A look at the American Work Ethic as it compares to the Immigrants Work Ethic and why Americans should think like immigrants. by Lord Neuf
(conservative)
Monday, February 2, 2009
As the American Economy starts to slow down, major corporations have started to downsize while others have gone out of business. There are lean times ahead. But instead of trying to get back on our collective feet, Americans have left it up to the government to give a hand out to major businesses in hopes that the money will trickle down towards them. The only trouble is that the American worker is becoming more complacent while immigrants are ready and willing to do much harder work and take less of a handout.
Immigrants who come to this nation to tend do the jobs no one will do. They tend to come from places where starvation is a possible outcome for being lazy. There is no welfare safety net for someone sick, unable or unwilling to work. They either do what needs to be done to support themselves and support their families, or they die. It’s as simple as that. When those kinds of workers immigrate to America, they bring that work ethic with them.
I once worked at a newspaper distribution center; my job was to offload trucks and hand out newspapers. It was hard work, but it was honest work . Something I could do at night while going to college. While I was there, I met a lot of immigrant workers. I would estimate that 85 to 90 percent of the employees there were from another country, places like Brazil, Haiti, Cambodia and Kenya. They were both young and old workers, all immigrants and children of immigrants. Sometimes an entire adult family would come in and do several paper routes and put all the money to their household.
Many of these workers had second or third jobs, and did this tedious late night work for an extra hundred dollars a week. Then after they would finish their paper routes they would go wash dishes or work at a fast food restaurant or have another 8 hour shift mowing lawns or collecting garbage. These were people who never complained about how boring the job was, or how unrewarding it was. They would only be concerned with getting their fair share of pay for their hard work.
Of the Americans who worked that job, none of them were happy with their station in life, many of them were above the age of 65, they had no option to quit and they had to do the job. They hated that job, they hated the long hours and they hated the boss. They would dream of the day that they would no longer have to do this job and actually retire. The American workers also had second jobs, like the immigrants in the building, but they never came to work with a smile on their face and never appreciated the employment. When talks of cutbacks in the company went down the grapevine, the immigrants feared not being able to work, while the Americans casually joked about qualifying for unemployment benefits so they could finally retire.
As for me, I just did it because I was in college. Having a midnight to 7am job was just what I needed to get 250 dollars, after taxes, every week. I didn’t save this money. This was my disposable income, relying on student loans to pay for each semester of classes.
After two years of working there, I quit. I was going to make more money as a bartender in a fancy hotel and restaurant, so I gave notice and moved to the next job. Not surprisingly, the staff of this restaurant was also mainly immigrants. In fact the dishwasher there was one of the guys who did the paper route as well.
While at these two jobs I learned something. Most Americans don’t do jobs like that, it’s beneath them. If they do, they are like me, doing it for extra money as they wait for their high paying job to come rolling around the corner and if not, they just move into their parent’s basement and try to maintain their social life. Or worse, they start meddling in criminal activities, trying to get spending money from the lucrative marijuana market.
These Americans never faced the fact that if they didn’t work, they would starve. That is incomprehensible to Americans. Americans have the failure option, they have the safety nets and they are complacent with that.
Their work ethic is produced by the culture of "If I fall down, someone will pick me up." The economic bailout package going through congress is a perfect example of this. The government is spending close to a trillion dollars to pick up other people, to fix others mistakes and to allow them to fail without repercussions. The welfare state of the nation is what is killing the American worker.
The immigrant work ethic is "Move with a purpose or starve to death." Failure is not an option. They keep their pride by working hard and do not want to be lazy, complacent or entitled. They want to build up their household for the next generation, so the next generation won’t have to put newspapers in mailboxes or wash dishes or be forced to mow lawns all summer.
With so many jobs being lost, Americans need to learn the lesson of the Immigrant Work Ethic. Or better yet, learn their work ethic from their grandparents and great grandparents who came to this country as immigrants themselves. Or else, the next generation will have cradle to grave welfare and never know what it is to work for a living.
