Sept. 06, 2004 - 20:33 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Work

Today has been a day of holiday called Labor Day. Wherein work put off all summer is frantically finished. Or off to the hills or lakes we go for a last fling at summer before it goes away.

We seem, at least most of us, to ignore the reason or meaning of Labor Day -- what the heck, it is just another day to go have fun with plenty of beer, brats and ball games on the picnic sward. We sometimes recognize the seriousness of Veteran's day. But Labor Day and the Fourth Of July just skim along in the stream of time as just days we don't have to go to work.

In my way of looking at things any assuming of responsibility, any effort whether rocket science or not that requires thought and effort is, By Golly, to be considered as Labor. But it seems that the business world is trying to average us workers out world wide. Bring up the income of Indian people and cut down on the income of our folks. All the while defending themselves by saying it is more profitable for us all to give work to the lowest bidder. Yeah, riiight.

Looks to me that the business world is playing with more than fire. I hope it burns high enough to reach the tails of the rich dudes who could care less about the welfare of us commoners.

Now the political people are trying to keep us in terror of terror, so that they can continue to cut into our civil liberties.

So many people despise the ACLU and say hateful things about them, as they also do about unions. Unions wouldn't be there unless there is a reason. ACLU would have no reason for existing if fairness and justice prevailed. Sure some unions have abused their companies -- where did they ever learn that ? Sure ACLU has backed and fought for some things I don't believe in -- but they do fight for us all.

The white collar folk look down on unions and continue to work 50 - 60 hours a week, without overtime pay. They consider themselves salaried people and possibly a part of management. And the big wheels let them believe it. Now it seems if a person has even the slightest bit of responsibility or oversees even one person in addition to busting their buns working -- they are no longer eligible for overtime pay.

If this goes to the ridiculous extreme we all will eventually labor for a bare existence, ragged, haggard at the mercy of the money makers, begging for a bone and hoping for a bit of comfort.

The old thing, "Honor thy Mother and Father," can also be spread to, "Honor those who honestly labor."

There are those of us on the street looking, who say the same that has been said many times, "Looking for work is harder work than Work" . . . . . . .

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