Are America's young people being properly prepared to deal with the real
world? That is a question well worth asking.
Indeed, Charles Sykes addressed this point in his book Dumbing Down Our Kids
when he established eleven facts that Americans are failing to teach their
children.

The first rule is "Life is not fair -- get used to it." The fourth one is
"You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. The world will
expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself."
That is followed directly by "Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.
Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping -- they called it
opportunity."

Too many young Americans have no understanding of the American work ethic.
You see it in stores where the counter help acts as if they are doing you a
favor by waiting on you after they have finished their phone conversation.
You see it in fast food restaurants when the waiters and waitresses are
unable to process your order efficiently.

Complacency is the attitude that permeates much of the American service
industry, particularly the younger workers who often act as if the employer
is obligated to give them a salary for the least work possible. That is a
sad statement about our society and its lack of concern as to the importance
of doing a good job.

No one in this country is guaranteed a job and I fear that many young
Americans are about to learn just how "unfair life can be." Americans do
not have to be given jobs. Unfortunately, the jobs may move off shore.

Business Week recently reported that more phone service jobs are being
located in India. Why? Economics is a big part of it.

Just as important, Indians who work the phones are college educated. They
handle requests for service with efficiency and courtesy. They make the
customer feel valued.

In contrast, the article noted that most Americans who man the phones have
only a high school education.

That may be but I am willing to bet that something else is missing: Good
manners, proper diction, and the willingness to apply oneself to do a good
and proper job.

Right now, many of us in the conservative movement are concerned that more
jobs are being sent overseas, particularly high-skilled industrial
manufacturing jobs that pay wages that enable workers to support their
families. The American workers who hold these jobs are intelligent, skilled
and willing to work hard. It is unconscionable that companies are sending
these jobs overseas because it is costing us our manufacturing base. We as a
country stand to suffer grave consequences if our industrial base is
permitted to erode. Government trade and tax policies should not encourage
the sending of American jobs overseas. To the extent that the Federal
Government's policies do that, changes must be enacted.

On the other hand, customer phone service jobs are not positions that
require a college degree. They are entry-level positions and, if they are
not being done right, then that says something about the people who are
doing the work incorrectly.

You cannot speak slang. You cannot speak rudely. You need to dress neatly.
You must show up to work on time. You must learn all you can about the
company you are representing to be of real service to the customer. These
are qualities that schools should not have to teach; they are best learned
at home by the example set by parents. If their parents are not setting the
example and the schools are not teaching it, then life may soon provide them
with a hard lesson.

A message is being sent to our young people by the shipping of customer
service jobs to India. Let's hope that there are enough smart ones to
realize that, as Sykes' rule number eight says, "Your school may have done
away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT."

Otherwise, many young Indians will have earned the jobs that Americans could
fill if they were willing to put in the effort required to do the job
properly.

The promise of American life was the ability to advance oneself through hard
work and commitment. Many Americans have played the game by the rules are
seeing their jobs sent overseas for the wrong reasons. We will pay a real
price for losing those jobs and the manufacturing capability in the long
run. Unfortunately, too many young Americans have grown up with a distorted
notion of that promise, thinking it meant guaranteed success achieved with
little or no real effort. Now, many young Americans may be in for a rude
awakening about the world as it really works.

Paul M. Weyrich is Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.