Luck and Bootstraps

Luck and Bootstraps

We live in a country founded on certain principles. One of the early principles seemed to be that in a land of plenty, we could make our own way. With the right resources and opportunities, we could do just about anything. Regardless of how it turned out for those early explorers, the thought lives on. Even today on the television we might hear some “self-made” person say something along the lines of “You gotta pull yourself up by the bootstraps, Son.” It’s deeply ingrained in us. More on this in a moment.

Unfortunately, there’s also another principle, this one kind of secretly bad for us: God favors the righteous with riches and plenty, both in this life and the life to come. Now while theologians may debate whether that’s what God actually says or not, it doesn’t change the fact that a lot of our ancestors here believed it and acted on it. And while God may have eventually leaked out of the equation, the modern take on this is still very much alive. It says, simply, that if you and I are good people, good things will come to us. It doesn’t sound like such a bad idea, does it? “What goes around comes around,” or “Do unto others as you would have do unto you,” or the entire set of lyrics to “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town”: “He sees you when you’re sleeping...so be good for goodness sake!” All of those ideas swim around in our heads, and they’re all the same one: If I am good, I will get good things.

But it’s a bad idea. Not because being jerks is commendable. It’s not, and I don’t feel that way. It’s a bad idea because being nice is not a guarantee for better things. Doing good is good, but it’s not a flare on your head to signal drop shipments from heaven. You know this, and that’s why it’s so hard to swallow. You try your best to talk over a problem with a loved one, and they keep yelling. You put forth your best efforts at work, and Suck Up from across the hall gets the award, the promotion, and the corner office. You help old people across the street and you get hit by a bus. All of your good intentions and thoughts and deeds are good by themselves, and give you a rich glow and sense of fulfillment on the inside, but they’re no promise of providence. They may pave the way for you to move forward, in returned goodwill and recognition of effort, but they don’t paint a big sign on you to signify that “This one deserves to win the lottery.”

Never win if you don't play.

Back to the bootstraps for a moment. This idea can be bad, too, if it’s not properly understood. It’s not that chance doesn’t play its part in you helping yourself, because it obviously does. But here’s the thing: If you never play this particular lottery, this lottery of better jobs or more money, you’ll never win. If you’re looking for a job with a particular company, for instance, you’ll never get your foot in the door unless you apply, unless your name is in front of the right person. If you sit on the sofa, watching another great movie, chances are that you’ll never get that job. If you hope to make more money, it won’t happen while you’re beating your head against the wall of your old job, or lazing back in the haze of that security blanket. I think circumstance does play its part, but putting your hands to the task is bigger. And while the rest of the world waits for its day, maybe you and I can do something to help ourselves along a little more quickly.