Monday was Labor Day — an American tradition since 1882 that celebrates the fortitude of the American worker. Monday was the perfect time to sit back, relax and reflect on all the inspirational accomplishments that hard and persistent labor has wrought in our nation’s history.
Unless, of course, you had to go to work.
In high school, I worked three consecutive Labor Days during my stint at the local Super K-Mart. I wasn’t thrilled that I had to clock in on a day that I thought was supposed to be an automatic vacation, but my initial reluctance to work was causing me to overlook a deeply significant concept — and I’m not just talking about the time-and-a-half pay.
One of the best ways to honor our nation’s heritage of strong and steadfast labor is by following in the footsteps of our productive predecessors. They determinedly took to the plow, the machine and the pen — or quill, or whatever they used to write important stuff when founding America — despite adverse conditions, ranging from lousy weather to war and famine.
The fact that many gas stations, restaurants and retail stores are open each Labor Day is a testament of our continued dedication to keep America running like a finely-tuned piece of equipment.
As college students, most of us have a certain sense of dread when we think about the rigors of surviving in the “real world.” Certainly, being employed full time in America is an imposing commitment. According to an August Gallup Poll, the average full-time employee works 46 hours per week, and nearly 1 in 10 Americans works more than 60 hours a week.
However, the same poll also discovered that despite the long hours, an astounding 91 percent of workers either “love” or “like” their jobs. In fact, a full 42 percent of respondents said they were “completely satisfied” with their jobs, and 36 percent said they would keep working their current jobs even if they won $10 million in the lottery.
Only a modest 9 percent of workers reported disliking or hating their jobs. This is wonderful news for those of us who are worried we might end up doing work we despise.
Work shouldn’t be regarded as a necessary evil. It should be upheld as our ticket to independence, an outlet for creativity and a catalyst for self-worth and satisfaction.
Honest work is beautiful.
What Voltaire noted in “Candide” nearly 250 years ago is still just as true today — “Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need.” Theodore Roosevelt also declared, “far and away, the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Web site effectively sums up this belief in work’s inherent importance and value: “It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.”
The American worker is of both genders and every race. The American worker sweats in the factories, hospitals, courtrooms and classrooms all across the country. In the fields and in the skyscrapers, the American worker’s passion to create is a pride that all of us share, regardless of our politics, vocation, upbringing or socioeconomic class.
The American worker resurrected New York City from the smoldering ashes. The American worker will reconstruct a new New Orleans. In our darkest hours, it is the American worker who rolls up his sleeves and pulls up her bootstraps, leading our country with boundless ingenuity and relentless effort.
Now, let us cultivate our gardens. Through our unremitting work, we nurture the seeds of personal fulfillment and help develop a solid and prosperous nation.
Write to Brian at
bggorrell@bsu.edu
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