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If you spend any time in the real world, you will just how lousy the American work ethic is. At the same time, most employers, managers, and supervisors really don't care about the work ethic of the people whom they are in charge of. I work in high-tech where promotions and advancement are almost solely based on how much one "plays the game." Unfortunately, you get ahead nowadays by schmoozing, sucking up, and playing politics. It should come as no surprise that the American work ethic has suffered. I wish it wasn't this way.
Although your view of their work ethic is right, you also fail to mention those who are illegals using our socialistic system for their health care, and education without paying into the system like the rest of us are forced to. This of course is not the illegal immigrant's fault. It is the fault of the taxation and income redistribution of our welfare state. I employ illegals all the time and pay them in cash. They charge cheaper rates, do a better job and rarely complain. If the governemnt stops the income tax and the social and corporate welfare, then we can compete with them.
On a separate note: as much as Americans dislike illegal immigration, the trend is starting to reverse because of our economic issues. So a lot of immigrants (legal and illegals) are returning to their countries because they are also beginning to starve here. If they can't find a job, they would rather go back to where they came from and starve there.
Therefore, it is much better to have the issue of illegals comming here to work than to have them leave because there is no more work. When we see the illegals marching back, we as a Nation are in DEEP trouble!!!
I know your feeling. In the Corporate World the sucking-up ass-kissing game is pathetic. You are right. Work ethics has nothing to do with advancements and promotions. So the best solution to that is to become an entrepreneur yourself. It is harder, more difficult, full of risks, you could lose money, and you need a much better work ethic and discipline. But, you could be building business wealth and not be at the mercy of sucking up to one boss where your work ethic has nothing to do with your salary or promotions. In your business, your income will depend on your own work ethic and success (plus a little bit of luck).
I no longer have that employee feeling and I am currently working on my business in a tough economy. But I am making it happen and although my income is not the same as it used to be when I was employed, the freedom of not being stuck to playing politics with an idiot boss is priceless.
Your argument on illegal immigrants coming to this country to abuse the social welfare system is a weak one.
The whole premise of the column is that Americans in general have a bad work ethic and that they are the majority of the social welfare abusers.
You also mention in your column that you hire illegals because they will do more work for less money. I assume that you offer the same pay rate to your legal employees, immigrant or otherwise. If not, you should.
However I've done odd jobs and ditch digging work for little pay, if only to make some extra cash. I never considered it below me to do such things. I always try to make my own money instead of relying on the charity of other people.
Besides, for every illegal you can find taking advantage of the system, I'm sure I can find 6 or 7 Americans doing the same thing.
I would like to add that there are companies where one's productivity does matter. I have worked in a few of them. It makes little difference if you work in the public or the private sector. It largely depends on the ethics of your manager or supervisor.
One thing we have in this country today is a wholesale failure of leadership on almost all levels. This also applies to business "leaders" like Bill Gates and Michael Dell.
I was once on a private-sector job in which I asked: "What do I do know?" The response I got was: "twiddle your thumbs." I spent about 35 hours per week surfing the web there for $23 per hour. This company also had no unions. I wasn't proud of this, and I just looked for my next job.
Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2009-02-04 16:20:52
Whew, I'm certainly glad I don't have the American work ethic.
Mine is simple. Have fun. Find something you're good at and enjoy doing eventually. Along the way, even when you're doing back-breaking labor or mind-numbing piece work, and I've done a lot of both, find a way to be just a little better at what you are doing than others. You may not be the best at it but you may be the best who is happy and having fun. In no time you'll be off to something else while those you bested find someone else to blame for their relative unhappiness or boredom.
The there are only two things to be aware of in the process. Some of those who notice you are a little bit better will hate you do not underestimate the lengths some people will go to to exert control over someone they think is better than them. Some of those who are a little bit better than you are at whatever it is you are doing, seldom even see you coming. This is because they have bought into their own baloney and think that because they are good at something they are BETTER than others. Some of those who are obviously much better at what you do will see you coming and offer to help you. Find a mentor and have fun.
It works for me.
-Jahfre Fire Eater
 Armed with that knowledge anyone can define and pursue their own American Dream.
