By Edwin Cooney
Approximately ten days ago, my world was shaken with the news that President Obama’s job approval rating here in the state of California had dropped to 49%. I’ve observed the shifting forces of American political and social life enough to know that a month can be an eternity in romance and politics. Thus there was really little to worry about. Still, it mattered so much to me that I let it ruin my day.
Part of the reason it mattered so much was because I was reading and enjoying Jonathan Alter’s compelling book “The Promise,” an analysis of President Obama’s first year in office. The book is helpfully objective, giving the reader the full scope of what worked and what didn’t. The reader gets a look into the president’s personality and how he put together and worked with his administration. It was very enlightening with reasons rather than excuses for the outcome of events. I felt closer to understanding who he is and where he was taking the country and, while I buy most of it, I don’t buy it all. Suddenly, I had to face the reality of widespread displeasure with the president for whom I have considerable admiration and respect. This bump in the road or whatever it is has made me wonder:
Aside from the welfare of family and friends, my personal physical and emotional well-being and that of my country, what makes things matter? Is there a single factor or are there numerous reasons why I ponder, hope, and wonder why things matter?
Some things matter peripherally such as whether the New York Yankees or the San Jose Sharks (my favorite MLB baseball and NHL hockey teams) win, whether a friend cancels lunch once or twice, even whether or not my youngest son, who lives nearby, predictably contacts me. (After all, he has his own life to live.) All of these things have a way of balancing out thus providing me with a sufficient combination of gratification and a dab of uncertainty to keep me humble.
The question remains, however: what makes what matters most matter?
Of course, there’s interest and identification with family, country or religion, but there’s also a deeper factor. As I ponder the above question, one of the factors most common to most of us is the need to correctly assess the future.
Throughout our lives all of us have experienced all kinds of feelings. Different types of stories and the experiences of others have an effect on us. Some of us have a strong sense of spiritual, political or patriotic duty. Others possess a strong sense of justice. Many are energized by doing what we can to ensure the well-being of those we consider less fortunate than ourselves.
Of course, there are a lot of things which are vitally important that I deliberately let other people worry about. I am neither an economist nor an environmentalist. I don’t study geology to prevent earth quakes. I am not a doctor or a fireman. As for politics and matters of spirituality, I have a perspective on both. I’m always willing to share and even debate the significance of my perspectives, but I fully realize that I have no monopoly on either patriotism or wisdom.
Most of us exalt in joy for the good fortunes of those we love or who give us strength or optimism about the future. Most of us want the future to be compatible with what we hope and even believe it ought to be. Therefore, it matters when someone whom we believe can affect that future for the best seems to be in danger, political or otherwise.
Out of our hunger for gratification we seek partners along the way who may reinforce the numerous positive outcomes for which we strive and hope. What matters most to you and to me are likely to be as different as our individualities!
Once upon a time there was a man in Washington called “Harry the Hop.” His full name was Harry Lloyd Hopkins. His value to FDR during the Depression and to FDR and Churchill during the war was his ability to get to the heart of any question. Churchill came to call him “Lord Root of the Matter.”
For example, as head of the Works Progress Administration, he was advised that if he would just stop pressing for government work programs for the unemployed, the economy would pick up in the long run. His response was “people don’t eat in the long run. They eat every day.”
Whatever importance or priority you give to your politics or to your religion, who you are has more to do with their significance than their original value or validity.
Hence, it’s my guess that were I to ask “Lord Root of the Matter” what lies at the heart of all that matters, his answer would be simple and true—me and you.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
Monday, September 26, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
A LETTER TO GEORGE WASHINGTON
By Edwin Cooney
Dear General Washington,
Two hundred and fifteen years have passed since you announced the close of your magnificent service to “we, the people of the United States,” in the message that has come to be known as your “Farewell Address.” September 19th was on a Monday in 1796, as it is this year, but the world is so very different today from the world of your generation.
Forty-two other men, five of whom were of Your Excellency’s acquaintance, have succeeded you in the office you conducted so well. Today, a brilliant man whose social ranking would have only been equal to one of yours and Mrs. Washington’s slaves occupies the presidential mansion which you didn’t live to see completed. The country you sought to guide and govern now possesses fifty states in the Union rather than merely sixteen as when you passed away on the night of Saturday, December 14th, 1799 in the sixty-eighth year of your age. Then we were agrarian, now we’re superconductive or cyberspatial -- take your pick. Then we were isolated by weeks of travel from the old world. Now there is instant communication and only hours in time physically separate us from the “old world.”
