The Polish Program (LSD, #2)

20. Let's Work

Let's Work

"I have two daughters. My oldest studies in Warsaw; my youngest studies in Gdansk. She has a boyfriend..."

Steve doesn't celebrate his victory. He nods and says: "I understand. You're a mother. Your responsibility is for your children. You love them so much that you could kill for them. My responsibility is for my 40.000 children in Haiti, for the one million people who depend on the stability of the house of cards that I built in a city of tents. I don't want to think about what will happen there if you had decided to shoot me, but I hoped you would take over the little organization I set up and help those people after you fed my mutilated corpse to the sharks in this lake.

» There are no sharks in this lake, by the way. Sharks don't survive in a lake full of piranhas. I imported a pair of piranhas to protect me against divers, and they seem to like it here."

Scarlett stands up, wipes her tears away with her sleeve, gives me back my Makarov and goes for a refill at the coffee machine: "Anybody else wants a cup of coffee?"

I can't help but ask: "Are you serving coffee? I thought you had a principle of not serving coffee to anyone."

"I have, but this is an emergency. In case of emergency, we should overcome our principles and do what needs to be done."

Both Steve and I want another cup. Scarlett uses this as some kind of peace treaty: "I'm sorry, Steve. It's... Since I've lost my job, I'm looking for revenge. I wanted to find the one who did this to me, but all I find is people who claim that they just do their job. I've tormented my boss, I've burnt his banker, I've tortured the shareholder of the company, I've attacked the taxman, I've taken the Minister as a hostage, but nobody feels responsible for what happened to me. They were all just doing their jobs, and they all felt great, fantastic, and successful. Not one of them did anything illegal. I'm the only one who's punished, and I don't know what I did wrong, or who did this to me. That's why I came here. I hoped to find the brain behind all this mess, and I hoped for revenge."

Steve understands: "Who's behind the behaviour of every company? Who tells the politicians what to do? It's the consumer, who pays for everything. If the consumers are only interested in the cheapest products, they force the companies to fire their employees and lower their costs. If the consumers don't care where the cheapest products come from, the work goes to children in the Third World instead of employees in our own country. Drugs are sold and the rainforest is destroyed for one reason only: because consumers pay for it. Nobody does anything illegal because there will never be a law against earning money, but we all do lots of immoral things, to justify our greed and our envy, and to justify our sloth, of doing as little as possible against all the bad things our behaviour inflicts to others. You-the-consumer caused it. Your consumer money was behind everything. But now, you've punished yourself for your irresponsible spending, and your revenge is the jobless future you're facing."

I nod and say: "Revenge is a negative feeling, Scarlett. What's the effect of punishing those who break the rules? Criminals get free food, lodging and healthcare in the State Hotel, nobody does anything for the victims, and the working class pays for the costs of jurisdiction. Revenge is almost as bad as the crime itself. Why don't we condemn criminals to undo the damage they created? Perhaps, they would realise how much effort it takes to live together in peace. Wouldn't it be nice when others help you as a reward for the good things you did, instead of punishing you for the errors you've made? Don't look back for others to blame. Look forward, aware of all your qualities, and all the opportunities that lay in front of you."

Steve agrees with me: "Nobody feels guilty. Nobody feels responsible. Nobody does anything. We look for others to blame: the rich and powerful should change and politicians should do something.