Mr Lord, actually, having worked around the world, I think the American work ethic to be among the highest in the world. Now, the job class that you are talking about is of course, very low value added, thus, the educational background and skill level will be low, even could be replaced by robots and machines. Those are not representative of american jobs as a whole, nor are they even near the majority of jobs in America. American high tech and services have an unequaled work force of people who sacrificed to learn new skills, pay for their college to get a degree and work very hard, with excellent service and quality. Americans, for the most part, are careful and dedicated workers. Try working in Mexico, Brazil, Eastern Europe, much of Asia, not to speak of Africa, or the cushy countries of Western Europe. Terrible quality, terrible service, just as a whole, including their service sectors, the worst work ethics you could ever imagine compared to the USA. I'm not talking about visitng a country for a week and comparing work ethics, I've worked around the world, for 13 years, and have grown to appreciate just how superior our work force is. It's another reason why American management and technical staff are the largest educated work force sought after by American companies abroad, as well as foreign companies.
Right on, Mr. Neuf. As a College Professor, I regularly see entire classes that believe that "medicore is OK. Whatever. "
My best students, routinely, are home-educated students and foreign students, all of whom show a work ethic, seriousness, and degree of cultural literacy that outshines their peers, semester after semester, without exception.
>I agree with Mr. James Luko. I have worked in both South America and the U.S and I have to say that still admire the ethic of American workers. True, there are valid points in this article – I believe that Americans have gotten spoiled over the time and in general ignore the hardships that people in most of the countries have to suffer.
But I find that a vast number of American workers can be really persistent, and perfectionists. They wont settle for just "doing the job", but will go the extra mile to make sure the final product has a great quality. That persistence and creativity is what makes the American work force more competitive.
Mr. Neuf, is it okay if I don't call you Lord; for I have only One:)
I agree with your article. I think some readers interpreted your comments inaccurately. If I comprehend correctly, you are concerned not so much about illegal aliens as you are about affluent, arrogant, lazy Americans. In this wonderful Country in which we live, one can be affluent and not make lots of money. I believe that makes us arrogant and increases the potential for laziness. Most of us have friends or contacts who fit this mold. It doesn't matter what you do for a living, or how much money you make. We are cursed by the mentality of unemployment benefits, food stamps and social security.  I know, because I lived that belief system, too. The Word of God and His work ethic cured me. It definitely wasn't taught to me in public school or my liberal arts college. How will they learn Mr. Neuf? You must teach them.
Posted By: Jennifer Cecelia Stanley
Date: 2010-07-18 10:17:23
I took a Sociology class I think it was two semesters ago.... and while working on a group project or related activity, I came across a pdf with a very interesting chart. It showed the level of interest in having employment, among the US population by age and sex, over the course of most of the 1900s. I have been trying to find that again for an Economics group preject that I am working on, and in the process I have come across this page. I am bookmarking it. I gave it a thums up ; )
Everything that you say here is true. The United States has become a nation of slobs and beggars. People that sit around and think that no matter how bad things get the government is going to help them. They will not starve. Whether through duplicity, such as lying about a work-related injury that qualifies them for benefits, or the welfare safety net that pays a small sum that one could adequately live on if residing in rural, lower income areas, Americans know that they are unlikely to ever starve or freeze to death.
My Asian parents did not have the benefit of this security. They came to the U.S. in the early 1980s and did nothing but work 12 hour shifts in bars, restaurants, odd jobs, the post office and eventually in an office. They lived the American Dream because they knew that without building the foundations of financial safety (eg, owning a home, a car and a 9-5 job) they and their child will starve to death. Nobody can help them because as immigrants they did not qualify for government assistance.
After my parents obtained their green card (the wait is over 15+ years now for an immigrant to receive permanent resident status) they continued to slave away at 12-hour a day jobs, often working longer than that for extra cash/tips to pay off the mortgage. The thought of government assistance had never even crossed their minds because all the government forms were written only in English and Spanish in those days, which was inaccessible due to their language barrier. My parents worked harder than anyone that I know! And I am proud to be their daughter. I have tremendous respect and admiration for their work ethic and I try hard to emulate what they have achieved, along with benefitting from the advantages they have given me by immigrating to the U.S. Currently, I work as a computer programmer and go to school in the evening to earn a master's in computer science.
