds no solace in such phone-calls, like the following: “Hello, Mr. Chairman, this is Mrs. Snoozzlegoose! I want to congratulate you to the wonderful success and to the marvelous write-up you had in the paper, You certainly did cook the goose of Mrs. Snifflefoot ... I hear she is screaming all over town because she hasn’t been mentioned on first place in the paper. Why, that ... I saw with my own eyes how she wrapped up a fried chicken for her husband’s lunch! That’s the only reason why she insists on being on the kitchencommittee . . . Well, no matter what she says, don’t let it get you down! All honest people are behind you. HOWEVER, don’t you think it would be a good idea to put in a correction next week mentioning that my sister has addressed the invitations? You know, that has been omitted. Unintentionally, of course, but you know how people are! They jump to conclusions ... So will you do that little thing for me? Thank you.” Mortality among committeechairman is exceedingly high due to the severe and protracted unpopularity surrounding them after each and every social event. And no matter how great the financial success of any affair may be, it certainly is a ridiculous pretense to speak of “moral success” as is often done by the writers of social post-mortem reports. There is nothing moral, nor successlike about the vicious crabbing about the "Who’s Who” of social events. One of the reasons why social affairs cannot be held in close succession is that it takes months and months for the general bitterness to wear off after each and every instance. It is, therefore, a timely question to ask why people act as they do when the mad scramble for laurels begins. It is quite easy to say: “Give credit to whom credit is due!” But credit is an intangible entity: it cannot be measured nor counted, yet when credits are claimed, people have very definite ideas as to the quality and quantity of credits due to them. The scramble is especially intensive among as if you had invented the whole the claimants of top-honors. In every instance there are at least six and sometimes as many as a dozen of workers who are firmly convinced of deserving first credits. Who shall lead the list of ticket sellers, bar-tenders, chicken-dressers, table setters, ushers r.nd hostesses, dishwashers, runners, supervisers, collectors, solicitors and what have you? That as ticklish, say, dangerous a problem as who shall be the last on each list? And which shall precede the others? What type of work is entitled to first, second, third, fourth and umptieth place and which group will be satisfied with being placed at the very end of the report? Alas, newspaper columns are not round. Each has only one top, yet there are at least ten groups and ten individuals in each group who aspire for top-billing. Then, there are other intangibles to be reckoned with. Perhaps first among them is: “Who fathered what idea?” It’s funny, but if an idea fails there is no one to accept the responsibility of origination, but let it succeed and there are scores of pretenders! Past service records of individuals, too, are complicating matters. In every group there, are some who had done great things in the past and there are newcomers now doing their best. There is intense jealousy between old and new workers. The old ones base their claims for credits on their past records while the new ones feel entitled to top honors on the basis of their present accomplishments. No matter which group is credited the other feels slighted and the chairman has a fight on his hands. Actually, it is a much simpler matter to do a job than to correctly evaluate it. But even if a super-mind were able to establish irrefutable service valuation tables, he would lack power to make others accept them, for to every person his job is the most important and his contribution the deciding factor between success and failure. One wonders if there ever will be one who could tell us how to give credit and not to alienate people. Of course, the explanation of why people act the way they do is rather simple. Most of us want to leave our “footprints on the sands of time”. Most of us want to make lasting impressions. Most of us are motivated by the desire to feel important. Says Wendell White in “The Psychology of Dealing With People”: “The thought of being the originator of the idea is to many persons the greatest and most enduring satisfaction.” That’s it. We want admiration, attention, praise, credit, laurels. What the psychologists often fail to mention, however, is that a great many people are unwilling to earn these desirable rewards of public service. They do a lot of talking but they want to be remembered for actions. They do very little thinking, but they want to be remembered for their excellent ideas. They do a lot of complaining but they accept very little of such tasks that would justify their complaints. Then, there are the enthusiasts. The ones who respond to every noble appeal and are ever willing to volunteer their services. Many of them feel that their responsive attitude makes them deserving of extra credits. Yet their claims are resisted by those who maintain that there is no virtue in doing what one likes to do, for it does not involve self-sacrifice and selfdenial. Thus, the problem gets more and more complicated as we proceed. There are too many conflicting currents. It is easier to solve a Chinese puzzle than to "give credit to whom credit is due.” We feel that the authors of leadership courses and the experts of “how to deal with people’” approach the problem from the wrong angle. They probably never have tried to give credit to whom credit is due, with the aim of assuring the workers’ future willingness to serve. They all get excited about the possibilities of getting people to do things they don’t really want to do and rewarding them with intangibles that have no value whatsoever. We feel it would be much better if. Causes could be sold to people rather than Credits. We are willing to work for what we believe in, but we want special reward for lending our efforts to causes of the necessity of which we are not convinced. We want credit for favors, but we are willing to pay for privileges. But isn’t it a privilege to take part in the advancement of humanity? Isn’t the consciousness of having a share in the erection of an orphanage, a hospital, a public service institution or a church a source of satisfaction? Are we not expanding our importance by participating in such activities regardless of whether or not we are publicly acknowledged for our share in what has been achieved ? What is the true worth of credits, laurels, loving cups and newspaper dippings ? Actually, hardly anyone looks for them, notes them, appreciates them except the one person receiving them. How many people read those workers’ lists besides those whose names are mentioned? And if and when they find their names printed, how much does it mean to them besides a fleeting moment of satisfaction? If we accept the task of soliciting donations for the construction of a church, an orphanage, a hospital of a fraternal home, are we not doing it because we would like to see those buildings erected? Are we not doing it because we want to support the cause because of its value to us? Isn’t the knowledge that our efforts were not in vain, a reward in itself? Doesn’t that reward mean much more than any newspaper clipping? The consciousness of having had a share in whatever has been achieved, remains with us much longer than the fleeting satisfaction of having our names printed together with hundreds of others. The self-respect and unselfish pride derived from having lead a useful life is an invaluable asset that cannot be purchased except by devotion to a cause. And therin lies the true and lasting reward of all public service. Of course, such reward cannot be appreciated by the shallow minds of publicity hounds. On the other hand, their services aren’t worth more either than the publicity for which they fight. For as soon as anything fine and noble is achieved by them, they undo the whole thing by theig hysterical scramble for laurels,