Yet, with all these differences, we look back with reverence at the form of government we’ve inherited by your grace. Still, as much as we revere you, just as our own children react to our advice, we’ve heeded little of the six main themes of your Farewell Address. Even categorizing it as an “address” demonstrates our inexactitude in recall since your farewell was a letter, not a speech.
First sir, you urged us to revere our federal government as “a…main pillar in the edifice of your ... independence...your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty which you so highly prize.” Yet today, many among us show ideological and doctrinaire contempt for the federal government as you once did toward the British officer corps and the Parliament.
Second, you warned us of political parties which you insisted would distract the public councils (you probably meant congress) and enfeeble the public administration (the presidency, the function of which you gave such careful consideration). You asserted further that parties would agitate the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, and would kindle the animosities of one against the other which would open the door to foreign influence and corruption thus subjecting us to the policies and will of other nations. Your wisdom is borne out today by those who depend on Liberal and Conservative doctrines rather than on a careful study of history for their political faith.
Third, you stressed the importance of religion and morality as the security of property and reputation as well as solemn oaths that give integrity to lawful investigation in the courts of justice. Sadly, today logic and science too often trump faith and trust.
Fourth, you insisted on stable public credit advising that such credit should be used sparingly to avoid the accumulation of debt. In so doing, you reminded us that in order to pay off public debt there must be revenue and thus unpleasant taxes which you implied could poison the body politic. So it has, especially since your small community and semi-barter society has become a money-based society.
Fifth, you warned against permanent foreign alliances. You doubtless vividly recall the controversy caused by the Jay Treaty because it failed to halt England’s practice of boarding American merchant ships on the high seas and inducting American sailors into the Royal Navy. Surely you recall being branded “cowardice” for not standing up to Britain by allying with France in her latest war with England. Your idea of “national safety” was separation from European politics. Today, “collective security” is equated with national safety because since World War II we’ve abandoned isolation due to the power of “foreign influences.”
Sixth, and finally, you warned us to “….avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments” which you insisted under any government are to be regarded as being hostile to Republican Liberty.” In twenty-first century, America patriotism is too often measured by an individual’s reverence for the military over civilian authority.
Still, we must keep in mind that the Constitution, which you helped to create and to see to its adoption, modestly sought “a more perfect”-- not an absolutely perfect -- union. The young America you shepherded into being, marred as it was by religious persecution, chattel slavery and other examples of intolerance, remains humankind’s greatest and most enduring promise of ultimate justice.
Thus, with all of the imperfections of your day and ours, with all of the seemingly wasted wisdom of yesterday and today, your wish for us in the largest sense has truly been realized.
We devoutly offer you our gratitude because America, overall, has fared quite well!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
Dear General Washington,
Two hundred and fifteen years have passed since you announced the close of your magnificent service to “we, the people of the United States,” in the message that has come to be known as your “Farewell Address.” September 19th was on a Monday in 1796, as it is this year, but the world is so very different today from the world of your generation.
Forty-two other men, five of whom were of Your Excellency’s acquaintance, have succeeded you in the office you conducted so well. Today, a brilliant man whose social ranking would have only been equal to one of yours and Mrs. Washington’s slaves occupies the presidential mansion which you didn’t live to see completed. The country you sought to guide and govern now possesses fifty states in the Union rather than merely sixteen as when you passed away on the night of Saturday, December 14th, 1799 in the sixty-eighth year of your age. Then we were agrarian, now we’re superconductive or cyberspatial -- take your pick. Then we were isolated by weeks of travel from the old world. Now there is instant communication and only hours in time physically separate us from the “old world.”
Yet, with all these differences, we look back with reverence at the form of government we’ve inherited by your grace. Still, as much as we revere you, just as our own children react to our advice, we’ve heeded little of the six main themes of your Farewell Address. Even categorizing it as an “address” demonstrates our inexactitude in recall since your farewell was a letter, not a speech.
First sir, you urged us to revere our federal government as “a…main pillar in the edifice of your ... independence...your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty which you so highly prize.” Yet today, many among us show ideological and doctrinaire contempt for the federal government as you once did toward the British officer corps and the Parliament.