Although many Americans see Asians as over-achievers and increasingly wealthy and over-priviledged, I want to point out that in our country there is NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH! You earn what you work for and when you work harder than anyone else you will have all that you desire! This is the American Dream. It has become less accessible for Americans because many Americans believe that if they work x hours for the Dream they will have it. They don't see that the Dream requires x * 10 amount of effort to achieve.
We live in a competitive, Darwinian world and it is true that only the fittest will survive. It has become tragically more apparent that Americans with established roots in this country are increasingly less fit than new Americans.
Just wanted to add that I am generalizing broadly about a large segment of the US population. There are also many Americans who are very driven, highly creative individuals that stop at nothing to make their creative visions come true. I have worked with them and gone to school with them and it's obvious that they lead the vanguard in technological, financial, business and entertainment innovations that continue to establish the U.S. as the number 1 innovator in the world.
trd - I also want to reinforce what Lord Neuf states--that many immigrants are not parasites siphoning off the US welfare system. When government benefits are only available in English or Spanish, anyone that does not speak either language gets no benefits. Additionally, immigrant populations are often high-achieving and something to prove to the world a lot of times. A welfare check coming in every month will shame them before it can benefit them. Nobody in my family has ever received government assistance except for a loan, and god willing nobody ever will.
Everything that you say here is true. The United States has become a nation of slobs and beggars. People that sit around and think that no matter how bad things get the government is going to help them. They will not starve. Whether through duplicity, such as lying about a work-related injury that qualifies them for benefits, or the welfare safety net that pays a small sum that one could adequately live on if residing in rural, lower income areas, Americans know that they are unlikely to ever starve or freeze to death.
My Asian parents did not have the benefit of this security. They came to the U.S. in the early 1980s and did nothing but work 12 hour shifts in bars, restaurants, odd jobs, the post office and eventually in an office. They lived the American Dream because they knew that without building the foundations of financial safety (eg, owning a home, a car and a 9-5 job) they and their child will starve to death. Nobody can help them because as immigrants they did not qualify for government assistance.
After my parents obtained their green card (the wait is over 15+ years now for an immigrant to receive permanent resident status) they continued to slave away at 12-hour a day jobs, often working longer than that for extra cash/tips to pay off the mortgage. The thought of government assistance had never even crossed their minds because all the government forms were written only in English and Spanish in those days, which was inaccessible due to their language barrier. My parents worked harder than anyone that I know! And I am proud to be their daughter. I have tremendous respect and admiration for their work ethic and I try hard to emulate what they have achieved, along with benefitting from the advantages they have given me by immigrating to the U.S. Currently, I work as a computer programmer and go to school in the evening to earn a master's in computer science.
Although many Americans see Asians as over-achievers and increasingly wealthy and over-priviledged, I want to point out that in our country there is NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH! You earn what you work for and when you work harder than anyone else you will have all that you desire! This is the American Dream. It has become less accessible for Americans because many Americans believe that if they work x hours for the Dream they will have it. They don't see that the Dream requires x * 10 amount of effort to achieve.
We live in a competitive, Darwinian world and it is true that only the fittest will survive. It has become tragically more apparent that Americans with established roots in this country are increasingly less fit than new Americans.
I agree with you on many levels but I also think you miss a few points and even have a contradiction.
For starters, Americans have worked hard historically to create the kind of progressive work environment we come to expect. Â You made a contradiction when you discussed immigrants wanting to build up a house for the future generation so that they did not have to see their kids working a paper route. Â You conveniently left out the 150 years of American labor that saw our ancestors doing that very same thing- which has led to a service and tech oriented industry for non-immigrants.
Additionally, many of those immigrants come here from countries where they could either not find work or perhaps when they did find work, they were paid pennies to our dollars. Â So it stands to reason that the jobs arrogant Americans turn a nose to are eagerly worked by an immigrant who could easily say that they have it better here than they would have at home.
Oddly, countries like America are usually a cause of poor economic conditions in other countries. Â We like to exploit their cheap and unregulated labor standards so we can turn an ever larger buck back at home. Â I have always said that the class system isn't just a system within a country, but even countries as a whole fit into a global class system.
