How The Industrials Bulldoze Their Way Through

When you or I try to get something done, of course it can't be done. The road is closed, the way is blocked.

You call City Hall and you can never talk to the mayor, just the underling at the front desk. But that's OK, because that's the way it should be. Keep a buffer zone. Plus, he's busy carving out a happy life for himself just beyond the veil.

Personally, I've never tried to call the mayor. But I know certain things about it, such as it can't be done. And even if you do manage to get him on the phone, it would be for about 15 seconds, till he figured out what was going on, then the phone would go dead. Really, the only way to get a mayor's undivided attention is to be a masseuse.

I've been in offices before so I know how it goes. The staff has a very 'entrenched' attitude. The desk lady has seen and heard it all. They've got down the division of labor nicely. You can't tell when their shifts begin or end, you can't tell when they're on break and when they're not, and it's all very mysterious. Yet if a total stranger showed up in my room, he'd know instantly whether I'd overslept five minutes!

One time I knew a civic agitator, a mildly crazy guy -- everything seemed to be there, just not bolted down -- and this guy the authorities couldn't stand. He went to the city and county meetings for his various causes, and right there that was his big mistake. His presence kept up pressure on everyone, but they had several built-in safety valves for this kind of problem, due to there being more of them than him (1), and (2) they had all the perks of being entrenched.

Yet the industrials don't have those same problems.

How is that? I guess it's because they take the same attitude, which is, "I've been here forever, I'm indispensable, nothing's going to get done if I am not served." Add to that their vast quantities of money used to lubricate their path and you've got some very effective obstinacy. And I could add to that even this, that they're patient enough (even detached enough) to stand back and wait, while their underlings do the hours and hours of dirty work in their stead.

What does this teach us, if we want every man to have his own industrial section in his own yard or garage? You need to have an attitude. The kind of attitude sketched out above. If you want to build a tire factory on your place, start with the presumption that you've been here forever, that you're indispensable, and all the rest. When it comes to paperwork, postpone it as long as possible. Don't fear complications. Actually, complications can be your friend, because that's what you're also up against.

We're not going to succeed in having our own industrial sections ... if ... we don't learn to bulldoze our way through, then do it!