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Driver's Seat
Work: Viewing it, doing It
By BOB DRIVER, columnist
Article published on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008 |
This coming Monday, Labor Day, will be a good time to stop and think about work. The national holiday itself, begun in 1894, is intended to honor work, workers and the dignity of labor. And that’s where some confusion sets in.
From the Garden of Eden onward, work has had a mixed name. In the beginning (as the story goes), God created Adam and Eve. He put them in charge of maintaining the Garden, which was a beautiful place to work. They loved to toil there. But then Adam and Eve disobeyed God. When he learned that they had eaten of the tree of knowledge, he became royally ticked off. He booted them out of the Garden and told them that henceforth they would be condemned to earn their daily bread by the sweat of their brows. In short, he laid the curse of hard labor on humankind’s shoulders.
Ever since then we’ve been trying to lift that curse by finding ways to avoid work, or do it more easily, or find someone else to do it for us. To give things a public relations spin, we’ve also tried to give work the best name possible. We praise labor and laborers. “He/she is a hard worker” is an often-used compliment, especially when we can’t think of any other virtue the person has. When an employee completes 30 years of labor, we reward him with a gold watch and a rubber-chicken banquet.
One of the enduring pieces of advice we give young people is “work hard, keep your nose clean, and you’re sure to succeed.” Indeed, that morsel has some truth to it. Someone told composer George Gershwin’s father, “Your son is very lucky.” The elder Gershwin replied, “Yes, and the harder he works the luckier he gets.”
Still, the prize often goes not to the hard worker, but to the smart worker. Or to someone who’s better informed, better connected or better-looking. Hard work is never a guarantee of big money. Recent statistics show that the average American worker is being left behind, income-wise, while the top rungs of the work force are getting even richer. Reminds me of that 1970s novelty song that said, “Work your fingers to the bone and what do you get? Bony fingers!”
Labor Day evolved as a protest against the terrible working conditions that marked the industrial era of the late 19th century. The labor union movement gave rise to a mother lode of song and story. Union organizers became heroes and martyrs. Or were roundly cursed, and still are, in some circles. Want to start a brawl? Just go to a mixed-crowd party and announce, “Trade unions are the best thing (or the worst thing) that ever happened to this country!” Then get out before the fighting starts.
During my so-called career I’ve been a union member and have also held jobs in management. Neither side harbors many angels. Or devils. Just differing points of view. If I were more ambitious and not so dadblamed lazy I’d probably hold stronger views about work. As is, I tend to circle the topic and view it from all angles, none of them dominant. It’s like the old joke, “I like work. It fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for days.”
Oscar Wilde coined two famous statements in this area: “Work is the curse of the drinking class.” And “work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do.”
The French philosopher Voltaire said, “Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice and need.”
Work itself is often not the main issue. It’s our attitude toward work. Columnist Harvey MacKay said, “Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” That’s also the view of one of my heroes, Jerry Seinfeld. He’s never held a conventional day job. As a young man he began doing comedy and has never looked back.
Another man I admire, writer Stephen King, said, “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” King might also add that it helps if you give up alcohol. But that’s a whole other story.
Is writing hard work? Many writers think so. They will talk for hours about the stress of deadlines, striving for the precise word while blood pops out on your forehead, and the loneliness of it all. When I’m asked if writing is hard work, I usually reply, “Compared to what?” I have dug ditches, worked on farms, operated a jackhammer and have swum in the murky waters of P.R. and fund-raising. I’d much rather write, especially since the coming of computers and the Internet.
Whether you spend next Monday working or relaxing, I wish you a happy holiday.
Send Bob Driver an e-mail at tralee71@comcast.net.
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Article published on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008
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