Second, you warned us of political parties which you insisted would distract the public councils (you probably meant congress) and enfeeble the public administration (the presidency, the function of which you gave such careful consideration). You asserted further that parties would agitate the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, and would kindle the animosities of one against the other which would open the door to foreign influence and corruption thus subjecting us to the policies and will of other nations. Your wisdom is borne out today by those who depend on Liberal and Conservative doctrines rather than on a careful study of history for their political faith.
Third, you stressed the importance of religion and morality as the security of property and reputation as well as solemn oaths that give integrity to lawful investigation in the courts of justice. Sadly, today logic and science too often trump faith and trust.
Fourth, you insisted on stable public credit advising that such credit should be used sparingly to avoid the accumulation of debt. In so doing, you reminded us that in order to pay off public debt there must be revenue and thus unpleasant taxes which you implied could poison the body politic. So it has, especially since your small community and semi-barter society has become a money-based society.
Fifth, you warned against permanent foreign alliances. You doubtless vividly recall the controversy caused by the Jay Treaty because it failed to halt England’s practice of boarding American merchant ships on the high seas and inducting American sailors into the Royal Navy. Surely you recall being branded “cowardice” for not standing up to Britain by allying with France in her latest war with England. Your idea of “national safety” was separation from European politics. Today, “collective security” is equated with national safety because since World War II we’ve abandoned isolation due to the power of “foreign influences.”
Sixth, and finally, you warned us to “….avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments” which you insisted under any government are to be regarded as being hostile to Republican Liberty.” In twenty-first century, America patriotism is too often measured by an individual’s reverence for the military over civilian authority.
Still, we must keep in mind that the Constitution, which you helped to create and to see to its adoption, modestly sought “a more perfect”-- not an absolutely perfect -- union. The young America you shepherded into being, marred as it was by religious persecution, chattel slavery and other examples of intolerance, remains humankind’s greatest and most enduring promise of ultimate justice.
Thus, with all of the imperfections of your day and ours, with all of the seemingly wasted wisdom of yesterday and today, your wish for us in the largest sense has truly been realized.
We devoutly offer you our gratitude because America, overall, has fared quite well!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
Monday, September 12, 2011
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FOUR TRUTHS!
By Edwin Cooney
As far back as I can remember, I’ve been told how important it is to know and to tell the truth.
I’ve generally been successful at admitting the various truths about myself to others (although I often lie to myself about myself), but identifying worldly truths or reality is quite another task.
The first time I was ever aware of my president lying to me was back in May of 1960 when Ike said the U-2 spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union and piloted by Francis Gary Powers was a “weather plane.” What made President Ike’s lie worse was that it was uncovered by Nikita Khrushchev, a “fat little pig-eyed godless communist” whom
J. Edgar Hoover warned us not to trust. That was the beginning of my political disillusionment, but I didn’t realize it then. After all, I knew who I could really bank on for good judgment and especially for the absolute truth on all occasions: his name was Richard Nixon. (I was a childhood prodigy; I had wisdom beyond my years!)
Since my traumatic teen years, I have been looking for truths. I have been told that the clergy are the main source of truth, since their truth comes from Holy Scripture and from “above.” Yet it seems that too many of them are preaching divergent versions of the truth, so it gets rather confusing.
So, I stick to politicians. No, it’s not quite as bad as that: I wait for a politician to be nominated for the presidency and then I become a believer.
So, let’s see now: there was Ike and the weather plane -- then there was JFK’s fidelity to Jackie -- then there was Lyndon Johnson’s “generation gap.” President Nixon, who wasn’t a crook, had an honest wife and two lovely daughters. Honest Jerry, who taught us that “truth is the glue that holds us together,” had lots of questionable friends -- especially Richard Nixon. Jimmy Carter was a man of sterling truth and morality, who probably took himself more seriously than he did truth on occasion. Ronald Reagan undoubtedly was truthful in his intention to cut the size of government and government spending, but the real truth is that he did neither. George Herbert Walker Bush invited all of us to “read his lips” while promising us that he’d never raise taxes -- of course, he would not have raised taxes had it not been for those evil Democrats. President Clinton would have always told us the truth but, like the word “is,” he found truth difficult to define. President George Walker Bush thought he was telling the truth about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but that nasty untrustworthy Saddam Hussein let him down!
Last Thursday night, however, President Barack Obama offered us four truths:
Truth One is that we live in an economic emergency that has left millions of people jobless.
Truth Two is that both Republicans and Democrats have supported government programs when they have considered it politically and patriotically beneficial to their constituents.
