Daily Decrees

Beginning January 1, 2011, your all powerful yet benevolent despot will make one decree daily that will become instant and unquestionable law. Though it is said that absolute power corrupts absolutely, it is yet unkown whether absolute imagined power corrupts. Perhaps it merely corrupts the imagination. We'll find out as Marisa, the newly ordained Queen of the World, attempts to change the world for the better by making 365 unilateral decisions. Ultimately though, it doesn't really matter whether you agree with her decisions or not. So feel free to comment as long as you understand your comments are in vain. In all honesty though your queen is hopeful that you will consider the vast majority of her decrees to be the kind of decisions you wish your previous leaders had made years ago. The best part of being the supreme ruler of the world is that changes can be made easily. There are no agreements to be reached, no protocols to follow, and no bureaucratic red tape...and that is the whole point.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

January 20, 2011 – A Life Worth Living

For the most part I am trying to stick with decrees about problems I actually feel are changeable.  This one will be more of a stretch.  It feels a little odd to say that this decree is more of a fantasy when, let’s face it, the whole premise of this blog is fantasy (shhhhhh don’t tell).  But it is a fantasy because I just can’t picture it happening – not in the U.S. at least. 
OK enough doubting, I AM the Queen of the World and what I say goes, so even if one of my decrees seems impossible, it is still undisputable law and you better try your darndest to follow it.
Work weeks are restricted to a maximum of 40 hours.
For some people this will not be an issue but for many people this will be a drastic change.  It will require company restructuring, the need for new hires, and possible salary readjustments.  People who decrease their work hours to 40 while also suffering a salary decrease might hate me, but my hope is that with the increased need for personnel, companies will actually have to compete over qualified applicants forcing salaries back up.  It’s a hope anyway.  Obviously there will still be emergency situations when people will need to work more than 40 hours in a week.  If the emergencies happen more than twice a year though, they are not emergencies; they are part of the workload that needs to be accounted for up front.  When employees do work more than 40 hours in a week (only allowable in those emergency situations) they will need to be compensated with overtime or comp time.
Why make such a drastic and difficult change?  I have a very high respect for life and in general, I feel that people need to do a better job at taking advantage of their lives.  Too much time is spent toiling away in order to make money.  If you don’t have any time to enjoy your money, what’s the point?  “Who needs a house out in Hackensack?”  Who indeed? 
I get that some people define themselves by their jobs and may resent this decree.  There are those select few who love what they do and can’t get enough of it.  Honestly, if this is true for you that’s awesome.  Maybe I can set up an advisory panel you can apply to so that you can get an exemption from this rule.  After all, I am trying to make people’s lives better.  If you really can’t come up with something else you would rather do than work then I am at a loss.
A better work schedule should lead to happier, healthier citizens.  It should also allow parents to be a bigger part of their children’s lives and to share in things like family dinner.  This in turn should produce a generation of happier, healthier, well-adjusted children.  Like I said before….fantasy.
I hope you will all use your new time well.  Read to your kids, learn to play guitar, visit with friends, relax in a bubble bath, have sex with your significant other, use your imagination.  I think it is no wonder that problems like depression have become more common as the eight hour work day became the exception rather than the rule.  For the vast majority of us, work is just what we do, it is not who we are.  So now that you have more time, go figure out who you actually are and spend more time being that person.
As always I remain your all-powerful and benevolent Queen of the World,
Marisa

No comments:

Post a Comment