I have written two articles about Labor Day in recent years, so I was wondering if I should write another, and then the truth about "work" hit me: this day needs to be recognized, and all those who "labor" certainly earn an annual tip of the cap. Work should be appreciated as an integral part of the way we live and respected by those who serve and are served.
In one of those previous articles I posed the question "Do you live to work or work to live?" In and of itself, that query holds so much fuel for introspection and examination. Does what we do matter? How so? Or do we go through the machinations in order to just attain that paycheck, not caring if we make a difference because in the end our payment is all that matters?
The great Greek philosopher Aristotle said, "All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind." If we think about that, then most everyone out there is being paid to degenerate mentally and - if not descending to the point of extinction - get so low as to not care anymore. Have you seen workers that seem lost like that? Sometimes I have, and I walk out of that store or place of business and wish they could find something else to do not just to make money but to be happy.
The problem is most of us have to make money. It is not a choice but a requirement. That brings back the old "work to live" idea. We go from paycheck to paycheck. Shoulder against the wheel. Turn, turn, turn! Ad infinitum.
The great poet Edwin Arlington Robinson wrote of such malaise in labor in the brilliant "Richard Cory":
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
In this poem the poor people of the local town look up to a wealthy man named Cory, who seems like a king but is gracious and kind. They know nothing else about him, except that they wish that they were in his place. One night he goes home and ends all the speculation about how great it is to be him: he commits suicide. The message is loud and clear: be careful what you wish for and then some.
Article comments
1 - jeannie danna
Victor,
What a beautiful tribute to Labor Day.
It's true, that money is not everything, but it sure is important when you don't have any.
:D
2 - Mindy
How important it is to acknowledge a job well done, no matter how "menial". But no job is really menial, is it? I'm glad you brought this out in your fine article. Your principles are like a breath of fresh air. I think it's great that you learned from your father's example and continue to "pay it forward".
3 - Victor Lana
Thanks, Mindy and Jeannie. Where would we be without the people who do all these jobs we take for granted? Up the creek without a paddle. So let's all thank or compliment someone like that cashier in Wendy's or the barista in Starbucks. You'll feel good too afterwards.
4 - jeannie danna
Victor,
Where would we be without the people who do all these jobs we take for granted?
If you are referring to the privileged members of this society, they wouldn't be so privileged without US!
However,If your referring to the rest of us working stiffs, we would do well to stop thinking of one-another as something that we must step-on or beat-down to get up in this world.
:D Happy Labor Day!