We are now on a education and experience ladder. Â The days of working from the bottom up are out the window, overall. Â That does not mean that the participants have a bad work ethic, but rather that years of prosperity have evolved our perception of fair.
And most of us who work, work jobs that require 40 hour work weeks if not more; one to two weeks of paid vacation a year; two weeks of sick time a year (that usually is just there to decorate your paycheck because a lot of employers give you a lot of flack for using the time off) and we don't make a lot of money. Â Compare that to places like the UK or France.
The final consideration here is that wealthy people get wealthy generally by exploiting people. Â It stands to reason that as the people get smarter and more skilled, they will demand that the spoils be shared. Â Where the real work ethic seems to be lacking is where the majority of the money is earned- we call that the dream of "upper management".
It is not fair to label people as haivng a poor work ethic because they are the end product of a process that we forget already occured. Â It is not fair to expect people to be happy being glorified slaves (minimum wage). Â To make a stance as such is to say that oppressive systems are the best of them all, and we should be so thankful that our socially engineered society is kind enough to even give us a penny for our efforts- or lack thereof.
Although I agree with you that Americans are complacent and lazy (duh!)... Your  entire article is based on a lot of unquestioned basic assumtions about labor, value and entitlement which are completely flawed to begin with. Not surprising though...Â
Capitalist Conservative types are notorious for contradicting themselves on such topics.
For starters, if Americans believe that such jobs are "beneath them"... Maybe it means that those jobs actually are 'menial' and therefore undesirable. Isn't that why we shipped all of our manufacturing jobs to China and declared ourselves an "information economy"? Oh no wait... That was because we knew we could exploit the "work ethic" (i.e. survival instinct) of people in the developing world. Then, while we're exploiting cheap foreign labor, we can sit at our desks eating McDonald's and playing Angry Birds or chatting on Facebook before driving our SUVs home to park in our 4-car garage and spend the rest of the evening playing Wii or XBox before popping some Olestra (Oh wait, Olestra is the plastic-based fryer-oil replacement that causes anal leakage... Whatever they call that creepy glowing-butterfly-commercial-pharmeceutical sleep aid).
My point is, laziness is EMBEDDED in our way of life as Americans. As J Zabel pointed out, Americans worked hard for 150 years so their kids wouldn't have to. Then they raise their kids giving them every conceivable luxury that "they never had" and wonder why the kid grows up spoiled and with no work ethic.
Or how about the fact that even though throughout the latter half of the 20th Century we were ostensibly the richest nation on Earth... Yet unless you had a College Diploma you were pretty much gauranteed a life of servitude working crappy, "menial labor" for the rest of your life and dying a tired, broke, broken human being. Those immigrants aren't working those 4 jobs just because their starvation-based, survival-conscious work ethic allows them to accept jobs that Americans think are beneath them... Many of them are eagerly looking forward to the day when they will not have to work so bloody hard or to the day when their children can grauate college and take on prestigious "desk jobs" - thereby improving the family's stature and standing in the commuinity and thereby improving chances for survival. You know.. Jobs designing robots and writing software and otherwise automating processes that used to take entire teams of people to do. And isn't that what "progress" is all about? "Innovating" things that used to take a long time or that were laborious and therefore expensive? The entire process of "improving" things through technology is by it's very nature a disruptive (and some would say 'destructive') process that changes entire industries and lives. In a Capitalist Economy , entire fortunes are won or lost on who controls what technology and how they are able to leverage it.Â
Why? So they don't have to work! No one wants to work.