Truth Three is that the public deserves to be protected from unscrupulous environmental, economic, and social forces beyond their control.
Truth Four, the most profound of these Obamian truths, is that in the current economic emergency, the public cares much less than politicians and media talk show hosts do about who will be elected in 2012.
Of course, President Obama isn’t the first leader to be truthful.
Ike told us the truth about the existence of the pervasive military industrial establishment.
JFK was truthful when he asserted that we could afford to go to the moon by the end of the 1960s.
Lyndon B. Johnson was truthful on the subject of civil rights.
Richard Nixon was truthful about the importance of our future relations with China.
Gerald Ford was truthful when he explained the Nixon pardon.
Jimmy Carter was truthful when he asserted that human rights were more important than international political or diplomatic conveniences.
Ronald Reagan was truthful when he characterized the USSR as “the evil empire.”
George H. W. Bush told the truth about the seriousness of drugs in America.
Bill Clinton told the truth when he said he had much to be forgiven for.
Finally, George Walker Bush told the truth when he assured America that the 2007 “surge” in Iraq would be successful.
I know, you all would like to know when Barack Obama might be less than truthful! Okay, here it is:
He may know damn well, although he isn’t telling us, that Americans have less in common than he has insisted we do! He may finally realize, after nearly four years of trying to work with his political opponents, that their political principles matter more to them than the common good!
If that possibility doesn’t scare you, it ought to!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
As far back as I can remember, I’ve been told how important it is to know and to tell the truth.
I’ve generally been successful at admitting the various truths about myself to others (although I often lie to myself about myself), but identifying worldly truths or reality is quite another task.
The first time I was ever aware of my president lying to me was back in May of 1960 when Ike said the U-2 spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union and piloted by Francis Gary Powers was a “weather plane.” What made President Ike’s lie worse was that it was uncovered by Nikita Khrushchev, a “fat little pig-eyed godless communist” whom
J. Edgar Hoover warned us not to trust. That was the beginning of my political disillusionment, but I didn’t realize it then. After all, I knew who I could really bank on for good judgment and especially for the absolute truth on all occasions: his name was Richard Nixon. (I was a childhood prodigy; I had wisdom beyond my years!)
Since my traumatic teen years, I have been looking for truths. I have been told that the clergy are the main source of truth, since their truth comes from Holy Scripture and from “above.” Yet it seems that too many of them are preaching divergent versions of the truth, so it gets rather confusing.
So, I stick to politicians. No, it’s not quite as bad as that: I wait for a politician to be nominated for the presidency and then I become a believer.
So, let’s see now: there was Ike and the weather plane -- then there was JFK’s fidelity to Jackie -- then there was Lyndon Johnson’s “generation gap.” President Nixon, who wasn’t a crook, had an honest wife and two lovely daughters. Honest Jerry, who taught us that “truth is the glue that holds us together,” had lots of questionable friends -- especially Richard Nixon. Jimmy Carter was a man of sterling truth and morality, who probably took himself more seriously than he did truth on occasion. Ronald Reagan undoubtedly was truthful in his intention to cut the size of government and government spending, but the real truth is that he did neither. George Herbert Walker Bush invited all of us to “read his lips” while promising us that he’d never raise taxes -- of course, he would not have raised taxes had it not been for those evil Democrats. President Clinton would have always told us the truth but, like the word “is,” he found truth difficult to define. President George Walker Bush thought he was telling the truth about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but that nasty untrustworthy Saddam Hussein let him down!
Last Thursday night, however, President Barack Obama offered us four truths:
Truth One is that we live in an economic emergency that has left millions of people jobless.
Truth Two is that both Republicans and Democrats have supported government programs when they have considered it politically and patriotically beneficial to their constituents.
Truth Three is that the public deserves to be protected from unscrupulous environmental, economic, and social forces beyond their control.
Truth Four, the most profound of these Obamian truths, is that in the current economic emergency, the public cares much less than politicians and media talk show hosts do about who will be elected in 2012.
Of course, President Obama isn’t the first leader to be truthful.
Ike told us the truth about the existence of the pervasive military industrial establishment.
JFK was truthful when he asserted that we could afford to go to the moon by the end of the 1960s.
Lyndon B. Johnson was truthful on the subject of civil rights.
Richard Nixon was truthful about the importance of our future relations with China.
Gerald Ford was truthful when he explained the Nixon pardon.
Jimmy Carter was truthful when he asserted that human rights were more important than international political or diplomatic conveniences.
