“Our Individual and Collective Commitment to Something Bigger Than Ourselves”
A tribute to all the selfless individuals, groups who grind hard everyday and my mother Stella.
By: Taffishani
Three years on, as I reflect on the absolute tragedy of the corona virus pandemic, millions of lives lost, politics, social unrest, and the many workers who fought valiantly to save countless lives. I cannot help but think about the concept of Yeoman’s Service and the notion of individual and collective commitment to something bigger than ourselves, the greater good! To all the selfless individuals who fought and still are fighting on the front lines to save lives, Thank You! I am immensely grateful to all of you all. Even though I personally did not suffer human loss, wherever you are in the world, and I want to say thanks, and I am eternally grateful for your selflessness, dedication, and courage.
Yeoman Service as a concept, idea and practice has evolved over time. Indeed, throughout the centuries stemming from medieval times, throughout the Renaissance era, to the historic southern plantation classes to current navy career profiles. The landscape is rich with numerous dogmas and explanations as to the origin and source of the word Yeoman. Modern connotations include:
“Very good, hard and valuable work that someone does specially to support a cause, to help a team.” (2021 Merriam Webster Dictionary).
According to Wikipedia it is an “idiom which means good, efficient, and useful service in some cause, it means the connotations of the work performed by a faithful servant of the lower ranks, who does whatever it takes to get the job done.” (2021 Wikipedia).
and finally, the Idioms free dictionary describes it as:
“Service that is good enough but in no way extravagant – this rickety wooden ladder has done me yeoman’s service over the years but its time to upgrade”
Notwithstanding the historical perspectives, explanations, and situations I am not overly concerned with the etymology of the word or its evolution over the centuries. The enduring theme throughout, is the concept of efficient, faithful and I dare say Self-Less service which is borrowed from the long-standing Rotarian Motto of “Service above Self”. This motto can be applied to the employee performs his or her duty with care, dedication, and professionalism. t is a tribute to those who serve others, who give 110 per cent or go the extra mile plus a thousand kilometers to serve in in various capacities.
According to Wikipedia, in the poem below, the sense – although not the use – of the idiom can be found in the Gest of Robyn Hode, dated to about 1500. They assert that it aptly describes Robin as vouching for Little John as a yeoman, a faithful servant who will perform whatever duties are required in times of great need.
“I shall thee lend Little John, my man,
For he shall be thy knave;
In a yeoman’s stead he may thee stand,
If thou great need have.”
This connotation of useful, loyal, dedicated service in times of great need was demonstrated by the thousands of men and women who worked valiantly to save millions of lives, who demonstrated empathy with dying and loved ones who could not say goodbye to their loved ones.
Another interesting perspective is Orville Burton’s (1985) classification of white society into “the poor, the yeoman middle class and the elite”. I think we can infer a modern-day connotation to his concept of the yeoman middle class and ascribe it to the diligent working class of today’s society. Whether we agree with Burton or not the concept rings true for almost democratic societies where the burgeoning middle class is seen as the sect that works the hardest with service that ranges from good enough, no way extravagant to stellar, exemplary and beyond the call of duty.
There are Yeomans everywhere, I am willing to recognise those persons who through deliberate dedication and hard work or even happenstance have given and continue to give loyal and faithful service. Prior to the pandemic their individual and collective roles were often not recognised nor appreciated. Therefore, I want to thank and recognise the nurses, doctors, janitors, personal support workers, garbage collectors, police officers, firefighters, store clerks, soldiers, supermarket cashiers who worked on the front lines during the pandemic and currently post pandemic to provide modern day yeoman’s service. I also want to deliberately recognise those persons who gave and continue to give yeoman’s service in heart rending conditions e.g., our soldiers, police officers, correctional officers, astronauts, reporters etc. I salute the fallen and current serving members for their service. Like I said there are Yeomans everywhere.
We all have our idiosyncrasies about who we are and for what we want to be most remembered. Some of us enter our dream jobs by deliberate actions or happenstance, for me however the public sector has always been my calling. There was just something honorable, forthright and spoke of immense pride being called a civil servant. The influence of my mother Stella (as my dad affectionately called her) was a deciding factor in my career choice. My mother was a teacher, with over 30 years sterling public sector service, and she was also my greatest mentor. She was a quiet, strict, steadfast, dedicated, and humble soul (may her soul RIP) who taught me the value of hard work. She was regarded in the education community as a good, dedicated teacher who taught many students inside and outside of the classroom. In her free time after school or at home, she taught many adults from the wider community how to read. Sadly, these persons had long ago passed through the education system and were still illiterate or had severe learning disabilities and could not advance themselves in their careers. In her own quiet way, she taught them using conventional and unconventional methods whilst preserving their privacy and their dignity. Seeing the immense gratitude that she received from adults, some of whom shed genuine tears for the assistance she gave them, instilled something deep within me and at the age of 11 years I was in awe of her. That poignant demonstration of selfless service that impacted peoples lives without fanfare is worthy of yeoman recognition.
In the absence of rewards and recognition such as Yeoman’s Awards for Service (not a far-fetched idea by any stretch of the imagination). This article not only gives honour to exemplars like my mother; indeed, I want to give honour to all the workers who have contributed to the overall growth and development of their neighborhood, pre-pandemic, during pandemic and who continue to do post pandemic. It honors those who continue to give service without fan fare but with a quiet dedicated humility. Whether it is your contribution to a team effort in your organisation, your community, a charity organisation, being a kind neighbour, service to your country as a currently serving or retired army vet. Your honest dedicated labour and selfless contributions in your respective fields is appreciated.
So, as I ask myself the question, “have I been giving Yeomans service?” I reflect on my 27 cumulative years as a public servant, I would like to think that deep down I am committed to something bigger than myself. A good life and the means to provide for oneself is important and I have been blessed to have that. Most importantly I have felt immense pride in giving of my best in the 27 years I worked in various capacities. Continue to give Yeoman’s service in your neck of the woods. Until next time continue providing “Service Above Self.”
Works Cited and Consulted.
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