Which is why Americans don't want these jobs. And why should they? We are a nation of fat, lazy, stupid, image-obsessed, entertainment junkies with heads full of  cognitively dissonant contradictions, confusion, stresses and envies. Raised from the crade to expect everything and to think that we will all become rich famous beautiful and loved someday. That any one of us can be whatever we want and that anyone could become the president... No wonder half of the damned country is on antidepressants. No wonder our "work ethic" has completely gone down the crapper. All the so-called "respectable" types (lawyers, bankers and politicians) are robbing the country blind and blaming it on the lower classes for "borrowing beyond their means". Well how else are they suppose to acheive the "American Dream"? They haven't got any money because the pigs stole it all and shipped all the jobs overseas. Meanwhile, the only job a PhD in Computer Science can get half the time is flipping burgers at the local franchise of (fill in lame corporate eatery here) because cheap Indian coders are kicking the collective crap out of us. This guy spent 10 years in school learning how to do complex data-visualizations and people wonder why he thinks serving snacks is beneath him. It's beneath anyone. It is an obsolete job (see: Japanese Robots further down the page).Â
Hell, why should this guy even bother coding anymore? If he has the right connections, he'd be better off starting his own Incorporated Entity (or "person" as I like to call them) find a client or two, sell them his software services and then pay some Indian $20 a day to do all the work. Isn't that the "American Way" these days? Buy low, Bill high, Shake Hands, Schmooze and let the money roll in.Â
Capiltalism! Or as they used to call it back in the old world: Usury, Exploitation and and Mercantilism.Â
Conversely: If you work really hard, do menial labor that others won't do (and that barely pays anything) so your kids can have a better life, what happens? Those kids get made fun of at school because they don't have the right sneakers and everyone treats your family like 3rd class citizens for being poor (and therefore, it is assumed: "lazy").
Americans don't just avoid manual labor because it's "beneath" them... They know that those jobs don't PAY anything!!! They have mortgages to pay and kids to feed, they can't be wasting their time at some crappy low-paying wage-slave job... They can't afford to! They know better than to fall into that trap of poverty... Than to work their little fingers to the bone only to look back later and see that they have nothing to show for it at the end. To work really hard just to make barely enough money to survive. We watched our parent's and grandparents do that. But things were way different back then. Back then you could get out of highschool, take a job as a machinist or a plumber and make enough to feed your family. A loaf of bread cost about 10 cents, you made about $20 a day and everyone had a LOT more leisure time. No one had to commute for 45 minutes (each way) in wall-to-wall rush-hour traffic to compete with workers on the other side of the digitally networked planet. No one had a computer or a cell phone or a Facebook account and by extension, no one had a Cellphone Bill or a DSL Bill or a Cable Bill. Car payments weren't anything like they are today because a car back then cost less than $2K and you could generally pay it off in a year or two. Now a car costs as much as a College Education and people go up to their eyeballs in debt to buy them because without one they can't work, buy groceries, get to school, or anything else... Even if they wanted to walk to work and happen to live close enough to do-so, there aren't any sidewalks anymore because they (apparently) stopped installing them some time in the 50s and most subdivisions don't even have them anymore. Besides, Americans know that if they didn't have a car, they would become 3rd-class citizens in this, our materialistic, car-obsessed, oil-addicted society.Â
But... That's Capitalist for you... Comodify EVERYTHING... Make money at the expense of EVERYTHING else. Sacrifice your time with your family, your time with your friends, your education, your health and your sanity for the almighty American dollar. Otherwise you're a lazy, no-good slacker. Isn't that the argument? Sacrifice everything for money because that's how you will be judged at the end of the day by your peers. It is always assumed (wrongly) that he with the most worked the hardest. This is complete bunk. The people who really work hard never see more than a fraction of the value that their labor earns.
As the insightfull Peter Gibbons once said in the film 'Office Space':
"We don't have a lot of time on this earth. We weren't meant to spend it this way.
Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about mission statements."
And as the Hitchhiker in Richard Linklaters brillient film 'Slacker' put it:
"To hell with the kind of work you have to do to earn a living. All that does is fill the bellies of the pigs who exploit us. Look at me, I'm makin' it... I may live badly, but at least I don't have to work to do it."
Here's a question: If Japanse engineers can build freakin' robots that can breakdance better than most Americans these days... Why can't said robots take out the trash? Why are my tax dollars going to pay for OIL WARS when they could be used to buy Japanese robots to act as Munincipal Trash Collectors or to fund research in completely CLEAN, completely CLEAN electric car technology? And some will ask:Â
"But what about that Garbage Man's job?" Well here's an idea: take all the money we saved on not having to pay him anymore and use it to send his ass to college so he can engineer us some home-grown Technological Innovation? You think his kids want to tell their friends at school that their dad is a Garbage Collector? Hell no, this is America, you're supposed to have a Doctor or a Lawyer for a dad... Or maybe an Architect. Wasnt Mr. Brady an Architect?