Ronald Reagan was truthful when he characterized the USSR as “the evil empire.”
George H. W. Bush told the truth about the seriousness of drugs in America.
Bill Clinton told the truth when he said he had much to be forgiven for.
Finally, George Walker Bush told the truth when he assured America that the 2007 “surge” in Iraq would be successful.
I know, you all would like to know when Barack Obama might be less than truthful! Okay, here it is:
He may know damn well, although he isn’t telling us, that Americans have less in common than he has insisted we do! He may finally realize, after nearly four years of trying to work with his political opponents, that their political principles matter more to them than the common good!
If that possibility doesn’t scare you, it ought to!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
Monday, September 5, 2011
LABOR DAY -- AMERICA’S NEARLY ANONYMOUS HOLIDAY
By Edwin Cooney
I’m guessing that you know much more about the origins of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, and Independence Day than you ever knew about Labor Day!
Nevertheless, in lots of ways Americans celebrate Labor Day, the first Monday in September, almost the same way as they do Independence Day. There may be a few less parades, but the fireworks and picnics are about the same. A lady might don a light cardigan over her halter top, and a gentleman might wear a windbreaker over his t-shirt, but they can usually still comfortably picnic outdoors. Baseball pennant races are inevitably tighter and that makes the day more meaningful. Occasionally, to the glory of America, the National Football League’s first Monday night game of the season is televised Labor Day night.
America’s first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5th, 1882 by the Central Labor Union of New York City. For many years it was thought that Peter J. McGuire, Secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, was the force behind the original promotion of Labor Day by the Central Labor Union of New York City. However, it has recently been discovered that Matthew Maguire, Secretary of both Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, New Jersey as well as of the Central Labor Union of New York City, sent out the invitations to workers to attend the scheduled parade and picnic. Keep in mind that since it was an unofficial holiday, attendees would be sacrificing a day’s pay in order to participate in the first Labor Day -- so the invitations had to be pretty compelling. Hundreds of people did sacrifice and Labor Day became a municipal, next a statewide, and finally a nationally celebrated holiday.
Some people have concluded that the reason Peter J. McGuire was favored as the father of Labor Day over Matthew Maguire had mostly to do with Matthew Maguire’s politics. Although both men dabbled in Socialism as young labor activists, Matthew Maguire had the audacity to run as the Vice Presidential nominee on the Socialist Labor Party ticket in 1896 under the party’s presidential candidate Charles Horatio Matchett. Thus, because of Labor’s early association with Socialism both here and abroad, many Americans who insist that they admire nothing more than hard work have been quite touchy about celebrating the value of the American laborer.
However confused or hesitant Americans may feel about the political doctrines behind the celebration of Labor Day, next to getting a raise in pay, we love nothing more than a holiday. Hence, despite our suspicions of the motives, politics and the absolute loyalty of laborers, we take the day off.
Each of us, if we take the time to think of it, has our own personal reasons for celebrating Labor Day or any other day. For me, Labor Day is the equivalent of December 31st, the last day of the year. That means that tomorrow is the first day of the future. Of course, one can say that about any day on the calendar, but my way of looking at Labor Day goes back to my youth. Labor Day was the last day at home before going back to the residential school I attended. In that way, it was both sad and exciting. Tomorrow, I would see friends I hadn’t seen since June. I’d meet new friends, teachers and caregivers. The hot sticky summer would be replaced by the cool crisp temperatures and low humidity of fall. Of course, there was the “labor” of school work just ahead of me. While I can’t say that I looked forward to laboring in the classroom, the anticipation of classroom labor never spoiled my enjoyment of Labor Day.
Then, of course, there’s the definition of labor vs. work. Labor is usually associated with hard unskilled toil. Work, however physically hard it may be, is usually identified with the application of a skill. Thus, a lady labors as she gives birth and a gentleman labors to shovel snow from his driveway.
Additionally, there’s the American ambivalence about working and workers. If one works for oneself, one is celebrated as an entrepreneur: industrious, brave, and independent. A worker who looks to his or her union for support and guidance, especially political guidance, is regarded by many Americans as a prisoner of socialist thugs. The entrepreneur joins the Chamber of Commerce or the National Association of Manufacturers and becomes a “solid citizen.” A dedicated union worker is just a little suspect!
