Oprah did what?

I think that this is an interesting topic to bring up.
Today it was reported that as part of Oprah Winfrey’s “No Phone Zone” campaign, she was going to ask (read require) that her employees sign a pledge not to use their phones while driving.
The article can be accessed here:
http://digg.com/celebrity/Employees_Blast_Oprah_For_Making_Them_Sign_No_Phone_Pledge?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+digg%2Fnews%2Fpopular+%28Popular+News%29
Now then, let me reiterate, employees were asked to sign the pledge, but, “But it was pretty clear to everyone that it would not be good to resist signing it,” one insider told RadarOnline.com. “You don’t mess with Oprah.”
Some of the employees had just purchased hands-free devices and were now unable to use them.
I tell you true that this would piss me off. As my friend decanblue on twitter stated,
“I would wipe my ass with this document and inter office mail it to Oprah along with my resignation. No one tells me what to do on my off time, even if I agree with them...”
The liberal side of me knee jerks at this, because it's bad enough to be told what we can do privately by our govt. but then to be told by our work, makes me spasm.
Society will always have a need to have some control, it's what makes us a unified whole and defines "our" culture and keeps us from chaos, but when does that go to far? This to me goes to far at least on the work end, that I agree with her; yes. Is it HER right to dictate? NO. Hell no.
The fact this debate is going on even makes one wonder where the next “rule” will come from, society, laws, how we behave is trying desperately to catch up to a technology that advances faster than people may feel comfortable with.
It’s like a driver who is lost and unable to ask for directions, because everybody else is lost as well.
I talk on the phone while I drive, I admit that, but I also use a Bluetooth device to make me “safer” while I’m driving. I only text when I’m at a light or completely stopped, if I’m driving forget it you’ll have to wait. Even before I had a hands-free device I would drop my phone when it came to having to DRIVE.
I try to be responsible, and when I’m out driving and seeing how people are, it reinforces my driving and phone/text habits. People generally cannot do both on average, they’re incapable, big surprise? No why should it be?
As humans we learned to walk everywhere until we domesticated animals to ride on, then there were carriages/wagons, and finally autos. The first “automobile” was created in 1672 in China and was steam powered, but mass production automobiles were created in 1902, 1902! We’ve had cars a little over 100 years in our entire 200000-year existence!
Analog cell phones (1G) came into existence in 1979 by NTT of Japan.
The first text message was sent and received in 1992 by Neil Papworth to Richard Jarvis, saying “Merry Christmas.”
The first true mobile browser was Nethopper in 1996 for the Apple Newton.
Understand?
We have only had this technology for a limited time folks!
We are barely catching up, and the laws are trying to play catch up.
Witch brings me back to Oprah.
Does this woman, or any company for that matter have the right to fire you, force you to NOT use your phone? Can this be deemed legal? If our government has passed laws (in some states) that require us to not use our cell phones or at least have a hands-free device, shouldn’t that be enough? Do we need the added meddling of our bosses?
It bothers me because, and I personally think someone from her company should challenger her on it. Who knows they might get fired. Or not.
If they do, challenge it in court, bring the issue to light. Sure, sure one can argue that hey if you work for a company they can tell you what to do, but when I’m heading home? What if you have the kind of job where you need to be on the phone all the time, where does that time fit in for them? More hours spent at work? Is that fair?
In the end, all I am saying is that we need to no sit on our collective butts and ignore this event. Stand up and voice opinions, go to digg.com and comment, write to Oprah write to your local news, make it a story. Show this woman that she cannot do this. If you don’t then your inviting other companies to do this, and one day you’ll sit in your comfy couch, watching the tube and all of a sudden wonder where the hell that aching feeling from your behind came from and why your meekly living out your life being treated like a child who doesn’t know any better.
Grow up! Speak out! Peace out!