My dad worked as a Janitor at an apartment building for lod folks homes. People that write conservative articles like this one treated him like crap his entire life because they basically thought he was a piece of garbage. Human value equals monetary value to these people. They say they believe in a work ethic but when they see one they turn their own nose up at it, then criticise others for turning their noses up at the very work that they themselves are "too good" to do. Whenever I worked a real job in my life (one that involves actual physical; work), the rest of society looked down it's nose at me. No chick wants do date a damned house painter. I never got laid when I was painting houses and I look lie a damned male model.
It's like that scene in Dave Chappele's 'Whack Arnold's'... The poor guy works 10 hour shift so he can earn a living but when he says hello to two ladies on the sidewalk they say "Uuugh! Nigga, you smell like french fries!". And I promise you, real life is actually like that. I HAVE DONE REAL WORK. I've been a Hotdog Vendor, a Dishwasher, a Line Cook, a Waiter, a Bartender, a Construction Worker, a Maintenance Tech and every other conceivable type of Blue Colar thing you can think of but nobody ever gave me any respect (nor could I make any real money) until I became an Office manager, a Web Developer or a Junior Architect. In other words, until I became one of those guys that has the luxury of sitting around writing articles about the American "work ethic".
Americans are (by-and-large and in addition to their laziness and complacency) highly Arrogant and completely Classist. But what do you expect from a nation of SUV-driving, Rhoomba-owning, Capitalists, Fundamentalists and Greedy Avaricious Social Darwinists who call themselves 'Christian'? I for one would be happy to move to Cuba and work 10-hour shifts in a 300 year-old air-conditionless cigar factory, lsitening to my coworkers read aloud to me from some book. At least I would have some respect for the honest, hard-working people that surround me. And thanks to the wonders of Socialism, I would still be able to afford a 2-bedroom apartment in a nice neightborhood and to feed my family. So I wouldn't have Facebook, French Fries and Trans-Fats (or Olestra)... So the fuck what? I could go to work every day, I could sleep at night, I could look myself in the mirror and I could still have sex with a Beautiful Latina Woman because - as a Socialist - she would never be so shallow as to judge me by my level of income.
Unfortunately for me, I can't even freakin VISIT Cuba because of some weird vestigal McCarthyism that somehow manages to linger and stick to everything like the yellow patina of stale cigarette smoke. And these right-wingers complain about the Imminent Threat of Socialism in America, but look around you! The Corporate Privatizing of America a la the Republiucan/Conservative agenda has turned it into some weird cross between the films Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner' and Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil'... The only thing missing is vat-grown artificial humans and secret police that haul you off in the middle of the night to hold you against your will in a special prison without a trial. Oh wait... Do Guantonamo and the Kardashians count?Â
Hey, there's someone who's never had to work a day in their ridiculous little lives and yet they are both rich and famous for... Absolutely Nothing. Hooray for Capitalism!
Besides, isn't it some kind of mutant 'Socialism' to give away Billions of Dollars to failing US Corportations (oops, people) that outsource American Jobs, miss-spend or miss-appropriate Federal Subsidies and otherwise drive our Economy further into the Crapper? Conservatism and Capitalism are scourges upon this Earth. I am looking forward to the day when our Eco-System's Immune-System finally kicks-in and completely destroys Western Civilization, if-not our entire species. Then, if any of us survive it will be at a stone-age level of technological development and we can once again be taught by nature that the early bird gets the worm and that if you don't hunt and gather berries, you're probably going to go hungry. Then, as all ancient people did, we can live in small, agrarian, communal societies and share both the work and the spoils of our labor in a classless community where - aside from defference to say, the wisened elders of the tribe or something - the entire idea of a societal hierarchy will seem pretty silly... Which, of course, it really is anyway.
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