Shut up and do it

Freedom of speech is a natural right. But it's limited to your government. Your first amendment rights refer to government. They do not refer to your place of employment. So, if you don't like what your place of work is up to, your best bet is to shut up and just do it.

How did I pass algebra? 

A good analogy is algebra. I hated algebra. In high school I really struggled. I questioned the teacher, "Why do I even need this." This attitude lead me to day dreaming in class. After a while I got far behind.

One day I was sitting in class doodling while the teacher was talking. He came up to me after class. He said, "If all you're going to do in class is doodle, you might as well not come back tomorrow."

So, I never went back. It was nice in a way because I had an hour free time for studying for my other classes. But, it didn't bode well for my future. Even though algebra never made sense to me, I still had to do it to pass high school. I still don't understand why I needed it then.

In college I got an C- in my first algebra class. This was way better than in high school. Still, the reason I got a C- is because I questioned why I needed. it. The teacher came up to me and said, "I think you should retake Algebra 1 before taking Algebra 2. Back then, this was not a requirement.

I decided against. I took Algebra 2 anyway. I got an A+ in algebra 2. How was I able to do it. Because I decided that I ought to just shut up and do it. I stopped asking questions. Even though algebra made no sense to me, I just memorized the formula's and did it.

Did I truly learn anything? Not really. To this day I have no idea what algebra is. Well, I do know some basics. But, I still fail to see how it has helped me in my life. But, in the moment, it was required. I learned that the best way to succeed in Algebra was to just shut up and do it. This is how I got my A+

How do I succeed at my work? 

Same with Algebra, some things at your work are going to make no sense. Your boss is going to make you do things that make no sense. For instance, your job is to take care of patients. You are the best respiratory therapist in the world. Your patients love you.

And you get in trouble for not dotting an i or crossing a t. You get into trouble for things that have nothing to do with patient care. Your boss forces you to do something that seems completely irrelevant.

You might be tempted to wine and complain. And you might. And you might say, "Well, there's this first amendment thing. There's this freedom of speech thing."

But, the first amendment does not give you total freedom of speech. It protects your natural right to speak out against your government. You can disagree with Obama. You can disagree with Trump. You can disagree with your congressperson. And you can talk or write anything about them that you want. And they can't hunt you down like they can in China.

But, your first amendment right does not protect your right to speak out against your place of employment. You are hired to do a job. You are hired to do whatever you were hired to do. And if you talk bad about your boss, you can be fired for doing so. You do not have a constitutional right to bad mouth your boss or place of employment.

So, shut up and do your job.

If you don't like it, you can always get another job. In my case, not so easy. Where I live there's only one hospital. So, I have no choice but to shut up and do whatever this place wants me to do. Thankfully, where I work is a pretty nice place. My bosses and place of employment are pretty good.

Still, there are the regulations. There's federal and state regulations. There's Hippa. There's laws that make my place of employment make us do things that make no sense. And, when these moments occur, it's our place to shut up and just do it. That's how we keep the peace. That's how we keep our jobs.