Summer Jobs, WAL-MART, and "The Club:" All Things Considered Pt. 1

It's been about three and a half months since I began applying for jobs in this "shit-market" economy, finally settling on a job as a cashier at the local Sam's Club. As a "temporary" employee (not on the books per se, but thanks be to God I go back to college in the fall), I have little to fear regarding losing my job insofar as it is by no means my main source of income; that is, I remain a dependent, after all. However, my intention here -- like many former "associates" at WAL-MART Stores, Inc. -- is to discuss my experience at the store in hopes that it may serve some greater purpose. America is, after all, a democratic republic. The opinions of the majority do matter, I hope, to some extent.

I began work at Sam's Club about four days ago after a two and half month hiring process. From what I remember, I applied in mid-May online. My application was at first ignored due to the fact that I did not have "open avaliability," which was partly due to the fact that I asked for a few hours off on Sunday for church. My first interview was in mid-June with an MSS with the second interview some time in late June or early July.

None of this, however, is relavent; my purpose is to discuss my experience at Sam's Club and that of some of the other employees whose names I refuse to disclose. Thus, I began officially on the 20th of July with "orientation," which consisted primarily of paperwork and CBL's. After doing three days of work at Water Country in Portsmouth, NH, I welcomed the opportunity to not only be inside, but to also be forced to take a fifteen-minute break every two hours on top of my normal thirty-minute lunch break. I thought Sam's would be better than Wal-Mart due to its rate of pay (I started at $9.50/hr, which is a few dollars above the current minimum wage even after the recent changes in July 2009) and the better things I had heard about the place.

Every employee begins with CBL's (computer-based learning), which are basically WAL-MART Stores, Inc.'s method of teaching "associates" to do the necessary tasks for their jobs without having them actually interact with other associates or customers. One, that is to say, does not need to "learn by doing" in this case; one is taught to follow Sam Walton's aspirations blindly via a computer program. CBL's cover how to use the cash registers, handle food, etc., as well as certain "moral issues" in the work place like theft, harrasment, gender discrimination, the "three goals" of Sam's Club/Wal-Mart including -- but not limited to -- "respect for the individual," unions and unionizing, etc. After being bombarded with these things for about twelve hours in the first two days, I found it rather difficult to not become somewhat "brainwashed." I found myself sitting in front of the monitor on Tuesday thinking: "This isn't all that bad; Wal-Mart seems to have improved." The CBL's discussed how it was WAL-MART Stores, Inc.'s policy to respect associates by following federal and state laws regarding worker's rights, but most of these statements are meant to scare the worker to abide by each of these laws in order to attempt to escape termination and little more. For instance, failing to take your half-hour meal break can result in termination if not taken before the five-hour mark in your shift, even if your area is not covered by another associate. Likewise, one cannot work overtime even if one's hours force one to do so. Again, such actions can result in termination. The same goes for working off the clock, etc. The implication of termination is, obviously, that WAL-MART Stores, Inc. is innocent, and it was quite obviously the associate's responsibility that s/he failed to leave the store before the 40-hour mark, even if it was completely impossible for said worker to leave his/her job due to issues in scheduling.

The ironic thing about overtime and working off the clock is that while it is terminable offense to do either in most cases, Wal-Mart and Sam's Clubs are almost always understaffed. On my first day on the register, I found myself becoming incredibly stressed to keep up, even though the lines were not that long. The issue being, of course, that there were only three cashiers on at the time. Perhaps it was not particularly busy, but this is a common problem. Why? Because the $200,000+ Sam's Club earns daily is not enough money to hire a sufficient number of employees to deal with busy days, even though that is more than enough money to pay for the mediocre wages of most Club associates.

I will begin on unions later. That's all for now, folks!