At the bottom of the barrel we find the worker who works for the government -- especially the federal government. No matter how long or hard this worker studied in college, no matter how much money was spent by the federal worker’s parents to send their child to college, he or she is contemptuously labeled “a bureaucrat.”
Still, most Americans genuinely admire the worker, because, as we work, whether we’re overcompensated or not compensated at all, we’re sharing with others the best within us.
Whether Labor Day is a mere holiday, the last day of the year, or the glorification of labor and/or work, make the best of it -- because Jack Frost is right around the corner!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
I’m guessing that you know much more about the origins of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, and Independence Day than you ever knew about Labor Day!
Nevertheless, in lots of ways Americans celebrate Labor Day, the first Monday in September, almost the same way as they do Independence Day. There may be a few less parades, but the fireworks and picnics are about the same. A lady might don a light cardigan over her halter top, and a gentleman might wear a windbreaker over his t-shirt, but they can usually still comfortably picnic outdoors. Baseball pennant races are inevitably tighter and that makes the day more meaningful. Occasionally, to the glory of America, the National Football League’s first Monday night game of the season is televised Labor Day night.
America’s first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5th, 1882 by the Central Labor Union of New York City. For many years it was thought that Peter J. McGuire, Secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, was the force behind the original promotion of Labor Day by the Central Labor Union of New York City. However, it has recently been discovered that Matthew Maguire, Secretary of both Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, New Jersey as well as of the Central Labor Union of New York City, sent out the invitations to workers to attend the scheduled parade and picnic. Keep in mind that since it was an unofficial holiday, attendees would be sacrificing a day’s pay in order to participate in the first Labor Day -- so the invitations had to be pretty compelling. Hundreds of people did sacrifice and Labor Day became a municipal, next a statewide, and finally a nationally celebrated holiday.
Some people have concluded that the reason Peter J. McGuire was favored as the father of Labor Day over Matthew Maguire had mostly to do with Matthew Maguire’s politics. Although both men dabbled in Socialism as young labor activists, Matthew Maguire had the audacity to run as the Vice Presidential nominee on the Socialist Labor Party ticket in 1896 under the party’s presidential candidate Charles Horatio Matchett. Thus, because of Labor’s early association with Socialism both here and abroad, many Americans who insist that they admire nothing more than hard work have been quite touchy about celebrating the value of the American laborer.
However confused or hesitant Americans may feel about the political doctrines behind the celebration of Labor Day, next to getting a raise in pay, we love nothing more than a holiday. Hence, despite our suspicions of the motives, politics and the absolute loyalty of laborers, we take the day off.
Each of us, if we take the time to think of it, has our own personal reasons for celebrating Labor Day or any other day. For me, Labor Day is the equivalent of December 31st, the last day of the year. That means that tomorrow is the first day of the future. Of course, one can say that about any day on the calendar, but my way of looking at Labor Day goes back to my youth. Labor Day was the last day at home before going back to the residential school I attended. In that way, it was both sad and exciting. Tomorrow, I would see friends I hadn’t seen since June. I’d meet new friends, teachers and caregivers. The hot sticky summer would be replaced by the cool crisp temperatures and low humidity of fall. Of course, there was the “labor” of school work just ahead of me. While I can’t say that I looked forward to laboring in the classroom, the anticipation of classroom labor never spoiled my enjoyment of Labor Day.
Then, of course, there’s the definition of labor vs. work. Labor is usually associated with hard unskilled toil. Work, however physically hard it may be, is usually identified with the application of a skill. Thus, a lady labors as she gives birth and a gentleman labors to shovel snow from his driveway.
Additionally, there’s the American ambivalence about working and workers. If one works for oneself, one is celebrated as an entrepreneur: industrious, brave, and independent. A worker who looks to his or her union for support and guidance, especially political guidance, is regarded by many Americans as a prisoner of socialist thugs. The entrepreneur joins the Chamber of Commerce or the National Association of Manufacturers and becomes a “solid citizen.” A dedicated union worker is just a little suspect!
At the bottom of the barrel we find the worker who works for the government -- especially the federal government. No matter how long or hard this worker studied in college, no matter how much money was spent by the federal worker’s parents to send their child to college, he or she is contemptuously labeled “a bureaucrat.”
Still, most Americans genuinely admire the worker, because, as we work, whether we’re overcompensated or not compensated at all, we’re sharing with others the best within us.
Whether Labor Day is a mere holiday, the last day of the year, or the glorification of labor and/or work, make the best of it -- because Jack Frost is right around the corner!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
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