Caught in the Wrong Hands

But What About Jobs ?       

Years ago, there used to be a TV advertisement run by  monster.com (a leading job site) called “Caught in the Wrong Job?”. The advertisement showed various characters caught in the wrong jobs: a deep-sea diver as a window cleaner, a music composer as a traffic cop, a chef as a barber, a lady kathak dancer as an aircraft ground handling staff, a welding technician as a surgeon and a cricketer as a washerman (dhobi).  The message being that if you are caught in a wrong job, we are there to help you in finding your true calling.

          That is perfectly fine for people who are caught in the wrong jobs. But do we ever wonder what happens to the jobs that are caught in the wrong hands? At times I wonder why there cannot be few expert agencies which undertake audits of organizations  to establish an organization and tell the super boss about jobs in his or her organization which are caught in the wrong hands ? Unfortunately, in every organization three are plenty of such jobs which are caught in the wrong hands. And why only business organization? There are nations where, at times, the top job itself goes into wrong hands with disastrous consequences.

One War at a Time !  

   Between 1861 and 1865, the United States of America was engaged in a long and devastating civil war.  It was fought between the Union (the northern states) and the Confederacy (the southern states). At the heart of the conflict was the dispute over the issue of slavery – a practice that southern states wanted to continue at any cost whereas the northern states were for its abolition. In the early days of the conflict, the Union forces were still to get their act together, and the conflict seemed to be evenly poised. This was, however, soon to change. Thanks to the sagacity and foresight of one man – President Abraham Lincoln.

         At the international level too, the outlook for the US was not looking very promising either. While most of the European countries remained neutral in this conflict, the sympathies of Great Briton and France were with the southern states. Great Briton, in particular, was still nursing its wounds from the humiliating defeat in the American War of Independence resulting in the birth of an independent nation, aptly christened the United States of America. Great Briton, therefore, would have been very happy to see the USA getting disintegrated into two or more parts. This is what Cassius Clay, who was the American ambassador to Russia during that period, had to say about Great Briton’s feelings towards the USA, “I saw at a glance where the feeling of England was. They hoped for our ruin! They are jealous of our power. They care neither for the South nor the North. They hate us both.”

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