Neo-Platonism and Orthodoxy

"And first of all, willing to show me how thou dost resist the proud, but give grace to the humble (James 4:6),' and how mercifully thou hast made known to men the way of humility in that thy Word 'was made flesh and dwelt among men (John 1:14),' thou didst procure for me, through one inflated with the most monstrous pride, certain books of the Platonists, translated from Greek into Latin. And therein I found, not indeed in the same words, but to the selfsame effect, enforced by many and various reasons that 'in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.' That which was made by him is 'life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shined in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.' Furthermore, I read that the soul of man, though it 'bears witness to the light,' yet itself 'is not the light; but the Word of God, being God, is that true light that lights every man who comes into the world.' And further, that 'he was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.' But that 'he came unto his own, and his own received him not. And as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on his name (John 1:11-12)' --this I did not find there."
Book VII, ch. ix, 13

When asked to describe my personal journey "home," I find I periodically receive strange looks mentioning the profound impact of Plato's Republic, and, to a lesser extent, a number of his other dialogues (namely Phaedo, but mostly for different reasons). Provided the history of Christianity and the impact of neo-Platonism of both Jewish and gentile thinkers in the first-century AD and onward, such a statement should not seem particularly odd. It is impossible to ignore the obvious connections between the theology of St. John and the Greeks; indeed, while the words may not be the same, the general idea is in fact, arguably, present. Socrates was indeed correct, but he simply was lacking in grace.

I would be a horrible liar if I said the Republic -- or any of Plato's works -- had no effect on my conversion to Christianity, especially with regards to the philosophical aspect of it. Plato brought forth Philo, and Philo (with the assistance of Judaism) brought forth the Fathers -- and we all know (presumably) who they are! Reading the Republic was -- for all intesive purposes -- the cause of the scales falling away from my eyes. I could see! Sure, St. Aquinas was relatively convincing with his Five Proofs and Descartes was dandy, but there could not compare. Everything -- even if it was just for but one moment -- made sense. Why dwell in the cave?

Part of the issue here, I think, is a greater one. One of the products of the Protestant reformation, it would seem, is essentially a very limited understanding of "inspired texts." The Bible is interpreted alone, not simply because it says so (which, by the way, it does not), but in part because the "personal" interpretation led by the Holy Spirit is superior. There is, hence, little room for Patristic commentary -- at least depending on the sect, as this appears to be a phenomena that is much more apparent in fundementalist Evangelical or non-denomination sects -- as this place is, alas, taken over by the guidence of the Holy Spirit. But, why the timidness? We could think back to Cardinal Newman's quotation concerning the matter, but I think much of it has to do with a certain closemindness. Christ is God, Christianity is true, and I have a personal relationship with Christ: What more do I need?

There is, by no means, anything wrong with extracanonical texts, and these can indeed serve some sort of purpose while interpreting the Bible. To claim otherwise, I believe, would be rather ignorant. One cannot read the Gospel of John without some basic working understanding of the usage of the term "logos" in Hellinistic philosophy nor can one truly appreciate the dynamics within the later Christian community without some understanding of the impact Hellinistic philosophy had upon the Church Fathers. Given as much, is it particularly "startling" that one could be brought to Christianity through neo-Platonic thought, especially such a text as the Republic? Where can the allegory of the cave take us? What of Socrates' understanding of injustic and -- I use this term loosely -- "sin?" etc. The parallels are certainly enough to produce some sort of interest.

So let us ask ourselves: "What is Plato but Moses speaking Attic?" Let us not forget this highly valuble source.

Pascha: Thankfully There's Forty Days of It

Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!
Crist aras! Crist sodhlice aras!
Der Meschiache undzer iz geshtanen! Avade er iz ufgeshtanen!
Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto!
Le Christ est ressuscité! Vraiment Il est ressuscité!
Cristo ha resucitado! Verdaderamente, ha resucitado!
Христос Воскресе! Воистину Воскресе!
Χριστός Ανέστη! Αληθώς Ανέστη!
Ha Masheeha houh kam! A ken kam!

Hope all of my non-existent readers had a fantastic Pascha/Easter/Passover! Ours consisted of church (lots of it), Big Love (yes, the television show), a bit of Jameson, and a failed attempt at ordering calzones. My family's not Greek, so I've learned to make things up a bit as I go. Plus, being a vegetarian, it's utterly pointless to cook myself an entire lamb to not eat. Those lambs are also expensive; it's not something a poor college student can necessarily afford, as I'm sure you know.

Regardless, I hope you all had a blessed Pascha. And, yes, I know this post is a bit late. But it's not Pentecost yet, eh?

More mundane thoughts later. And by "later," I mean post-final period.